Oakcreek Buffalo Ranch is a 160-acre farm in the
rolling hills of the Ozark Mountains a few miles north of the
Missouri/Arkansas line near
Bella Vista, Arkansas. Tucked back into Little Missouri Hollow, it is
a hidden jewel of pastures, trees, ponds, bluffs, hills and springs.
Buffalo are the only
livestock at Oakcreek, but the buffalo share their home with a host
of wild animals including
white-tailed deer, squirrels, ducks, turkey, coyote, rabbits,
opossum, skunks, raccoon and an endless
kaleidoscope of birds.
Carol and Leon Klein are
fortunate enough to make
Oakcreek
Buffalo Ranch their home. The
Klein’s were married in 1967 and moved
to Missouri in 1990. They brought with them their woodworking
business,Oakcreek Woodworks, where they manufacture wooden craft
supplies for the tole and
decorative painting industry. They love working at home and working
together. In 1994, they decided to raise
buffalo on their farm. It was a decision that
transformed their lives. The buffalo are a joy for the Klein’s.
Carol especially enjoys being
with the herd and when not working can usually be found visiting the
buffalo. Each of the 90 buffalo is known
by it’s own name, personality and history.
Every day of the year is unique and beautiful on the farm.
Spring days bring the special gift of
newborn calves, spring flowers and tender grass
for the buffalo to feast on. Warm days of summer are filled with the
pleasure of watching the
young buffalo grow and play. Fall brings the changing of leaves
and the crisp cool days that energize
the whole buffalo herd to run and play, and
to consume huge amounts of the fresh fall growth of cool season
grasses. Winter snows are
rare and do not last long, but are breathe taking in their beauty.The
buffalo eat their fill from huge round bales of hay then nibble
across the pasture for grass
treats as desert. As days grow longer, the buffalo cows swell with
the promise of calving season
once more.
Herd size at Oakcreek has
reached the maximum number of animals that the property
can sustain. In order to retain an exceptional heifer in the herd now
requires the removal of an older animal.
Difficult decisions must be made, but the
results will be a genetic improvement of the herd over the years.
You can see from this picture of
GEORGEOUS
GEORGE, our original and still number one herd bull, that fine
genetics are a foundation of our
herd at Oakcreek.
Nothing would please us better than to
keep all the animals born here on our
farm, and we wish that were possible. The
next best thing to that is to provide breeding stock to begin new
bison farms or expand
existing ones. It is a joy to see these fine babes become the
pride of new owners. Many of the bull
calves will be retained at Oakcreek to join
the meat herd. Here they will enjoy life to the fullest while they
range freely across the
beautiful pastures, growing and maturing. These animals are
harvested before their third birthday to
provide meat customers of Oakcreek with
the best quality meat available in the world today - PURE GRASS-FED
BISON MEAT.
We have
learned that in today's world the buffalo depend on us for their
existence, but they in return
provide life and sustenance to us. It is this
interdependence of buffalo and man,
which gives the strength for both
to
live and prosper.
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