In the spring of 2019 we will have six more new Beefalo calves born.  We brought  the first of our new herd home in fall of 2015. Then later added these new heifers.  Each one had a DNA test and their linage was recorded. We plan to make grass fed Beefalo meat available to families in the central Texas.  All our research pointed us to add this heart healthy choice to our ranch.  The meat has:

    4-6% more protein,

more tender, flavor and nutrition for less calories,

less fat and cholesterol than other breeds of cattle, chicken or even cod.

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Buffalo meat is often favored for its leanness, but all grass-fed beef has nutritional necessities like CLA and Omega-3 fats. Our other cattle have done extremely well on our native grasses. Well, the grass-fed Beefalo breed might just be the best of both worlds. It contains more  minerals like calcium, iron and potassium, and is the only red meat shown to lower LDL.  You most likely will not see Beefalo meat in the supermarket. not even in a meat market.  There is a limited number of registered full blood bulls. It has been said, it could be another five years for the herds of Beefalo to reach the size required to stock the larger meat markets.  You have to know someone that is raising this amazing breed.  It takes four generations of breeding or about six to ten years to produce a full blood Beefalo. It was recognized in 1980 as a registered breed by the American Cattle Association.  Now with a registered bull you can develop a herd as rapidly as any other.

 

The idea of crossing the American Bison with cattle is not a new one. Charles Goodnight, in 1876, attempted a cross between the American Bison and polled Angus.  The results at that time were not consistent, as the off spring tended to be sterile.  More recently, J.C Baslo in Tracy California had success. The measured cross between the Charolaise, Bison and Hereford produced a new breed that was capable of reproducing.  To be exact the new breed was 3/8 Bison, 3/8 Charolais, and 1/4 Hereford.  Today a full blood Beefalo is 37.5% bison, the rest bovine and is a registered breed.  During the early 1970's the level of scientific research was not where it is today, so one has to be cautious when reading past conclusions that were reached prior to 1990 when studying Beefalo.   The understanding of cholesterol and its effect was not available.  Beefalo meat has less shrinkage when cooked, a faster cooking time and 5 percent more protein than cattle without the bison influence. It was described as slightly sweeter in taste than beef and just as tender. That being said, as with any meat, you need to know how to cook it.  Beefalo should be cooked similar to Bison and any lean grass fed beef.  The chief mistake made is over cooking.   Past President of the American Beefalo Association , Larry Hacker, a dedicated breeder of quality Beefalo, explains the merits of Beefalo best.  This quote is straight from an article that he wrote some time back.

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        "The bison ancestor of modern Beefalo is a vigorous, rugged, hardy, healthy product of natural selection

   of the fittest animal to survive. The bison is an efficient grazing animal willing to eat almost anything.

          Obviously, the bison likes the “good stuff”-tender young plants, high in energy content; however he will

readily clean up the “tough” forages, to include many weed varieties that domestic cattle avoid.

This foraging ability is passed on to his Beefalo descendants."

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The American Bison roamed freely here for hundreds of years. They were made for this hard Texas weather. They have sweat glands to help them stay cool in the hot weather of the southern plains; yet their thick dense hair keep them warm

in extreme cold weather. The best traits of both are found in the Beefalo. Much lower in fat naturally, which places the cholesterol level at a match to chicken and cod; and enabled the Beefalo to earn recognition by the American Heart Association.  

In an article by Rekha Mankad, M.D. from the Mayo Clinic dated Dec. 2014:

Grass-fed Beefalo in tests by the USDA proved that Beefalo has less cholesterol than chicken.  In addition, it is the only red meat shown to lower LDL. The ability to lower LDL was shown in a university study and published in the AMA Journal. Another study was conducted as to why; it was found that Beefalo has only 1/3 the amount of palmitic acid (known to increase LDL) than regular beef has.

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So why not just raise Bison.  Well for one thing, it has been said that " you can keep Bison any where they want to stay. They just put their heads down and walk, basically anywhere they want.  Also, they do not exactly, shall we say, play well with others. The Beefalo has the temperament of a bovine matched with the meat quality of the Bison.  They are less susceptible to disease and have less trouble calving.