Arts & Entertainment
Launch of ‘Bison 1 Million’ campaign announced at Big Sky Resort
Published
7 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Amanda Eggert EBS Senior Editor
BIG SKY – Jonathan Sepp, owner of Flathead Bison Co. in northwestern Montana, says he’s always known he was going to raise bison one day.
Sepp grew up in a military family and moved 15 times in his first 18 years. During long cross-country drives, his family would often take long rest stops in areas that serve as bison habitat, or did at one time. He says those trips planted the seed for his desire to one day own his own herd.
Sepp was one of 600-plus people who attended the International Bison Conference in and around Big Sky July 4-7. Sepp said he was in good company at the conference, which is held every five years and alternates between the U.S. and Canada.
“I’ve heard that like 80 percent of bison ranchers do not come from an ag background. It’s mostly people who love the animal, like me,” Sepp said, adding that he hopes gathering information from larger producers will help him extend the long-term viability of his Hot Springs, Montana, operation.
Sepp explained that marketing and securing finances to get into the business have been the biggest challenges he’s encountered. “It is notoriously difficult to convince a banker, an investor—whatever individual—that bison is a good idea,” he said.
But Sepp, a former commander of a test parachute program in the United States Air Force, believes in the animal. He saved money and launched Flathead Bison Co. three and a half years ago. He currently runs anywhere from 20 to 100 head of bison on land he owns, as well as land he leases from the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Sepp has had help on the marketing front: His girlfriend Brittany Masters is a marketing ace who’s helped him bring Roam Free Bison Bites, a seasoned jerky product, to consumers. He arrived at Big Sky Resort with an Airstream trailer that was completely retrofitted to both sell his product and demonstrate why he invested in it. He even has virtual reality goggles to visually replicate a small mixed-age herd of bison grazing.
Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association, believes in bison too. Carter helped launch the effort to make bison the national mammal three years ago—over a beer in Big Sky, incidentally.
And on July 5, the association announced another big initiative. It aims to grow the current population from an estimated 391,000 head in private, public and tribal herds to 1 million by 2027. They’re calling it the “Bison 1 Million” campaign.
Although the hurdles—access to capital, land and mentorship, among others—are formidable, several speakers indicated that the consumer market is ripe for more bison.
“The opportunity is very, very vast,” said Laurie Demeritt, CEO of Hartman Research Group, a company that tracks demand trends in the food and beverage industry. “There’s absolutely a halo of health and wellness around bison in the minds of most consumers.”
She added that the appeal for premium and organic products largely centers on what’s not in the product.
According to Carter, who co-owns a herd in eastern Colorado, there are a number of animal husbandry practices that make bison appealing to some segments of the population. Bison producers do not de-horn, castrate, artificially inseminate or give growth hormones to their animals, he said.
During the final day of the conference, attendees arrived by the busload at Ted Turner’s Flying D Ranch south of Gallatin Gateway for a tour of the facilities.
Turner, the 78-year-old founder of CNN and a member of the National Buffalo Hall of Fame, offered a quick hello under large white tents that had been set up for the occasion. Flying D Ranch manager Danny Johnson gave a run-down of the spread: 3,600 head rotating through nine pastures in a contiguous piece of land that measures 145 square miles.
“The herd has never seen something like this,” said Johnston, gesturing to the bison grazing 100 yards away. “You think you’re the spectators [but] they’re watching you right now.”
Larry Feight, president of High Country Ag Marketing, says securing enough land, both public and private, to accommodate a herd that’s crested the 1-million mark will be tough.
“God isn’t making any more land,” said Feight, who displayed electrical fencing wares at the Big Sky Resort portion of the conference. “It’s going to take a lot of land mass to make that goal.”
Faye Brown with the Tanka Fund—a national campaign to return bison to the land, diets and economies of American Indian people—said she’d like to ensure that Native Americans producers are represented in the herd growth.
“In Indian Country right now, raising bison puts you in debt. We need to change that,” she said, adding that 60 percent of all Native American reservation land is not owned or controlled by tribes.
“Twenty to 30 years down the road, it would be wonderful to see … lots of young people and lots of reservation producers,” Brown said.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Everyone is invited to join us in celebrating 2 years of arts education in the BASE Art Studio with us! Take a tour
Event Details
Everyone is invited to join us in celebrating 2 years of arts education in the BASE Art Studio with us! Take a tour of the studio, meet our instructors, and meet other artists of all levels in our community. We’ll be getting creative and you’ll have the chance to make your very own artful button pin.
Stick around for our Volunteer Appreciation and Social beginning at 6:30 p.m.!
Time
(Thursday) 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Location
BASE
285 Simkins Dr