Why We Sell Bison in Bulk Quantities?

Our Bison are raised on native grass pastures and essentially left to do what bison do for most of their lives.  We do manage and rotate pastures seasonally and we “work” the bison through our corals 1 day a year during late fall/early winter to replace missing ear tags, pregnancy check cows, vaccinate new born calves, sort and conduct any necessary veterinary services.  Aside from that, our bison essentially roam free year-round.

Bison are unlike domesticated animals such as beef cattle.  Bison do very well with acute stress, for example: bolting from a predator, then settling down to graze peacefully a few minutes later.  However, bison do not do as well with chronic stress, for example:  being loaded and confined in a stock truck, enduring day long road trips to the USDA Certified meat processing plant and then being confined and standing in line waiting to get slaughtered.  Chronic stress can be harder on bison than other domesticated animals like cattle.

For this reason, we believe it is far more ethical to field harvest our bison while they are calmly grazing in a stress-free environment on the ranch they call home.  This process is handled differently than a USDA Inspected processing plant and consequently we are required to sell our bison meat packaged in the customary retail cuts, but, in bulk quantities (quarter, halve or whole bison) vs individual cuts which requires USDA/State Inspected processing.  A half bison is commonly referred to as a “side of bison” and is our most popular order quantity.  This also is the reason we only sell direct to end users and do not sell to retailers.

Why Buy Bulk Bison?

There are some great benefits in purchasing bulk bison in the form of a whole, one half or one quarter portions.  

Ease and Access:  One of the things we love about having a “side of bison” in our freezer is the ease of deciding what to have for dinner.  By buying a bison in bulk, you have a huge variety of healthy meat options just a few feet away from your kitchen.

Lower Cost:  If you are interested in a variety of cuts, buying in bulk is the most economical option.

Reliable Supply:  With all the supply chain issues, including up to one year wait lists for USDA processing, food security and supply can be a real issue.  Buying bison meat in bulk provides you with the peace of mind knowing that no matter what happens you have your meat available in your freezer when you need it.

Our Process for Buying Bison in Bulk:

Some people hesitate to buy bulk bison because they think it will be too much meat. A quarter of a bison will yield about 80-95 pounds of meat. A young cow weighs a lot less than a strapping young bull which explains the variation in packaged meat weights.  In a 2-person household that enjoys bison, you will easily consume 4 pounds per week and your freezer will be empty in about 4-5 months.  In our household of two adults, we consume 20-30 lbs. of meat per month.  If 60-95 pounds does seem like too much, consider splitting a quarter with family or friends.

Field Harvest to Processing

While we do process a few animals each year at a USDA Processing Facility, we prefer to field harvest the animals on our ranch.  The slaughtering process is essentially immediate, and the animal does not have the experience of fear, stress or pain.  Once the bison is slaughtered, the hide, head, hooves and non-usable organs are removed. What remains is commonly referred to as the carcass, which is then split down the middle into two halves.

When the carcass arrives at the meat processor both halves are weighed.  This is referred to as the “hanging weight”.  With bison the hanging weight of the carcass is usually around 56% of the live weight.   After arriving at the processor, the carcass will be hung in a cooler for 7 to 10 days for dry aging.  This improves tenderness, enhances flavor and also further reduces weight due to evaporation and shrinkage.  Because a bison carcass has a thinner fat coat than beef it doesn’t need to hang as long as a beef carcass.

After aging, each side is fabricated into individual retail cuts. If you are getting a quarter you will get half of the mixed assortment of cuts from the front and rear of the animal.  The weight of meat after the carcass is butchered is called the “boxed” or the “carcass yield” weight.  The boxed weight will be less than the hanging weight.  With bison, the yield of meat from the carcass is generally around 60% of the hanging weight.  This percentage can vary based on quantity of bone-in versus boneless meat, the amount of fat trimmed on the meat cuts and other specifics regarding butchering.  Presently, we are using 406 Processing in Great Falls, MT to process our field slaughtered carcasses. 

Common Questions:

• How much meat should we plan to receive?

• What kind of cuts will we receive?

• What will this all cost?

Traditionally, when you buy bulk meat in this way the price is set based on the “hot hanging weight”, which is how much the animal weighs when it is halved and hanging and ready for aging.  However, when pricing is based on “hot hanging weight”, there are other “hidden costs” you will need to consider including the kill fee, processing and meat fabrication fees, commercial freezer storage, packaging costs, labelling and delivery fees, all of which are then added to “hot hanging weight” cost.   To keep things simple and prevent unpleasant misunderstandings or surprises for anyone, we price our bison meat based upon what you will actually be buying and receiving.   We charge a flat rate fee of $17.50 (please note this price fluctuates with market rate) per lbs. for a bison quarter, which is based upon the actual quantity of packaged bison meat you are buying.  We do offer discounted pricing for bulk orders larger than one quarter.

Example: $17.50 x 84 lbs. = $1,470 this is the total price you will pay available for pick up at the ranch or delivered to an approved delivery zone.

Young bison carcasses normally breakdown roughly as follows:  about 15-17% of the meat cut from the carcass will be steaks, 55% will be ground bison, 25% will be roasts and 3-5% will be other cuts (short ribs and oxtail).   If you prefer a variety of cuts, buying a younger animal in bulk is definitely the most economical option.

How much freezer space do you need? – you should figure on having approximately 1 cubic feet of freezer space for every 35-40 pounds of frozen bison meat.  For a quarter of packaged bison 2.5 -3 cubic feet should generally be adequate space for the meat and stock bones.  For reference purposes, in our freezer storage at the ranch, we plan for 10 cubic feet of freezer space for a whole animal average 3 year old cow and 12-15 cubic feet of freezer space for a whole 3 year old bull.

Since our animals are field harvested based upon customer orders, we require our customers to put a deposit down at the time of ordering bulk meat.  The deposit for a quarter is $750, $950 for a half bison, and $1,400 for a whole bison.  Once the final packaged weight is calculated the exact amount of the remaining balance will be invoiced and should be paid to us before picking up your meat from the ranch or scheduling delivery.

Example of Typical Meat Yield of a 1,000 lbs. live 2 - 3 year-old cow bison

*This is only an example; actual weights will vary as each animal is unique.

Live Weight = 1,000 lbs. 100% of animal

Hot Hanging Weight = 560 lbs. 56% of live animal weight

Final Carcass Yield = 336 lbs. 33.6% of live animal weight

Average Quarter Weight = 84 lbs.