On To Greener Pastures…

The Orr’s Farm Market venture into Bison farming comes to an end.

Owner Mark Orr had always found bison herds intriguing. He said “You always remember the field where you saw a bison herd grazing.” He was definitely correct that the bison would be a big customer draw. People came from distances such as Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. just to catch a glimpse of our bison herd. What began as a group of 6 bison, has materialized into a herd of over 20 animals. Most of the females cows are pregnant with this spring’s babies…due to be born any day now.

Throughout the years we have offered many hayrides down to view the bison herds and customers have enjoyed feeding them apples. We also have processed bison meat products for our customers to purchase. It’s a very lean and healthy meat and has been extremely popular. Our animal attraction has been a nice addition to our farm.

When we purchased the bison we knew that they had an aggressive temperament, which is part of their breed. We’ve always been extremely careful when feeding them and taking wagons of guests down to our barnyard areas. However, as our farm grows more and more we’d like to remove the chance of anyone ever getting injured by these animals. The possibility is always in the back of our minds as we take the safety of our guests very seriously. Our family has made the decision to sell our herd and transform our barnyard into a more people-friendly animal experience. In order to bring in new animals, we have to sell the bison as they don’t take kindly to other creatures in their vicinity.

By April, the bison herd will be heading to a new home where the owner already has a thriving bison business. This farm has agreed to purchase the entire herd, which is another factor we felt was important. We wanted to see them leave as a group and not be separated from animals they have been with since birth.