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Kirk & Debbie Healy
Hatteberg's People
Reporter: Larry Hatteberg
| June 27.2004--On Hatteberg’s People, Kirk and Debbie Healy make a great team raising buffalo. We traveled to rural Cowley County where the chiggers are biting and buffalo are grazing. |
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| “You know, we’ve been out here about five years and it’s peaceful and been just the place to be.”
In the hills of Eastern Cowley County, Kirk Healy can’t imagine a better place.
These bison, once native, now novel, are making a comeback.
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“It’s easy when you put something out here that is supposed to be here. And it’s their natural habitat and they do well on it and it makes it easy for me. And it’s kind of good to see the natural purebred cattle of this region come back and that’s really what the buffalo are.
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But Kirk isn’t just a rancher, he is also a 767 pilot for American Airlines and flies the Dallas to London Route….but, it’s on the prairie….with the bison where Healy feels the weight of the fast lane melt away.
“That’s what I do for a living so when I get out here all the fears and worries of the modern world are gone.” |
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For Debbie, it’s moments like feeding a buffalo calf that make each day worthwhile.
“She’s about doubled in size.”
The calf’s mother had twins but only accepted one of the calves so Debbie turned nursemaid.
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“It’s just so relaxing to me and the animals themselves are so wonderful.”
You must understand that the Healy’s believe they are living a dream. Kirk stands on the edge of a cliff with a view of rolling hills and the lush green grasslands of the prairie. He watches cattle on an adjacent ranch running, apparently spooked by a prairie phantom.
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“This is my favorite spot on the ranch really. I come from here so it all works for me. Maybe someone else it wouldn’t work for, but I certainly enjoy it.”
For Debbie, the ‘marketer’ of the duo, she has become a buffalo proponent of mega proportions.
“When we first started the business, there were probably about 25 or 30 other people in the state of Kansas who were raising buffalo. I’d say now there are probably in the neighborhood of 50 people that do have herds.”
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As the Healy’s play with the buffalo calf
in the early morning sun, Debbie reflects on her rural life.
“It’s just a peaceful lifestyle that…. I’m in the city for a few
hours and I’m ready to come back to the country.” |
Larry’s Note: For more information on the buffalo, you may call the Healy’s at the Healy Bison Ranch at 877-831-5449. You can also meet the Healy’s at the Farmer’s Market held every Saturday in Wichita at 21st and Ridge Road. |
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