Wild Buffalo Still Roam on the Farm

Givpn enough room and no confinement, these buffalo are as wild as their ancestors.

Wild, proud, and untamed, North of a curious human, a buffalo bull or .~- American buffalo can still be found protective bison cow may nevertheless, roaming the land, living nearly as free as on occasion and without warning, have a did millions of their famous ancestors a sudden change of mind and giYe its pur- century and a half earlier. Lumbering suer a never-to-be-forgotten experience. across the land at will, these fearless Described as having a wild and vagabonds take hills, creeks, and swamps' ungovernable temperament a buffalo in stride as the herd meanders over hun- bull weighing well over 1,000 pounds is dreds of acres of grassy meadows and capable of executing a six-foot vertical shaded woodlands in northwestern New jump and can run 35 to 40 miles per York. hour when agitated. The ultimate wild herding cattle, these Wild but contained shaggy masters of their natural surround- On the 600-acre Wild Side Ranch near ings, live, feed, and move almost always Bloomfield, New York, a herd of 80 buf- as one big protective family unit. falo roam wild and free over hundreds of The Wild Side Ranch is home to two different Brutes in reputation but rarely in real- acres of lush grass meadows interspersed herds - one of buffalo (above) and another of ity, they ask only to be left alone with with woodlands and small streams, Highland cattle. their kind. Likely to run at the mere sight unaware that they are in reality living - 4 ACRES. SPRING 2015 within the confines of a stout wire cattle fence, a bar- rier they seem never to challenge, preferring instead to remain where they know their next meal is guaran- teed. The owners of Wild Side Ranch, Oliver and Andrea Scott, have had as many as 200 buffalo running wild on their farm in the past. But just finding their herd of wanderers sometimes requires a half hour's search on an AN. Throughout the year these historic and imposing creatures, also known as bison, are seen close to the barn and house only when they come in for salt. Other than that they live as wild cattle, and are rarely if ever disturbed, rounded up, or herded into pens. They have only occasional contact with humans and that mostly in the dead of winter when large round bales of grass hay are placed throughout their meadows. About 10 or 12 of the big bales weighing 1,500 pounds each are sufficient to feed a herd this size for a week or two, depending on the winter weather. Tender, low-fat meat But wild, free, and undisturbed is just the way the Scotts want their buffalo to be so they produce the high-quality low-fat meat expected for a growing market of particular consumers. Continued on page 6

Oliver and Andrea Scott useNew Holland equipment to handle hay balesand other tasks on their New York buffalo farm. Thefarm includes 600 acresofpasture where the buffalo graze undisturbed. "Wild Buffalo" continued from page 5

This herd of buffalo provides up to 30 Buffalo meat prices meat animals each year that are quietly on this farm range removed from the herd one at a time. from $7 a pound for The meat is frozen and sold from their ground to $12 a own butcher shop store on the farm, pound for sirloin steak becoming dinner in the homes and and $16 a pound for restaurants of a growing number of cus- New York strip steaks. tomers who, Oliver says, « ... want to "The value in buffa- know where their food comes from and lo meat is not in what how it is handled. Everything is done you pay," Oliver said, referring to the close to 3,000 pounds. Oliver described right here on the farm," he said. "We somewhat higher price for buffalo meat the meat from that giant as "OK, but not : have a state inspected butcher shop, and compared to beef, "but in what you get. the best." a professional butcher comes here to cut There is more protein and nutrients in Buffalo in the backyard and wrap the meat for sale." buffalo meat, but with fewer calories and Buffalo have been in Oliver's life since Munching on buffalo less fat. Buffalo meat is a dense meat that he was a young man in his early 20s and The Scotts have four weekend sales satisfies you more, so you usually eat less kept three buffalo in his parents' back- of it." He also notes that his buffalo, .I each year for which they notify about yard. When that number increased to six 450 names on their mailing list. All the being raised essentially as wild animals, animals, he moved them to a farm and meat is sold directly from the farm are never given drugs or hormones. continued adding more and more buffa- except some ordered by restaurants and a Buffalo slaughtered for meat are usu- lo, some coming from the famous wild natural food store in Rochester. ally two-and-a-half to four years old, herds in the Custer State Park of South Oliver describes buffalo meat as "fla- though females can be taken up to eight Dakota. vorful and tender" but warns that, or nine years of age. Females usually Oliver's personal skills go far beyond because it is very lean, "buffalo meat weigh 1,200 to 1,400 pounds while bulls farming and wild buffalo. He once should be cooked with moist heat at a average 1,500 pounds. In a unique case worked in the tool room of a General lower temperature than beef, but not for when one seven-year-old bull from his Motors plant where he learned the art of as long as beef is cooked." herd had to be slaughtered it weighed machining parts, and while a good

6 ACRES. SPRING 2015 mechanical repair shop is not unusual on a farm, he now has a fully equipped machine shop with six employees and turns out steel parts for a variery of industries, most notably a pump manufacturing firm. Horse whisperer Horses boarded at Wild Side Ranch are often also in training with well-known natural trainer Dave Minteer. Commonly referred to as a "horse whisperer," Dave has the unique abiliry for training horses to respond to gentleness and a soft voice. "Instead of forcing them to do what we want them to do," he explained, "we train them to do what we want by get- ting them to think they are doing what they want to do. There is no pressure and no forcing, so the horse remains calm and quite manageable." Minteer did not say whether his technique would work with buffalo ... probably not, but Andrea, along with other horse owners at her stable as well as any- one who observes these horses, absolutely loves the results of the trainer's gentle approach. Andrea's Highland cattle are a breed of long horned beef cattle originally brought here from Scotland where they thrived in the cool, damp climate of Scotland's mountain region, similar to that of northern ew York.

Continued on page 8

Horses boarded at Wild Side Ranch are trained by "horse uihisperer" Dave Minteer, shown here with Andrea Scott. "Wild Buffa/a" continued from page 7

Andrea raises Highlanders mostly for breeding and show. Ideal for the show ring, they are both gentle and beauciful with their shaggy coats and endear- ing faces. The Highlanders that generally become the best show cattle, Andrea observed, are often those that seem to enjoy being brushed. Wild Side Ranch has had as many as 70 Highlanders at one time. Oliver and Andrea have been married for over 30 years. Each brought children into the marriage, she three and he one. The children are all married. Farm activities at Wild Side Ranch have been cut back slightly since Oliver and Andrea purchased a second home in the horse country near Ocala, Florida. With their own horses in tow, they drive there to enjoy what they like most, but without the New York winters. Their buffalo? Well, they just stay home and take the snow and cold in stride like their wild ancestors did. ...; New Holland Dealer: Empire Tractor. Atlanta, New York

Andrea Scott raises Highland cattle Jor show and breeding. The Scottish breed is known Jor being docile.

The Highlanders' distinctive long horns and shaggy hair endear them to their owners. The breed originaLly thrived in the Scottish mountains, a climate similar to upstate New York.

8 ACRES. SUMMER 2014