Eco System

Southern Plains Bison: March 2016

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Southern Plains Pointers March 2016 Green-Up Green-up happens early in the southern plains bringing diversity in the available food for your herd that may not catch your attention. Many become selectable during fleeting successions, while other plants seem to dominate the landscape and by now; look like ‘emerald waves of gain’ [sorry] for those operations blessed with strong cool-season habitats. Another thing that explodes this time of year is parasites. Don’t stress out too much, just keep an eye out and react if need be to the onset of parasite loads. Personally I watch the front end or ‘hump’ for … Read more

Southern Plains Bison: Dec 2015

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Southern Plains Pointers December 2015   This holiday season was nothing short of a roller-coaster for folks and bison in the southern plains. We went from Christmas in the 70’s to spring jet-stream collisions and tornadoes, to drifting snow and ice in a period of a week. This kind of stuff really brings into focus the bison-advantage of resilience and durability.  Our job, as stewards, is to make the performance of natural behaviors possible. Observing your herd’s behavior in times of environmental extremes can aid you in knowing how to manage for it.   Sales, conferences, shows, gatherings and bison-works … Read more

Southern Plains Bison: June 2015

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Lots of grass, plenty of water; what could go wrong? Right? This year is different than many of the past, and in many ways including any normalcy in nature. We can expect that our native-grazers might also be a bit more mysterious if we don’t observe diligently – ascertain and react. I think the best way to accomplish this is to observe the herd, and their behaviors, with attention to how content they seem. The answers your looking for come in questions: 1] Compared to the herds history; are they consuming an inordinate amount of mineral? 2] Are they getting … Read more

Articles & Publications

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Articles & Publications   From time to time I run across a great bison-related article, and sometimes the author lets me share. These are just a few I wanted to share. I have articles throughout this site from other contributors. These are enough on their own and I felt they would have been lost in other content, and they may fit into several categories, which is why I separated them from the rest. All published content has great information; sometimes you may run across one that you question. But…there is always something that makes me want to keep it. Sometimes … Read more

Quapaw

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Quapaw Tribe opens new meat product distribution center (JUNE 2016) By Kimberly Barker  kbarker@miaminewsrecord.com Chris Roper, Agriculture Director of the Quapaw Tribe, stands next to a variety of products sold at the new Quapaw Mercantile distribution center in downtown Quapaw. The distribution center opened last week and is located in the heart of Quapaw for customer convenience. QUAPAW — The Quapaw Tribe opened up the new Quapaw Cattle Company distribution center last week. Called Quapaw Mercantile, it is located in their office space in downtown Quapaw. Quapaw Mercantile provides a variety of Quapaw Cattle Co. beef and bison products including ribeye … Read more

Mexico

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American Bison in Mexico   Photos are owned and taken by Javier Carrera he can be reached on Instagram @heyjavoo   (Like most images on this site, they are clickable) Thank you, Javier, for showing us the beauty of bison in Chihuahua, Mexico             April 7 2020 – 19 bison successfully arrived, with which these specimens were finally placed in Coahuilense lands. (mexiconewsblog.com) The task has not been easy, for the success of this project, Conanp thanks the Coahuila Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology of the Government of Chihuahua, CEMEX, … Read more

Sioux Lakota

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Largest Native Owned bison herd. Feb. 2021 Ron Brownotter, is such a person and proud owner of his herd. Coming from a cattle background and always wanted buffalo, he worked and studied and through hardships and perseverance made his life long dream reality.  Brownotter Buffalo Ranch on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation sprawls over 20,000 acres, home to a herd of 600. His herd is part of a buffalo resurgence at Standing Rock that also includes native herds owned by the tribe and others. (source)  “I’m raising buffalo because I’m a Lakota-Yanktonai person on Standing Rock,” he said. “We’re surviving … Read more

Simple moves you should make

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When this blanket of snow at the end of February melts gently into the landscape the steady crescendo into the symphony of spring will paint an idyllic image of green abundance.  If only the real world were that simple.  Simple may be adequate and elegant but it misses the opportunities found in nuance, diversity and productivity. What I’m hinting at is that since we live in a place where drastic change in weather is the norm, maximize the potential for positive productivity while improving the ecosystem and landscape with proper processes.  A healthy and resilient grazing landscape has a diversity … Read more

Grow Where You’re Planted

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As a certified plant geek, all I can say is ‘wow!’ every time I see one (seriously). The marvels of regenerative solar collectors providing food, fiber, medicine, inspiration, clean air and water, habitat, recreation and so much more can be an endless preoccupation. There is an active conversation around ‘invasion biology’ these days, that is, what does ‘native’ or ‘restoration’ truly mean and are introduced species ‘invasive’. Bloodletting aside, common sense should be our guide. The conservation minded will argue that pre-Columbian flora/fauna is pristine and spend untold funds to herbicide the exotics. An opposite extreme is to say there … Read more