By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

Students across the Lone Star State learned about bison through Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) Farm From School program this month.

Kindergarten through fifth-grade students virtually “meet” with a farmer or rancher once a month through Farm From School on a video conferencing app.

“Students across the state tuned into the March Farm From School visit to learn all about bison from Beverly,” Jordan Bartels, TFB associate director Organization Division, Educational Outreach, said. “Students asked many questions and were intrigued to learn more about bison.”

Students visited Lucky B Bison Ranch in Bryan and learned from Beverly Brown. She shared facts about bison, knowledge on what bison eat and different by-products that come from the animal.

During the 30-minute virtual session, Brown discussed where bison originated, the difference between bison and buffalo and her experience in raising bison for the last 30 years.

The American bison roamed the country long before settlers and were especially honored by Native Americans. They called the animal ‘tatonka’ and used the bison meat for food, hides and fur for clothing and shelter, and the bison’s horns and bones for tools.

Brown used ‘bison’ and ‘buffalo’ interchangeably but taught students how to tell the difference between the two.

“A true buffalo is a water buffalo originating from Asia or Africa. They have bigger and different horns than the bison we see in the Great Plains or Yellowstone,” Brown said.

Brown raises 50 head of bison, and they will begin calving throughout April and May.

When the calves are born, they stay an orange color for the first four to five months. Brown told students the Native Americans would call the bison calves ”red dog” because of their hide color.

“When bison are born, they are up and running,” Brown said. “It’s important the calf gets their mother’s milk within the first 48 hours of being born because of the nutrients that are in the colostrum.”

When bison are born, they weigh between 30 to 60 pounds. Mature bulls can reach 2,000 pounds, and cows can weigh up to 1,200 pounds. The average lifespan of bison is 20 to 30 years, and they can still reproduce at that age.

“Bison love to eat grass,” Brown said. “In the winter months, when we don’t have any grass for the animals, we feed them hay until the warmer months come back.”

During the winter months, bison will develop a heavy coat to keep them warm. During the spring and summer, the bison will shed their winter coat by rubbing on trees and fence posts.

“The Native Americans would use the leather from bison to create their teepees,” Brown said. “Today, we use their leather for many things and have turned their hide into bison yarn for scarves and socks.”

Brown also raises bison for meat.

“Bison meat has been proven to be lower in fat, cholesterol, calories and high in iron,” she said. “People who are allergic to beef can actually still eat bison meat.”

Spring sessions
The remaining spring sessions will focus on strawberries and watermelons.

Last month, students learned about farm equipment used for planting and harvesting corn.

More information
The popular program will be back again in the fall. Sign up for the fall 2024 program will open later this summer.

Click here for more information about Farm From School.

Visit texasfarmbureau.org/aitc for more information and the latest announcements on TFB’s Ag in the Classroom activities.