News Articles

Top Sales at Gold Trophy Bison Show and Sale

Westminster, CO (January 26, 2023) - Over 500 ranchers gathered last week for the National Bison Association Winter Conference, and brought with them about 100 head of live bison to the National Western Stock show to participate in the Gold Trophy Show and Sale. The mission of the Gold Trophy Show and Sale is to create an environment where producers can compete to establish the value of their bison in the current marketplace.  Thank you to all of our consignors and buyers that made the 2023 Gold Trophy Show and Sale a huge success! Thanks too to our great volunteer handling team, the "Buffaleros", as well as Karen Conley for organizing a great show and sale. Finally, thank you to our GTSS award sponsors, and Rocky Mountain Natural Meats for sponsoring the banquet dinner. All of the bison growers bring with them a commitment to continue building the market for bison meat based upon the quality of the meat and a dedication to sustainable ranching practices. John Graves, Yard Supervisor...

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Bison Plant in New Rockford Expanding

Pandemic boosts bison consumption Dave Thompson, Prairie Public. Dec 16, 2022 The North American Bison LLC processing plant in New Rockford is expanding. "We've been experiencing solid growth, in terms of consumption of bison — not only domestically in the U.S., but across the globe," CEO and President Jim Wells told Prairie Public. "We saw a need to expand our production capacity." North American Bison is harvesting around 11,000 animals per year, according to Wells. "We're going to move our capacity to over 17,000 animals annually," he said. The company recently was awarded $250,000 in state aid to help with expansion construction costs, according to state Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. The money is through the Agricultural Diversification and Development Fund, which is administered by the state Agriculture Department and state-owned Bank of North Dakota to support new or expanding value-added agriculture businesses. The coronavirus pandemic is a big driver of the bison...

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NBA Winter Conference: Time is Running Out for Early Bird Discount

Registration is open for the 2023 NBA Winter Conference in Denver January 18-21, 2023. Register before December 18th and save $25 in registration cost! Join the biggest bison gathering of the year where we’ll gather, network, learn and celebrate the American bison! Two days of top-notch educational programming, market updates, and amazing bison-themed meals, all concluding with our annual Gold Trophy Show and Sale (GTSS) bison auction at the National Western Stock Show on Saturday, January 21st. You won’t want to miss out on this great opportunity! Also, please be sure to book your deeply discounted Winter Conference lodging before December 18th at the beautiful Westin Westminster hotel. Book your room without breakfast option – $139/night. Or call the Westin hotel directly at 303.410.5000, or Marriott reservations at 888.236.2427 and request the National Bison Association room block to reserve over the phone.Francie M Berg Author of the Buffalo Tales &Trails blog

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Bison at Camp Pendleton, US Marine Corp

Bison at Camp Pendleton, US Marine Corp

By Blake Stilwell, USMC Camp Pendleton first received its bison from the San Diego Zoo between 1973 and 1979. The earliest numbers were small, just 14 individuals. The installation was a perfect home for the bison, and not just because there's no better friend than the Marines. Camp Pendleton is enormous; with 125,000 acres of land and two natural water sources, there's plenty of room on the range to roam.  Over time and with protection from the Marine Corps, the number of bison has grown so much, they sometimes interfere with basic training and base operations. By 1987, the Marine Corps estimated the herd had grown to 50. In 1999, the number was 62. Today, it estimates there are 90 on the base.  The herd is managed by the Camp Pendleton Game Warden's Office, which advises viewers to stay at least 150 feet away from the six-foot-tall, 2,000-pound gentle giants. While not as aggressive as predatory animals, bison are still defensive and can turn aggressive very quickly.  When...

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Montana Meat Processing

A rancher-owned meat harvesting cooperative is slated to open this fall in Havre, Montana, according to a Prairie Star report. The USDA-inspected Montana Premium Processing Cooperative (MPPC) facility, owned by Montana member ranchers, will initially process 3,000 to 3,500 head of cattle, sheep, hogs and bison a year. The co-op purchased a building in Havre, Mont., where it will park a semi-trailer that has been modified to be a kill floor. Matt Rains, a rancher and chief of staff for the Montana Farmers Union, told the publication that cattle producers who have been sending finished steers to a large processing plant out of state started the co-op because they wanted to retail their own beef. Producers leave $1,500 to $2,000 "on the table" for every steer they sell, and wait times to get into a processing facility can be one to two years, he said. The facility in Havre is near the end of construction and will open soon. The plant is expected to be a year-round operation that can...

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Carie Starr realizes her dream at Cherokee Valley Bison Ranch

Carie Starr realizes her dream at Cherokee Valley Bison Ranch

Farm and Dairy, by Sarah Donaldson -September 1, 2022 In 2005, Carie Starr had a life-changing meal. At that time, she was living on 25 acres of her family’s land, in Thornville, Ohio. Her grandparents originally owned that land as part of their 160-acre farm. They enjoyed harness racing and had most of the farm in hay production. They also kept a few other animals, like goats and cattle, over the years. Starr grew up around the farm and her grandparents, but never had any plans to be a farmer. But near the end of 2005, she had dinner at Ted’s Montana Grill, a restaurant in Columbus, to celebrate getting a new job. She wanted to try something new and adventurous, so she ordered bison prime rib. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. I’d like to be able to eat that all the time’ … Well, I live in the middle of 25 acres. I could raise bison,” she said. By 2008, bison grazed the pastures around her. Now, in 2022, she has almost 50 of them at Cherokee...

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2022 International Bison Convention a Great Success 

Twice each year, TV customers may experience some degree of television interference due to sun outages, which are caused by a phenomenon known as “solar satellite interference.” These brief outages occur when the sun passes directly behind the satellites that transmit cable signals for any provider, not just Consolidated. When the sun is aligned with a transmitting satellite, solar radiation emitted by the sun disrupts the satellite’s signal and causes a brief signal outage.

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Attorney General Knudsen asks federal panel to overturn BLM’s bison grazing decision

HELENA – August 26, 2022 Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen today asked a federal board to overturn the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to grant a permit change allowing bison grazing in Phillips County. The permit is a part of the American Prairie Reserve’s broader effort to expand bison grazing on the plains across northern and eastern Montana. Attorney General Knudsen’s appeal asks the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Hearings and Appeals to overturn the decision and issue a stay until the appeal is resolved to prevent irreparable harm to the grazing allotments and surrounding communities. “The BLM’s decision ignores the real concerns of rural communities and ranchers who rely on the land in favor of elitist attitudes of those seeking to transform Northeast Montana into a wildlife viewing shed for tourists. Agriculture is not an easy way of life, but Montana ranch families—including my own—are proud of their history and heritage that is still a part of our...

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Francie Berg


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