Nose to tail: February Employee of the Month has honed in on animal care since day one

Bison ranchers across four states and into Canada know this month's Chamber Employee of the Month as simply "H.T."

Formally known as Harold Thomas, H.T. has been with North American Bison, LLC since the facility first opened in 1994. But his work with livestock extends back beyond that to a time in the '70s when he and Ken "Doc" Thorolson worked together on feedlots. At the time, Doc had made a purchase of three bison and was edging into the vastly uncharted business of bison ranching. H.T. recalls, "Sometimes he'd just park by where the [Sky High] drive-in used to be and just talk of all the things yet to be done in the world of bison."

Nearly 20 years later, H.T. took the position of barn manager in the nation's first inspected processing facility dedicated to bison located just south of New Rockford, where the Sky High Drive-In used to be.

When asked what it was like the first day 'on the floor,' H.T. gave a hearty chuckle and recalled, "We only did three head of bison that day, and five people were working the floor."

The trouble, it turned out, wasn't with the bison or the employees. It was the layout of the floor and the equipment. "It was designed for cattle, and was all wrong for bison," H.T. said, and went on to explain that the anatomical differences such as bone structure and muscle mass vary so greatly between cattle and bison. It made for harder work, but prompted a new approach.

For H.T., being both adaptive and attentive was key to developing a logistical layout that meets the demands of bison processing– from barn to burger.

The facility now employs many more people and operates with the ease of a fine-tuned machine. The layout of the facility has since been upgraded and can handle more than 150 head of bison each week.

The tools and equipment are highly specialized to handle the bison in the most humane way possible. It is H.T.'s job to move the bison from the barn to the floor- a task that requires patience and skills. Anyone who has ever been around bison knows they tend to be skittish and can startle easily. Over the years, H.T. has honed the process so that he moves the animals through a series of hydraulic gates one by one.

As each animal moves out of the barn, they step directly to a 'restrainer' which stabilizes the animal as it is dispatched and moved onto the floor. From that point, H.T. says the processing moves very quickly. In a matter of hours whole carcasses turn to whole cuts and burger, and then packaged.

From here, these products then have one of two places to go. The first option is for the meat to be boxed and placed on pallets and shipped to Fargo for distribution.

H.T. also plays a role in this part, as he coordinates with grocers and chefs to ensure they have the best product available. He explains that grocers prefer a few specialty cuts such as tenderloin, but rely mostly on staples like ground bison.

The chefs he works with also value the ground meat for high quality bison burgers, but when it comes to cuts they have a different approach. Rather than cutting several ribeye steaks, H.T. ensures the orders are prepared in a way that leaves the cuts whole- letting the chefs cut and prepare the steaks as desired.

The other path that the finished meat can take is much shorter. After being packaged, products make the short trip to a cooler in the main office. Here, anyone can stop in and purchase a package of burger or steaks.

North American Bison sure has come along way since those early days, and H.T. has been a substantial part of the transformation. If one thing is certain, it is that change is always constant.

Have you experienced great customer service from an employee of a local business? If so, please consider nominating that person for this award. Nomination cards and forms are available in the table tents and on bulletin boards at local businesses. Forms can be printed from the organization's webpage, http://www.cityofnewrockford.com/chamber. Nominations can also be submitted via email to [email protected].