Note to readers: As we seek to know more about where our food comes from and how it is raised, it is perhaps equally important to know how it dies. It may even be our responsibility. If you'd rather not see, and are okay with just the knowing, you may want to stop reading here. Although the photos are not graphic they offer transparency to the process of Wild Idea’s humane field harvest. Jill O'Brien
It’s early. The sun has just started to show light in the sky when I force myself out of bed, gather my camera gear, and head out the door. The harvest crew has planned to arrive at the ranch around sunrise for an early start to meet the harvest goal of twelve animals for the day. If all goes well, it should be doable.
Once the moveable harvester arrives on the prairie the crew quickly gets into motion getting the truck set-up for the "pre-op" inspection, which is conducted by the state meat inspector. Our sharp shooter, Dallas Steen checks the sights on his rifle one last time to assure accuracy.
The crew is ready to go and the inspector has given the green light to start the harvest. Without words the crew gathers. Dallas offers a few thoughts on what to expect for the day ending with, “Remember, safety first.” They then place their hands and the riffle in a circle. Someone lights a match and the aroma of sage fills the air. Each crew member rolls their hands through the smoke and Dallas waves the smoke over the riffle. This practice is called smudging, a tradition that the Native Americans use to remove negative energy and to purify. Because we work with and employ many Native Americans we honor their traditions.
Dallas and the inspector head out through the thousand acre pasture to find the herd in the shooter truck, which is a flat bed truck equipped with a winch for lifting the downed buffalo and transporting it to the harvest truck. An antemortem (before death) inspection is done by the inspector to insure the herd is in good health. A buffalo is then chosen for harvest, selected by age, size, and weight. Dallas is looking for a two to three-year-old animal, around 900 to 1,000 pounds.
The day has been going well, with the timing averaging about 45 minutes per animal. I jump in the truck with Dallas and the inspector around mid-day and head out to get animal number eight.
Dallas moves around the outskirts slowly assessing his best shot at a couple of animals that meet the age/weight criteria. The wind has picked up and the buffalo are feeling a little frisky. He slows even more, moving the vehicle only when a possible opportunity presents itself for a successful shot. Time starts to drag and our small talk starts to bore us all. Silence settles in and we turn our attention to bird songs and the soft grunts of the buffalo that are grazing 30 yards away from us. We wait patiently.
An hour and a half later Dallas has a clear shot, he raises his riffle and even though I am prepared for the bang, my body jerks at the sound.
The animal drops instantly to the ground where it was grazing. Dallas moves the truck forward to the dead animal as the other buffalo slowly move away. The inspector inspects the animal before a slit near the heart is made to start the bleeding process.
The buffalo is then lifted and taken to the harvest truck, where it is skinned and eviscerated. The inspector tests the organs for any abnormalities.
Sidebar: When I first took over the selling of the buffalo meat years ago, we had a lot of buffalo liver in inventory. At that time we were outsourcing our meat cutting to another plant, which processed about 60 head of bison a day. On one of my visits I asked their plant manager what they did with all of their buffalo livers, to which he replied, “What liver? We don’t end up with a lot of liver because not many of them pass inspection.” Oh, right, I replied, remembering the ill effects that grain and corn feeding do to the livers of animals finished in feed-lots. Since then, with a little recipe development and the growing awareness of the health benefits, bison liver has become very popular with our customers.
The carcass is then halved and moved into the refrigerated cooler on the harvest truck. The truck then goes back to our Wild Idea plant in Rapid City where the carcasses are unloaded.
The following week the carcasses are cut into fine steaks, roasts, ground, sausages, charcuterie items, and buffalo jerky by Wild Idea's artisan butchers and assistants.
On the day I was photographing we did not meet our harvesting goal of 12 animals, but that’s okay. Taking our time, respecting the animal, and keeping the herd content is more important to us than meeting production goals. It is important for the animal and for the food quality too. Humane field harvest eliminates high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone in the animal, which greatly affects the flavor and tenderness of the meat.
At Wild Idea Buffalo Company we believe that there is no need for stress, no need for additional feeds, no need for corralling, and no need for transporting animals to chaotic slaughter facilities. Does it take longer? Yes. Does it cost more? Yes. But, allowing an animal to die with dignity is the right thing to do, for their spirit, and for ours.
132 comments
Thank you for showing this process. I’ve read the book Wild Idea but it is interesting to see the truck and to see how the bison don’t seem to be stressed by the process. If only all our food was developed and harvested this way. I placed my first order today. Thank you to Melissa for suggesting this blog post to me. Good look and keep up the good work. Noreen Campbell, teacher-naturalist at the Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin, DE. Their mission is conservation, advocacy and education in environmental sciences.
thankyou for showing humane harvesting, will buy yours in the fall. So many horror stories about treatment of beef in slaughter houses and the deplorable feed lots,etc.Love eating buffalo meat and knowing it is healthier also. Karen wyant, retired organic farmer and grower of many kinds of meat animals for family use in ID and OR.
Beautiful and informative presentation of the harvesting of the meat we all enjoy so much. I am a hunter and with reverence harvest my legal deer in Nebraska. I love knowing the animal dropped in the woods or field it knew and loved. I love knowing the organic purity of the meat harvested. Well done.
No idea why I read this, as it’s not easy for a vegetarian to do so. But. If animals must be killed, it does make ALL the difference how. How I love these beautiful animals, Is there any way to let them live more than a couple of years first though, seeing as their lifespan is closer to 25? Thank you for taking the higher road.
I love Bison meat and appreciate the care you show toward these majestic animals. I am wondering about two things. In keeping with Indigenous traditions, do you thank the bison after killing him/her for their sacrifice? What happens to the hide?
I have been a vegetarian for more than forty-five years. However, I support personal choice fully when it comes to consuming animals and I support anyone’s right to hunt, although not for sport. If an animal must be killed (I don’t use the word “harvest” to make the process seem less than it is – it is killing) for someone’s table, then at least let’s make the process as painless as possible and ensure that the animal dies humanely with dignity and the least stress possible. I would recommend Wild Idea products to my carnivore friends.
I think we should all know how our food is grown. And I think it’s important to know how our animals are killed, or harvested. I don’t like the word slaughter. And I very much appreciate how you care for the Buffalo. I grew up in a subsistence way of living. I wasn’t the hunter, I was the daughter and sister who helped pack the elk or deer meat out of the mountains. Or helped with the salmon and trout fishing. We knew where our food came from and how it was killed or caught. And a prayer of thanks to the animal for giving it’s life to feed us. I reall enjoyed reading this article and the way it was written. It’s nice to know that there are companies like yours out there and that you respect the beliefs of our people. Thank you.
Love the idea that there are those that are looking for ways to produce and harvest meat in more natural setting!
I love the way you humanely, respectfully handle the Buffalo’s, I would like to start buying my meat with your company.
This is fantastic! The buffalo are calm and content until the end and never even know what hit them. This is the ONLY humane way to take living creatures. Hats off to you guys. Please keep up this sacred work!
Thank you for your respect to these beautiful animals. Please don’t ever change the prayers before harvest.
Thank you for this information and more so for the thought that went into this process. There are many ways to get from Grazing to Freezer, you have definitely chosen a good one. Thank you! I voted with my wallet and ordered as well. Your books are inspiring. Glad to see this “Wild Idea!” paying it’s way! Get Some!
Yvon Chouinard says, when faced with any situation always increase the quality. You have increased the quality of the earth, the animal and its spirit and, as a customer, the eating experience.
I stopped being a customer of grocery store beef years ago and have been an exclusive customer of grass-fed, sustainable beef and bison since then. I appreciate you and what you do for the animals that provide food for us. Thank you – I am now your customer.