The bison sector is a true agriculture industry. It is an industry based on meat. Because of its infancy stage, the bison industry tends to leave the impression that breeding stock is the name of the game, due to high prices, and that all heifers seem to be entering the breeding herd. Producers are selling breeding stock, and yes, all go into the breeding herd, but the price of breeding stock is still established by the meat market.
One misconception is that the bison industry is a money printing business. The bison industry is just as susceptible to Murphy’s Law, “if anything can go wrong it will.” But with good management and common sense, the industry can and will reward producers with reasonable return. The industry is basically 90% management and 10% labour (once the facilities and fences are built).
All animals require nutrients for two major purposes: maintaining existing body function and for growth. Plant biomass is the basic source of all nutrients. Ruminants have evolved to digest plant biomass using a four-compartment stomach system with the rumen being the largest and most critical. Most of the actual degradation of plant biomass occurs in the rumen by action of bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, of which bacteria are the most important. These microbes break down plant material into the basic molecular forms required by the body for maintenance and growth, primarily fatty acids and amino acids. Nutrient uptake occurs in the lower gastrointestinal tract, primarily the small intestine.
Various strains of bacteria are adapted for fibrous plant material and others are adapted for digesting starches, and for proteins. Optimum digestion occurs with a steady state ruminal environment when microbial populations exist in relative harmony at favorable pH, moisture, temperature, and feed substrate levels. This optimal digestion condition generally requires some fiber for proper rumen function. Bison have somewhat higher populations of celluloloytic (fiber digesting) bacteria than bovines. Greater extraction of nutrients from lower quality forage was observed. Many bison producers have used this evidence and observation as justification for feeding poor quality hay, when in fact, higher quality hay may result in more economical growth. Research is needed to evaluate this hypothesis.
To feed bison for optimum gain necessitates that maintenance requirements be met first, with nutrient intake above maintenance level available for growth. So feed intake and nutrient density (or concentrate level) are critical factors in producing satisfactory and economical growth.
The nutrient density of the diet then becomes an issue. We are seeking an optimum diet with some forage for proper rumination but enough energy to support maintenance and growth. Too much concentrate or starchy grains in the diet may create nutritional stress manifested as acidosis. This condition results from an acid pH (below 6.0 in bovines) in the rumen and may be roughly equated with overindulgence by humans who treat the problem by taking a buffer of some kind. Managing the high grain diets may be a contributing factor as erratic intake caused by several factors is known to be problematic. Ruminants can also benefit from buffers in very high concentrate diets. Sodium bicarbonate is a common product used for buffering diets. It is simpler and more natural to simply feed a little forage or fiber for healthy rumen function.
Very little research has been done, resulting in many of today’s management decisions being based on the motto, “learn to do by doing.” Effective management involves five general areas:
- Natural resources – land, water, facilities
- Nutrition
- Genetics
- Herd health
It is important to mention that for any management program to be successful, you must learn, understand and respect bison behaviour. Actually to manage bison you have to almost become one of the herd, and this means you will take a position in the pecking order status. By recognizing the position, and understanding the various guttural sounds and sign language, you will be able to handle your animals without a problem. Bison are very co-operative if you remember that saying, “you can lead a bison anywhere it wants to go.” New producers laugh at that comment but it’s true. By using that theory, bison can be maneuvered to any pasture, through your facilities and allow you to incorporate your management program.
Natural Resources
This area of the bison management cycle is too often neglected. We think of ourselves in the industry as “bison producers” when actually we are “grass ranchers.”
The grass program is an important component in the nutritional management scheme. Bison are survivors first and producers second. If part of the management is production then some dietary help is required. The amount of dietary help depends on your geographic area. Pasture size depends on the ratio of open land to bush, whether tame pasture or native grass. These factors all determine your carrying capacity. Many of these types of questions will be answered by contacting your range area management specialist.
Whether you use a rotational, complementary, continuous grazing program or a combination, the objective is the same – to feed the bison in the summer for the winter. If you want a stress-free environment, and that is what bison require for productivity and genetic expression, then this objective must be met.
Water is an important natural resource and in fact is a major nutrient wheel. Too often when developing the nutrition program water is not considered a nutrient and so it is overlooked. Water quality is important, no matter the source, and in some areas may be the weak link in the nutrition chain. The subject does raise some eyebrows, but if you are located in a snow belt in the winter, animals can use snow in place of water. However, for optimum development and efficient feed use, all growing animals require water in the liquid state. This is especially important to feedlot gain.
Feeds available
Several concentrates are available depending on where bison are being fed. Not all grains or co-products are equal. Corn, barley, and oats are the main grains fed and can all be used successfully. Energy decreases as fiber increases. Moist feeds such as wet beet pulp or potato processing co-products may add palatability and serve as desirable concentrates. Beet pulp is an excellent source of digestible fiber while potato co-product is high in starch. Both are modest in protein. Other co-products that may be useful include soybean hulls, high in digestible fiber and 12% protein, barley malt pellets, high in crude fiber and 14% protein, and wheat midds, high in digestible fiber and 18% protein. Wheat and sunflower screenings are used widely but vary considerably from field to field and batch to batch. They may be used in combination with other concentrates at less than ½ of the grain component in the diet.
Nutrition
Too often in the past, bison were promoted on the concept that it takes very little feed to keep a bison living. Yes, bison are survivors but surviving doesn’t translate into production. Bison tend to be sensitive to nutritional deficiencies. A weak link in the chain can make the difference between a 50% calf crop and a 90% calf crop, or a profit or loss feedlot.
Generations of severe natural selection developed bison with a digestive system that is very effective in utilizing forages of lesser quality that could be used with other bovidae. It is believed that digestive efficiency is due to a slower passage rate, and therefore greater digestion of the feedstuffs, as well as a more efficient nitrogen recycling system. Researchers believe that a bacterium in the bison digestive system, called Clostridium longisporum, aids cellulose fiber digestion 15% better that other organisms.
HAF Researches also suggest that bison are capable of maintaining a larger population of rumen microbes. A larger rumen microbial population in bison requires additional energy and nitrogen, which likely was supplied by the higher available energy obtained from prolonged dry matter digestion and from an efficient system for recycling endogenous nitrogen. Considering that bison saliva is 30% higher in nitrogen than that of cattle, and that bison serum averages 38% higher in urea than that of cattle, one would think urine levels of bison urea would be higher. This does not appear to be the case. Again, this suggests efficient bison kidney urea conservation and therefore higher levels of urea nitrogen available for rumen microbial growth.
Producer observations verify that bison are capable of digesting a greater proportion of low-protein, high-fiber rations than cattle. This limited amount of research information is not sufficient for producers to evaluate effectively physiological responses of bison to changes in grass quality and quantity. Additional grazing and feeding trials are required for producers to understand better the nutritional requirements of bison on grass and in the feedlot.