Meat
Beefalo
D tier
Beefalo is a hybrid cattle type produced by crossing domestic cattle (Bos taurus) with American bison (Bison bison), typically standardised at about three-eighths bison and five-eighths domestic cattle so offspring remain fertile and manageable. Meat is often leaner than conventional beef, with a slightly sweeter, cleaner flavour and lower fat content, appealing to specialty and health-focused markets. Commercial Beefalo programmes in North America select for calving ease, hardiness on range, and consistent carcass traits while retaining bison influence in flavour and leanness. Product is sold as Beefalo or hybrid bison-beef through specialty butchers, farms, and direct marketing rather than mainstream commodity channels.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Early frontier cattlemen experimented with cattle–bison crosses on the Great Plains with mixed and poorly documented results.
Jim Burnett and others advanced fertile hybrid lines that became the foundation of modern Beefalo breeding.
The World Beefalo Association organised standards around approximately three-eighths bison genetics for commercial herds.
Specialty marketing promoted Beefalo as a lean alternative to conventional beef in health-conscious markets.
Improved selection reduced calving difficulty and stabilised carcass consistency in registered Beefalo herds.
Canadian and US farms expanded direct-to-consumer Beefalo beef as a niche grass- and range-finished product.