Well-known bison ranching pioneer Ken Klemm and internationally-recognized Holistic Management consultant and educator Kirk Gadzia offer here a unique opportunity to learn cutting-edge management practices and a behind the scenes look at a well-established bison and cattle ranch in NW Kansas. This year we offer two tracks packed-full of information and hands-on experiences.
In
my last post I revealed how the modern “big and cheap” model of food production
and distribution has virtually eliminated the mom-and-pop natural health food
stores in favor of the big-box corporate-driven model. We’ve also learned how the nutrient content
of our food has severely declined over the last several decades as man has
learned how to use modern technology to mine the soil and grow “Hollywood
Foods” – foods that look good but are empty.
We’ve
relearned what Hippocrates taught 2400 years ago: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” So now, let’s see what happens to all those
natural, organic claims when the big and cheap model supplants the diverse
universe of true agricultural craftsman…
Why go the grocery when it could
be delivered right to your door… direct from the grower… for less money… and
for a truly verified, real-world, honest-to-goodness natural food?
We started our meat company in
2000 with a simple vision to market our healthful, wholesome and honest meat. We
quickly gained access to over 1500 grocery stores in every state in the Union,
as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Those were the days when regular
mom-and-pop stores were sprouting up all over the US due to the mass of
consumers that made the connection between their health and the quality and
wholesomeness of their food. These small business folks, with help from
suppliers like us, opened thousands and thousands of natural health food stores
stocked with the very best products they could find. But things changed, and we exited this part
of the business about a year ago.
Have you noticed that those
mom-and-pop stores are now virtually all gone?
Have you noticed that the big corporate chains have either bought them
out or run them out of business? What happened, and does it matter to you as a
consumer?
Mr. T Goes to Oklahoma
Bison are inherently wild
animals. We may train them, feed them,
corral them and even haul them down the roads of our very civilized world, but
they are still wild.
I recently had the opportunity to take
some of our bison to restock a beautiful ranch in extreme SE Oklahoma
(virtually all new herds are a restocking project when viewed through a historical
lens!). This well-cared for piece of
land has a very substantial fence around its many thousands of mountainous acres,
and as such, the owner wanted to get started with older animals instead of the
much more usual, and relatively carefree, route of stocking with calves.
I guess I figured life was getting
a little boring here on the ranch, so I accepted the challenge.
I spent the morning processing breeding bulls - touching up lost ear tags and taking DNA samples for the lab.
Why DNA test?
As stewards of these magnificent animals, it is our duty to keep bison pure by working with the best available science. To purposely crossbreed bison with cattle is a wanton pollution of this amazing creation. We strive to identify any past human errors and responsibly limit, or even eradicate them.
When you receive a letter like this one, it's time take a moment to pull up a chair so you can read every word.
Our ranch has been selected as one of 3 finalists in the state of Kansas for the 2017 Leopold Conservation Award!
