HUMBOLDT, Sask. – Bison producers are having a tough time keeping up with demand and that has the Canadian Bison Association looking for ways to increase production.
Mark Silzer, president of the Canadian Bison Association, said increasing production to meet rising demand is one of the industry’s biggest challenges.
Successful marketing efforts have created new demand for bison from Canada and the United States, but production has risen more slowly.
In response, the CBA and Saskatchewan Bison Association have been encouraging people to join the industry and are looking for ways to improve productivity among existing producers.
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“Prices (for breeding stock) have picked up but I still think that it’s a really good time for people that want to get into the industry,” said Silzer, who raises bison near Humboldt, Sask.
Although the price of breeding stock is higher for bison that it is for beef, Silzer said bison require less care than cattle and meat prices are more attractive. Bison cows also have longer productive lifespans, often calving until they are 15 or 20 years old.
Bison are efficient grazers that forage late into the year and require little help during calving time. They require little or no shelter in winter and can be kept on the range after the ground is covered in snow.
Veterinary expenses are relatively low but fencing costs are higher.
Bison are also slower to reproduce.
Most heifers begin breeding around two years of age and won’t produce their first calf until they are almost three.
Silzer said aggressive marketing in Canada and the United States has created stable prices for bison meat and has moved the industry to a point where bison meat production is a profit-making venture.
In the early 1990s, good yearling heifers were selling for $4,000 or $5,000 per head.
“It’s pretty hard to build a meat industry with those kinds of prices,” said Silzer.
The value of breeding stock has dropped in recent years and demand for meat has risen substantially.
U.S. billionaire Ted Turner has also invested heavily in bison, adding legitimacy to the industry and boosting demand.
Turner’s restaurant chain, Ted’s Montana Grill, features bison on the menu.
Silzer said consumer awareness has improved and demographic trends favour bison, which is recognized as a healthy, hormone free alternative to other types of meat.
“In the early years, when we were starting to build awareness for the product, the first thing that people wanted to know is what the meat tastes like,” said Silzer.
Canadian and American producers are having a difficult time meeting North American demand.
European sales are also growing despite a 20 percent import tariff that is applied to all Canadian bison products.
The CBA is working with the federal government to have the tariff removed under a new Canada-EU trade deal.
“If we could get that tariff reduced, there would be a huge potential to expand markets in Europe and we haven’t even looked at … the potential in places like Korea, Japan and China, with their emerging middle classes,” Silzer said.
“Right now, a lot of our major marketers are having to ration their customers. We recognize that we need to get more producers involved and that’s going to be a challenge.”
