REGINA – The gavel at Canadian Western Agribition’s Canadian National
Bison Show used to begin falling in the morning and keep hammering out
sales throughout the afternoon and into early evening. Auctioneers
would rotate through the chanter’s chair, their voices succumbing to a
seemingly unending herd of prairie bison.
But not in 2002.
This year was the sale’s 10th anniversary and it has retuned to its
roots with 68 animals on the block, the same as in 1993.
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Despite fewer bison than 2001, when 116 animals were on the block, U.S.
buyers were on hand to keep prices up.
“The American buyers helped a great deal,” said Lorne Miller of Silver
Creek Bison in Binscarth, Man., who has been involved in the sale from
the beginning.
“The numbers were about right. If we’d had too many (animals) at the
show, the prices might have been lower.”
Miller said producers were “a little surprised and happy with the
prices.”
One of Miller’s bulls was last year’s high-seller, bringing $15,000
from a Wyoming buyer. For 2002, the high seller again went to an
American, this time Robert Burrows of Newton, Wisconsin. He paid $6,250
for a bull from Buffalo Hill Ranch of Round Hill, Alta.
Prices were down by 19 percent over last year’s average, with
two-year-old bulls averaging $2,918, heifer calves $1,220, yearling
bulls $2,272 and bred two year olds $2,057.
The high selling female was a bred two-year-old heifer, sold to Jamie
Moran of Shale Creek Bison of Russell, Man., for $4,750.
Falling prices are blamed on drought in west-central North America, an
oversupply of off-cuts of meat, perceived disease problems in game farm
industries, an unstable economy over the past 14 months and a shift to
a producers’ from a breeders’ market.
Kim Kramer of Kramer’s Auction, which conducted the Regina sale, said
the prices “were higher than you’d normally see these days. But these
were the best of the best bison available.”
In 1998 a bull brought $34,000 and predictions of a long steady rise in
prices were abundant.
Kramer said the lower prices may had a positive influence overall.
“This year more bison meat has been sold than in the last several years
combined. The meat is affordable and it’s now finding its way to the
consumer on a more broad base. This sale confirms that there is
optimism for the future and in another year or two, things will be
bouncing back.
“It will never be as high as it once was or as low as it has been
recently. But it will be back and these buyers and sellers know it.”
Miller agreed.
“Agriculture is cyclical. You have to be prepared to change, but also
to stick with it through the good and bad times,” said Miller, who sold
seven animals in Regina.
“I know there were quite a few animals that changed hands outside the
sale ring. Guys didn’t want to bring too many or truck them too far for
risk of poor prices. Once they saw where the prices were, buyers and
sellers started getting together for private sales.”
