Dear Wild Idea Buffalo Customers,
About five years ago we received a call from Patagonia stating that they were interested in starting an environmentally sustainable food line for their future sister company, Patagonia Provisions. They were specifically interested in us making Buffalo Jerky for them.
Because of our mutual, greater missions of sustainable foods and the environment as a whole, it looked like we might be a good fit. We were thrilled to gain their attention, but before we could get started there would be many visits from their team inspecting the way we treated the land, the animals, and our employee’s.
We welcomed their visits, and gave tours of our ranching operations, explaining our grassland conservation efforts and prairie restoration practices. We discussed our goals of having an intact, healthy prairie eco-system that was rich in bio-diversity.
We talked about how much carbon the grasses sequester and store safely in the ground. That grazing the grasslands regenerates the soil and produces healthy grassland pastures.
Since we had a captive audience that was interested, we prattled on about species diversity, the microbes, the plants, and the variety of ground nesting birds that use the prairie to raise their young.
They watched the buffalo roam and graze across the prairie, much like their ancestor’s did years ago. We explained our sourcing set up with other ranchers that raise their bison to our criteria, including neighboring Native American bison producers. They viewed our humane, stress free, field harvests, paying close attention to our care and respect for the animals.
During other visits, they toured our processing plant and interviewed our employees. They reviewed our safety regulations and inspection documentation. And, they tasted our Wild Idea Buffalo products, raised on water, grass, and sunshine.
We passed all of the requirements to move forward and started perfecting our Buffalo Jerky recipe. Patagonia Provisions provided scientific food experts, to consult with us along the way, insuring that the product would be as safe as it is healthy and delicious. The end result is a great tasting jerky!
The sustainable food movement continues to grow because of people like you. People who care about the foods they eat, how it is raised, and the impact it has on our environment. But as the sustainable awareness grows, so will industrial agricultures powerful, hearty appetite. It will take all of us to keep them at bay and it will take all of us to introduce people to a new (old) way of thinking about food, and one that doesn’t come with an IOU.
That’s why we are exhilarated and inspired to be associated with the good folks at Patagonia Provisions. If you get the chance, check out their site at patagoniaprovisions.com. Better yet, order some of their meaty, lightly seasoned, Buffalo Jerky!
We want to thank you all for being grassland ambassadors, and for your past and continued support. Together, we can make a difference, one bite at a time.
Very best from the prairie.
Dan & Jill O’Brien