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A recent New Zealand clinical trial found regularly consuming deer milk improves the nutritional status, muscle mass and physical performance of women aged 65 and over.

Deer farmers and their employees may apply to be certified to remove velvet antler from their stags under a programme run by the National Velvet Standards Body (NVSB). The programme is quite rigorous, taking about six months to complete. Now’s a good time to apply for those wanting to be certified to remove velvet next season.

For the second time in 43 years, Dunedin will host the International Deer Biology Congress in 2026, attracting up to 500 cervid researchers and professionals to the ‘unofficial wildlife capital of New Zealand’.

New regulations for dam safety come into effect from 13 May 2024.

Cabinet is expected to release its final recommendation on the farm-level agricultural emissions pricing plan by mid-March. But it’s only one of the environmental management changes deer farmers are having to grapple with and work out how to implement in reality on-farm, according to DINZ environmental stewardship manager Sara Elmes.

Cyclone Gabrielle has been a record breaker for all the wrong reasons and its impact has been felt across the North Island. The tight-knit deer farming community has rallied to the cause, raising over $117,000 at an auction last night and providing practical support, to help their badly affected peers in areas impacted heavily last month.

A spring peak of $10/kg is being indicated by some of the venison marketers, who are all working hard in the tri-market development model to create stable demand for venison. This was among the deer farming issues raised in meetings between the DINZ Board and the NZDFA’s South Canterbury & North Otago and Canterbury West Coast

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