Farmer belief returns for deer

Lester Dickie gave up on farming deer when the markets turned sour five years ago, but strong returns in the venison market have reinvigorated his passion.

Dickie began his deer farming career at Rosemarkie Farm, near Ferndale in 1979. The 10 deer he bought were originally tourist attractions from Haast, which he paid $2000 for. About 60 hectares of the property was eventually deer fenced.

Deer farming was permitted by the Department of Agriculture at the time, but farmers had to be approved to be able to farm the animals. After erecting the first deer fencing, Dickie and his family began to build up their deer numbers through trading and buying in new stock.

When the market for hinds reached a peak, Dickie decided to cash in on the momentum of the industry and sell off the tail end, 20-25 of their hinds at the Lorneville

Now there seems to be so much positivity with [venison] and it appears as though it's going to stay there.

Lester Dickie

Saleyards. The animals averaged

$3300. ‘‘That was the peak and then it tapered down to reality,’’ he said.

At its peak Rosemarkie was running 1200 deer, but as prices began to wane numbers fell until the farm only carried sheep and beef stock.

Today the farm runs 4400 crossbred perendale/romney/texel ewes,

1250 ewe lambs, 145 bull calves and a few other cattle. However, Dickie thinks it is about time deer return to the property. ‘‘Now there seems to be so much positivity with the meat and it appears as though it’s going to stay there. They can’t get enough to sell.’’

The fact the venison marketing programme had been successful so far, and Alliance Group was reinvesting in the industry by building new deer processing facilities in Lorneville, helped Dickie come to the decision. ‘‘I think the industry would be an awful lot better if more people fossicked out one company and supported it.’’

Rosemarkie has a covered deer shed and deer fencing through the property. Dickie said the shed would be ready to go again with a few minor improvements.

He expected a slow transition because he wanted to comply with new regulations about stock access to water. Waterways would have to be fenced off so deer could not get to them, he said.

‘‘Farming is in my blood. It’s all I’ve ever done.’’

Meanwhile, Pure South venison is on its way to key global markets as the traditional European game season winds down. The Alliance Group venison will be sold to retail and food service markets in Europe in April and July, as well as the United Kingdom and North America. The co-operative is experiencing strong demand for venison from the super premium pet food market in the United States. Alliance chief executive David Surveyor said the strong deer schedule and market returns for venison was good news for farmer shareholders.

‘‘Alliance Group has also been working hard to ensure this market growth is sustainable so we’re investing in diversifying our markets from a geographical perspective, but also across channels such as food service, retail, manufacturing and premium pet food.’’

The beginning of the venison programme also coincides with the final stage of foundation construction for the co-operative’s new $15.2 million venison plant at Lorneville, Southland.

The plant will include improved handling facilities, better layout, increased slaughterboard size, a wider boning room and an increased offal area.

‘‘We are investing in a modern plant because we have confidence in New Zealand’s venison industry,’’ Surveyor said.