Ostrich Land, Buellton

Ostrich Land is one of those places that is visited once, but probably only once. Nestled between Buellton and Solvang on the Central Coast, the tourist attraction raises emus and ostriches for the amusement of sightseers. We paid $4 each for two adult admissions, $1 for a bowl of feed, and $8 for a few ounces of ostrich jerky (from Texas) that tasted like beef. These ostriches aren’t bred for their meat—I wouldn’t have objected because these creatures were far from adorable and certainly not endangered---but for eggs and zoos.

The gift shop items, as well as admission tickets to the pens, were overpriced, but the owners have my sympathy. There were only a couple of other patrons when we were there, and the enterprise has high fixed costs with acres of valuable California land devoted to nothing but raising ostriches and emus.

Yes, the property could have been acquired decades ago when land was cheap, but opportunity cost can be a powerful incentive to switch to other uses. We’ve witnessed the driving force of opportunity cost close to home when a venerable race track made way for condos, restaurants, shops, and offices---nothing special about those except their high prices. I hope Ostrich Land remains viable, but don’t bet on it. © 2009 Stephen Yuen