Raising bison

[Iowanian]

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

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

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.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Hog Farmer

Bison are mean. Local butcher in Amarillo told me when they are unloaded he shoots them in the head with his .44 mag as soon as they enter his chamber. He said they will absolutely kill you in a heartbeat.

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

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

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.

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.

[Fat Elvis]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

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.

There seems to be quite a range of opinion on what types of fence you need. I know it needs to be at least 6 ft high; can't quite figure out what it needs to be made of. Any idea on what should be used and how much ~7000 yards would cost? Some people seem to think you need a fortress, some seem to think you need next to nothing-reality is somwhere in between.

[Perineum Ripper]

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

There seems to be quite a range of opinion on what types of fence you need. I know it needs to be at least 6 ft high; can't quite figure out what it needs to be made of. Any idea on what should be used and how much ~7000 yards would cost? Some people seem to think you need a fortress, some seem to think you need next to nothing-reality is somwhere in between.

I run Angus cattle and I have been redoing all my fence with Redbrand 4 point barb wire..I use 6.5 ft tall steel post and hedge posts..4 steel then 1 hedge..I put 5 strands of wire on..depending on the area I use 6 strands..like my lots keeping cattle out of neighbors fields

With bison I would probably use the same equipment but move the steel post to wood post around 3 to 1..the wood post help keep the wire from getting stretched if they push on it..Redbrand wire has really good barbs on it so if it pokes them enough it should keep them from pushing too much

I would imagine that if the bison have enough food and nothing bothering them in the fields then I can't see them pushing to get out

Oh if you have the income to do it..look into high tensile fencing..it is smooth wire but half of the wires are electric..I have heard it is really good fence..kind of a pain to first learn but once figured out it is good shit

Hope this helps

[ghak99]

Originally Posted by mac459

I run Angus cattle and I have been redoing all my fence with Redbrand 4 point barb wire..I use 6.5 ft tall steel post and hedge posts..4 steel then 1 hedge..I put 5 strands of wire on..depending on the area I use 6 strands..like my lots keeping cattle out of neighbors fields

With bison I would probably use the same equipment but move the steel post to wood post around 3 to 1..the wood post help keep the wire from getting stretched if they push on it..Redbrand wire has really good barbs on it so if it pokes them enough it should keep them from pushing too much

I would imagine that if the bison have enough food and nothing bothering them in the fields then I can't see them pushing to get out

Oh if you have the income to do it..look into high tensile fencing..it is smooth wire but half of the wires are electric..I have heard it is really good fence..kind of a pain to first learn but once figured out it is good shit

Hope this helps

If you haven't already, take one stretch of your barb and put a single strand of high tensile in 6"-8" extended loop style holders and compare that stretch to the rest of it over the next two years. I even put these up on non owned pastures on my dime as a favor to the landowners. It saves a lot of my maintaining time and keeps thier fences in good shape and looking nice for years and years.

We built our first smooth wire over 20 years ago and people thought we were nuts when we did it but it has, by far, been the easiest and cheapest to maintain. Watching a deer run through it can be quite entertaining and the wires play a nice tune when it happens.

[rockymtnchief]

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

There seems to be quite a range of opinion on what types of fence you need. I know it needs to be at least 6 ft high; can't quite figure out what it needs to be made of. Any idea on what should be used and how much ~7000 yards would cost? Some people seem to think you need a fortress, some seem to think you need next to nothing-reality is somwhere in between.

I've done work on two different bison ranches. Both had normal barb-wire fences. The only ranch I've been on that had 6' fences was to contain elk.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

There seems to be quite a range of opinion on what types of fence you need. I know it needs to be at least 6 ft high; can't quite figure out what it needs to be made of. Any idea on what should be used and how much ~7000 yards would cost? Some people seem to think you need a fortress, some seem to think you need next to nothing-reality is somwhere in between.

I was going to say 6 foot 5 wire. I'd roll with macs suggestion. I'm not much for a livestock guy, but pay for good posts.

[Fat Elvis]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

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

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.