The bison sector is a true agriculture industry. It is an industry based on meat. Because of its infancy stage, the bison industry tends to leave the impression that breeding stock is the name of the game, due to high prices, and that all heifers seem to be entering the breeding herd. Producers are selling breeding stock, and yes, all go into the breeding herd, but the price of breeding stock is still established by the meat market.

One misconception is that the bison industry is a money printing business. The bison industry is just as susceptible to Murphy’s Law, “if anything can go wrong it will.” But with good management and common sense, the industry can and will reward producers with reasonable return. The industry is basically 90% management and 10% labour (once the facilities and fences are built).

All animals require nutrients for two major purposes: maintaining existing body function and for growth.  Plant biomass is the basic source of all nutrients.  Ruminants have evolved to digest plant biomass using a four-compartment stomach system with the rumen being the largest and most critical.  Most of the actual degradation of plant biomass occurs in the rumen by action of bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, of which bacteria are the most important.  These microbes break down plant material into the basic molecular forms required by the body for maintenance and growth, primarily fatty acids and amino acids.  Nutrient uptake occurs in the lower gastrointestinal tract, primarily the small intestine.

Various strains of bacteria are adapted for fibrous plant material and others are adapted for digesting starches, and for proteins.  Optimum digestion occurs with a steady state ruminal environment when microbial populations exist in relative harmony at favorable pH, moisture, temperature, and feed substrate levels.  This optimal digestion condition generally requires some fiber for proper rumen function.  Bison have somewhat higher populations of celluloloytic (fiber digesting) bacteria than bovines.  Greater extraction of nutrients from lower quality forage was observed.  Many bison producers have used this evidence and observation as justification for feeding poor quality hay, when in fact, higher quality hay may result in more economical growth.  Research is needed to evaluate this hypothesis.

To feed bison for optimum gain necessitates that maintenance requirements be met first, with nutrient intake above maintenance level available for growth.  So feed intake and nutrient density (or concentrate level) are critical factors in producing satisfactory and economical growth.

The nutrient density of the diet then becomes an issue.  We are seeking an optimum diet with some forage for proper rumination but enough energy to support maintenance and growth.  Too much concentrate or starchy grains in the diet may create nutritional stress manifested as acidosis.  This condition results from an acid pH (below 6.0 in bovines) in the rumen and may be roughly equated with overindulgence by humans who treat the problem by taking a buffer of some kind.  Managing the high grain diets may be a contributing factor as erratic intake caused by several factors is known to be problematic.  Ruminants can also benefit from buffers in very high concentrate diets.  Sodium bicarbonate is a common product used for buffering diets.  It is simpler and more natural to simply feed a little forage or fiber for healthy rumen function.

Very little research has been done, resulting in many of today’s management decisions being based on the motto, “learn to do by doing.” Effective management involves five general areas:

1. Natural resources – land, water, facilities
2. Nutrition
3. Genetics
4. Herd health

It is important to mention that for any management program to be successful, you must learn, understand and respect bison behaviour. Actually to manage bison you have to almost become one of the herd, and this means you will take a position in the pecking order status. By recognizing the position, and understanding the various guttural sounds and sign language, you will be able to handle your animals without a problem. Bison are very co-operative if you remember that saying, “you can lead a bison anywhere it wants to go.” New producers laugh at that comment but it’s true. By using that theory, bison can be maneuvered to any pasture, through your facilities and allow you to incorporate your management program.

Natural Resources

This area of the bison management cycle is too often neglected. We think of ourselves in the industry as “bison producers” when actually we are “grass ranchers.”

The grass program is an important component in the nutritional management scheme. Bison are survivors first and producers second. If part of the management is production then some dietary help is required. The amount of dietary help depends on your geographic area. Pasture size depends on the ratio of open land to bush, whether tame pasture or native grass. These factors all determine your carrying capacity. Many of these types of questions will be answered by contacting your range area management specialist.

Whether you use a rotational, complementary, continuous grazing program or a combination, the objective is the same – to feed the bison in the summer for the winter. If you want a stress-free environment, and that is what bison require for productivity and genetic expression, then this objective must be met.

Water is an important natural resource and in fact is a major nutrient wheel. Too often when developing the nutrition program water is not considered a nutrient and so it is overlooked. Water quality is important, no matter the source, and in some areas may be the weak link in the nutrition chain. The subject does raise some eyebrows, but if you are located in a snow belt in the winter, animals can use snow in place of water. However, for optimum development and efficient feed use, all growing animals require water in the liquid state. This is especially important to feedlot gain.

Feeds available

Several concentrates are available depending on where bison are being fed.  Not all grains or co-products are equal.  Corn, barley, and oats are the main grains fed and can all be used successfully.  Energy decreases as fiber increases.  Moist feeds such as wet beet pulp or potato processing co-products may add palatability and serve as desirable concentrates.  Beet pulp is an excellent source of digestible fiber while potato co-product is high in starch.  Both are modest in protein.  Other co-products that may be useful include soybean hulls, high in digestible fiber and 12% protein, barley malt pellets, high in crude fiber and 14% protein, and wheat midds, high in digestible fiber and 18% protein.  Wheat and sunflower screenings are used widely but vary considerably from field to field and batch to batch.  They may be used in combination with other concentrates at less than ½ of the grain component in the diet.

Nutrition

Too often in the past, bison were promoted on the concept that it takes very little feed to keep a bison living. Yes, bison are survivors but surviving doesn’t translate into production. Bison tend to be sensitive to nutritional deficiencies. A weak link in the chain can make the difference between a 50% calf crop and a 90% calf crop, or a profit or loss feedlot.

Generations of severe natural selection developed bison with a digestive system that is very effective in utilizing forages of lesser quality that could be used with other bovidae. It is believed that digestive efficiency is due to a slower passage rate, and therefore greater digestion of the feedstuffs, as well as a more efficient nitrogen recycling system. Researchers believe that a bacterium in the bison digestive system, called Clostridium longisporum, aids cellulose fiber digestion 15% better that other organisms.

Formulating and describing diets for ruminants is not simple.  Energy concentration can most easily be described in terms of Mcal (mega-calories) per pound.   Wintering bison diets on poor quality hay with 2 to 4 pounds of grain may be in the 45 to 47 Mcal/lb range.  Warm up or transition diets with 8 to 10 pounds of grain and medium quality hay may be in the 55 to 58 Mcal/lb range.  Diets with free choice grain intake and minimal forage will be in the 62-64 Mcal/lb range as bison will consume some forage if offered.  Ultimate control comes with totally mixed rations fed in fenceline bunks.

Protein

Protein needs to be treated entirely different in bison diets than bovines.  Bison recycle nitrogen efficiently, an evolutionary response to very low protein diets from mature grasses during several months of the year.  This recycling may cause high blood urea nitrogen levels from modestly high protein levels in the diet.  The specific results of high nitrogen levels is unknown but we do know that it is metabolically expensive in energy terms to deaminate amino acids.  Determining maximum and or optimum protein levels is high on the research priority list.  In some areas, many feeds contain protein levels higher than many bison producers consider optimum making it difficult to formulate diets.  Eleven or 12% protein is considered the maximum from anecdotal experience.

Minerals

Mineral requirements have not been determined for bison.  Anecdotal experience again suggests a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 1:1, unlike the 2:1 ratio for bovines.  Selenium requirement in bison is thought to be greater than bovines at .02 parts per million (ppm).  Mineral nutrition in bison has been based on trial and error experience.  Considering the value of bison, it may be practical to offer a complete mixed mineral that includes several micro-minerals including cobalt, copper, iron, iodine, zinc, molybdenum, and others, especially if animals look unthrifty or some undiagnosed problems exist.  Minerals are available as inorganic (i.e. sulfates and oxides) or chelated (i.e. proteinates  and methionates).  The bioavailability of the chelated minerals is thought to be higher but they are more expensive.  Local soil conditions may dictate specific mineral formulations to counter deficiencies or toxicities from plant material or water.  Interpreting toxicity and deficiency symptoms from bovines may be useful.

Feed intake

Bison seem to naturally self-limit intake with less dry matter consumed per unit body weight than bovines.  Bison also consume feed in several small meals throughout the day vs. fewer large meals observed in bovines.  This habit maintains a more uniform ruminal environment and may contribute to more complete nutrient extraction by bison vs. bovines.

Feed intake for bison changes with the season presumably due to some evolutionary mechanism that in effect says “eat more in the fall to store up fat for winter, don’t try to find feed in the winter because it will take more energy to forage for feed than will be available from the feed you find, eat more in the spring to gain back what was lost during the winter, and eat modest amounts in the summer as the grass is nutritious and other things such as calving and breeding are important.”  It has been documented that bison physical activity, respiration, heart rate, and metabolism slow down in proportion to cold exposure until extreme conditions are encountered.  This seasonal reduction in intake may contribute to enhanced digestion when feed is abundant, commonly called compensatory gain.  In other species, intestinal villa were observed to increase in length when high fiber, low nutrient density feeds were fed, thus increasing the total surface area for nutrient absorption and improving feed efficiency.  It seems logical to manage bison rations to take advantage of  their natural eating habits.  Winter feeding strategies may include only modest energy supplementation if poor quality hay is fed or offer a better quality hay, such as native grass harvested during the vegetative stage during the winter.  However, there is some evidence that diets with modest grain levels (5-10 lb/hd/day) fed during the winter produce satisfactory gains, especially in milder climates.  Cold temperatures and photoperiod may both be responsible for triggering any seasonal patterns but we cannot separate them or practically control them.

The need for some forage and/or fiber in the diet for proper rumen function is antagonistic to maximum gain, which requires high concentrate levels.  One approach which may be useful is to use feeds that are high in digestible fiber, commonly considered the hemi-cellulose fraction.  This fraction can be determined with a lab analysis of the feed or diet.  Laboratory analysis of feedstuffs produces a value for ADF or acid detergent fiber, which is basically indigestible cellulose and lignin, and a value for NDF for neutral detergent fiber.  The hemi-cellulose fraction is the difference between the NDF value and the ADF value.   Feeds that have a relatively high digestible fiber content need to be included in research trials with high starch grains to confirm this hypothesis.

Anecdotal information and some research trials suggest that high grain diets with corn or barley at 60 to 75% of intake produce optimum gains.  Higher grain diets have been fed but the nutritional stress of minimum or no forage rations can be problematic.  The value of a warm-up period is important, with 50 days or more providing greatest gains once high grain diets are fed.

The bison industry is composed of two segments. One is breeding herd and replacements, where you are a grass rancher. The other segment is the feedlot. The feedlot requires intensive management and ration design that gives you growth, condition and finish.

The winter feeding program varies from one area to the next. It may consist of swath grazing, winter foraging, hay and products of other agriculture production. Protein level will range from 10% to 11%. Bison are poor users of protein levels higher than this, and it is expensive. Bison, if fed in the summer for the winter, can loose 10% to 12% of body weight between November and April. This is ideal because they will go into summer gaining weight. Be careful because any more loss of weight can be detrimental to calf survival and rebreeding. The trick to feeding bison is being aware of the fee value of your forage base and balancing your ration with adequate energy and minerals. A program of this type assures performance and is less expensive than taking shortcuts and decreasing performance.

A general rule of thumb is to condition score your cows during the fall deworming and weaning. Cows in a 3 to 3.5 condition score (based on a 1 to 5 system) can decline to a 2 to 2.5 going to pasture. Calf heifers should enter the winter at least at a 3.5 and go back to pasture at 2.5. This should assure that the heifer rebreeds, provided there is adequate pasture, fertile bulls and a good mineral program.

The key to good cow performance is developing replacement heifers. There are many opinions on this subject but the answer is in the bottom line of your cash flow. The inventory must produce and if the figures are not in the black, then the banker will be visiting. Nutritionally, the first twelve months of a heifer’s life can seriously affect her start as a breeder. Mother cow looks after the first five or six months. The remaining period is your responsibility. At this age these replacement heifers cannot consume enough hay to maintain adequate growth. They require a supplement of 3 to 5 pounds (pending hay nutrition content) consisting of about 13% protein and a T.D.N. of more than 72%. Keep in mind that this is not a finishing ration but a growing ration. Always provide adequate mineral supplementation.

At one year of age the decision to continue feeding supplements depends on the quality of pasture and quality of roughage to be fed the following winter. The mineral and slat program must continue.

Some producers feel that mineral supplements are not necessary. Again, this depends on the geographical area. But in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, areas of Alberta and many of the grazing areas in the U.S., copper, zinc, magnesium, selenium and vitamins E and A are important minerals and vitamins. If insufficient amounts are available, then fertility and performance in the feedlot decline. Bison are very sensitive to deficiencies or borderline deficiencies in these elements.

The nutrition chain is very complex. Just increasing protein and energy does not assure gain. Mineral needs have to be met before the energy and protein kick in and you obtain your growth curve.

Minerals specifically for bison are usually custom-made for individual producers. Unfortunately, most companies will only custom-make 2 tons at a time. This means either you combine your needs with other bison producers or you use another source. If you use another source, use a mineral for high-producing dairy cows. This mineral is available from most companies.

The finishing or feedlot phase of the bison industry is where a producer’s nutrition program, genetic program, health program and management abilities are combined together to produce a quality consumer product. This phase of the industry provides the test of your past and helps give you direction for your present genetic program. If you are selling breeding stock (bulls or females), this is where you as a producer can formulate your future genetic program, as well as prove to the buyer the genetic abilities of the selected stock.

The actual feeding program in the bison lot depends on the availability of various feed services. The trick is to have a balanced ration to provide sufficient nutrients for the young bulls to reach slaughter at 20 to 24 months for optimum consumer acceptance.

Whatever you do, do not skimp on feed. Keep the feed through full and maintain at least 19% roughage in the diet. Supply a good source of fresh water to finalize your feedlot ration. Water can be and often is the reason animals do not gain.

Genetics

Some bison you just want to leave with the seller. Considering the number bison once represented, and when they became almost extinct, bison have passedthrough a remarkable bottleneck. Considering how the population has increased, I think the herd average has maintained optimum (for the size of the herd) genetic variation. This situation would have likely been reversed if the bison population had been forced to remain at a smaller number, generation after generation.

Private herds provide ideal situations for breeding. They usually start with a few foundation animals in a closed group and at low numbers.

In-breeding is continually emphasized. I’m not so sure the same concern is not also warranted for continual out crossing. Continued random-type mating seems to produce rather random, inconsistent types of offspring. What is usually required is a better understanding of the factors due to heredity and those due to environment.

The bison industry is a meat industry. The carcass quality is of extreme importance. Inherited factors that influence carcass quality in bison are of substantial economic value. Fleshing ability, carcass leanness and tenderness are affected by feedlot handling, transportation, slaughtering methods and nutrition. The genetic expression of heritable characteristics can be expressed only if the relating environmental conditions are in balance.

The carcass evaluation of any herd is key to genetic selection for both the replacement females as well as their sires.

The major principles of selection for most bison herds are:

1. Fertility
2. Fleshing ability
3. Carcass quality
4. Longevity

The feedlot industry will be interested only in fleshing ability (gain) and carcass quality. The cow-calf producer is interested in all criteria, especially if he is involved in conception-to-consumer program. If the individual is strictly in a cow-calf program, then fertility and longevity are tops, with fleshing ability and carcass quality next.

Longevity is one of the areas of genetic importance least referred to. The problem appears to be that we just assume longevity in bison. A word of caution: man usually screws up something and this will be one of the first important heritable factors we will lose in bison if we are not careful.

The bull contributes half of the genetic potential of each annual crop. In short, he or she is 50% of the herd. The bull selection program of any herd, especially the smaller private herds, is important.

Remember, “it’s a rich man who can afford a poor bull.”

Replacement breeding bulls, whether selected from your own herd or another breeder’s herd, should be selected on a number of factors.

1. Fertility – viable semen test by 18 months and at least 22 months
2. Weaning weights – should be at least in the top 10% of the sire group; the dam’s actual weaning weight should be the average of all calves and be higher than the average weight of herd
3. Fleshing ability – yearling weight, average daily gain, and where possible, weight per day of age
4. Carcass data sire progeny
5. Maternal performance – performance of sire’s daughters in the herd and performance of dam’s daughter’s in the herd

Records are important. Without records it is very difficult to make good economic decisions. Without a scale it is difficult to have records. Reputable breeders of quality breeding stock will have records and a scale that is used.

Health

A proper health program requires an identification system. This also goes hand in hand with good records.

The key to any good health program is preventive medicine. In bison this means good nutrition, 7 or 8-way clostridium vaccination, a deworming program and a stress-free environment.

Compared to other species, a bison health program is very cheap. The selection process that will likely take place in the bison industry as a whole will result in the gradual decline of the strong immunity of the present bison. Man will gradually interfere with the natural selection process of the weak dying and the strong living.

The best health program for any producer is designed in consultation with your local veterinarian. But a word of caution is required at this point. Because of the good immune system of bison, I don’t believe we have to go needle-happy, vaccinating for everything possible. In due time, and sooner than later, we will have to vaccinate for many of the same problems that plague the beef industry. With good common sense though, I firmly believe that we have some breathing space before many of the beef vaccinations will become part of the bison program.

Some bison you just want to leave with the seller. Considering the number bison once represented, and when they became almost extinct, bison have passedthrough a remarkable bottleneck. Considering how the population has increased, I think the herd average has maintained optimum (for the size of the herd) genetic variation. This situation would have likely been reversed if the bison population had been forced to remain at a smaller number, generation after generation.

Private herds provide ideal situations for breeding. They usually start with a few foundation animals in a closed group and at low numbers.

In-breeding is continually emphasized. I’m not so sure the same concern is not also warranted for continual out crossing. Continued random-type mating seems to produce rather random, inconsistent types of offspring. What is usually required is a better understanding of the factors due to heredity and those due to environment.

The bison industry is a meat industry. The carcass quality is of extreme importance. Inherited factors that influence carcass quality in bison are of substantial economic value. Fleshing ability, carcass leanness and tenderness are affected by feedlot handling, transportation, slaughtering methods and nutrition. The genetic expression of heritable characteristics can be expressed only if the relating environmental conditions are in balance.

The carcass evaluation of any herd is key to genetic selection for both the replacement females as well as their sires.

The major principles of selection for most bison herds are:

1. Fertility
2. Fleshing ability
3. Carcass quality
4. Longevity

The feedlot industry will be interested only in fleshing ability (gain) and carcass quality. The cow-calf producer is interested in all criteria, especially if he is involved in conception-to-consumer program. If the individual is strictly in a cow-calf program, then fertility and longevity are tops, with fleshing ability and carcass quality next.

Longevity is one of the areas of genetic importance least referred to. The problem appears to be that we just assume longevity in bison. A word of caution: man usually screws up something and this will be one of the first important heritable factors we will lose in bison if we are not careful.

The bull contributes half of the genetic potential of each annual crop. In short, he or she is 50% of the herd. The bull selection program of any herd, especially the smaller private herds, is important.

Remember, “it’s a rich man who can afford a poor bull.”

Replacement breeding bulls, whether selected from your own herd or another breeder’s herd, should be selected on a number of factors.

1. Fertility – viable semen test by 18 months and at least 22 months
2. Weaning weights – should be at least in the top 10% of the sire group; the dam’s actual weaning weight should be the average of all calves and be higher than the average weight of herd
3. Fleshing ability – yearling weight, average daily gain, and where possible, weight per day of age
4. Carcass data sire progeny
5. Maternal performance – performance of sire’s daughters in the herd and performance of dam’s daughter’s in the herd

Records are important. Without records it is very difficult to make good economic decisions. Without a scale it is difficult to have records. Reputable breeders of quality breeding stock will have records and a scale that is used.

Health

A proper health program requires an identification system. This also goes hand in hand with good records.

The key to any good health program is preventive medicine. In bison this means good nutrition, 7 or 8-way clostridium vaccination, a deworming program and a stress-free environment.

Compared to other species, a bison health program is very cheap. The selection process that will likely take place in the bison industry as a whole will result in the gradual decline of the strong immunity of the present bison. Man will gradually interfere with the natural selection process of the weak dying and the strong living.

The best health program for any producer is designed in consultation with your local veterinarian. But a word of caution is required at this point. Because of the good immune system of bison, I don’t believe we have to go needle-happy, vaccinating for everything possible. In due time, and sooner than later, we will have to vaccinate for many of the same problems that plague the beef industry. With good common sense though, I firmly believe that we have some breathing space before many of the beef vaccinations will become part of the bison program.

The following questions and answers may be of interest if you have ever considered making bison a part of your farm or ranch business.  The new Bison Producer’s Handbook is available now and contains a wealth of detailed production information.  See the producer’s home page for information on how to obtain your copy.

What are the advantages of raising bison?

BISON VS GRAIN FARMING – Nearly all the nutritional needs of bison can be met through grazing perennial grasses that are readily grown in the agricultural regions of Canada.  As a result, raising bison involves considerably lower input costs than growing annual grain, oil seed and pulse crops. Managing grazing for bison of course requires grassland, a water source and good fences, but it doesn’t require the expensive machinery and energy gobbling operations like seeding, summer fallowing, and combining.  While supplemental hay and grain are often fed to bison in winter, the bulk of their annual diet comes from grasses that grow naturally on the prairies. In addition to preserving huge tracts of native prairie, Canada’s bison producers have returned hundreds of thousands of acres of formerly cultivated land to permanent forage cover. This is good news for the prairie ecology: soil erosion is checked; fossil fuel consumption formerly required to operate crop production machinery is virtually eliminated, and habitat for wildlife and natural plants is increased.

BISON VS OTHER MEAT SPECIES – Bison are naturally hardy, requiring less intensive management than other domestic meat animals such as cattle. By virtue of their evolution on the plains of North America, bison are well adapted to the extremes of weather and forage quality that nature produces on the Canadian prairies. Bison readily tolerate the extremes of winter. Their thick hair coat and ability to slow their metabolism during winter, enables bison to thrive on a much less energy-rich diet than cattle require. Bison are also well adapted to obtaining their daily water requirements from snow, whereas cattle generally require liquid water in their winter diet. Obviously, bison don’t need to be kept in the barn for the winter. Because of events like prairie fires and droughts, nature didn’t always provide an abundance of the choicest grasses for bison to eat.  Bison adapted to this challenge by developing a slower digestive system than domestic cattle.  The grass a bison eats stays in its system longer than it does in cattle, enabling the bison to capture optimal nutritional benefit from the forage it eats.  In effect, bison are thriftier than domestic cattle and are less expensive to maintain through winter.

Bison evolved to become one of the most successful mammal species in North America without the benefit of veterinary care.  Today, bison producers continue to benefit from the bison cow’s natural ability to calve without human assistance.  The bison cow’s instinct to protect her calf and the calves of her herd mates eliminates most worries a producer might have about predators or rustlers.

SUSTAINABILITY – Raising bison is a highly sustainable form of agricultural production because: a) It requires fewer inputs than nearly any other form of agriculture and leaves a minimal footprint on the natural environment;  and,  b) The nutritional benefits of bison have resulted in a growing consumer demand for bison meat at prices which ensure the economic viability of bison farms and ranches.

How similar are bison to cattle?

Like cattle, bison are grazing ruminants with split hooves. Both bison and cattle have multiple stomachs and chew their cud. Both male and female bison have horns, while not all breeds of cattle grow horns. As with cattle, the bison cow typically raises one calf per year (twins are rare but possible). While beef or dairy cows often have their first calf at two years of age, bison cows typically don’t have a calf until they are three years old. The gestation (pregnancy) period is typically around nine months for both bison and cattle. Bison calves are naturally weaned by their mothers around a month prior to the arrival of a new calf. Calving and breeding seasons for bison closely follow the patterns in nature, with calves arriving in May and June and the breeding season running from shortly after the start of calving through August. Males of both species are capable of impregnating females between one and two years of age.  However, in practice, bison bulls do not become dominant active breeders in the herd until they are at least four years old. Calving and breeding seasons for dairy and beef cattle can potentially occur at almost any time of year. Bison have retained their natural instincts to a greater degree than domestic cattle and require some specialized handling techniques. Of course the two species differ greatly in appearance, the bison has a distinctive hump and impressive shaggy hair coat over the front quarters and head. The tails of bison are less than half the length of the tails on cattle.

Are bison dangerous?

Bison can be dangerous to humans; especially for people unfamiliar with bison behavior. Bison have stronger natural instincts than cattle and their “wild” nature requires specialized handling methods and skills to ensure the safety of the bison and their handlers. By taking the interest and time to learn about bison behavior and proper handling techniques and by constructing safe bison handling facilities, raising bison can be as safe as raising domestic cattle. Canada’s bison producer associations (the CBA and its provincial affiliates) provide information such as codes of practice and advice to new producers as well as new techniques for safe handling that can benefit even the most experienced bison ranchers.

Are bison prone to escaping their pastures?                                          

Bison can be safely contained by fences that are only modestly more substantial than typical beef cattle range fences. The solution for preventing escapes is simple – if the bison are comfortable, have adequate feed, water, and space and aren’t unduly disturbed they will stay inside their fences. An old saying in the industry goes, “You can chase a buffalo anywhere he wants to go and keep him anywhere he wants to stay.” Canada’s bison producer associations can provide prospective producers with information on constructing effective bison fences.

Are special permits required to transport bison?

Yes, some provinces require the completion of an official livestock (brand) manifest when transporting livestock off the producer’s premises. Check with your provincial department of agriculture for the rules in your region.  In addition, the Canadian Bison Association (CBA) and its affiliates strongly advise producers to complete an official CBA Bison Record of Movement Form when transporting bison to slaughter, to a new owner, sale barn or for exhibition.  The Record of Movement Form was compulsory for bison producers until quite recently.  They were collected by the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in conjunction with its herd health surveillance program.  While technically the forms are not legally mandatory, today, it is very likely they will again become a legal requirement in association with the national traceability system for Canadian livestock.  The experience of leading Canadian bison producers attests to the major benefits of voluntarily completing the forms. They are a tremendous aid in proper herd management and record keeping and in the rare but scary event that a producer has an animal test positive for a reportable disease the forms can save a producer tons of grief. To order Record of Movement Permit Books, contact the Canadian Bison Association.

 Are special identification tags required for bison?

Yes, and CCIA cattle tags cannot be used. Bison legally require a species specific radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, available exclusively through the Canadian Bison Association. The Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has indicated it will be prosecuting producers who fail to properly tag bison that are transported off their premises at some point in the future.

Are bison only suited to the prairies?

Bison can thrive in virtually any of Canada’s agricultural regions and they are being raised in nearly every province; although over 75% of Canada’s bison are being raised on the prairies. The wood bison is native to Canada’s north and both public and private herds are located in the Yukon and there are a number of wild herds in the Northwest Territories.

Are special permits required to raise bison?

Raising bison is considered a regular agricultural pursuit in Canada’s three prairie  provinces and no special permits or licenses are required. However, other provinces sometimes have special requirements. The CBA office can advise prospective producers about the requirements for their region.

Entering the Bison Industry

The bison sector is a true agriculture industry. It is an industry based on meat. Because of its infancy stage, the bison industry tends to leave the impression that breeding stock is the name of the game, due to high prices, and that all heifers seem to be entering the breeding herd. Producers are selling breeding stock, and yes, all go into the breeding herd, but the price of breeding stock is still established by the meat market.

One misconception is that the bison industry is a money printing business. The bison industry is just as susceptible to Murphy’s Law, “if anything can go wrong it will.” But with good management and common sense, the industry can and will reward producers with reasonable return. The industry is basically 90% management and 10% labour (once the facilities and fences are built).

Very little research has been done, resulting in many of today’s management decisions being based on the motto, “learn to do by doing.” Effective management involves five general areas:

1. Natural resources – land, water, facilities
2. Nutrition
3. Genetics
4. Herd health
5. Common sense

It is important to mention that for any management program to be successful, you must learn, understand and respect bison behaviour. Actually to manage bison you have to almost become one of the herd, and this means you will take a position in the pecking order status. By recognizing the position, and understanding the various guttural sounds and sign language, you will be able to handle your animals without a problem. Bison are very co-operative if you remember that saying, “you can lead a bison anywhere it wants to go.” New producers laugh at that comment but it’s true. By using that theory, bison can be maneuvered to any pasture, through your facilities and allow you to incorporate your management program.
Natural Resources

This area of the bison management cycle is too often neglected. We think of ourselves in the industry as “bison producers” when actually we are “grass ranchers.”

The grass program is an important component in the nutritional management scheme. Bison are survivors first and producers second. If part of the management is production then some dietary help is required. The amount of dietary help depends on your geographic area. Pasture size depends on the ratio of open land to bush, whether tame pasture or native grass. These factors all determine your carrying capacity. Many of these types of questions will be answered by contacting your range area management specialist.

Whether you use a rotational, complementary, continuous grazing program or a combination, the objective is the same – to feed the bison in the summer for the winter. If you want a stress-free environment, and that is what bison require for productivity and genetic expression, then this objective must be met.

Water is an important natural resource and in fact is a major nutrient wheel. Too often when developing the nutrition program water is not considered a nutrient and so it is overlooked. Water quality is important, no matter the source, and in some areas may be the weak link in the nutrition chain. The subject does raise some eyebrows, but if you are located in a snow belt in the winter, animals can use snow in place of water. However, for optimum development and efficient feed use, all growing animals require water in the liquid state. This is especially important to feedlot gain.
Nutrition

Too often in the past, bison were promoted on the concept that it takes very little feed to keep a bison living. Yes, bison are survivors but surviving doesn’t translate into production. Bison tend to be sensitive to nutritional deficiencies. A weak link in the chain can make the difference between a 50% calf crop and a 90% calf crop, or a profit or loss feedlot.

Generations of severe natural selection developed bison with a digestive system that is very effective in utilizing forages of lesser quality that could be used with other bovidae. It is believed that digestive efficiency is due to a slower passage rate, and therefore greater digestion of the feedstuffs, as well as a more efficient nitrogen recycling system. Researchers believe that a bacterium in the bison digestive system, called Clostridium longisporum, aids cellulose fiber digestion 15% better that other organisms.

Research also suggests that bison are capable of maintaining a larger population of rumen microbes. A larger rumen microbial population in bison requires additional energy and nitrogen, which likely was supplied by the higher available energy obtained from prolonged dry matter digestion and from an efficient system for recycling endogenous nitrogen. Considering that bison saliva is 30% higher in nitrogen than that of cattle, and that bison serum averages 38% higher in urea than that of cattle, one would think urine levels of bison urea would be higher. This does not appear to be the case. Again, this suggests efficient bison kidney urea conservation and therefore higher levels of urea nitrogen available for rumen microbial growth.

Producer observations verify that bison are capable of digesting a greater proportion of low-protein, high-fiber rations than cattle. This limited amount of research information is not sufficient for producers to evaluate effectively physiological responses of bison to changes in grass quality and quantity. Additional grazing and feeding trials are required for producers to understand better the nutritional requirements of bison on grass and in the feedlot.

Bison Regular Feed