YAKYAK ALASKA LICENSE

Steve Hill says, between the yaks and the family’s three large dogs, he hasn’t seen a bear on the property in the four years he and Anita have lived in the Susitna Valley.įor Steve and Anita Hill, their yaks are like an extension of their family. She bent the fence trying to get to that coyote, so they’ll attack a bear.” Annie was up–I had just her and two younger ones–and a coyote came and harassed them. They’ll attack anything that comes in harm’s way…even the dogs. That strong herd mentality also comes in handy with one of the other hazards to raising livestock in the Last Frontier. Temperatures well below zero because the herd will work to keep them warm.

Anita Hill says yaks as young as a week old can survive Tibet can get pretty cold, so yaks adapted over time to tough out frigid winters with their thick coats of fur. They’re actually called ‘the grunting ox.’” They use them for packing they use them for meat. Many types of yak originate in the Himalayas, and Anita Hill says they are a major asset to the people of the area. One of the reasons that yaks are an attractive species to raise in Alaska is their resilience to cold. While a final decision is still pending, Watson says it’s looking good for yak ranchers.īack at the Sunny Hill Ranch, my yak education continues. “…Apparently, that worked very well, because the USDA contacted me a few days later and provided us with the alternative we requested.” Watson says IYAK rallied its members through email and social media, and encouraged them to write to members of Congress, specifically those on the Senate Agriculture Committee. “It resulted in the almost immediate cessation of interstate commerce in yak meat and yak products, which disrupted the business models of yak ranchers throughout the country, because they had standing orders to go to grocery stores, restaurants, and distributors which were suddenly not valid any more.” He spoke to me from his ranch in Montana about the potential impact of the unexpected change. Jim Watson is board president for the International Yak Association, or IYAK. Fortunately for the Hills and other yak ranchers, there was help to be had. That’s because a USDA stamp is required for commercial sale of meat. We’re not going to inspect it any more,’ which would have taken this herd…and all of a sudden now it’s worthless. “About two weeks ago, the USDA, all of a sudden…out of the blue, said ‘Yak’s not an amenable species. That plan almost got yanked out from under the Hills with a recent, sudden change from the USDA, however. Steve says that it would take a herd of about fifty animals in order to consider selling on that scale, which he estimates will take another two or three years. You can’t say, ‘Here’s one, and I’ll have the next one six months from now.’” “…get some restaurants in Talkeetna serving yak burgers…If you’re going to get them doing that, you have to have the supply to meet the demand.

Steve says that one day they would like to: Right now, the Hills sell their meat primarily at farmers markets, but that may change in the future. There’s no fat on it it’s not marbled like beef.”Īnita Hill says the meat can largely be used as a substitute for beef in recipes, although it does cook somewhat differently. “There’s a good market for it, because it’s very lean.

As for the meat, Anita and Steve Hill say that the market is growing. The fiber gets brushed off of the animals and washed so it can be spun into yarn. As the more tame members of the herd approached the fence to greet me, the Hills explained why people raise yaks.ĪNITA: “Some People ask me about milking. Compare that to a brahma bull, which can weigh upward of a ton. Steve Hill says a large yak bull might get up to 1500 pounds. After I arrived, they took me to a large pen, where I could already discern dark, furry shapes moving around.įor those who have never seen a domestic yak in person, they resemble something of a cross between aīison and a cow, but considerably lighter, and with much shorter legs. She and her husband Steve Hill have operated Sunny Hill Ranch for about four years.

YAKYAK ALASKA LICENSE

There is another animal that is suited for the conditions, though- yaks.Īnita Hill is the “Yak Lady.” It says so right on her custom license plate. Some cattle are being raised in the Upper Susitna Valley but many species of cow are not adapted to the severe cold of an Alaska winter. There is growing emphasis in Alaska on locally produced food, including meat.

Yakyak alaska