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5 Questions:
Editor's Note: Next in a
series profiling people, programs, and issues shaping today’s
beef industry.
By Kindra Gordon |
Ted Turner’s Belief
in Bison
With 45,000 head of bison and two million acres of Western
ranchland in his name, he is America’s largest individual
landowner.
Author’s Note: This summer I had the opportunity to hear Ted
Turner speak at the International Bison Conference held in Rapid
City, SD. Dressed in well-worn Wranglers, a white Western shirt
and cowboy boots, Turner mingled easily with his fellow bison
producers. Following are the comments Turner shared about his
interest in bison.
- Why raise
bison?
Turner said, “I’ve made more money doing some other things,
but nothing has given me more pleasure than raising bison.”
Presently he has about 45,000 head of bison – the largest
private herd in the world – on his 15 ranches in seven states
(CO, KS, MT, NE, NM, SD, OK). All total he owns approximately
2 million acres.
Turner recalled that he began with three head of buffalo – a
bull and two cows – in 1976. He said he got interested in
raising bison because of their efficiency as the original
animals grazing the lands of North America.
Recognizing the ups and downs the bison market has seen in the
past decade, Turner jokingly added, “It’s been a tremendous
amount of fun despite not always making money on buffalo, and
fortunately the ranches I’ve bought have gone up in value. So
real estate is always a good investment.”
According to the Turner Enterprises website, Turner will
continue to concentrate his ranching activities in the Western
Plains states since that is the environment most conducive to
raising bison.
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What’s the
mission of Turner Ranches?
The mission statement of Turner Enterprises, Inc. is “to
manage Turner lands in an economically sustainable and
ecologically sensitive manner while promoting the conservation
of native species.”
According to Turner, his ranches operate as working
businesses, relying on bison and outfitting (commercial
fishing and hunting) as principal enterprises. In addition,
Turner ranches support many environmental projects including
water resource management, reforestation and the
reintroduction of native species to the land. In a few cases,
limited and sustainable timber harvesting is also conducted.
-
What are his
thoughts on the bison market?
Turner has endured the peaks and valleys of the bison market
like his fellow producers. He recalls “When I bought my first
calves they were $700-800, and I remember when they went to
$2,000.” At that time, he told one of his ranch managers,
‘Lets sell 100 cow-calf pairs because I think this is the high
water mark’ – they did, and it was the peak.
Today, with a more optimistic market for bison and bison
numbers at 500,000 head worldwide, Turner is focused on
building consumer demand and moving the meat mainstream.
Turner, who began his successful career in advertising and
went on to found CNN and Headline News, noted that buffalo
doesn’t need to be a niche. “We’ve got to promote it,” says
the media mogul.
-
Why did he start
a restaurant chain?
Turner is an advocate for the health attributes – lean and low
cholesterol – of bison meat. The sixty-eight year old says
that today 90% if the red meat he eats is bison. To that end,
in 2000 Turner got into the restaurant business opening his
first Ted’s Montana Grill in Columbus, OH.
Of the venture, Turner says, “Bison meat is delicious but you
have to cook it differently than beef so it isn’t dry. I felt
the only way to get others to try bison was to have a
restaurant that prepared it properly.”
Thus, Ted’s Montana Grill was begun – featuring bison steaks
and burgers, as well as some beef – and today has grown to 48
chains across the South and East. Plans are to bring the chain
West and double the number of restaurants. Currently, there
are Ted’s restaurants as far west as Omaha, Wichita and
Denver.
Turner acknowledged that his move to vertical integration
hasn’t been easy. He said, “The restaurant business is
tough…but then television wasn’t easy either.”
However, he is confident about the future of bison, saying
that with the increase in bison numbers over the last couple
decades the meat is much more readily available for consumers
than it has been in the past. He believes that will help bison
meat increase in popularity as well.
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What concerns
Turner?
As a longtime philanthropist for environmental issues, Turner
noted his concern about global warming and its impact on the
Northern Plains and Front Range. Regarding the environment, he
says, “We all need to be politically active and stop the
burning of fossil fuels before its too late.”
His newest venture reflects that commitment to the
environment. It is DT Solar, a renewable energy company. Even
his restaurant venue strives to be eco-friendly: Menus are
printed using recycled paper, no plastics are used in the
restaurant and soft drinks are served in recyclable glass
bottles.
Additionally, in a recent Forbes Magazine article, Turner, a
Cincinnati, OH, native, made this comment on his outlook for
the world: “We have to plan a simpler life and one that’s
kinder to the environment. We need to stress the quality of
our lives and the importance of our relationship with our
family and friends rather than consuming resources the way
that the historical classic American Dream has been. We need
to have a new dream and it’s a global dream, one of peace in
the world….We need to reallocate military budget to improving
education and health care and helping to change over our
energy system from one based on fossil fuels to one based on
renewable non-polluting energy sources. And generally we have
to take care of our planet more carefully than we have in the
past when it seemed to be endless; and it’s not endless.”
For more about Ted’s new restaurant chain, visit
www.TedsMontanaGrill.com.
Ted Turner Quotes
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Early to bed, early
to rise, work like hell and advertise.
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Let’s stop doing the
dumb things and start doing the smart things.
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I love life. I love
the planet. I hate to be the prophet of doom. There’s no
reason to be hopeless. We can turn things around. We must
start now. This is the generation that has to do
it.
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There is no greater
legacy that we can leave our children and grandchildren than a
peaceful and safer world.
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