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Buffalo ranchers Ross and Karen in front of buffalo sculpture by local artist Greg Ross. rebecca dika

The official name is bison, but don’t tell that to Ross Adam. At the Adam Ranch, spanning 8,000 acres on the banks of the Smoky River in the Peace country, he calls them by the traditional name — buffalo.

Adam pioneered bison ranching here after buying six heifers in 1980. Three years later, the herd had grown to 200. Today it’s about 3,000. Part of the herd came from his job rounding up 900 wild bison on Crown land near Fort St. John between 1990 and 1995. Adam ended up with 100 head, and the government appropriated the rest, he says.

“We’ve really enjoyed the buffalo,” says Adam. “It’s had its ups and downs like any other, but it’s solid.”

The industry has lost a number of producers over the years, though Adam says some shouldn’t have been in it in the first place. “They were just in it for the money. When the money was gone, they were too.”

Adam Ranch built its foundation in the breeding market and has bought back animals it sold when smaller operators liquidated.

“When the market was down, they were giving cows away for $100,” Adam says.

But good times have returned to the bison industry. “Right now

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