The following article THE BUFFALO SITUATION might be of some interest.  It
is from the Buffalo Meat Page which is located at
<http://www.ies.wisc.edu/research/ies600/meat/meat.htm#returnA>

Also, you might check out Thundering Herd Buffalo Products at
http://www.stelcom.com/buffalo/meat.html>.  All of their buffalo meat
packages are shipped by two-day Federal Express in a reusable Styrofoam
cooler.

Big Sky Buffalo located in North Dakota has a web page at
<http://www.tradecorridor.com/bigskybuffalo/index.html>. Their prices seem
quite reasonable.

Best, Peter
[log in to unmask]

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                              THE BUFFALO SITUATION

Bison once covered much of North America; now they are perhaps the most
fragmented, degraded, and endangered ecosystem on the continent. Great
buffalo herds are now only found in National Parks such as Yellowstone;
however, this situation may change soon. There are some farms in the Great
Plains which have switched to raising bison as a meat crop. Bison require
less tending to than cattle and are not as environmentally destructive as
cattle. Bison will graze on one area for a short period of time and then
move on, while cattle will stay in one area and graze fiercely until there
is no
grass left to be seen. The hoof of the bison does tear up patches of
prairie, but the small amount of time that a bison spends in this one area
negates this tearing affect. Even so, this tearing up of the prairie turns
the sod over and encourages new seedling to grow. On the other hand, the
hoof of a cattle produces the same effect, but the amount of time that
cattle stay in one area causes so much damage it negates the good of the
"turning over" of the sod. In winter time, the bison's thick coat protects
it from the cold and snow, while cattle have been known to freeze to death
due to lack of protection. Bison are well accustomed to the cold; they have
evolved the knowledge to protect themselves from the winter. Cattle have no
inherent knowledge as to what to do when it drops below freezing. They do
not know  to huddle together for heat as the buffalo does; they also are
lacking the previously mentioned coat. There are also many fine side
products created by raising buffalo.

So, it seems that buffalo herds are actually good for the environment and
easier to manage, as a rancher can just let the herd go and collect them as
he/she wishes. There is no need to build a barn as buffalo can fend for
themselves during winter; there also is no need to purchase grain as
buffalo are good foragers. The only downside to having a lot of buffalo is
that they require large ranges on which to graze, but with much of the
plains being caught in a financial downswing, this idea may catch on.