5 Ways Bison are Better for Land than Beef

With all the talk of regenerative, grass-fed, organic, and every other buzz-word that we’re marketed to with, it’s difficult to distinguish what’s really what.

I’m frequently asked, “why are bison better than beef,” and the truth is that the answer to this question has almost infinite depth. It depends on the perspective, and bison are really better than beef from almost all perspectives—ecological, nutritional, ethical, and beyond. We’ll explore the ecological and environmental reasons in this blog post.

1) movement on the land

Have you ever seen cows on a pasture? I’m guessing even if the reader is deep in New York City, they’ve seen a field of cattle at least once in their lives. These cattle are not unlike humans—they’re often mulling about, chewing their cud, not moving a lot. And when they do move, it’s often a very slow and lazy waddle-like movement. They don’t strike me as particularly athletic or vibrant with life.

Bison are very different in this regard. Bison love to move, and they love to run. They are often chasing one another around pasture (sometimes playfully, sometimes aggressively), and seem to have an inherent will and need to exercise and move. Bison will move to the top of hills, buttes, and cliffs, where cattle do not go—cattle prefer to stay on easy, flat terrain.

What this means is that cattle will leave certain areas of land undergrazed, while overgrazing others. In contrast, bison go virtually everywhere—they will graze many pieces of any given land relatively evenly, and tend to avoid the undergrazing&overgrazing that cattle often contribute to. This means that bison have an ideal impact on the land—they disturb grasslands to a helpful extent, without disturbing them to the point of damage. This is of course dependent on specific ranching practices as well, but the tendency in bison vs. beef is universally accepted that bison move much more on land, and therefore impact the grasslands and soil in a more beneficial way than beef.

2) impact on waterways

Bison have a deep fear of water. Historically, bison have perished in flash floods, or when crossing rivers in Spring season (and the ice gives way). Prior to westward expansion, it is estimated that 10% of the total bison population in North America would perish from drowning, making fear of water deeply ingrained in bison. Bison also have historically been predated upon near water, as wolves and other predators (like the now extinct cave bear, dire wolf, American lion, and more) would use waterways as an ambush opportunity for prey.

What this means is that bison will often drink what they need from a waterway, whether pond or river or something else, and then move away from it. This can be contrasted to beef, which are often seen lying down next to (or even inside of) waterways. The cattle will move around the waterway extensively, eroding river banks or edges of a pond. The cattle also have fairly poor hygiene, uncaringly defecating in their own water sources. This not only can lead to sickness in the cattle, but also leads to environmental issues like polluted rivers & streams. This can be so bad in practice such as in New Zealand, where cattle and dairy industries have polluted waterways to the extent that nearly 90% cannot be safely swam in by humans.

Bison instead will get their water, and then move onto pasture to defecate. The nutrients in their bison paddies are put back into the earth, along with much of the carbon from the grass.

So, if all cattle were replaced with bison, it’s fair to say we’d likely see dramatic improvements in water quality, reduction of run-off, and improvements in health of downstream (both literal and metaphoric) ecosystems.

3) native niche

Bison are a native species to North America, and have dwelled here for several hundred of thousands of years. Ancestors to the modern Bison bison such as Bison antiquus and others predate that even, and go back for likely millions of years. These species quite literally built the Great Plains with their grazing (and defecating) habits. Bison are well-suited to the plains, given that it is their literal hoof-built home! Bison are well-adapted to the grass species here, which beef cattle cannot always say the same. Beef cattle often do best with one or two particular grass species, which may or may not be native to the area they inhabit. Bison however, have adapted to the grass species which grow naturally here.

Bison have evolved to fill a niche—they graze the grass, they disturb soil and bring up new seed stock through trampling, and even create habitat for birds and amphibians through their wallowing. Bison will wallow in the same areas every year, creating small natural ponds. These ponds collect water which attract frogs, toads, small mammals, and begin growing unique plant species like trees and others which are less commonly distributed across the plains. These small oases are homes to myriad species, and greatly improve the species diversity and ecological health of land wherever the bison wallow. It seems almost magical, but should really come as no surprise that bison work with other native flora & fauna, rather than directly competing with them. If we stock land with bison, the expectation should not only be a bison-rich landscape, but a landscape rich in birds, small mammals, and even reptiles and amphibians. The ripple effect of re-introducing bison onto their native lands goes far!

4) species Diversification

As mentioned above, introducing bison can actually greatly diversify an ecosystem. Like our ranch which is Audubon and Bird Friendly Certified Land, bison are actually improving the landscape for birds to inhabit. They also make the land more hospitable to mammals, amphibians, and reptiles by creating small ponds from their wallows.

Bison also improve plant diversification, by spreading seed of native grasses, and periodically disturbing soil. When bison walk, their hooves make small imprints in the soil. This light trampling effect acts almost like a super-tiny roto-tiller. It can bring up old seed stock that has been buried in the soil, and can also create small indentations that hold water. These little water-filled craters act as perfect habitat for new seeds to come up. Bison encourage native grass species and forbes, creating an ideal environment for pronghorn to come through following the bison (bison prefer grass while pronghorn prefer forbes). Bison act harmoniously with their environment. Cattle generally eat whatever is on the landscape, and don’t contribute to the well-being of other species, aside from grasses. Bison improve the ecology and biological diversification on their native lands.

5) aesthetics

OK, OK—this may be more vanity than anything else. But…have you ever seen bison grazing on the Great Plains?

When a herd of bison is moving, grazing, grunting, and socializing over the landscape, it brings about a certain visceral feeling. Any rancher will attest to this. There is a strange and inexplicable beauty to seeing a herd of these wonderful creatures out on the plains. Everything seems to make sense, a deep sense that we often don’t feel in urban or suburban daily life. There is a harmony and beauty that sometimes can bring me to tears seeing these incredible organisms live out their lives.

The feeling that I personally get seeing cattle on the land is different. In the best of cases, there seems like something is just a bit off, or artificial. In the worst of cases seeing cattle on land, I feel as if I am seeing a dystopia, reminiscent of the movie Wall-E, but for animals and not humans. The cows waddle around, chewing cud, defecating in or near their water, and don’t seem particularly thrilled with their lives.

Bison will jump, play, chase, grunt, and engage with one another just as much as they engage with their environment. There’s something intangible about this. For anyone who has read this far and still doesn’t understand, please contact a bison rancher near you and see if you can watch these creatures graze into the sunset. It’s more fulfilling, and certainly more beautiful than watching a TV screen lull you to sleep at night.

Key Takeaways

• Bison move more than cattle, more evenly distributing their grazing. This avoids overgrazing/undergrazing while more evenly re-distributing carbon and nutrients through their defecations, especially compared to beef

• Bison do not pollute waterways like cattle, and do not contribute to erosion and soil loss via water the same way cattle do

• Bison have evolved to live and thrive in North American ecosystems, and have complex positive interactions with the ecosystem as a whole. Beef on the other hand are used as a stand-in for bison in regenerative programs. While beef can contribute to regenerating a landscape, they’re a pale replacement for bison

• Bison impact land in all kinds of unexpected ways, and actually improve biological diversity and the ecological health of land they’re placed on. They are native to this land and function “perfectly,” because they created their own job and niche on this land hundreds of thousands of years ago.

• Bison are incredibly beautiful animals, and there seems to be an intangible element to seeing them graze. Something about a native, wild animal in their natural habitat that is visually stunning, and strikes at the heart and spirit of Life. There is an indescribable beauty to watching bison thrive on the American Serengeti.

• Bison are so much better for regenerating land and ecosystems than beef cattle, in every way imaginable (and beyond)!