THUNDER BAY – Stanley Hill Bison farm, located near the city, has been raising bison for some time, but this summer and last summer’s drought conditions made Ashley and Tim Janssens, the owners, scale back their herd and keep the number of animals to below 55.
Bison are large animals and, as such, require an immense amount of food. The cows can weigh over 360 kilograms, and the Janssens breeding bull, Ferdinand, is estimated to weigh around 900 kilograms, with Ferdinand’s son, the “chaser bull” is around the 700-kilogram mark.
The drought conditions, coupled with the sandy soil of the area, wreaked havoc on the farm and their animals
“We had a really good spring. Everything was growing really well. But then came July, we didn’t get any rain, and everything stopped growing, so we were feeding our animals this coming winter’s feed already in July,” said Tim Janssens.
“There was no pasture; the pasture all died off. It looked like someone burnt all the grass off. It was completely dead, so there was nothing for the animals to eat. It definitely wreaked havoc on our property, on our pastures, and also, the gains were a lot less on our calves."
The Janssens started their farm in 2016 and began selling bison meat in 2018. The farm has roughly 70 acres, which is fenced-in, with generally between 50 and 55 bison on the property.
Stanley Hill Bison farm was able to access funds for installing temporary fencing to allow for the safe grazing of livestock on alternative premises through The Northwestern Livestock Emergency Assistance Initiative. That, coupled with a growing number of people sourcing meat locally during the pandemic, did help the farm with staying afloat.
Moving forward, the Janssens hope to remain sustainable in the new year, keeping the herd to around 50 animals, and they especially hope for consistent rainfall over the next growing season.
