The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Producers say a crossbreed of cattle and buffalo provides the best of both

Brian Moline
 
A male hybrid that is 50% cattle and 50% bison stands in the pasture on the A&K Ranch near Raymondville, Missouri. This bull will be part of the process to create beefalo that are 37.5% bison, the magic number for the best beefalo meat and an animal that is also easy to care for.

A male hybrid that is 50% cattle and 50% bison stands in the pasture on the A&K Ranch near Raymondville, Missouri. This bull will be part of the process to create beefalo that are 37.5% bison, the magic number for the best beefalo meat and an animal that is also easy to care for. Jonathan Ahl/Harvest Public Media

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Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Today's headlines:

  • Likely Illinois Republican voters are still mostly in the dark about down-ballot races in the June 28th primary election. That’s according to a WBEZ-Chicago Sun-Times poll.

  • Forecasters are advising you to take precautions as central and southern Illinois bake under high heat and humidity.

  • This Sunday is Juneteenth, a day to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States. Despite technically being a free state, slavery existed in Illinois.

  • The CDC rates the community level of COVID-19 in Champaign, Ford, McLean and 31 other Illinois counties as "high." The agency advises people in those counties to wear masks at indoor public places and on public transportation.

In today's deep dive, bison meat is lean, but the animals are hard to raise. That's why some producers are raising Beefalo, a hybrid of buffalo and cattle.