Use all your Bison . . . down to the last fibre!
or translated into Canadian:
“You spent HOW MUCH on WHAT???”
There is real $$$$ Money in the left over stuff.
If you’re only thinking meat, can you really afford to throw away the other parts? We want you each to grab onto the value in your pocket when you also market bison fibre and leather products.
How much are you leaving?
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• $ 89 retail knit gloves . That $ 525 bison and silk scarf is how much our customers made from the winter down sell these… and sell them to off of one bison hide. happy customers . We get about 3 pair off of one hide.
But wait …. There is more!
• A skein of yarn; it weights 2 oz. and is worth $60
• A bag of unprocessed shed fibre. It will sell on eBay …or to your local spinning guild… for between $10 and $50.
• All you do is quit walking over it, pick it up, shake off the manure and put it in a bag.
Every part of the bison …your bison ….has value:
the manure (yes, that “crap”)
the tongue
the hair, the hide, the bones …they all have value. The trick is to both (1) be able to turn “value” into a sale and (2) do it in ways that do not detract from what you are already doing; we are all too busy to take on any more activities. If it costs you more to do than you make, why do it?
• So how do you make more money off your bison …
off the parts beyond the meat?
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To make each part have consistent value, these by products must become “commodities” – or raw materials readily available for production or products. .
• Think !!
• When you created consistent quality, supply, portion sizing …
when you made bison meat a “commodity”.
• The same holds true for the byproducts.
In the United States , leather and fiber producers have helped turn the fiber and hide value into a pretty consistent $40‐$50 per animal. We want to get that to $100 … but it sure helps when we work together on the project. Most likely, we can’t do it alone. We don’t have enough animals. Collectively, you do. You want the return? Then get behind that “added” value concept for your animals.
• Just like meat – it all starts with you. The Rusty Seedig story ‐ “Talk the talk”. • Rusty always asked for bison at every restaurant – even those he knew didn’t serve it. If they didn’t have any, he’d ask to talk to the chef .. or the owner. He made a lot of converts that way. But he didn’t just do it once in a while; it was every meal every time. Here’s what we have to do:
• Talk about it ‐ You have to talk up those by products. • If you don’t believe in them, why should anyone else? • Talk to your family, friends, business associates, the processors, your neighbors. • Talk about it until you really believe it yourself …because if you don’t believe it, no one else will. • And just like votes in an election ‐ in the bison industry, each voice counts very loudly.
Buy it
– ‐ When you need something, buy bison; and think bison before you buy. • Think about •
‐ shoes and boots •
‐ Gifts
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‐ hats, scarves, gloves, socks
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‐ belts, wallets
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‐ car seat covers, •
‐ rugs, saddle blankets
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‐ gun holsters and scabbards
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‐ ropes
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‐ furniture If it can be made with leather or from a woven or knitted fabric, it can probably be made with bison. Yes it is more expensive …just like the meat. Is it worth it? Most times the answer is “absolutely”
and for two solid but different reasons. • First is the quality or the finished product.
• Second, and very important, is the impact on the future value of that commodity. The more demand, the more constant the upward pressure on the price.
Learn more about it ‐ If you don’t know about the by‐products, it is only because you haven’t been exposed. • When has anyone in this industry refused to share knowledge and information? • Every one working with by products is more than happy to explain what they do, who helps manufacture or process for them, what they can do to help you and your customers. • Learn who actually uses bison in their products …get to know the names of those companies so you can recommend them to friends and associates. • Find out where the products and each component are made. Was it made in Canada by your neighbors?
• Get to know why they use bison; what makes it “better”. +
• The National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown, North Dakota, sells virtually all the buffalo teeth they can get each year …for $5.00 per tooth ! • If you just collected them and donated them to the museum (or another nonprofit), you can take a tax deduction for the donation!! • The same applies with letting the Boy Scouts come harvest fibre hair out of the pasture. It has actual commercial value …. and you may be letting it just fly away.
Use them
– it’s the only way you will actually believe just how good are these bison products..
• Like with meat, one taste is worth who knows how many words. • Buck up ‐ pay the price . Have warm hands, comfortable shoes, and beautiful upholstery. • Don’t you deserve good things?
Why is bison fiber actually better than wool, alpaca, mohair or cashmere for everyday use? There are 6 strong reasons:
• The first is that the down (the insulating second or undercoat that we use for our yarns) is a solid protein fiber – not a hair. Hair, like sheep wool, is hollow and breaks. This down is very durable.
Second‐ the structure of the fiber –
bison “down” is a short, crimpy fiber looks like a three dimensional jig saw puzzle on the edge. It interlocks with the next fiber once carded and spun – it doesn’t crawl or “shrink” like wools do …and because it is so good at locking up with its neighbor, our bison down garments are machine washable.
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• Third –
The insulating qualities are as good as it gets –
this is the fiber that keeps these large mammals alive in the harshest conditions. It does the same for humans.
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Fourth reason why
bison fiber is better‐
The short crimpy
down fiber has a
very high
“moisture regain”
That means it has the ability to wick moisture away and still insulate while it is actually wet. Bison fiber products keep you warm even when wet. Wools, with their barbed shafts and hollow core cannot do that nearly as well .
Hey! Wake up
and count the reasons! • Fifth ‐ there is a limited supply each year. Only from January to April is the fiber both long enough and unfelted (untangled) to commercially process. • Animals processed in this time frame provide the majority of the fiber. • Live animal harvest is feasible, if done before the hair clumps. However, take into account the stress on the animal, the number of animals available, and the extra time involved.
“Whew .. Almost done counting … just ran
out of fingers …..”
Sixth ‐ there are both historic and national pride in utilizing this great beast to its full capacity –
just like with the meat, people will pay because it is bison.
So how does each of you get to participate in the pot of (buffalo) gold we’ve been talking about?
• ‐ You can resell bison products through your stores or web sites. Your customers trust you and your judgment … give them some more good ways to spend money with you.
• ‐ You can have hides tanned hair on or made into leather and either manufacture items (or have them manufactured for you) or sell the leather/tanned hide to shops in your area that do make goods. You can contact knitting or spinning shops or guilds in your area to offer them an opportunity for a “split” arrangement –
whereby they turn the raw fiber into yarn or roving (or knit goods) and keep a percentage of the total, while you get part of the product back to either sell or use without cost. You may get tax deductions by donating some of these commodities to youth or educational organizations.
Anyone ever complain about too many tax deductions?
• You can aggregate the fiber, hides or other pieces with other ranchers so as to have more commercially acceptable quantities.
• And you can start better dialogue with your abattoir as to what they do sell and whether there are better sources of income for the byproducts. Now it’s your turn to “Use all your Bison . . . down to the last fibre!”
Let’s not make the same mistake this century that they did last!
"A Killing of Cows & Spikes"
(Also titled "Five Minute's Work")
"Copyright 1907 by L. A. Huffman"
"The Huffman Pictures, Milestown, Montana"
Photograph by L. A. Huffman , 1881