The American Bison, whose population once exceeded 30 million animals across North America, was decimated to near extinction in the late 19^th century through a combination of hunting, slaughter, drought, and introduced disease. However, the bison have made a tremendous comeback and now number over 400,000 across the continent. This is thanks to a unique collaboration among American farmers and ranchers, Native American tribes, and conservation groups all working to restore the species to its historic range. It is this collection of bison stakeholders that also successfully lobbied to make the American bison the first-ever National Mammal of the United States in 2016.

By adding bison to your diet, you are eating a delicious, naturally raised, nutrient-dense protein that is healthy for you and good for the environment. In choosing bison, you are helping to restore herds to North American grasslands while supporting regenerative agriculture.  In short, by supporting bison ranchers, consumers are in turn supporting grassland regeneration, carbon sequestration, soil regeneration, increased biodiversity, and more bison on the landscape!

July Bison Month, while not a federally designated observance, is celebrated each July by the bison community and is a time in which bison stewards promote the delicious taste of bison burgers, steaks, ribs, and roasts as a summer grilling treat. Bison is the leanest protein commercially available to consumers today, which is supremely nutritious with 26% more iron and 87% lower in fat than conventional beef, for example. Bison has 766% more B12 vitamins than chicken and 32% less fat based on nutrient data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  

Bison is easier to find than ever, with all major grocery chains carrying at least ground bison, packaged steaks, and fresh cuts available at natural and specialty food stores, local butchers, etc. Bison is also showing up on more restaurant menus, and not just bison burgers, as chefs discover the versatility of this uniquely American protein.  And that’s not to mention bison’s growing prevalence online, at farmers’ markets, farm stores, and in CSA programs.  

Find a local bison producer near you, or order online with the National Bison Association’s handy online buyer’s guide, available at https://nationalbison.org/buying-bison-meat/, and find bison-specific recipes, nutritional data, cuts, and instructional cooking videos at https://nationalbison.org/how-to-cook-bison/.    

About the NBA
The NBA is a member-based non-profit association of producers, processors, marketers, and bison enthusiasts. The mission of the National Bison Association is to bring together stakeholders to celebrate the heritage of American bison, to educate, and to create a sustainable future for our industry. Learn more at nationalbison.org, or @nationalbison.

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25 hr./week – Part-Time Position

The National Bison Association (NBA) is seeking a work-from-home, part-time Membership Coordinator to be based in the Rapid City, SD area. While no bison-related experience is necessary, this individual should be committed to customer service and pay great attention to detail. The position requires no out-of-state travel and is not expected to exceed 25 hours per week. A laptop will be provided, and a $40/month stipend will be paid for the use of the employee’s cell phone and internet. Compensation is commensurate with experience and knowledge. Under the general direction of the executive director, the membership coordinator performs a full range of member-related duties, including communication, records management, data analysis, fiscal, and administrative activities for the National Bison Association.

Responsibilities

• Process new members
  • Updating website, emailing/calling members, coordinating new member packet
• Print, mail, and email dues statements to members monthly
• Assist members as needed with dues and member benefit-related questions
• Maintain an every-other-month membership report
• Call and email past due members to reconcile all membership accounts
• Reconcile all membership accounts and maintain primary tracking database
• Collect and deposit checks weekly from the NBA office in Rapid City, SD
• Scan checks and enter them into a check log spreadsheet
• Other duties may be assigned as the position evolves

Desired Qualifications and Experience

• Experience in records management and/or member relations preferred
• Outstanding customer service skills
• Ability to communicate and interact well with people of all ages and diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to work both unsupervised and as part of a remote-working team.
• Understanding of Microsoft Office products and Google Workspace

How to apply

To apply, please send an email to jim@nationalbison.org explaining your interest in the position, and include a resume with contact information, including email and phone. The position will begin on April 1^st. Email questions to jim@nationalbison.org. No phone calls, please.

About the NBA

The NBA is a member-based non-profit association of producers, processors, marketers, and bison enthusiasts. The mission of the National Bison Association is to bring together stakeholders to celebrate the heritage of American bison, to educate, and to create a sustainable future for our industry. Learn more at nationalbison.org, or @nationalbison.

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Specifically, the trade agreement states: “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), through its Designated Representative, shall cooperate with AIT, through its Designated Representative, to complete the regulatory process to allow imports into the territory represented by TECRO of bison meat and bison meat products certified using an FSIS export certificate or electronic data elements, without undue delay.”

 The NBA has long lobbied both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the United States Trade Representative’s office to work towards opening Taiwan to bison meat imports, along with other Pacific Rim nations, including Japan and Korea. The NBA also advocates against the application of existing BSE  rules to bison. These rules have long prevented bison from entering Asian markets, despite the fact that no confirmed case of BSE has ever occurred in North American bison.

Said NBA Executive Director, Jim Matheson, “This is great news that will help continue to grow the bison herd and the industry. It also sets the very important precedent that BSE regulations should not be applied to bison, because, plain and simple, we’ve never had a case of BSE in the bison supply chain. Taiwan offers a lucrative opportunity for all US bison marketers and producers, and will add significant value to the growing bison export market. We expect to see Japan and Korea continue to pursue access with this news, further growing opportunities for our business.”

 The NBA thanks the US Trade Representative’s Office and the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service for their efforts and support in successfully including bison in these negotiations. The association looks forward to developing the bison meat market in Taiwan and introducing this uniquely American delicacy to the Taiwanese people. 

About the NBA
The NBA is a member-based non-profit association of producers, processors, marketers, and bison enthusiasts. The mission of the National Bison Association is to bring together stakeholders to celebrate the heritage of American bison, to educate, and to create a sustainable future for our industry. Learn more at nationalbison.org, or @nationalbison.

The post US-Taiwan Trade Agreement Includes Bison Meat Access appeared first on National Bison Association.

A Remarkable Comeback Story
Once roaming North America in herds over 30 million strong, the American bison faced near extinction by the late 19th century due to overhunting, habitat loss, and disease. Today, thanks to an extraordinary collaboration between farmers, ranchers, Native American tribes, and conservationists, bison populations have rebounded to over 400,000 animals continent-wide. This united effort also led to bison being named the first National Mammal of the United States in 2016.

Why Choose Bison?
Adding bison to your plate means enjoying a naturally raised, protein-rich food that’s not only good for your body but also for the planet. Choosing bison supports:

• Regenerative agriculture
• Grassland restoration
• Biodiversity and carbon sequestration
• Rural communities
• Soil and ecosystem health

The Healthiest Red Meat Around
Bison is the leanest widely available protein today. Compared to conventional beef, it contains:

• 87% less fat
• 26% more iron
• 766% more B12 than chicken
• 32% less fat than chicken, based on USDA nutrition data

It’s perfect for summer grilling—think bison burgers, steaks, ribs, and roasts!

Easier to Find Than Ever
Whether you’re shopping at your favorite grocery store, local butcher, or specialty food market, you’ll likely find ground bison or packaged cuts. It’s also popping up on more restaurant menus as chefs explore its versatility. And online options, farmer’s markets, CSA programs, and farm stores make sourcing bison even easier.

Where to Start
Visit nationalbison.org for everything from buying guides to recipes, nutritional facts, and cooking tutorials:

• Find bison meat near you or order online
• Get cooking tips, recipes, and more

The post Celebrate July Bison Month: A Taste of America’s Heritage appeared first on National Bison Association.

As the title suggests, this project aims to develop climate-smart-raised beef and bison markets. We will develop that market using three primary avenues – producer incentives, market development, and research. The five-year project, which officially started in late April and is now getting legs under it, aims to reward enrolled producers with a premium on their climate-smart raised calves and associated land practices. These premiums will incentivize and reward responsible land stewardship.

With a goal of 27,000 head of bison incentivized over the five-year project period, opportunity abounds.

The NBA will provide a $100/head premium to enrolled producers whose calves meet the NBA and Tanka Fund-developed protocols. Those protocols certify that enrolled animals are being raised holistically utilizing USDA-provided climate-friendly land practices. Those land practices include options such as a prescribed grazing plan, wildlife habitat-friendly fencing, or biodiversity expansion. In other words, the management practices that many of today’s bison producers utilize to raise their animals that are in concert with the bison’s natural, still intact grazing behavior. That makes bison an excellent fit for this program with the potential to showcase not only the regenerative nature of bison but, more so, the land management that producers practice in raising this species.

The protocols extend beyond land use and include basic vaccine requirements, minimum calf weights, and other parameters to reward producers for raising healthy, high-quality calves that buyers demand. Producers whose animals don’t qualify for the premium can still reap the rewards of this program through land practice incentives that can assist them in creating better habitat for their animals.

This grant was written over two years ago under very different market conditions when animals were plentiful and before the significant bison processing plant expansions that have recently occurred. With that in mind, I want to point out a few important factors regarding this incentive program. First and foremost, the NBA has no hand in setting market prices for calves. The NBA’s role is to process the $100/head premium to enrolled producers for approved animals. Given the tightening supply of feeder animals currently available, this has the potential to offset the marketplace, which is top of mind for us at the NBA.

For NBA members in the target region of the project, the Northern Great Plains and beyond, who are willing to register their operation with USDA’s Farm Service Agency, allow access to project partners who will be regularly taking soil samples, share their operation’s data and map their property, this is an opportunity for you. One caveat worth mentioning is that in year one of this project, we are required to work with the appointed project-partner bison buyer as outlined in the grant proposal, and thus will limit participation. In the next four years of the grant, the NBA fully intends to make this program as inclusive as possible and bring in more buyers. That expansion of buyer resources will benefit more producers, including direct-to-consumer marketers, as the demand for climate-smart animals ramps up.

The market development portion of this project is of particular interest. Given the relatively minute size of the bison industry, we need help to pursue effective marketing campaigns to tell our collective story to consumers. These USDA CSA projects aim to build markets for climate-smart commodities, and significant funding is available to develop such a marketplace for bison. As anyone in this business for some time knows, we are in a growing agriculture sector. Because of that, we are becoming more competitive, and quality counts more than ever.

We are exploring new and exciting marketing opportunities that will reward participating producers while building consumer demand for responsibly raised bison. Thanks to the holistic approach many bison producers utilize, particularly cow-calf producers, the undomesticated nature of bison, and the land management practices that we use, bison are largely “climate-smart” already, and this is our opportunity to be rewarded for what we do as bison stewards and to showcase it to consumers.

The final objective of this project is research and the resulting data. With South Dakota State University as the lead and responsible for the research piece, we have top-notch researchers working on quantifying data points that we, as an industry, have long sought. For example, for the first time, we are measuring methane emissions of bison on select research ranches over the five-year timeline. Research teams are using Green Feed machines that provide real-time data as bison feed in them. Carbon sequestration has always been a nebulous topic in our business. Through the grant, all participants will have soil samples taken regularly and analyzed over the project period to provide data that will presumably back our largely anecdotal claims that using bison to maintain healthy grasslands sequesters carbon. Among the producer incentives to participate is that participants get to keep that carbon sequestration data, which can be traded in the growing carbon marketplace, thus adding value to their operation and expanding on-farm revenue streams.

The Grass is Greener project is both inspiring and daunting at the same time. It’s the single biggest grant project that the NBA has ever pursued, and we are committed to making it a success because it’s an amazing opportunity for our business. The NBA’s Karen Conley will serve as project manager, bringing a wealth of knowledge and producer relationships she has built in this community for the past 25 years. You can always reach Karen at Karen@bisoncentral.com with any questions regarding the program. 

You’ll be hearing more and more about this project, and I encourage you to learn more at https://bisoncentral.com/climate-smart/.

The post Being rewarded for what bison and their stewards do naturally appeared first on National Bison Association.

The article details the May 16 birth of a 30-pound white bison calf at the park to its white mother. As of the most recent article two days ago, the calf is healthy and still being supported by its mother. After the initial burst of news stories came out about the event, we didn’t see another one for about two weeks. Since then, a slew of articles have been released and they’re still coming.

If you are familiar with the story, then you likely saw that many of the articles cite the chances of a white bison being born are one in ten million, “according to the National Bison Association.” The NBA has been wrongly credited with this estimate for at least 15 years, and it simply is not true. The truth is we simply don’t know the occurrence of a white bison because, to my knowledge, no one has ever kept track.

The NBA has great reverence for the spiritual significance of a white bison being born in Native American cultures. It’s also worth noting that the NBA counts Native Americans among its members and has a memorandum of understanding with the InterTribal Bison Council, which the NBA collaborates with on an array of bison matters.

In recent years, we’ve seen the proliferation of white bison, seemingly for the sole purpose of tourism by non-native people. Further complicating the situation is that one can breed a white bison rather easily by crossbreeding a plains bison with white Charolais cattle. As a result, it’s not uncommon to see folks promoting their white bison on social media and beyond these days. While we at the NBA fully support an individual’s right to pursue legal agricultural endeavors of their choosing on their property, we also prohibit the crossbreeding of bison with any other species. The prohibition of crossbreeding is part of our code of ethics, which NBA members abide by.

The NBA code of ethics explicitly states that members will “Never engage in deliberate cross-breeding of bison with another species.” We also offer bison genetic testing through the University of California at Davis’ genetics laboratory, which includes a Charolais diluter gene test to detect the presence of those alleles in the animal’s DNA. Further, the NBA has a policy to not sell white bison on its classified service, the Trading Board, due to the mere potential of crossbreeding.

Bear River State Park is not a member of the NBA, and based on some articles, the calf’s mother was one of two white bison donated to the park years prior by a local ranch, which is also not an NBA member. I state this because a number of NBA members have contacted our office about this potential violation of our shared code of ethics. This exhibits to me our memberships’ great concern about the potential crossbreeding of any bison, not to mention the overall welfare of the bison species, and I applaud our members for their concern.

Like so many other instances in today’s information age, things are not always as they seem on the surface. Unfortunately, bison are not immune to these misnomers, but rest assured, NBA members will continue to responsibly breed and steward our national mammal of the United States while restoring the species through responsible farming and ranching.

The post The White Bison of Today appeared first on National Bison Association.

The Minnesota Bison Association is just one of 13 active state or regional bison associations across the U.S. in addition to the National Bison Association. Each of these regional associations is largely volunteer-run, wholly unique, and has been around for decades. The Minnesota association was in fact celebrating its 30th anniversary this weekend, with just about every founding board member present this year, including a 90-year-old bison producer who started raising bison in 1950! The collective knowledge of these founding members alone was incredible, and the fact that they’re still sharing their knowledge with yet another generation of bison growers was amazing to witness.

There’s also the Canadian Bison Association to the north and their half a dozen provincial associations. Our friends and trade partners to the north have a slightly different structure of their nation’s bison associations as they are technically affiliated with the national organization, ensuring collaboration across Canada. U.S. associations, by contrast, are all independent of one another and also collaborate extensively sharing resources, newsletters and participating in the NBA’s state/regional association committee, chaired by Rocky Mountain Bison Association president, John Graves.

Lately there has been discussion of the concept to merge the U.S. associations to form a larger, more unified National Bison Association, which the state/regional committee will be discussing later this month. While I certainly see the benefits of a larger, national association, I also see the great benefit of maintaining our collective independence and preserving each organizations unique character and history. Lots of folks don’t realize that these regional associations were initially developed for the purpose of hosting a judged bison show as to qualify for the 43 year old NBA Gold Trophy Show and Sale. As our bison shows and sales evolved over the years to accommodate the bison marketplace, so did the state/regional associations with each now offering distinct, regional-specific products and services.

In the past 11 months since becoming NBA’s executive director, I have managed to personally attend more than half of these association’s gatherings with my colleagues, Lydia Whitman and Karen Conley, attending a few more. In total, we have attended and presented at 10 of the 13 regional association conferences and bison auctions. I have come away from these visits with a new appreciation for the individuality of each bison association, their work and the amazing bison communities that they grow and foster among their membership.

While the NBA relies on its membership dues to keep the lights on and continue our day-to-day work with bison (with membership as low as $100/year I will remind you…), please also support your regional associations. All bison associations are not for profit organizations that operate on very slim budgets, and the benefits you’ll receive as a bison producer in terms of legislative and regulatory representation, education, and networking opportunities is both a wise business investment and a drop in the bucket compared to your annual operating budget. As the bison herd grows, so too does competition in the marketplace and membership in both your national and regional bison association are effective means to staying competitive while supporting our collective good-bison work.

Whether our nation’s bison associations remain independent or evolve into a larger, more organized structure, we’ll continue to work together for the betterment of the bison and its stewards. This summer and fall alone, the NBA will work with various bison associations as we pursue our six regional conferences that will bring our seasonal outreach closer to members and offering more region-specific education and updates. And thank you to all who are currently support the NBA and their respective state/regional friends through membership, we simply could not do it without you!

I invite you to see a full directory of bison associations at https://bisoncentral.com/state-regional-bison-associations/, and if you’re not a NBA member already, please consider joining at https://bisoncentral.com/nba-membership-options/.

Jim Matheson
Executive Director, National Bison Association

The post A North American Network of Bison Resources appeared first on National Bison Association.

NBA Blog, by Jim Matheson, Executive Director

The National Bison Association’s (NBA) program manager, Lydia Whitman, myself, and a few dedicated volunteers will return to Indianapolis, IN for the National FFA (historically known as the Future Farmers of America) convention after a two-year, COVID-induced hiatus from the huge gathering of our nation’s next generation of farmers and ranchers. FFA estimates over 65,000 attendees this year!

We’ll be at booth #411 for anyone who may be attending. Please stop by and say howdy, grab some bison swag and jerky thanks to a generous donation from the Durham Ranch in Wright, Wyoming! We’ll also have some fun bison- themed games to engage the attendees, quality information about getting into the bison business, and flash drives packed with current information for advisors to take home and hopefully add bison to their classroom curriculums. 

The NBA had been one of the few “alternative agriculture” informational booths at the FFA national convention over the ten-plus years that it has had a presence at the event, and both students and advisors have always engaged us with great questions about the bison business and how to get started. It will be interesting to see how attitudes towards bison have changed since we were last at FFA in 2019, as it’s a bit of a different world we’re operating in now, including agriculture. But we are certain that we’ll again be greeted with more genuine enthusiasm for our national mammal of the United States, and our growing market from what is always an appreciative crowd.

Said Whitman, “This is an amazing opportunity for us to directly reach tens of thousands of prospective bison growers to spread our message that bison is the premier regenerative livestock tool that has a growing, relatively unregulated market that rewards quality and responsible stewardship. We’re also not shy about sharing the “cool factor” that bison carry as these young farmers and ranchers choose their agricultural path in life. That’s why we’re there and the impact that we’ll be making on them won’t soon be forgotten.”

The NBA is able to participate in this and other trade shows that promote bison at all levels, which raises awareness of what we do and ultimately increases our acceptance in mainstream agriculture, thanks to contributions to the NBA Growth Fund. The Growth Fund is designed for bison marketers to donate $1/head of bison sourced, and for producers to donate $1/head sold, which results in a promotional fund that the NBA utilizes for its outreach and education to both producers and consumers. Please consider donating to the Growth Fund, which can be considered a business expense, as we close out the year at https://bisoncentral.com/product/nba-growth-fund-program/ and help us continue to educate both consumers and producers about our little sector of American agriculture. 

See the blog at https://bisoncentral.com/back-to-the-future-farmers-of-america/. Learn more about the National Bison Association at https://bisoncentral.com/. 

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NBA Blog, by Jim Matheson, Executive Director

A small fish in a big pond. OK, maybe not the best analogy for a bison – the largest land mammal in North America, but hear me out… Last week the National Bison Association (NBA) made our annual pilgrimage to Washington, DC, for our “legislative roundup,” in which our delegation of bison producers, marketers, tribal members, and staff lobby the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Congress to create a more even playing field for our small sector of American agriculture. 

Our delegation was a very diverse mix of 15 bison stakeholders from across our industry representing us, which the USDA leadership and staff on the Hill seemed to really appreciate and respond to. Everyone in the group was professional, polite, and participatory in our meetings on a topic of genuine interest to all that met with us – the American bison! We are very small fish in a rather large pond, given that we process less than 0.2% of what the beef industry processes in the US in a typical year, for example, and have just 0.5% of the volume of live animals. You’d think that bison would not be a priority for these public servants. That was not our experience in the slightest. We were welcomed at each meeting with good questions and conversation all focused on this animal that we are all committed to restoring. Equally important, we had follow up action items from just about every meeting, which allows us to stay top of mind to these decision makers while educating them about bison. 

Of course, this solid relationship with law and policy makers did not happen overnight. For the past twenty years, the NBA has doggedly forged allies and solid working relationships throughout USDA and Congress. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that we’re there representing the National Mammal of the United States! My predecessor, Dave Carter, deserves a lot of credit for seeing the need to build these relationships and forging partnerships throughout his career that stand today. We’re now seeing the fruits of our efforts. We had agency administrators join us for over half of our USDA meetings, and members of congress themselves – not just their legislative aide – stop in and visit with our group in person. That’s no small feat, and I truly believe it’s our professionalism, uniquely American product and collaborative approach that gains Washington’s attention now more than ever. 

As you’ll see below, we’re not asking for much when we head back to the nation’s Capitol as we like being a relatively regulation free business. We do insist on fair and equal treatment among our fellow farmers and ranchers. Here is an overview of what we discussed at these meetings:

USDA Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) – Our first meeting was with AMS and included top leadership from the commodity procurement division, and agricultural reporting service. The discussion on commodity purchases was productive in that we had AMS-approved bison vendors in the meeting with us who were able to share their concerns with how the Section 32 commodity purchase agreement was facilitated last year and suggested changes that would allow them to participate more moving forward. AMS was appreciative of the group’s suggestions and will work with the NBA on potential changes but made no commitments. We also met with those who put together the monthly bison AMS price report to discuss some simple changes to the report that could increase participation and improve data accuracy. Our delegates from the Intertribal Buffalo Council also discussed how to get tribes more involved with purchase programs for tribal food programs, such as the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). The NBA has two follow up meetings with AMS to discuss these items further.  

USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – The NBA sat down with the APHIS leadership to discuss the importance of the 2022 NAHMS bison study and herd health issues, primarily MCF and Mycoplasma bovis. APHIS stressed the importance of continuing to collect samples of M. bovis infected animals as they work to map the genome at the National Diagnostics Lab. The NBA also discussed the topic of how USDA values bison in its Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) as APHIS is taking public comment on potential changes until November. They explained that the valuation will lean more heavily on data from the AMS price reports but will also include an appeal process if the producer does not agree with the market valuation being offered. The group discussed how utilizing the AMS price report should be an incentive for bison marketers to participate more in the program as to protect their growers, should they ever seek a LIP claim.

USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS) – ARS met with select members of the delegation to discuss our herd health issues and priorities, which focused on MCF and M. bovis. Dr. Cristina Cunha, who is the lead on the bison MCF vaccine work at Washington State University in coordination with Dr. Brett Webb at the University of Wyoming, presented on their progress on the vaccine and provided the following timeline: 

Present – Dr. Webb is working on the completion of bison pens at the Univ. of WY. 

January – UWY will receive bison for the study. 

February – March – Bison will be immunized 

Hoping to have efficacy and safety results to share by next summer. 

In regards to the discussion on M. bovis, Dr. Roxann Motroni, a ARS researcher who is working on the disease in cooperation with the ARS lead in Ames, IA, is currently working on a potential vaccine and is making great progress. They encouraged the NBA to begin thinking about commercially manufacturing a MCF vaccine, which was very good to hear as ARS has secured enough funding to complete the study. ARS is also working to map the bison genome in regard to brucellosis.

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) – We visited the Farm Service Agency as well and thanked them for including bison M. bovis losses in their LIP program. The NBA also explained that we will lobby for increased funding for the FSA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher program, which has assisted many bison producers get started through its loan program and its educational resources. FSA informed us that they are trying to make that program more user-friendly by, for example, allowing for online applications as opposed to hard copies moving forward. The NBA also lobbied congress to expand funding and programming for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher program in the next Farm Bill. 

USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) – A small group of the delegation attended a meeting with top leadership from NRCS, which included a bison producer – who was discouraged by their local NRCS office from applying for assistance, and a different producer – who received an EQIP award with minimal effort. The NRCS team was taken aback by the first producer’s bad experience and by the end of the meeting, NRCS had contacted, and heard back from, the NRCS field office in question. The delegation also explained to the NRCS team that we are applying for a Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative grant that would focus on developing bison specific grazing standards for NRCS to utilize moving forward, and eight workshops/field days over the next two summers on working bison operations to educate both NRCS and bison producers on the new standards. We also offered to share our Bison Producer’s Handbook and current bison pricing and data to NRCS agents across the nation, which we have since provided. The NRCS team also invited the NBA to participate in a field agent educational conference to present on the bison industry in Fort Worth, TX in the near future. 

USDA Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) – We met with Administrator Whitley and Associate Administrator Brooke Jameson of the Foreign Agriculture Service to provide updates on current export priorities. Ms. Jameson suggested that we look more into the Latin American region for new trade opportunities. FAS also invited the NBA to participate in the US Pavilion for a trade show in Guadalajara, Mexico, next year to better promote bison to Mexico and Latin America as a featured American protein. The NBA explained that its primary export goal is the European Union, which currently has a 20% tariff on all bison imports, along with the United Kingdom. The NBA also pressed the FAS on the development of bison-specific HS codes to expedite the negotiation process, which is coordinated with the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office. The NBA also received an update on the Japanese market, which has indicated that it would potentially like to include a bison audit as a part of its next beef audit that it undergoes in the US in the near future, which would entail visiting a bison processing facility. The NBA offered to lineup such a tour as needed as it works to open Japan to bison meat imports. 

US Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) – The NBA visited with U.S. Trade Representative’s Office and Assistant Trade Negotiator for Agriculture, Dr. Julie Callahan. Dr. Callahan explained that while agriculture has not been a trade priority, she hopes that it will soon. She also encouraged the NBA to potentially approach Congress regarding export to the EU and the UK, as bison poses no competition to this region. The USTR also requested, and have been provided, historical data on bison exports overall to allow them to develop talking points to utilize in negotiations as they arise. USTR also agreed to continue to work on bison-specific HS codes in coordination with FAS moving forward. 

US Congress – The delegation split into teams to meet with 18 congressional offices on Capitol Hill on its second day. The teams presented staffers and a few members of congress themselves with a bison business overview and our list of legislative priorities, which included supporting Sen. Thune’s (R-SD) Strengthening Local Meat Processing Act – S.370, our 2023 Farm Bill priorities, the ITBC-driven Indian Buffalo Management Act – S.3051 HR2074, and the National Bison Day Senate Resolution – which was successfully passed in the Senate this past Wednesday. We communicated that despite three years of challenges, including drought, economic challenges to producers and processors, and the COVID pandemic, the bison industry continues to grow and thrive. These issues largely inform our Farm Bill priorities, which amount to support for drought relief programs, the expansion of NRCS, processing capacity expansion support, continued support for Beginning Farmer and Rancher programs, research support particularly for MCF and M. bovis, and specific inclusion of the term bison or bovine in all related Farm Bill language to ensure eligibility. 

American Leather and Hide Council – The delegation visited the president of the Leather and Hide Council of America, Steve Sothmann, as part of their fly-in. Steve gave an overview of the current leather marketplace and a history on the recent decline of the industry, which is now showing signs of recovery. He explained that bison leather is in more demand in the last few years, and that he believes there is potential to grow that market. Steve plans to attend our 2023 Winter Conference and possibly have a booth at our tradeshow to learn more about our industry and members. 

Thanks to our delegation of bison stakeholders for making the trip a success, and to each and every NBA member who’s membership supports our legislative and regulatory efforts in Washington and beyond. 

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Despite the many challenges that have sprung up in the bison business since May, we are forging ahead at full speed. These hurdles include, but are not limited to, the United States Congress mandating that the USDA facilitate listening sessions about whether bison should become an amenable species, ongoing drought in buffalo country, the publishing of groundbreaking bison genetic research, and the NBA’s ambitious outreach activities targeting consumers and producers this summer. There has not been a lull in our work.

Our success in recent months can be attributed to the tireless efforts of the current NBA staff and our dedicated volunteers. Everyone has had to take on new and different duties while we search for an additional full-time employee to round out the team. We hope our continued efforts to keep moving forward are evident to the NBA membership and our colleagues.

Being a national organization, we often get puzzled looks when NBA members and others ask about our staffing, and we explain that we have the equivalent of two full-time employees. The NBA being a nonprofit, collaboration and doing work outside your job description comes with the territory, but our staff has taken that arrangement to a new level. As such, I wanted to take a chance to recognize these efforts, particularly those of our bookkeeper, Barb Dowdy, and our Director of Communications, Karen Conley, for assisting me with keeping things afloat. Barb works part-time as our bookkeeper, Karen works under an NBA contract to essentially write and edit Bison World magazine, and I, as executive director, am full-time. Barb and Karen have been tasked with new duties that I no longer have time to do as executive director, and they have both taken on these new tasks with aplomb. I thank them for their dedication and performance in these challenging times.

I also want to recognize the efforts of our many volunteers, from our board of directors to our committee chairs and members. NBA President, Chad Kremer, is a prime example and definition of a great leader and volunteer, working tirelessly and making himself available to any given NBA project. NBA Region II Director, Moritz Espy, attended the recent summer conference of the Montana Bison Association to update the group on NBA and industry activity. NBA Secretary/Treasurer, Kevin Leier, hosted the NBA’s inaugural Regenerative Ranching Workshop that same weekend. Newly appointed Commercial Market Committee Chair, Dick Gehring, has taken personal time and expense to attend the aforementioned amenable listening session and advise on the matter.

If you come across any of these folks, please take a moment to shake their hand and say thanks for your efforts because these can be thankless jobs that are vital to maintaining a healthy and growing herd. It truly does take a village! A village of dedicated, hardworking, passionate individuals, to be exact.

And there is light at the end of this tunnel. I have received over 50 applications for the Program Manager position that we hope to start on August 1st. The NBA is performing very well financially, membership is growing and we’re managing to keep up with our many projects and activities. Thank you, Karen and Barb, our many volunteers, and the NBA membership for weathering the storm while offering us your grace and patience as we see this through.

There are some great things on the horizon for the NBA and the bison, and we’re well on our way to seeing them through!

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