Cherokee Bison Farms

10/14/2026

Happy Wednesday, folks! After two consecutive Saturdays at the DCFM, we are sold out of many things and won’t be down to Madison this Saturday, the 17th.
The meat from our last harvest should be ready late this week or Saturday along with summer sausage, snack sticks, jerky and braunschweiger. Whew!
It’s a good possibility that we’ll attend market the following week, but we’ll keep an eye on the weather!
I’ll post again next week with our plans.

Thank you all for two great markets … we appreciate you all, old friends & faces and new acquaintances as well.

Totally love the autumn weather!

10/09/2026

Good Friday morning! Just a quick reminder to please have preorders for delivery tomorrow at the DCFM in Madison to us by Noon today! They're calling for a picture-perfect Fall market day .... great time to stock up on bison for making all the family-pleasing comfort foods that we love in the cooler weather. See you Saturday, folks!

To see the available product/price list:

Located in Central Wisconsin at Cherokee, just four miles east of Colby, home of the world famous Colby Cheese, you will find our 440-acre bison farm. What began as an alternative to dairy farming is...

10/07/2026

Hey Madison area bison lovers! First of all, thank you for the fabulous "welcome back to the market" kind of day last Saturday! It was good to be back and to see so many friendly faces. :)

The weather forecast is just too lovely to resist .... Cherokee Bison Farms will again be at the Dane County Farmers' Market this coming Saturday, October 10. This market opens at 6:30 and we generally pack up about noon.

Preorders are always, always, always a good idea. I'm taking them now through noon on Friday. At this moment, we still have Top Sirloin, Rib Eye and New York Strip steaks available. There's ONE Hanger steak. Stew cubes, meaty soup bones, boneless roasts, bulk burger and patties.

Before you ask: Tenderloin, Brisket and Prime Rib are sold out. We had another harvest last week and are awaiting those cuts to be in hand by late next week. Next harvest date is November 5th. Those cuts will arrive for the Holiday Markets.

We were asked many times last Saturday if that was the final outdoor market ..... so here's the DCFM schedule!
Saturday Market on the Square through Saturday, November 14.
Holiday Markets at Monona Terrace scheduled for Saturday, November 21, (NO MARKET AT ALL November 28; break for the vendors to be with family) and December 5, 12 and 19. Then break for the Holidays! Market returns in January at the Garver Mill ...

10/02/2026

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1ST.

EDIT: (Tenderloin all sold. Will restock in 2-3 weeks.)

As promised, we're letting you know that the Bison cuts have arrived late today and are ready for sale. We're now taking preorders for delivery to the DCFM Dane County Farmers' Market for this Saturday, Oct 3rd. Please have orders in by 3:00PM Friday. Or give us a call/text & pop out to the farm for your order on Friday to beat the weekend rush.

We have all the steaks back in stock at the moment: Tenderloin (just a few left), Rib Eye, New York Strip and Top Sirloin along with (2) available Hanger steaks. The Hanger steaks come 1 steak per pkg; all other steak cuts are packaged with (2) roughly 8-oz steaks per pkg for 1 #-ish total weight.

There are (4) GORGEOUS Bison Brisket available, between 4-5 # each ready for bbqing, smoking, slowcooking .... whatever your favorite method! They're fantastic.

More stew cubes came in. Perfect timing.

And we filled our coffers with some absolutely delicious-looking boneless roasts. (one's going in our roaster for tomorrow!) Sirloin Tip Roast (the dense, solid, makes nice slices cut); Round Roast (easily shreddable, lean and slow-cooker friendly) or the Bison Hump Roast (also shreds, most marbled, fabulous flavor and like the Round Roast, is a favorite for pot roast recipes with all those favorite fall veggies)

We have plenty of bulk burger and patties to go around. Great time for stocking up on those. Take the road a little less traveled and try out a bison heart, tongue, meaty soup bones, marrow bones for broth; or even, ... um... "oysters". Yup. Those, too.

Place your order early .... I can't add to our truck freezer or boxes after 3:00 PM once we're loaded up.

See you Saturday!

09/29/2026

Hello! It’s that time of year …. Cherokee Bison Farms will return to the DCFM this Saturday, October3rd. We should still be in the same spot across from the Old Fashioned restaurant. Market opens at 6:30 & we’ll probably head out between 11:00 and noon.

At this very moment, I can take preorders for bulk burger, patties, stew cubes and roasts, and I highly recommend ordering ahead. We are sold out of all steak, brisket, prime rib.
There is a small chance the meat from our last harvest will be ready in time for this market but I won’t know that until late Thursday. I’ll post loudly (is that possible?) as soon as I know. And I have finally learned not to take orders for product I don’t have on hand. 😉

Never underestimate good burger, folks! Autumn is such a great season for comfort foods such as your favorite recipes for savory meatloaves, meatballs & spaghetti, cabbage rolls, shepherds’ pie, chili, stews, taco soup and casseroles galore …. Hungry yet? And of course, bison burgers are a hit any time of year. Bring home a couple extra for your freezer.

Looking forward to Saturday! It’s kinda like finally coming home! 🍁

09/16/2026

Well, we must be nearing our mid-October return to the DCFM in Madison. The weather has cooled off quite nicely, pumpkins are everywhere, our next bison harvest is right around the corner and today I bottled maple syrup in anticipation of coming market days. (Would hate to get caught short!) We don’t have much for fall color here yet and friends said the “way north” northwoods are just starting to turn. Had to cover a few things in the garden as it got down to a chilly 36 degrees the other night. And so it begins!

Perfect day for a bison stew in the slow cooker. Tomatoes, carrots, peppers, potatoes & onions from the garden simmering in homemade tomato juice along with some celery. Also made a loaf of the knockoff “hot-n-spicy cheese bread” we all love. Perfect combo.

Have fun navigating the weather and the clothing layers that are on & off … sweaters & sweatshirts, shorts, tanks & long pants and sometimes gloves. We love our unpredictable Wisconsin weather!

Calf count followers … I lost count somewhere around the 18 mark. I feel by watching the cows out there that we have 2 that will (hopefully) have late fall calves yet. Happens almost every year and we just feel “better late than never” holds true.

See you soon!

09/03/2026

Lovely rain this morning. The one good thing about how dry it’s been is less lawn mowing. I’m all for that! But the pastures haven’t been growing back either, and that’s not a plus. Feeding more bales the past two months of summer than I ever recall.
Took Ranger and I a long time to find the herd this morning after we fed their mineral & filled the creep feeders for the calves up in the yards. Found them lounging in the wooded area, about 3/4 mile from the buildings. They have funny habits. As you know, it’s been quite hot. If I were an animal with a choice, I’d stay in the woods, under the cool trees with the pond just a few hundred yards away. But no …. In the hottest, driest moments, we find them up in the dusty yards, lounging where there’s no grass and in the direct sun and heat. And today, low 70s, overcast with intermittent showers & they’re under cover of the trees. I know their ventilation system works differently but goodness.

Garden is coming to an end. Last week froze beets, several varieties of peppers and carrots last and this week consisted of several batches of applesauce from our apple trees and then picked up some peaches for eating & freezing. And my raspberries have literally gone wild. So many! Tip from our daughter, Rachel, several years ago for cooking applesauce in a slow cooker instead of standing by the stove stirring and babysitting it was such a timesaver! There’s a local farm stand we frequent for things I don’t have in my garden and their amazing bakery (i.e., the addictive whoopie pies). They also just brought in SEEDED watermelons. What a treat. I’m not a big fan of the seedless fruits grown these days & that’s mostly what’s available it seems. When they bred out the seeds, the flavor went with. The taste of these seeded melons was like a mouthful of childhood …. So good. I think that made my summer!

Hope all’s well. Thanks to so many of you who touch base with us and some have even ventured up to the farm. 👍🏼Have a great last-hurrah of summer this Labor Day weekend. Be safe if you’re out & about. We’re open by appointment this Sunday/Monday so if you’re traveling the area, give us a shout & we’ll get your bison burger fix together. 😉🤓

08/19/2026

I truly don’t understand how these last weeks of summer can soar by so
quickly. The homeschool grandkids have started their studies already a week or more ago, and the Wausau & Madison faction go back next week. Too soon!!! Perhaps parents disagree, but grandmas tend to think all that school is overrated! 😉. Oh yeah, you know I only sort of mean that.

2nd crop hay is made and since we did manage two decent rainshowers in the recent weeks, without winds or hail no less, 3rd crop is coming back nicely. If September stays warm and we get a few showers in the right timing, we’ll have more hay to bale and add in the rows. NEVER can have too much hay around.

Beyond that, the little garden has exploded. This weekend I blanched carrots and beets (and guess what our lunch and suppers consisted of!) and grilled (then froze) an awful lot of tomatoes and sweet peppers, jalepenos and chilis. Later on I’ll make salsa. Already set aside sweet corn in the freezer for the same thing … salsa. Full freezers!

Then of course, the corn fields are so tall and happy. Awful tempting for the herd to reach through the fence to try and snag some. Inevitably they do, short out the electric charge, cross and pull wires loose, break a few insulators and plain & simply incur my wrath. Fixing fence in 90-degree heat, no shade and being angry enough to steam vegetables is not my idea of a fun summer day. One particular day Ranger and I were in the pasture replacing insulators and tightening wires and the herd was literally 150 yards away, lollygagging in the pond. I swear I heard snickering.

Hope all’s well out there with everyone. Looking forward to a couple trips down to the DCFM on the Square yet this fall. Will post as soon as it can happen. Take care, all.

07/28/2026

The Dog Days of Summer are here, or so it said on the radio yesterday. I thought officially they start in August but this is pretty close.
I was a bit bummed about all the rain steering around us yesterday…. yet again …. until the news of the devastating storms & tornado in the Appleton/Neenah/Menasha areas. If you haven’t seen the videos and pics of the damage, take the time. It will break your heart. Our prayers go out to all those folks. The weather this year is just out of control.

We are blessed here with several spring-fed farm ponds throughout the pastures. The bison never have far to go when they want a drink. And I have to say, in all these years, today was the first time I witnessed the bison actually playing in the water. When Ranger & I pulled up on the 4-wheeler there was the big bull splish-splashing and causing quite the stir. Water everywhere when he shook and his soaked beard & head shot water in every direction. But he looked quite happy, so there’s that.
Beyond the heat, it’s been a fairly uneventful couple of weeks. Too hot to get into much mischief.
We did get away for several days with the whole family and enjoyed some down time and Lake Life up north. Rented a small pontoon & taught grandkids how to drive that as well as Gpa’s little fishing boat. Caught some impressive bass, lots of water and kayak time & “marshmallowed” over the campfire until the skeeters tried to eat us alive. It was great (except the mosquitoes!) No complaints that it was too cold, that’s for sure!

Hope this post finds you all well and enjoying the summer season. Another 4 weeks and we’ll start the transition to fall. Time sure goes fast! Take care!

07/09/2026

It's very much summertime .... we can tell by the pasture full of bison littles, as well as the high temps this week and oh-so-humid. Seems like about a dozen different pop-up rain showers travelled through today. Can I say MUGGY??? Anyway - right around 20-21 calf count right now and there's probably only one or two more left to drop. The herd has not done their "pied piper" line recently and that's about the only way I can get a solid, accurate head count. Too much running and milling around and overall chaos for counting.

The garden has literally exploded in the past few days. I will have cucumbers galore after all .... darn rabbits kept nipping off the tops before they barely were started. The tomatoes we have in totes are so sad. The first ten days of June were very unseasonably chilly and with no polite transition, we then hit 80-90s and humid. Finally had to look up what might be wrong because Leroy figured I wasn't watering them enough. (but I was, I swear!) Turns out the fast change in extreme temps gave them an official case of "tomato leaf wilt", which is a totally accurate description, caused by temperature stress. Who knew? We'd just never seen anything quite like it before. They are making fruit but are the weirdest looking things! Now to find out soon if the flavor is still good .....

Hope you are all enjoying summer and still staying cool enough. Sharing some of our baby pics!