Bison, Rogue Food, and Alaska Update

The latest news from Ron & T of The Buffalo Wool Co. at RATH Ranch. Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more

On the road again...

Southern Bison Conference.

Hope you are having a great week, I know we are... Dad and I are currently up at the Lazy G Ranch, for the NBA Southern Conference. It's really great being able to catch up with old friends, make some new ones, and spend time with the people who are making the greatest comeback story in history happen.

Did slap a roof rack on the van for this trip, picking up a tipi with some really long poles for a new native friend who is doing our tanning and building the biggest bison rug we have ever seen. So, that is just one interesting part of the mission here... the silly things we do, always makes me laugh.

We are going to head to the sock mill tomorrow, and I am also pretty stoked about that...meeting the people we work with is a big part of our business model... and the entire Nester gang has been great. We are also picking up a bunch of Trekker socks and possibly some of our new Lounge Socks, and I will get them up on the website as soon as I get to inspect them. Most likely by Monday afternoon. So, if you have been waiting patiently, I know many have been. We will get them out as soon as we get back hime.

I got more emails after last weeks note than ever before, well turns out I didn't put measurements in the Bison Meatloaf Recipe, well, that's kinda because I typically just use whatever we have, the basic formula is 2 lbs ground bison, 1 cup bread, cracker, tortilla crumbs, a splash of milk, cup of peppers and onions. Please feel free to modify it to your liking... it's a very forgiving dish... and it's delicious.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Ron & Dad, T and the crew back at the BWC.

Rogue Food Conference at Polyface Farm – August 14th & 15th, 2026

If you care about real food, regenerative farming, honest health, and taking back control of what lands on your plate, mark your calendar for the Rogue Food Conference this August at Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. This is the event's return to its roots on Joel Salatin's legendary farm.

You'll get two full days of talks from Joel, keynote speaker Dr. Eric Berg, NFL superbowl champion turned farmer Hunter Smith and more, plus four incredible pastured meals sourced straight from the farm, a Friday-night bonfire and hotdog shindig, and a Saturday sunrise walking tour of Polyface led by Joel, along with time to connect with a community of farmers, homesteaders, and food rebels who actually walk the talk. It's part conference, part farm immersion, and 100% focused on the kind of practical, no-BS knowledge you can take home and use.

T and I have been to several Rogue Food Conferences over the years, and they are genuinely excellent-some of the best events we've ever attended. The energy, the learning, the food, and the people make them unforgettable. We really wish we could be there this time, but we are gonna be in Alaska for the fair. That said, we don't want you to miss out.

For our readers, we've arranged a special coupon code: "Woolyougorogue25" It's good through June 12th and gets you $25 off regular event tickets. Spots are limited, so grab yours soon. Whether you're already deep into pastured poultry or just starting to question the industrial food system, this is one of those rare events that leaves you fired up and better equipped to live it. We'll be cheering everyone on from afar and can't wait to hear how it goes!

Check out Rogue Food Here

Wood Bison Are Back in Alaska—After 100 Years

T and I have been following this for years, it's been an amazing project.

On April 3, 2015, a herd of massive wood bison jogged across the frozen Innoko River and stepped into the sedge meadows of western Alaska. They were the first wild wood bison the state had seen in a century.These are no ordinary bison. They’re the largest land mammal in North America—mature bulls can top 2,000 pounds—and they roamed Alaska alongside woolly mammoths until the early 1900s. The last confirmed wild sighting was around 1915. After that, they existed only in fossils and the stories of Deg Hit’an Athabascan elders along the Yukon and Innoko Rivers.Bringing them back took twenty years of hard work. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game started a captive breeding program at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center using Canadian stock. There were endless legal fights, disease tests, permits, and debates over endangered-species rules. But by early 2015, the herd was ready.The logistics were pure Alaska. One hundred cows, calves, and young bulls were trucked to Anchorage, loaded into steel crates, and flown 300 miles on C-130 cargo planes to the tiny village of Shageluk. Biologists rode in the back with them. From the airstrip, the crates were hauled to a riverside pen. After a few days of acclimation, wildlife biologist Tom Seaton led the herd on snowmachine across the frozen river into their new home.Two months later, thirty huge bulls—too big and too dangerous for planes—were barged down the Tanana, Yukon, and Innoko Rivers and released into the meadows.The first years looked great. By late 2016 the herd had grown to 138 through natural births. Calves arrived earlier and survived better. The bison started acting wild—crossing rivers, finding prime sedge meadows, and settling in.Then came a wandering celebrity. Cow #124 left the herd and walked. She traveled hundreds of miles down the Kuskokwim River, past villages that hadn’t seen a bison in a lifetime. Locals in Aniak, Bethel, and beyond cheered her on. She mapped great habitat along the way before she finally died— a sad loss, but one that taught biologists more than any survey ever could.

Well, we are almost out of the No-Show socks... truly never expected them to fly so fast. We are down to about 40 pairs of medium, 50 pairs of large, and some small and XL. If you are interested in these, might want to grab them now. It will be a bit before we get more of that yarn to the knitters.