Being a farmer on Vancouver Island brings with it unique challenges. Purchasing feed and marketing product get complicated and expensive. This year there’s even more anxiety with drought and wildfires raging. Challenges aren’t anything new for Bob Wilson of Morning Star Bison.
Wilson didn’t start off as a bison rancher. Initially his career was focused on raising top end Aberdeen Angus to serve Canada and the U.S. Then “Mad Cow Disease” changed his career trajectory. “The Americans shut the border to beef,” he says. That “end” brought a new beginning for Wilson in bison production. He says instead of starting with a small herd, he opted to start with bison calves. “That gave us a chance to get to know each other”, Wilson says. From those calves his herd once blossomed to as many as 150 animals on his 200 acre ranch.
Now, Wilson’s dodging wildfires at the perimeter of his ranch. He’s already started supplementing their diets with expensive alfalfa cubes. Wilson anticipates that if things get worse, he’ll be forced to sell more of his remaining 50 head. Fortunately, he’s finding fairly good markets for his bison meat. Most of his meat stays on Vancouver Island, but he also sells batches of animals to the mainland. Right now he’s getting about $10/lb (US) for ground bison burger; $11.50/lb for roasts and $13/lb for steaks. His bison meat will circulate as far east as Montreal, with carryover into the eastern U.S.
Wilson’s also doing some soul searching on the future. He says there’s no family members interested in taking over the ranch. He’s also aware that as he ages, his reflexes are getting a little slower. He admits, that’s dangerous when you’re working with a bull that can weigh a ton. Still, Wilson finds great peace and pleasure every morning when he looks out at his herd – home on the range.
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