For the Love of Bison
History teacher turned rancher shares his passion for American bison through his educational YouTube channel.
In Sulphur, Oklahoma, visitors and residents can see bison anytime they want, thanks to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area located south of the town. And if they want to hear a living history of the animal, they can ask Dusty Baker, owner of the nearby Cross Timbers Bison Ranch.
The former history teacher readily shares his passion for the American bison with nearly anyone who will listen, including his 270,000-plus subscribers on YouTube.
“Most people don’t know why there are two names for the animal – bison and buffalo,” Baker explains. “When Europeans came over, they were used to seeing what they knew as buffalo – the African and water buffalo. American bison have been here a long time, before Native Americans arrived. Europeans called them buffalo because they look like something the Europeans already knew, but their scientific name is Bison bison.”
Baker learned to appreciate bison while working at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. He spent several summers caring for the animals and learning their history.
“Their story is incredible. That’s a motivator for me, to raise an animal that once almost disappeared, to the healthy, thriving herds we’re raising today,” says Baker. He focuses on improving the genetics of his herd, hoping to reverse some of the genetic loss that resulted from decades of dwindling populations.
Cross Timbers Bison started in 2018 when Baker and his wife, Marisa, purchased their first bison stock. The couple outgrew the space his mom and stepdad – Noble Research Institute employee Kevin Lynch – leased to him and purchased 189 acres in 2019 to accommodate their growing herd.
In his first couple of years raising bison, Baker turned to YouTube looking for answers to challenges he encountered. But his searches came up short.
“I just thought, ‘Why isn’t there more information out there on these animals?’ And so, I saw an opportunity, a niche. You know, what if we started filming our journey and showing people that you can raise these animals?” Baker says of his lightbulb moment for starting the Cross Timbers Bison YouTube channel.
Over time, the channel became an avenue to find new customers for their online storefront of butcher-cut bison meat, jerky and snack sticks. It’s also a vital source of revenue for the ranch.
“I’m a first-generation bison rancher, and I wasn’t handed a property that was set up for our operation, so we had to start from literally the ground up. You know, fencing, animals, barns, tractors. YouTube helps pay for all that stuff.”
Baker relies on his background as an educator to use his videos to bridge the gap between ranchers and consumers. Beyond bison content, he uses the videos to talk about the conservation efforts on his ranch, including prescribed burning; his grazing rotation philosophy; and how he’s improving soil health across the ranch.
Proof that you can take the rancher out of the classroom, but you can’t take the teacher out of the rancher.
Laura Brenner
Laura Brenner, Sr. Content Writer
Laura Brenner is a senior content writer for Noble Research Institute. She’s worked in agricultural communications for over a decade, specializing in nonprofit communications and storytelling. Laura earned a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and a master’s degree from Purdue University. She resides near her hometown of Lancaster County in south-central Pennsylvania.
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