NBA Southern Regional Conference
OBA partnered with the National Bison Association for the Southern stop in their Summer Regional Conference Series hosted at the gorgeous Oklahoma Trophy Ranch in Allen, OK. We had 92 people representing over 13 states in attendance with an informative list of speakers and presenters.
The weekend started off with registration and intro dinner at the Agri-Plex in Ada, OK featuring speaker Dr. Robert Pickering discussing the history of bison herds between 1880-1950. Cooking demo and meat marketing strategies were presented by Jessi & Austin with Benjamin Lee Bison.
Saturday was an incredible day onsite at Oklahoma Trophy Ranch in Allen, OK. Opening remarks were presented (over delicious custom espresso drinks) by Jim Matheson of the NBA and an introduction to the ranch and operations by Mike Bird. The Noble Research Institute’s Devlon Ford presented: Grazing for Soil Health, emphasizing the benefits of regenerative ranching. The Noble Research Institute is dedicated to the education of farm and ranch management while focusing on soil health, regenerative practices and profitability by providing online and in person courses and consultations.
Conference attendees were then given an opportunity to hear from 3 fellow industry members on a Business Outlets in the Bison Industry panel and Q&A which featured Ray Thieman of Prairie Ridge Buffalo, Dusty Baker of Cross Timbers Bison and Jessi Deardorf of Benjamin Lee Bison.
Lydia Whitman, the Program Manager for the NBA, gave an update on current and planned bison research utilizing different grants, programs, and institutes.
The conference then paused for a delicious grilled burger lunch and then enjoyed an impromptu Oklahoma summer thunderstorm. Which as bison ranchers, we will never complain about!
Kaylee Kipp kicked things back off with an intriguing and eye-opening research presentation of the Current State of Anthelmintic Resistance in Ranched Bison Herds and Management Strategies Related to Parasite Control. This is a subject that will garner more research and attention in the near future, so we recommend reviewing her presentation linked below.
Oklahoma Trophy Ranch then loaded up the conference attendees and took everyone on an educational tour of their ranch featuring their working facilities, hunting land operations. The evening ended with socializing and a delicious meal prepared by the hosts.
You can find videos of the presentations at nationalbison.org and read more on Oklahoma Trophy Ranch here or visit their website.
Thank you to all the conference sponsors and a special thank you to Tiffany from TLC Ranch for providing her exceptional photography services, event images can been seen below.
