Searching For A Lean Meat
Though the Dillinger herds can be seen while driving north of Hwy 24 between Manhattan and Wamego, finding buffalo meat can be difficult. Studies show that bison is one of the leanest meats in terms of fat and calories. According to the USDA, bison ranchers do not give their animals growth hormones or antibiotics.
Those in demand might find the meat in grocery stores, though it is not as easy to find as beef, chicken and poultry, Dillinger said.
“Some stores might have burgers, and specialty stores might have some if they have a rancher that provides them,” he said. “So if you want buffalo meat, the best way is to find a rancher.
“I have freezers in my garage, so I keep meat on hand most of the time. I’m not always going to have what you want. Most of the time I’ll have ground, and most of the time I’ll have roast. In the summer, everybody wants steak. If you’re willing to marinate, you can do round steak or flank steak, but if you want that juicy rib eye, tenderloin or KC strip, well, those go fast.”
According to United States Department of Agriculture Handbook, bison has the lowest amount of fat per 100 grams of cooked lean meat. Bison ranked the lowest in comparison with everything from beef, pork, chicken and halibut. Bison’s calories were the second lowest, ranking just 3 calories more than halibut per 100 grams.
“One of the issues today is people put so many sauces on the meat, and then you don’t even taste the flavor of the meat,” he said. “What flavor do you expect to taste when you eat meat? It doesn’t matter whether it is pork, beef or poultry, the taste is fat, and bison’s a very lean meat just like deer.”
Showing A New Toy
Dillinger, a retired special education teacher, was raised on a farm and ranch in western Kansas. When his son, a chiropractor, opened a practice in Wamego, Dillinger and his wife decided to look for acreage close to his son to raise their horses.
“We were looking for more like 40 acres instead of 400,” Dillinger said. “When we got this, I said, ‘Okay, I’m a farm kid, I know how to handle this.’ So I got some cattle, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have some buffalo out there?’ So I started doing my homework.”
So the Dillingers decided to open their ranch for tours. More than 40 groups visit the ranch each year, especially during May and June when the newborn orange calves are popular to see. Dillinger likes the variety of groups that come for tours, like school and youth groups, retirement homes and return visitors that bring guests. Each tour might have as many as 60 participants or as few as one or two people.
The Dillingers accept donations and use the money to help fund Community Health Ministries.
“I say it’s like showing a new toy every time. Is this peaceful or not?” he said, pointing to the quiet outdoors. “As you notice, there’s nothing touristy about this place. I got the junk piles and the boards and nails and all of it.”
Dillinger said he likes helping people have a good time, and his background in teaching is seen through the displays he has set up in one of his barns. He has collected different bison bones and has a full bison hide that he shows his younger visitors to help describe the anatomy of the animal.
His personable skills allow him to know many around the area, especially from his involvement with high school sports. He officiates sports like basketball and enjoys the activity, as long as it doesn’t hurt too much when he runs up and down the court.
“I can remember when I was 25 and 30, and I can remember what I thought about officials over 50 that were still out there dragging their butt up and down the court,” Dillinger said, laughing. “I try to do a little better than that. I try to stay in condition to not get behind.”
He puts this kind of effort into all of the activities he is involved in, whether it be working on his farm, interacting with the community or even helping abroad, as he has spent time volunteering in Africa.
Love For A Newfound Hobby
Through research and practice, Dillinger learned how to interact with his bison.
“The old saying is if you push a buffalo, they’ll push back. I came up with what I call a buffalo philosophy, but it’s really a pretty good life philosophy,” he said. “Take what you get and figure out how to use it.”
Through the years, Dillinger said he has discovered the line of nonverbal communication between animals and humans. Body language is the key, he stated. Buffalo always have their eye on you, and they build trust through how you communicate with them.
Although he dehorns bison calves for safety reasons, Dillinger has never been injured. But he has come close. He said his bulls and cows can get a bit feisty when in the corral, and that is when he has to be the most careful around them. The bison do not like the small space and will circle the pin while measuring the height of the fence with their chin.
But life around the bison is usually a lot calmer than that. Though the animals can jump more than 6 feet high and run 5 miles an hour, they spend most of their time just grazing on Dillinger’s land.
He said bison can be restless until they feel safe and at home as a herd, and the bison do feel at home with Dillinger, as they have grown to accept him.
“One day I came out on my four-wheeler, and I just pulled up in front of them and shut it off and sat there,” he said. “And here they come. Pretty soon I was in the middle of a buffalo herd.
“Now is that cool or not?”
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