BOZEMAN, Mont. -- The American bison, down to a few hundred remnant animals in Teddy Roosevelt's day, is making a great comeback. Today there are more than 250,000 buffalo, and the number is steadily increasing. Bison ranchers are doing very well indeed -- alas, partly at taxpayer expense.

In contrast, cattle ranchers are having a terrible time. Beef has been in decline for a generation, with per capita consumption down 20% in the past two decades. Through no fault of their own, ranchers' financial circumstances are horrible -- the worst I've seen in 50 years. Producers' costs continuously go up while prices for cattle drift lower. In 1998 the price for beef on the hoof was $16 less per hundredweight, or about $180 less per steer, than in 1990. Throughout the West, parents are asking: How in good conscience can we encourage our children to stay on the ranch? Our kids surely won't.

Bison producers, on the other hand, have found a niche market. Gourmets and the health-conscious drive demand upward. The prices for buffalo steaks, roast and loin are high. At the Bozeman Livestock Market here in Montana, healthy cows with calves at their side sell for $600 to $800 a pair. Nationally, a pregnant buffalo heifer fetches from $3,000 to $5,000.

Yet bison is a much smaller market. Only about 20,000 buffalo are slaughtered annually in the U.S., vs. 135,000 cattle a day. Bison are in such demand that weaned heifer calves sell for $2,000 each. Bison ranchers are also different. Many are hobby ranchers, like my neighbor Ted Turner, who has 15,000 head of bison. But they have a problem. Bison produce fewer pounds of choice cut per carcass. More than a third of a bison is ground into buffalo burger. Buffalo meat is far leaner than beef -- part of its appeal for the choice cuts, but a disadvantage for ground bison, too lean to make good patties. Hence, there is a huge surplus of ground buffalo.

Last month the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will buy one quarter of the industry's ground-meat production and allocate it to federal nutrition programs. The USDA will pay $3.45 a pound, more than twice what it pays for beef. It's a lavish subsidy for wealthy bison producers. You don't have to be a cattle rancher to balk at being stuck with this buffalo bill.