n THE CARILLON STEINBACH, MAN. C2
THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2024
n www.thecarillon.com
WES KEATING THE CARILLON Thomsen is on the outside and the bison are on the inside of a substantial six-foot-high fence he built with sturdy page wire around the pasture, providing a safe way for visitors to get a close-up look at his herd. Tourists visiting Dugald farm see Bison Bob’s “friendly” herd
the Stepaniuks at Rosa, years ago, and since then has grown his herd to 35. Thomsen says that’s about all one person can handle and he says his is definitely a one-man oper- ation, as the fourth generation on the family farm. Growing up on the family farm, his dad had beef and Bob Thom- sen, who was working as a diesel bus mechanic for the Transcona/ Springfield School Division, always thought he would like to try raising a few head of bison one day, “when he was older and retired.” That was nearly 30 years ago, and his wife, Yvonne, urged him not to wait until he retired. Today, he finds that was a great decision, and though he is still working for the same school division (now called Sunrise) as a spare bus driver, he is really enjoying his other career as Bison Bob. The question of why he is raising bison rather than beef has a really short answer. Bison are less work, and Bob Thomsen says he speaks from experience, for it had been his job to take care of his dad’s beef herd. It takes a great deal of patience to raise bison for meat. Both bulls and calves need to be fed on hay or green feed and supplements for three years to reach market weight for butchering and meat sales. Bison are priced on the basis of “hanging weight” which means the animal needs to be butchered be- fore “the cheque is in the mail.” But that can be worth the wait, for market price for bison in late March was $475 to $550 for finished bulls and heifers. The bigger producers ship to Colorado and move bison to the market by semi load, Thomsen says. Larger Manitoba producers, like the Stepaniuks’ Roseau River Buf- falo Ranch at Rosa, belong to the North American Bison Co-op in New Rockford, North Dakota. The United States market has been good since the resurgence of the Co-op, which was in financial difficulty years ago and went into Chapter 11 protection before being restructured and making a come- back.
by WES KEATING W hen Robert Thomsen ap- proaches the pasture fence, whether he is alone or with a visitor, his herd of friendly bison comes over to greet him. But they don’t stay long and a few min- utes later, they return to the bale feeding station at the middle of the field. People from all over the world are curious about his bison, according to “Bison Bob”, who has been rais- ing the animals on the family farm near Dugald, as a sideline to his reg- ular job, for over 25 years. The latest group of foreign vis- itors came last summer and were from Mexico, arriving in chauf- feured truck bearing Mexican gov- ernment license plates. “This group had apparently trad- ed for bison that had been raised in Texas and wanted to see how it was done here.” Other visitors over the years have included a doctor from China, someone from Australia who had relatives here, and visitors from Germany. Bison Bob is always will- ing to find time to show his visitors around, giving them a close-up view of an animal they may have never seen, except at the zoo. Visitors will stay outside the solid perimeter of the fencing of course. “My animals are friendly, but you need to watch them and when you put them in a corner while working in their pasture, unfriendly warning signs are immediate.” When a bison finds it has no- where to go, it gets angry and starts stomping feet and snorting. The next step would be charging, and at that point it is important never to turn your back on them. Thom- sen often enjoys the extra security of being on a tractor when he has work to do inside the fence. “The bison may do their snorting and stomping, but then they lose interest and wander away, giving time to do what you have to do.” And when it comes down to it bi- son are not a lot of work and eas- ier to manage than beef cattle and Bison Bob says that is one of the reasons he has enjoyed raising the animals for the past 27 years. Thomsen started his bison farm with seven heifers he bought from
See ‘Bison processed by Steinbach butcher’ on 3C
WES KEATING THE CARILLON This hide from a three-year-old bison is worth $2,500 and is one of two hides Thomsen has kept. The other is smaller and is often used as a blanket to sleep overnight in the neighbor’s quinzee or for protection from the cold around a winter bonfire.
Powered by FlippingBook