 991240 Buffalo Market Falls in Past YearDecember 20, 1999 Pierre, SD - The market for buffalo in South Dakota has taken a tumble in the past year. Rollie Noem, director of South Dakota's Custer State Park, said prices received at the annual auction held at the park last month were down significantly. In some cases, prices bid were less than half that of a year earlier, he said. Buyers paid an average of 61% less, or $1,864 for mature cows, compared with $4,820 in November 1998, Noem said. However, 1998 prices were record-high. “We've been riding the high tide,” said Tim Kessler of Aberdeen, chairman of the state Game, Fish and Parks Commission. “It's always fun on the upside.” In recent years buffalo meat has become an alternative for consumers allergic to beef or looking for leaner meat. One hundred grams of lean bison meat has 82 grams of cholesterol, compared with 86 grams of cholesterol in the same portion of beef, according to the Denver-based National Bison Association. Skinless chicken and pork have even more cholesterol. Bison has one-quarter the fat of beef. A 1,000-pound bison yields about 700 pounds of steaks, ribs and ground meat. Custer State Park's buffalo herd is well-known to those who raise buffalo for a living, and the annual sale draws buyers from across the country. Custer is one of the largest state parks in the nation. An auction and other sales are held each year to keep the herd from outgrowing the capacity of the park to sustain them. “Our stock in the park now is as good as it's ever been,” Noem said. But he said prices in this year's auction were as low as they've been for five years. Two-year-old bred heifers brought an average of $3,419, compared with $5,700 last year, Noem said. That was a decline of 40%. Breeding bulls fetched an average of $3,500 this year, compared with $3,895 last year. Buffalo calves were bid at a $652 average. The overall average price of buffalo sold at this year's auction was $1,416. That was 46% less than the 1998 average of $2,632.
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