Dealer Index located on Page A10
MAY 2023
Volume 41
48 Pages
PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308
Phone: (509) 397-2191
Number 2
BEEF TO BISON Why a family ranch pivoted from raising cattle to buffalo
E
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press
Bob Stangel Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
An American bison, also known as a buffalo.
Theresa Stangel
Marta Stangel
NTERPRISE, Ore. — From their vantage point atop a wooden fence platform, Bob Stangel and his adult daughters, Marta and Theresa, watched as bison on the hills in front of them leapt with the playfulness of
goat kids. “There they go,” said Marta, 27. “They like to run.” A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. The Stangels run a bison ranch near Enterprise, Ore. To the north lie sprawling prairies and mixed conifer forests; to the south, the Eagle Cap Wilderness. On a clear day, the Wallowa Mountains — often called the “Alps of Oregon” — are visible, creating a dramatic backdrop behind the ranch. The Stangels are part of a niche industry: raising American bison, commonly called buffalo. Compared to the U.S. beef industry, which slaughters about 125,000 head of cattle per day, the approximate number of bison harvested in the U.S. and Canada was just 69,000 for the entire year of 2020. See Bison, Page A9
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