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Hill country grazing

Deer farming systems typically involve stocking densities far greater than those of wild populations, so care is needed to manage the balance between optimal economic productivity and maintaining the integrity of the environment, particularly its biodiversity, soil quality and water quality.

The summary of this study is broken down into discrete topics as listed below.

Increase in its importance to deer farming industry
What defines hill and high country?
Where do hinds range in the high country?
When are hinds active?
Do adverse weather events affect a hind’s habitat usage?
What habitats do breeding hinds prefer when calving?
Do deer avoid some areas?

More resources

Papers available on www.deeresearch.co.nz

Asher, G.W., Littlejohn, R.P., Netzer, M.S., Johnson, M.G.H., Dickinson, K.J.M., Lord, J.M., Whigham, P., O’Neill, K.T., Ward, J.F., 2009. (2) The use of continuous GPS data to assess calving time and post-calving movement, pp 39-59. In: Red deer farming in the high-country. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd

Asher, G.W., Wall, A.J., O’Neill, K.T., Littlejohn, R.P., Bryant, A., Cox, N. 2012. The use of GPS data to identify calving behaviour of intensively farmed red deer hinds. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd.

Asher, G.W., Wall, A.J., O’Neill, K.T., Littlejohn, R.P., Bryant, A., Cox, N. 2014. The use of GPS data to identify calving behaviour of farmed red deer hinds: Proof of concept for intensively managed hinds. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 154: 93–103.

Netzer, M.S., Asher, G.W., Johnson, M.G.H., Dickinson, K.J.M., Lord, J.M., Whigham, P., O’Neill, K.T., Ward, J.F., Clarke, D., Littlejohn, R.P., 2009. (1) Spatial distribution and resource utilization by hinds over calving and lactation, pp 7-38. In: Red deer farming in the high-country. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd.

Wall, A.J., Asher, G.W., O’Neill, K.T., Ward, J.F., Sirguey, P., Littlejohn, R.P., Cox, N., 2011. Farmed red deer hind habitat use and behavioural activity patterns in South Canterbury high-country over calving and lactation. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd.

Wall, A.J., Asher, G.W., O’Neill, K.T., Cox, N., 2012. Farmed red deer hind habitat use and behavioural activity patterns in South Canterbury high-country over winter. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd.

Wall, A.J., Asher, G.W., O’Neill, K.T., Brownstein, G.M., Dickinson, K.J.M., Lord, J.M. 2012. The impact of red deer grazing on the vegetation of a modified subalpine red tussock grassland paddock in Te Anau, Southland. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd.

Wall, A.J., Asher, G.W., O’Neill, K.T., Brown, M. 2013. The impact of red deer grazing on the vegetation of high-country tussock grassland paddocks in South Canterbury. I. Remote sensing analysis. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd.

Wall, A.J., Asher, G.W., O’Neill, K.T., Thompson, B.R., Steel, J., Lord, J.M., Jacomb, F. (2015). The impact of red deer grazing on the vegetation of high-country tussock grassland paddocks in South Canterbury. 2. Plant species diversity indicators. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd.

Wall, A.J., Thompson, B.R., McDowell, R.W. (2015). The environmental impact of deer self-feeding silage systems. Client report to DEEResearch Ltd.

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