Pasture Burning

The wind was going down at 5 pm last night, so Verne and Dyllan started the Eastern Gammagrass on fire to get rid of the old grass clumps. We have a planted pasture of it on the northend of our land.

Eastern Gammagrass is native to Kansas, and the bison have eaten it for centuries. It looks like big clumps of Pampas Grass, and can get three to four foot tall. It has a wide leaf and is sweet to the taste. When Kansas was fenced by the homesteaders, cattle liked it too and ate it down to the ground, which killed it out in most areas.

Because bison eat and roam, and this type of grass needs 6-8 inches of the crown left on the plant to rejeuvenate, it thrived on the prairie with the bison's grazing pattern.

The goal was to burn the old growth off, leaving fresh new grass to come up from the ground. Old dried stems can poke the animal's eye as they try to get the fresh stems, and it just tastes better not to have old grass in a mouthful.

From the picture you can see Verne is equipped with a water tank on his back with a short pump to dose fire, the red fire starter, and the rubber flap to hit out stray fires. (The Visitors Center is in the background.)

I was driving the pickup with the big water tank in the back, and Dyllan was manning the hose from that tank. They burned a strip west along the driveway and north along the fence and road ditch first to form a fire break, then went to the south end of the pasture and started the main fire.

From the second photo taken this morning, only part of the pasture burned as the wind died down and the fire could not jump from clump to clump in some places.

Verne had planned to burn again tonight to get the rest of the clumps, but we're getting a light rain today so the grass will be too damp.

Most people don't realize what we do to maintain pasture... to graze the buffalo... to provide meat for our customers. This is all to mimic what nature did centuries ago when prairie fires cleared the dead winter grass for the bison's spring food.

Quiet Pasture

The cows move silently now past the Visitors Center. There is no grunting because there are no calves in the herd to keep track of at the moment.

Sorting last Friday went safe and smoothly with the new pen gates Verne built. Some of the old cows picked on the younger ones, but that’s their nature when confined, so we sorted and moved the cows back out to the pasture as quickly as possible.

The calves were checked by the vet and tagged; staying in the big pens this week to be sure all are sound and healthy after the sort. The heifer calves will move back to the cow herd this weekend, and the bull calves will move over to the bull herd until they move to their summer pasture in May.

The cows come in to get water and check the calves once a day, but the calves are weaned and the cows are satisfied they are okay by themselves. They prefer to spend their day eating and lounging in the triticale paddock.

Think of the calves as kids going off to college. They are on their own now, but you still check on them now and then…

Sorting Buffalo

Welding, painting, and greasing has been the agenda for Verne and his help this past week to get ready for tomorrow’s calf sorting.

Before the cows start giving birth this next month, we sort off the calves born last spring from the cow herd. We want to do it before any newborns are added to the herd as this could be dangerous for them.

Bison can get aggressive very quickly when they feel cornered, and a little baby could get run over and injured in the mayhem.

Once the calves are sorted from the herd, they run through the work chute to get their ear tag for identification. Bull calves will move over to the “Meat and Eat” bull herd, and the heifer calves will go back to the “Meet and Greet” cow herd (the group our Visitor Center guests see on our tram tour).

So how do the top three mentioned items go with wooly fast-footed animals? We have to be prepared with safe pens, gate latches that move freely, and latch tight when they swung around to close off a pen of animals.

After Verne’s accident with a gate that didn’t hold last June (he and cow Annie ended up in the same spot together), he's going to be sure everything is in top shape for the sorting.

Verne has added a new steel “cat walk” to be above the animals in one area, and new steel bar gates in the middle sorting circle so he can be behind it when sorting the cows.

Please wish us a safe sorting and calm cows tomorrow!

Buffalo Audience

We've had two warm days- up to 70 degrees by late afternoon. The wind was finally down too so I tackled the flower beds in front of the Visitors Center Wednesday after work.

I had left the dead plant mulch over the winter to protect the perennials and rose bushes, and now pulled or cut all the brown matter off to uncover the starting crowns of flowers and tulip shoots.

Hearing a soft snort, I looked up and saw that my action had gathered an audience. Takoda and the cows had come up to the fence by the handicap parking area to see what I was doing down on my hands and knees.

I went inside to get the camera to take their picture, and then went down to their eye level to show you what they were seeing too.

When people call to ask if they can see buffalo at our place, I tell them they are right by the building sometimes, and I mean right by it.

When Verne built our Visitors Center in 2002, the buffalo herd spent those months parked along the fence to watch and listen as the building frame and roof took shape. They were curious and fascinated with the progress, just like they were with me cleaning the flower beds.

This week the herd is spending most of their time scouting for green grass. I really noticed a difference this morning in the look of the pasture. It’s starting to green up.

There’s a 60% chance of rain tomorrow, so that should help the grass’s progress too. Spring is on the way!

Favorite Food

Each morning brings an ever so slightly change of color in the pasture. Tints of green are showing up as blades of grass start their spring growth.

The buffalo are seeking the clumps around every part of the pasture, and to the very edge of the fence line. Pictured is our cow Ida and her calf nibbling new grass.

Me and the buffalo are in the same mode today. Just can’t get enough of our favorite food.

Although the delicacy that I’m grazing on today is fresh Belgium choclates that my sister in Virginia shipped to me for my birthday tomorrow. Knowing that the chocolate was flown in from Belgium this week, I opened it immediately to start my celebration early. It is fresh and melts slowly in my mouth. I can tell it’s the “good stuff” with high quality ingredients.

Shipping food around the world, or across country is so easy these days because of the internet. We ship buffalo meat from our Kansas pasture to both coasts. Our customers order from us and eagerly open their meat coolers because we’re known for growing and delivering top quality meat.

Have you had a treat today? Make sure it’s super tasty and the “good stuff”- whether it’s a tender buffalo ribeye steak ….or a choclate truffle.

Goodbye Tonka

Nine year old Tonka moved on today, not to the "big pasture in the sky", but to a new pasture in western Kansas to be with 55 other buffalo.

He moved to our pasture on January 16, 2005 and spent three seasons with our cow herd. Since his daughters will be old enough to breed this year, Tonka is moving out, and three year old Takoda takes over as herd bull.

Verne called the herd in from the pasture this afternoon, and sorted Tonka into a pen by himself to wait for the trailer that would move him.

The cows wandered past the Visitors Center to go back out to our pasture, but then Esther our head cow, couldn't find Tonka. She and the rest of the herd headed back to the holding pens looking for him.

As a 2000 lb. mass of muscle and hair, he's been a congenial bull whose picture has been taken by people from around the world.

His big claim to fame is his relish for pumpkins. He LOVES them, and inhales one whenever given as a treat. Visitors who took the tram out to the buffalo herd during our maze weekends watched him charge and devour any orange pumpkins thrown into the pasture.

I had one frozen pumpkin left in the shop, waiting for the perfect time to give it to Tonka. This morning I took the frozen mass out to thaw for his last treat.

When he was loaded and in the trailer, I pushed the thawed soggy pumpkin in the trailer for him. At the moment he was mad about being confined and not in the mood to thank me, but hopefully he’ll enjoy it as a snack down the road.

Esther and the herd stood by the fence to watch him leave, then headed back to the pasture without him.

Goodbye Tonka...

The Buffalo Leader

Yep, more snow. The buffalo take it in stride, going about their day.

We’re just getting warm again today after our last round of snow. For the last month our weather has varied from snow to mud, getting back to almost dry… and start over with snow again.

This past Saturday was our election of officers for our Kansas Buffalo Association. My husband, Verne was not on the ballot for president, but he was nominated from the floor and won!

He's a very level-headed, organized man, so he will work hard for the organization this year. So Verne (and I) will be working with the group's officers and board to promote our Kansas state animal, our member's herds, and related buffalo businesses.

Goals include getting a good website up for the KBA, talking to Kansas legislators about bison issues, and promoting the buffalo by giving group tours, manning an information booth at the Kansas State Fair, and whatever else the board decides to do.

We appreciate and admire the American Bison, so proud to promote them!