We are having a wonderful autumn on the Northern Great Plains. The temperature has dipped below freezing only a couple nights and the days have been balmy with light southerly winds. For the last two days the gaggling sound of sand hill cranes has drifted down from thousands of feet above. They are laughing at those of us who do not fly south. Last year the cranes looked down on hundreds of our buffalo, black against three feet of snow.
Eighteen years ago they looked down on only a couple dozen buffalo, a beat-up pickup truck, and a small group of friends who figured out how to field harvest the first crop of purely grass-fed/grass-finished Wild Idea buffalo. That beginning herd had helped bring a level of bio-diversity to our tiny ranch, and with this process we did not contribute to the expansion of corn farming across the Great Plains, and the five buffalo we harvested in our pastures that first year did not have to spend the last months of their lives standing in the squalor of a feedlot. We had the carcasses processed at a local meat plant and we sold the meat to mostly family and friends. Eighteen years ago there was no model for grass-fed, field-harvested buffalo. Until that autumn, all commercially sold, buffalo meat came out of feedlots where the animals were forced to eat grain and other by-products of industrial agriculture. They were all hauled to slaughter plants to be killed and processed without dignity. Eighteen years ago, the Wild Idea was something brand new.
That first year our operation impacted the thousand acres of our little ranch and whatever prairie would have been plowed up to grow enough corn to fatten those five harvested buffalo in a feed lot. It was a wholly insignificant, postage size piece of the Great Plains but this year we impacted over three hundred and fifty thousand acres.
This year the animals were harvested from our pastures, the pastures of Lakota herds, and the herds of other like-minded buffalo producers. Every buffalo was certified grass-fed and field harvested. The beat-up pickup truck has been replaced by a semi-truck and a harvest trailer manned by four Wild Idea employees. The carcasses are cut, packaged and frozen in our own plant by artisan butchers. Our hot dogs, sausage, and jerky are prepared and smoked by our trained charcuterie specialist. The building in Rapid City, South Dakota sizzles with activity. The mobile harvester unloads carcasses at one freight dock and FedEx trucks load boxes at another dock. An informative website – with creative recipes and first class photography – hums away behind it all.
Jill and I would like to take credit for making healthy, honorable buffalo meat available to the American public but we can’t. A lot of the credit goes to the workers at Wild Idea who believe in letting buffalo remain buffalo. But most of the credit goes to the customers of Wild Idea Buffalo Co. who have demanded that their meat be raised and handled, from birth to death, with the same honesty and deep respect we have for the landscape and the other animals that live there.
We thank you for your support and promise to continue to work and fight to supply you with a delicious red meat that does no damage to our environment or the people who consume it.
Comments 23
Job well done, Dan. Thank you for showing us that there is another way.
What a great article! I would like to know if it is possible to get steaks that are 10oz. or great cut in half before shipping. At age 72 I seldom eat more than that much protein at any meal. My dog always get a bite.
My love for ribeye and strip steaks is unending.
Please let me know!
THANK YOU for letting us be apart of it all!! xxoo
Bless all of you for being good stewards of the animals and the land and making the buffalo affordable.
We tip our hats to you. Well done!
I first visited your ranch 10 years ago, and I have seen your dreams grow into reality! After reading your latest book, I have a greater appreciation for the hardships that you have endured along the way, but what truly matters is that you all persevere! I know from experience that dreams come true for those who are doing the right thing. I enjoyed my recent visit with Erney and being blessed to spend time at Cheyenne River Ranch is one of my greatest treasures – God Bless you all and keep on keeping on – Your friend, the rugged rock picker of the plains!
We are eternally grateful for what and how the WildIdea has and is doing to care for this magnificent planet. “Dolly” (“The Rites of Autumn”) is soaring in spirit and in gratitude, as are we. Thank you.
Lis and David
Just had my first Wild Idea flatiron steaks. I don’t have words to describe how delicious they were. I know that the free range way the bison live their lives contributes to the taste. I am also certain that the honorable and respectful way you kill the bison is part of it.
I would never have worked for so long on both the Broken Heart Ranch and the Cheyenne River Ranch had it not bee for thew philosophy underlying those ranches the regard for restoring the prairie, and the respect for the buffalo in particular and all wildlife in general. I am proud at having been there and done that, and at still being connected to it all.
It works because you are right, and made the commitment to get it going.
Just looked up and realized how many of those 18 years we have been eating your Bison. Those small boys we brought to the ranch are now 24 and 19, time moves too fast..
Would be interested in seeing a catalogue of what you have with a price list please.
Thanks Jill, and Dan, This was a very interesting read about your Bison. We cannot seen to get to buy any Bison around here in Ontario Canada. There is a Bison farm not to far away, but they do not sell meat. I would love to put a brisket on my smoker, It is on my bucket list with Wagyu.
Thank you, Peter in Pontypool.
Two thumbs up to a dream come true!
can’t wait till the day we can come out and see it all in person!
Such an honorable way to use the planet’s resources. I love eating my buffalo knowing it was done this way.
PS: Are you aware the “Submit Comment” button is difficult to view because the color of lettering is so faint?
Lynn
I am Proud to be a customer of Wild Idea Buffalo and all the work you all have done to make it the BEST Buffalo meat available..and the closest to nature and traditions there is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank You, Wakan Tanka Kici Un !
Theresa Anderson, Unci Tanagila; Grandmother Hummingbird
Dan, I just re-read Equinox and have ordered to re-read Rites of Autumn. These books did much to educate me. And they’ve led me to wonder what you’ve been up to since I last visited your world. Congratulations on the Wild Idea business and your steadfastness in honoring the environment near and far. Oh, and Happy 67th!
I would like to know if the general public can purchase your Bison ?
Congrats on 18 years + all you’ve done to raise awareness of the natural environment and how to be a steward of the land!! Best for a happy holiday season!!
A little piece of our heritage and honor preserved.
I love what your doing . Many blessings for a job will done .Keep up the good job.I enjoy bison meat very much. Bison is a natural health food .
Thank you for the service you are providing for the People, the land, and most importantly, our four leggeds relatives. aho
Our Goal is to return Cattle Pasture to Bison. Given the enormous subsidies demanded by Ranchers to support Cattle Liabilities, how can Change be Introduced that Saves Land and Lives in Healthy Low Fat, No Antibiotic or Hormone “Green” Meat?