Lori Moore: A bison believer turns vision into reality

Published 3:00 am Thursday, July 6, 2023

: Lori Moore and her husband, Joe, sell bison products at their store in La Pine, Ore., and online.

LA PINE, Ore. — Lori Moore had a bison vision that she has turned into a business.

Moore was inspired by the bison ranch that she and her husband, Joe Moore, traveled past on numerous trips between Durango and Denver, Colo.

“I think we should start a bison ranch!” she said to her husband a few years ago.

The statement caught Joe Moore by surprise, but he did have a response.

“You know those things can kill you,” he said of bison.

Lori Moore wasn’t deterred by her husband. She had already done research on the animal and on the market for its meat.

There was also a desire by Lori, who worked in the financial industry, and by Joe, who worked in heavy construction, to find a profession in which they could work together.

That desire, Lori’s bison research and the couple’s determination to make career changes led to the establishment of two businesses — Wild Oasis Bison Ranch and the Cascade Bison Co. store.

The ranch is home to a herd of about 100 buffalo, and the store offers retail and online sales of bison meat products and other items associated with the animal and the western lifestyle.

The store opened April 1 in La Pine.

“I’ve been working on this since 2012, well before we dove into this business,” Lori Moore said.

What led her to become a believer in the bison meat business was her research that showed the animal’s meat was “very lean, rich in vitamins, high in protein and low in cholesterol.”

“We don’t use hormones, we don’t use pesticides or antibiotics,” she said. “Our bison are very untouched. We offer only 100% grass-fed, grass-finished bison meat. No grain. It’s not a natural part of a bison’s diet.

“People who can’t eat beef can eat bison,” she added.

To turn her bison vision into reality, the couple’s first move was to look for property in Oregon, a state they had traveled to several times to visit Lori’s sister, who lives in Eugene.

After looking “all over southern and eastern Oregon,” the Moores purchased a 30-acre Eagle Point, Ore., area ranch in February 2020. They purchased 10 cows and two bulls from a Montana bison ranch.

They opened a store in Shady Cove, Ore., to sell bison meat products, they established an online business and they made deliveries to customers in the nearby Ashland and Medford areas.

But the bison herd and meat business quickly outgrew the 30 acres. In 2½ years, the herd had grown to just over 100 animals.

They sold the Eagle Point ranch and headed to Central Oregon to re-establish their business.

While looking for about 500 acres in Central or Eastern Oregon, the Moores hauled their bison herd to pastures in Idaho and Montana.

“It’s not an easy task,” Lori Moore said of finding the right property to accommodate 100 bison. “Hopefully we’ll soon bring our herd to Oregon.”

“This community is amazing,” she added of La Pine. “It’s a small town and we didn’t want to live in a big town, but Sunriver and Bend are nearby and are appealing as customers. We’ve made this our base and now we’re shipping nationwide.”

Mohawk Meats, a USDA certified business in Springfield, Ore., does the cutting and wrapping of the meat for Cascade Bison.

A Capital Press’ annual special section that highlights the contributions women make in the agricultural sector.

Read the stories of the exceptional women featured Women in Ag 2023:

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Geri Byrne: ‘I love to organize’

Lerrina Collins: Fluent in the language of stockdogs

April England: ‘It’s not just a job, it’s a life’

Suzanne Gallagher: ‘I love the work, I love the land and I love the cattle’

Denise Godfrey: A love of plants, and for the community

Mary Hood: Shattering ceilings in ag banking

Sharon Hoyt: A passion for the ranching lifestyle

Jessica Jansen: ‘I love agriculture, and I love teaching people about it’