There's a guy north of me that raises 100+ head. His fences aren't any taller than that used for cattle, though it is newer posts and barb wire.

I've had bison a fair bit given my location, and maybe I have an unsophisticated palate, but it just takes like drier beef to me. I like the taste of beef better, but get bison occasionally because I understand that it's lower fat.

When I do order bison, I be sure to use every part of it, because that's what the Indians taught us.

We're thinking about raising bison. We've had beef on our land for as long as we can remember. Bison are native to the prairie, and to be quite honest, I'm thinking that there is probably a better margin on them than the cattle since we rent out the land. Right now I think our land is being overgrazed since we have the water on four sections (not sure that is the right wording since a section of land is a specific measurement) of land that are connected. I'm sure the folks whose land is next to ours, but screw 'em, they can do raindances, otherwise the guy renting from us can pay a whole heck of a lot more rent. Aside from the money, I'd just rather have a healthy meat being raised on our land rather than some cows that are going to be injected with who knows what and fattened on grain. I'd rather do something that is better for the environment, better for people, and better for our pocketbook.

Them and some elk...a ranch like that would be heaven

When I eat bison burgers I become fartier.

Buffalo is pretty common around here as a healthy alteranitive to beef

I see tons of burger joints with a bison burger option


My favorite is Brody's burgers and brew on Cleveland ave...I think they call it the big sky burger

I get it when I'm hankering for a burger

Its ****ing deluxe

I am a little confused by your post. Does your family raise cattle now/recently or you rent the land to someone who does? Bison are more complicated to handle and relating to disease.

It's not as simple as just buying cows/ bison and turning them out as far as rent you can ask what you want but there are standard pasture rents for every state/ area. They aren't likely to just pay more. Also I am not sure of the state rule where you are but I am pretty sure the renter has to be notified you are canceling their lease by sept

CWD would be a concern as well I imagine

It's not popular with neighboring cattle producers. Brucellosis and other disease prone to buffalo and bison.

It's not like chickens you can just throw into your suburban back yard

My biggest concern would be handling them safely if you aren't experienced.

A section of land is equal to one square mile (640 acres)

I would also think there could be butchering done on site in some cases. I don't know how that works with the usda on a "alternative livestock". Do they allow local lockers to carry that I wonder?

This. They are ****ing wild. Strong ass wild cows. And they jump like bastards.

OK, well, a couple things here. If you as the landowner are responsible for fence maintenance, don't do it. It will take a significant capital outlay to get it ready for buffalo.

As far as the feedlot thing, unless they're marketing them as grass fed, there is a pretty good chance they end up at a feedlot being treated like beef cows (grain fed, antibiotics, medications for sickies). There was a feedlot down the road that did just that, and I believe it is a 30,000 head lot. Maybe they still feed them out there, I haven't been by there in awhile. So if you are wanting to do it for warm fuzziess, you may not gain anything.

As far as rent, you can call the ag-econ department at KSU and they can give you a rough estimation of what your grass is worth for free. They're pretty familiar with flinthills grass.

You can probably talk to your county extension agent for a visit to discuss overgrazing.

I'm not a livestock guy, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Pretty sure he's got his grass split into paddocks. I think that's what he's referring to.

I forgot to add about the food.

It's a leaner animal than beef cows but tastes similar. It's a little less forgiving cooking because of the leanness. I'd anticipate if they're finished on grass like you seem to want to, they'd get a little gamey.

These are things we are checking into. The actual rate has not been set for the upcoming year so that is negotiable. We are having someone come out to do an analysis of our land pretty soon. Average lease rates can be pretty skewed, however, by outliers.