I've touched before on the National Bison Association's push that bison are regenerative creatures by nature.
And, of course, they are. IN. THE. RIGHT. CIRCUMSTANCES!!
I've also shared my personal opinion on the rotational methods being promoted for bison in past blogs.
But, I'm going to share the ugly side of 'regeneration' via Bison today. Because I truly have never read, watched, nor seen anyone share the reality of running a herd of buffs on smaller acreage.
We currently run a maximum of 16 head of bison - for the breakdown:
Animal Type | Number | Avg/Combined Wt/LBS |
Mature Bulls | 2 | 4200 |
Mature Cows | 4 | 3900 |
2-yr old Bulls | 1 | 1200 |
Yearlings | 3 | 2000 |
Heifers | 1 | 850 |
Calves | 4 | 700 |
Cull Animal | 1 | 1200-1400 |
We run them on a continuous grazing operation, meaning, they roam where they wish to roam within a 35 acres fence. If they want to wallow at the top of the hill in an open field, they do. If they want to find shade in a wooded area, they do. If they want to graze from one end of the farm to another, they do.
We do not crossfence nor do we rotate at any time.
I have been working at clearing land to add another 10-12 acres of mostly wooded area for them to have more room by the end of the year. Terrain and native vegetation that their ancestors enjoyed before being completely erased from our area in the late 1800s. *Yes, our farmland once enjoyed the wild and untamed bison - we are part of the Buffalo Trace that ends north of us in KY.
Anyway, back to the subject of this post.
By the time I subtract the non-grazing areas, wooded, wallowed, etc., and estimate the amount of actual edible grasses growing within a square acre, we're at max capacity if I want to remain grass-fed and grass-finished.
Even with adding another 10-12 acres! That land is primarily for winter feeding of hay and to provide the herd with a little more room to stretch and roam!
That results in about 2.8 acres per head BEFORE I calculate and estimate the amount of consumable forage. So, when it is all said and done?
I average just 2 acres per head at approximately 300 lb of good forage per 1 acre (and I'll cover that more in-depth in upcoming posts). I see and talk to people who are trying to run 60 acres of fenced land with 45-55 head of bison on it...and their land, grasses, forage, and terrain are not much different than mine.
Keep in mind that I'm currently running about 7 tons of bison on our land. That's equivalent to a USMC MTVR 7 Ton rolling around non-stop on our fields 24/7.
Now, take a look at just one of the smaller wooded spots that my herd used this spring as a "nursery".
Scroll through the slideshow
You'll notice the amount of soil erosion from traffic, the exposed tree roots, the abundance of rubbed trees, debarking, and even a few broken trees from aggressive rubbing during the shed. Plus, the area is now optimal for external and internal parasite breeding and life.
Not pretty, and certainly not generating new topsoils. At least -- not in MY lifetime. And, yes, I realize that not everything I do today will be something I benefit from - but will it matter if my daughter chooses not to continue with our operation when I'm gone?
Did I do more to contribute to the repair of the earth? Or will my actions result in detractions?
If you've read many of my posts or follow me on IG and Facebook, you know that I prefer to obtain as much information from studies and science as possible. Observational science is also valuable, opinions...well, you know what they say about opinions.
In the coming days, I'll continue on this subject with study citations and links. I won't bother loading it all into a single sitting. It's convoluted and, well, probably a little boring for you if you are like me. Seriously, reading through scientific studies and extracting and computing the information is tedious. It's downright torturous if you aren't passionate about it!
But, in addition to the havoc that just 16 large bison can generate on smaller farms, there is the reality of what land you start with for your operation. Our land was a three-generation dairy farm before we purchased it! That was years and years of 'traditional' farming and ranching practices. It's what was promoted in those days and it is what most farmers and ranchers applied to their operation.
So, no hate from me. But knowing what we know today, it's easy for me to become frustrated. Had I known when we bought the views and appearance of green and productive land? I probably would NOT have chosen this land.
Another thing the buffs have uncovered is decades of old buried plastic wrap that was discarded from round bales across the dairy farm. Daily I can pick at and dig out the remnants of plastic that will never dissolve or disintegrate. And, I assure you I cuss each piece I pick up! My typical rant goes something like "If I had a dollar for every piece of plastic I've picked up I'd be set for life!" When I say truckloads...I mean TRUCKLOADS! Couldn't see it when we bought the place because it was under the dirt!
Scroll through the slideshow
Now, this also relates to another topic that I plan to cover within the month of September....parasites and viral biology and their relation to soil disturbance.
I know, I know....exciting stuff!
Well, if you're considering getting into bison ranching you need to know these things! And, it's almost impossible to find the information raw and exposed anywhere. Instead, major organizations and other ranchers seemingly overlook the principles that will result in healthy herds and instead focus on buzzwords and romance in an effort to entice folks into sinking small (and sometimes large) fortunes into bison ranching (and if you're just following our journey as a hobby or as a consumer, I've promised you transparency of our operation so you absolutely know what we do to provide the best quality products)!
I would do a few things differently if I were starting out today. But I would still choose to raise these amazing creatures. So I'm not discouraging you if you're considering becoming a bison rancher. I just want to share what knowledge I've obtained over the years that was not available to me, or I didn't know to look for when we started out that might have made us even better stewards of our animals.
And, that IS what bison ranching is. Being stewards, not just good ranchers or using the animals for meat sales or growing an inch of topsoil annually.
Our trademarked slogan - Good ain't good enough! applies to every aspect of our operation!
You have to put the animals first, taking care of bison means they are first healthy. From that? You can achieve healthier soils, healthier meat, and a healthier you.
Stay tuned for the continuation of these points.
Comments