Rapid City, S.D. – The world’s largest bison producer says he has made more money doing other things, but nothing has given him more pleasure than raising bison.
With more than 48,000 head on two million acres spread over 13 ranches, Ted Turner knows a thing or two about bison.
“I really do believe we are really close to profitability now as an industry. I think that some producers are profitable now in low overhead operations, like many of yours in Canada,” he said.
The media mogul, owner of CNN and Turner Broadcasting, started with three bison in 1978 and has seen the highs and lows of the market in that time.
Read Also
StatCan stands by its model-based crop forecast
Statistics Canada’s model-based production estimates are under scrutiny, but agency says it is confident in the results.
Turner told more than 500 producers attending the International Bison Conference in Rapid City, South Dakota at the end of July that he believes consumer demand for bison has grown to the point that the meat market alone will be enough to make many producers profitable.
He said the appeal of bison, along with strong markets for breeding stock in the 1990s, kept him building his herd.
“I bought 4,000 heifers over the years and kept all my heifers back. Suddenly you’ve got 50,000 of them,” he said. “I bought lots at $700, $800, more, lots more. I got sucked in, too. I remember I had (my manager) sell 100 cow-calves and get the cheque and frame it and put it in the office so that when I get old I can show folks that I get $2,100 apiece. I sold them to a Canadian producer,” he said.
“Then the price crashed. We had no marketing plan,” he said.
“We don’t have millions of pounds sitting in freezers in North Dakota like we used to. That was kind of a sad time in our industry,” said Turner about the surplus that once existed at the producer slaughter co-op at New Rockford, N.D.
“We dealt with those issues.”
Turner has been building his own markets.
“We had oversupply and not enough marketing. That is why I started the restaurants, to market it well,” he said.
“It’s showing people that bison can be fixed the right way. Showing people just how good bison can be by giving them an eating experience that is positive. We create a market for the meat. That’s why we started the restaurants,” he said.
Turner said he is expanding his chain of about 50 restaurants, but that business is tough too.
He plans to double the number of Ted’s Montana Grills over the next decade and said retail sales of bison meat show growth in the cities where he has those businesses.
“I see a future in bison. It is appearing on more menus and in more homes on special occasions and in barbecue season. It’s finding its niche. For those of us who have stayed in it, we can congratulate ourselves. Now, let’s try to make a little money on them.”
