MOOSE JAW, Sask. – A lower Canadian dollar and waning concerns over BSE are drawing a brighter picture for bison producers.
Mark Silzer, president of the Canadian Bison Association, said prices are double what they were during the lows of the BSE outbreak that closed international borders.
That’s been helped by a poor Canadian dollar in recent weeks, he said.
“Producers are pretty positive.”
The producer from Humboldt, Sask., hoped cow-calf producers would reach a profitable level this year with softening feed prices and the promise of higher prices for calves this fall.
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In recent years, a consolidation of farms combined with retiring and departing producers have reduced the number of bison farms. Despite that decline, more bison have been produced.
Alberta has the largest herd, followed by Saskatchewan.
Silzer, who called bison an excellent diversification opportunity for cattle producers, said ample marketing options exist for bison.
“There’s a situation now where people are looking to make healthy lifestyle choices and bison are a perfect fit,” he said of the animal’s lean meat.
Trends toward organics and naturally raised food also bode well for bison, animals native to the Prairies that require little care and handling.
Murray Feist, a ruminant animal nutritionist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, said bison require half to two-thirds of what beef cattle eat in winter as they shift into a maintenance mode when daylight hours shorten. Longer daylight hours in spring kickstart their metabolism again, he added.
Their stomachs can handle lower quality roughages, which provides opportunities for producers with crops damaged by frost and hail this season.
“Their nutrient levels aren’t as high; they don’t need the extras beef cows need,” he said.
