Van Meter Buffalo Ranch 3.16

American Bison / Van Meter Buffalo Ranch FAQs

Bison or Buffalo?
Early American settlers called bison “bufello” due to the similar appearance between the two animals, and the name "buffalo" stuck for the American variety. But it's wrong.
The American bison (Bison bison) lives only in North America, while the two main buffalo species reside in Africa and Asia. But as far as we're concerned, you can call it whatever you want. Just don't call it late for dinner!

When/how did you get started in this business?
This has been a family business starting in 1976. It all started with my Dad (Carl). He always thought it would be nice to look out his kitchen window and see Buffalo roaming like they did 300 years ago. It all began with 4 animals and grew into a business.

When can I purchase meat?
We process about 2 animals per month and we are open anytime there is someone home. We have meat available almost all of the time. The best thing to do is call before you plan to make the trip so we can tell you what all cuts we have available at the time. The number at the farm is 574-278-7555. If no one answers, please leave a message and someone will get back with you.

Do you use drugs in your animals?
We do not use any antibiotics or hormones. They are naturally a very hearty animal and do not get sick often, so using any artificial means to try and stimulate growth is just an added expense. The makes no sense in raising Buffalo. Our market is the health food market. Our animals are as natural as you can get. The only medication we use (approx. 3 time per year) is a parasitic wormer. as a grazing animal, they are susceptible to parasitic worms. The wormer we use has a 14 day cycle. This means it take 14 days to completely purge out of the animal prior to processing. No animals are processed during this period of time. Our goal is to provide the highest quality naturally raised meat available at the lowest cost.

Are your animals grain fed or do they strictly graze?
The only grain we use is to help sort and move animals. We do not feed grain, but the animals know what it is. We use it like you would a dog treat. We place one 5 gallon bucket of grain in multiple feed troughs to get the animals out of the pasture and into sorting pens. We put the grain out, bang the buckets together and the animals come running. One bucket of oats is worth about 20 cowboys! Remember that is only on 5 gallon bucket for between 60 and 100 animals. This is less than one bite per animal. Very little to say the least. The diet consist of free range pasture and supplemented with hay in the winter months.

How old are the animals in your herd?
It takes approximately three (3) years for an animal to be ready to process. Buffalo only eat 2/3 as much as a cow, but only grow 2/3 as fast.

Do your animals need shelter in the cold weather?
Buffalo are very well suited for the weather we have been having this winter. When the massive herds roamed this continent, there range was from the Artic circle in the north, to Mexico City in the south. They can handle weather extremes very well as long as they have adequate food and water.