• We no longer sell retail meat cuts by the package.  New regulations for bison producers have made it increasingly difficult to get our bison processed into meat.  As of November 2024, we will no longer be selling bison meat into the retail or wholesale markets.                                                                     

• Bulk Bison (Quarters and Halves available in 2025)   The 2025 Bulk Bison list is open.  Email us at lhedlund@gmail.com  to be put on the waiting list.

• Cost to Buy Bulk Bison:

  • Cost to buy a Quarter or Half of a 2 to 2.5 year old bison:

    •   $8.50/lb./Hanging Weight (about 115 lbs. for a Quarter).  
    •   Customers who pay with a check or money order will receive a 30 cents/lb. discount.  

  • Cost to buy a Quarter or Half of an older animal (10+ years old):

    • $7.00/lb./Hanging Weight (about 125 lbs. for a Quarter).
    • Customers who pay with a check or money order will receive a 30 cents/lb. discount. 

Ordering is as simple as 1,2,3:

1.  Decide if you want to purchase a Quarter Bison or a Half Bison from a 2 to 2.5 year old bison or an older animal.  Email us your request to lhedlund@gmail.com.    Include your contact information (phone number and email address).
2.   We will respond within 24 hours to let you know about availability.

 

Shipping:   

We do not ship bulk bison meat.

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Bulk Bison:  Purchasing a Quarter or Half Bison

A 2 to 2.5 year old bison is made up of ground bison, steaks, roasts, stew meat, ribs, organ meat, and stock bones.  The meat will be tender and flavorful.  We offer mixed Quarters so that you get a variety of steaks and roasts in addition to the other cuts.  This meat will be available in August and September 2025.

An older animal carcass (10+ years) is made up of ground bison, a few tenderloin steaks, organ meat and stock bones.  This meat will be available in late summer 2025.

Why Buy Bulk Bison?

We encourage people to purchase bison in the form of a whole, one half or one quarter portion.  There are many benefits to buying meat in bulk.

• Ease and Access:  One of the things we love about having a quarter or half of a bison in our freezer is the ease of deciding what to have for dinner.  By buying a bison in bulk, you have a huge choice of healthy meat options just a few feet away from your kitchen.
• Choice and Variety:  By purchasing in bulk, it provides you with a choice in how your meat is cut and processed.  You can decide on the thickness of your steaks and whether you want your roasts to be small, medium or large in size.  You can also choose to have a number of specialty items such as summer sausage and jerky made for you.  Additionally, soup bones and organ meat (can be used for dog food if you do not eat organ meat) are part of the bison carcass and are included in a bulk purchase.
• Lower Cost:  If you are interested in a variety of cuts, buying in bulk is a more economical option than buying retail meat cuts.

General Information About Buying Bison in Bulk:

Some people hesitate to buy bulk bison because they think it will be too much meat. A quarter of a bison will yield about 70-75 pounds of meat. In a 2-person household that enjoys bison, you’ll easily consume 1.5 pounds per week and your freezer will be empty in about a year.   If 70-75 pounds of meat does seem like too much, consider splitting a quarter with family or friends.

If you are new to buying meat in bulk, it may be helpful to understand the process and how it affects the quantity and quality of the bison meat you will receive.

We use mobile slaughter for bulk meat which means that a professional comes out to our ranch and harvests the animals on our ranch.  The slaughtering process is essentially immediate and the animal does not have the experience of stress or pain.  Once the bison is slaughtered, the hide, head, hooves and non-usable organs are removed. What remains is called the carcass, which is typically split down the middle into two halves.

When the carcass arrives at the meat processor both halves are weighed.  This is referred to as the “hanging weight”.  With bison the hanging weight of the carcass is usually around 56% of the live weight.   After arriving at the processor, the carcass will be hung in a cooler for approximately 5 days for dry aging.  This improves tenderness, enhances flavor and also further reduces weight due to evaporation. Because a bison carcass has a thinner fat coat it doesn’t need to hang as long as a beef carcass.

After aging, each side is made into individual retail cuts. If you are getting a quarter you will get half of the mixed assortment of cuts from the front and rear of the animal.  The weight of meat after the carcass is butchered is called the “boxed” or “take home” or the “carcass yield” weight.  The boxed weight will be less than the hanging weight.  With bison, the yield of meat from the carcass is generally around 60% of the hanging weight.  This percentage can vary based on whether or not you choose to have bone-in versus boneless meat, the amount of fat trimmed on the meat cuts and other specifics regarding butchering.  Currently, we are using The Meating Place in Hillsboro to process bulk meat.  When the time comes, you will put your cutting order onto their website and let them know how you want your meat cut up: desired thickness of steaks, size of roasts, any special orders of sausage or jerky, etc. (if you are buying meat from a younger animal).   We are always available to answer any questions you may have.

Young bison carcasses normally breakdown as follows:  about 17% of the meat cut from the carcass will be steaks, 55% will be ground bison, 25% will be roasts (which can be made into jerky, sausage, or made into ground meat or stew meat if roasts are not desired), and 3% will be other cuts (short ribs and oxtail).   If you would like a variety of cuts, buying a younger animal in bulk is definitely the most economical option.

In addition to meat, customers buying bulk also receive proportional amounts of stock bones and organ meat (if desired).  The customer will need to pay to have these products cut and wrapped.  Bones are great for making stock and soups and organ meats are some of the most nutrient dense parts of the animal.  Customers buying a quarter can receive some liver and customers buying a half can receive half of the liver and heart.   

One last detail – you should figure on having access to 1 cubic feet of freezer space for every 35-40 pounds of frozen bison meat.  For a quarter bison 2.5 cubic feet should generally be adequate space for the meat and stock bones.

We ask our customers to put a deposit down at the time of ordering bulk meat.  The deposit for a quarter is $300 and $600 for a half bison.  Once the hanging weight is obtained the exact amount of the remaining balance will be known and should be paid to us before picking up your meat from the meat processor.

We encourage our customers to put their name on the Bulk Bison list if they are interested in purchasing a quarter or half bison.  We have limited supplies.  Send us an email or call us if you would like to put your name on our list.  We will begin contacting customers on the Bulk Bison list this fall to confirm your order and ask for a deposit.

There are still some things to think about – who to invite for dinner, your favorite recipe or something new…but I think we’ve covered the basics and it’s all enjoyment from here on!