Pure Plains Bison;
North America's
natural range animal.
Herd Details
Page Updated 13 Feb 24
​
At MFL Bison Ranch Ltd. we have one of the few pure Plains herds in Canada and were part of the Canadian Bison Association's project to develop a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) DNA test to differentiate the Plains and Woods subspecies, quantify bovine DNA introgression and provide reliable parentage testing.
​
We run breeding stock that are all tested using the SNP test. The new test uses ~10,000 SNPs, instead of 26 microsatellites, gives the new test nearly 500x greater fidelity when looking for bovine DNA.
​Our breeding herd has three distinct herd sire bloodlines. That means that the bulls in two herds are descended from three common sources. At present we run 'New Teddy Roosevelt', 'Old Teddy Roosevelt/M-line' and 'Yellowstone' bloodlines. In 2018, our 'Holmberg/Heim' bulls were replaced by 'Yellowstone' bulls, so the 2018 calf crop was be the last 'Holmberg/Heim' calf crop at MFL.
For more details, see the 'Our Bison' page.
About us
MFL Bison Ranch Ltd is a family business. We incorporated as MFL Bison Ranch Ltd in 2017, but we are known as 'MFL Ranches' by many in the Bison Industry and nothing has changed but the shift from a partnership to a Ltd company.
MFL Bison Ranch Ltd is owned and operated by Dick & Karina Staudinger and Stewart & Mariem Staudinger. The origins of the ranch go back to the homestead of Alex Staudinger, who settled near Sylvan Lake, Alberta over a century ago. There are now four farms in central Alberta that are owned and operated by grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Alex Staudinger and the original homestead quarter section is still in the Staudinger family.
News
The Ranch Gate Market in Sylvan Lake has had to close.
​​
21 Dec 25
​
Unfortunately the previous edit to the website did not save properly, so we apologise for the slow update.
​
After a change in ownership of the commercial property we were leasing in Sylvan Lake, AB, we were asked for a lease increase that was approximately 40% above market value, increasing rapidly over the following 5 years.
​
A small artisan butcher shop is a labour intensive business and runs extremely tight margins so we were unable to pay the increased overhead cost of this lease so had to close our store in April 2025.
​
We examined several options to move the store to another location, including potential partnerships to raise the capital needed to refurbish a new location to AHS health standards. We will continue these investigations, but nothing concrete is on the horizon at the end of 2025.
​
Additionally, we are examining different models for marketing directly from the ranch, initially starting with 1/4s and 1/2s as available. Over the coming months we will examine the feasibility of completing an on-the-farm store that we considered in 2019 before opening the butcher shop.
​
If you are interested in purchasing a 1/4 or 1/2 from the ranch, email us at mflbisonranch@gmail.com and we will deal with your order as supply becomes available.
​
When we have more news on this subject, we will put it here, AND make sure the update occurs properly!
​
Sincerely,
​
MFL Bison Ranch Ltd.