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Animal Husbandry & Humane Harvest

In the summer and early fall, the herd comes together for the breeding season. Nine months later, in the spring, the prairie welcomes its newest generation of prairie regenerators. It may seem counterintuitive to harvest animals when you are trying to bring them back, but harvesting is necessary to balance the herd numbers with what the land can support. But slowly, with regenerative practices and additional land acquisition our herd numbers are growing. 

Bison-Herd

As many of you know, we are large landscape bison ranchers that are working hard to protect a threatened ecosystem. Returning the American Buffalo back to their homeland is critical in keeping the prairie ecosystem whole. 

mobile harvest unit with skid steer

We allow our buffalo the room they require to roam and be and behave as they did hundreds of years ago.  We give them love in life and dignity in death. When harvesting animals, we insist on a Humane Field Harvest. Our moveable harvest trailer allows us to travel to the buffalo and harvest in the pastures where they graze. We work with other like minded ranchers who are aligned with our ranching model. We currently harvest on buffalo ranches in South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. This past week we harvested at Mustang Meadows, the largest Native-owned buffalo herd, on the Rosebud Reservation.  

harvest crew smudging their hands before harvest

Our Field Harvest requires a separate crew and special equipment. This is more costly, but we believe it is the only way to take an animal for food. This series of photos illustrates our process. The crew arrives early to set-up what they were not able to do the night before. Thereafter, they smudge with sage, a Native tradition that we have adopted, to purify their hands and rifle. 

rearview mirror reflecting sharpshooter

Our sharp shooter then proceeds out to the herd, accompanied by a state or federal inspector, and puts the buffalo down where it is grazing. It is then bled on the prairie, returning nutrients back into the earth.

sharpshooter sticking stunned buffalo
buffalo being winched into mobile harvest unit

From there, the carcass is transported to the harvest trailer where it is skinned and eviscerated. 

skinner working on buffalo

This is a very physical job. Like the rest of the country, we too are currently having a tough time filling positions. But that doesn't mean we cut corners. Nope, we would never do that. 

skinner trimming buffalo carcass

That's when we put on a different hat, roll up our sleeves and do the work. In this instance, Colton Jones has stepped in to assist Bryan and Alex, our lead crew members on our harvest team. 

skinner cleaning buffalo carcass

The hides that are removed, get salted and are transported to a tannery. Those hides will eventually be turned into Patagonia Wild Idea Work Boots. 

skinner using well saw to split buffalo carcass

We use as much of the carcass as we can and that we have inspected approval for, with the equipment we have. 

skinner trimming buffalo side

The carcasses are halved and slid into the cooling unit on the harvest trailer. The cooler can hold up to 40 carcasses, which is what allows us to travel out of state. 

skinner pushing buffalo side into cooler

The carcasses are transported back to our plant in Rapid City. They are unloaded into coolers at the plant and hang until the following week. 

skinner moving buffalo side

 

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7 comments

  • Thank you for showing the animals respect and letting them keep their dignity.
    We value that you honor them and not let them suffer!

    Claudia Grimnes
  • Job well done. You do good work and we are grateful for your efforts. Sustainable ethical. Stay the course.
    Bob

    Bob
  • I am disabled and a veteran, I too love your product and can’t buy much. Thank you for the blog, was very interesting. Have a great day, God bless.

    Bob Watland
  • Y’all are doing things right! As a disabled veteran barely existing on a VA pension, I cannot afford to buy as much as I would like, but I am grateful for being able to buy what I can. Regenerative agriculture is the ultimate solution to all of our problems!

    David
  • Thank you from another Wild Idea follower and customer in SC. Your humane harvest of buffalo and your bringing back the prairies is wonderful and inspiring and delicious. Take care and many thanks.

    Cheves
  • Thank you so much for posting this! As a conservation meat eater, or as my co—worker says, “sustainavore”, I appreciate the efforts and humane harvest of your company. When we can’t get venison, we order from y’all. When we tell people here in South Carolina about your company, it will be much easier to just send them this photoblog. Yes, it’s more expensive, but our health and the health of our ecosystems shouldn’t have a price tag.

    Pamela C.
  • Jill, I can’t thank you enough for this amazing article with photos! We so love the excellent products from the humane and loving work so many are accomplishing every day, day in and day out! Such dedication, such joy to work with these unbelievably gorgeous creatures! As someone of part native descent, I felt such gratitude, and had a tear in my eye too.
    Thanks to all, Pam

    Pam

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