About Us

What led me to give up a high paying job in the military, less than 4 years from collecting a pension to raise bison full time?

It's a bit of a long story. I used to love my job as a search and rescue pilot. I loved having a mission to complete. A lot of times, that mission had the potential to be a life or death outcome for somebody. I loved helping people when they were at their time of greatest need. I loved flying. I loved working with the rest of the crew, each person experts in their own role, working together to tell death to wait a little longer for this one.

If that is how my job kept going I might have stayed in the military for another 15+ years. When covid came along, and the military ordered everyone to take the shots... well that crossed a line I wasn't willing to back down from.

I refused to comply and my flying career with the military immediately ended. It took until Feb 2024 for me to actually get released from the military, but my career there was essentially over the moment Trudeau got re-elected in 2021.

Why bison?

Bison are an absolutely amazing animal. They are perfectly adapted to our environment here in northern Alberta. They are almost completely unrivalled in terms of the health benefits of their meat. And as the keystone species that was largely responsible for the fertility of the grassland ecosystem of the prairies, their environmental benefits are significant.

God made bison as the perfect species to help with stewardship of the land and source of the healthiest meat on the planet. With the world going to hell in a handbasket, in the event of a total collapse of the supply chains and food systems, I could think of no better way to prepare than to have the one of the worlds greatest comeback stories on my team.

Plus having my own buffalo just seemed super bad-ass.

So what?

I decided to fight back by taking charge of the health of my family for myself. I realized I didn't want to trust something as critical as the food my family eats to modern industrial farming.

I decided I would raise my bison as healthy as I possibly could. We finish them on grass and natural forage only, despite the fact that they would gain more weight on grain. The meat is healthier and has better anti-inflammatory properties when strictly grass fed.

I slaughter the bison on the farm in the field so that they never have the stress from being handled and taken to a slaughterhouse. It is the most humane way possible, and prevents stress hormones in the meat.

We never spray any pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers on our land. We don't give our bison any steroids, vaccines, or hormones.

We sacrifice efficiency and yield to achieve the absolute highest quality meat in terms of health benefits we possibly can. This is what our family eats.

When God closes a door he opens a window. I realized that other people need this too. My days of rescuing people with a helicopter are over. My mission now revolves around helping my customers fill their freezers with some of the healthiest meat in the world.

Reviews (from Google)

  • Lee

    I purchased a quarter share of grassfed bison from Matt last winter. The quality of the meat is like nothing I've experienced before in terms of flavor and texture. True to his word he came through and delivered right to my door. Our plan in my home is to eat clean top quality bison. Looking forward to fall 2024. Thanks Matt👍

  • Kayla

    Matt is really great to deal with. He kept in communication from the moment I placed a deposit to the moment my share of bison arrived to the door, which he delivered himself. Great care is taken throughout the whole process and the meat is very delicious. I highly recommend Beaver River Bison Ranch and am already planning for my next share. Thank you again!
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Order your bison

When you place a deposit on a bison with us, you now own a buffalo, or share of one on our ranch. We will dedicate as much care to raising yours as we put into raising our own (we have a really hard time telling most of them apart). In the fall we will take care of turning it into meat and delivering it to your home, anywhere in Alberta, unless you would prefer to come pick it up here.