Angst\u2026it\u2019s not just for teenagers anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a fair bit of that floating around the bison business these days. Carcass prices\u2014which tested the stratosphere for eight years\u2014have dropped back to earthly levels in the past six months. Early auction reports haven\u2019t been terrible, but they haven\u2019t been anything to tell the grand-kids about, either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mislabeled water buffalo continues to disrupt our marketplace. The hide market has disappeared\u2014for bison and beef\u2014as consumers choose tennis shoes over leather footwear. Processors are running at full capacity, creating a challenge for producers trying to schedule animals for harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is more than just a bit of grumbling that\u2014even as carcass prices have dropped\u2014the price of bison in the retail meat case seems frozen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On top of everything else, the public seems to be stampeding to buy laboratory-concocted burgers marketed as \u201chealthy, plant-based meat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s time to take a deep breath. Or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s Thanksgiving time after all, so let\u2019s get in the spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First of all, today\u2019s prices are still something we only dreamed of a decade ago, and something our friends in commodity agriculture continue to envy. Last month\u2019s USDA-reported carcass price on young bulls of $4.25\/lb. was 79% higher than the price reported a decade earlier and nearly two and one-half times more than cattle ranchers are receiving for their finished steers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s some consolation, but probably not a lot if your business model has been based on prices above $4.60\/lb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, let\u2019s look at our prospects for continued growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
USDA is working with us to increase bison in food and nutrition programs. They are purchasing ground bison for use in tribal food and nutrition programs, and have expressed a willingness to add bison as a \u201cfood available\u201d for food and nutrition programs beyond tribal nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interest in bison continues to grow outside of the U.S. At the invitation of USDA, two of our major marketers participated this month in a series of meetings with distributors, retailers, and foodservice operators in Mexico this month. And Mexico isn\u2019t even open yet for U.S. bison meat exports\u2026we hope that is coming very shortly. Meanwhile, USDA is working to open markets for U.S. bison meat in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most encouraging is the fact that bison increasingly aligns with the evolving consumer priorities concerning diet, health and the environment. But we haven\u2019t yet gotten that message out to much of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Per-capita consumption of bison in the United States still averages about 0.08 lbs. per year. We\u2019ll need to triple our business before average person has a quarter-pounder once a year. That\u2019s called upside potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s why we\u2019ve been launching several new initiatives to spread the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Companies marketing bison meat and packaged products containing bison ingredients can now sign up for our Partner in Bison Restoration<\/em> labeling program. We\u2019re working with those companies to tell the story of how eating bison helps restore herds to the native rangelands of North America. Merrick Pet Food is among the first companies to help launch this initiative on their Beef, Bison and Sweet Potato dog food formula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, NBA members can utilize our new trademarked phrase Nature\u2019s Original Plant-Based Protein<\/em> to let the public know that bison help to mitigate climate change by fostering healthy grasslands. We recently launched that message at the nation\u2019s largest conference of eco-wellness social media influencers (bloggers), and at a conference involving pet food manufacturers dedicated to sustainable practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new Buysome Bison<\/em> app, developed through assistance from USDA\u2019s Farmers\u2019 Market Promotion Program, allows customers to connect with nearby ranchers to directly source bison meat and other products. We are getting ready to promote that app with advertising in several national consumer publications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Times are indeed a bit uncertain in the bison business. But as one of our marketers is fond of saying, \u201c We have a fantastic product. That product will always carry the day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Angst\u2026it\u2019s not just for teenagers anymore. There\u2019s a fair bit of that floating around the bison business these days. Carcass prices\u2014which tested the stratosphere for eight years\u2014have dropped back to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":25008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n