Venison prices might be at historically high records but there is still room for deer farmers to increase their returns through technology. ... Dave Lawrence said technology was increasingly becoming a part of every day farming.

"Those who adopt these technologies are the ones that are going to make huge strides forward."

Lawrence said farmers adopting technologies was not just about boosting farm profits, but also improving the way they worked. They could benchmark their progress and make better choices about animal welfare and other issues on farms.

At more than 20 times the price of more traditional products, you won't find Pāmu deer milk powder on the supermarket shelves.

Pāmu (formerly Landcorp) supplies deer milk powder to restaurants in Auckland and Wellington and was awarded the Grassroots Innovation prize at Fieldays this week. 

Chief executive Steve Carden said deer milk was the sort of innovation the agriculture sector needed to invest in to make sure it remained competitive.

Deer milk is now being sourced from Southland to make cheese, desserts and even yoghurt.

And there's no better place than Fieldays to market a new product to the world - even if it might seem a little strange at first. The company behind it is Pāmu- formerly known as Landcorp - and it says it is dead serious.

Deer farmers are being urged to ''stay ahead of the game''.
Those words of advice were the key theme at this year's Deer Industry New Zealand (Dinz) annual conference, recently hosted in Timaru.

Dinz CEO Dan Coup said the three-day event, which included a field trip to Mesopotamia Station, was a success, helped by the positive attitude by those in attendance.

Prices continue to firm for the niche deer velvet market, despite volumes lifting 45 per cent to 700 tonnes in less than 10 years. 

The value of New Zealand velvet exports has doubled from $30 million in 2014 to $70m, as new markets emerge in main buyer South Korea and opportunities open in the growth market of China.     

"Velvet is almost quite trendy which is a great leap forward for the industry," said Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) Asia market manager Rhys Griffiths. 

Nelson restaurant Hopgood's & Co has won a hat trick of gongs at national restaurant awards, taking out Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, and Best Venison Dish.

A popular venison sandwich promotion by an American fast-food restaurant chain is partly why the New Zealand deer industry is in good heart.

The Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) annual report says the Arby’s restaurant chain created a social media storm with the promotion, so successful in 2016 that it was repeated last year.

Live deer capture was in the days before clipboards, hi-vis vests and health and safety regulations, writes Heather Chalmers.

A South Canterbury deer farmer has received industry scholarship.

At the recent national Deer Industry Conference, held in Timaru, Justin Geary was presented with a cheque for $2500 to help cover the cost of his Kellogg Rural Leadership course, during which he completed a research project on the NZ venison appellation of Cervena.

New Zealand Deer Farmers Association chairman David Morgan said the organisation tried to pick a recipient that would give back to the industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Mesopotamia is the last station at the end of a road now often frequented by tourists. It sits in the headwaters of the Rangitata River where the country opens out to a large basin of flat terraces surrounded by mountains in May already dusted by snow.  

Farming deer, cattle and merino sheep, the station's role in the deer industry's pioneering days and its scenic location made it an ideal destination for delegates from this year's deer industry conference held in Timaru.

New Zealand has a role in helping other countries deal with their food security, business futurist and innovation expert Mike Petersen says.

“It’s not an opportunity but a responsibility of ours.

“Food security is a real issue. We have an abundance of food in NZ and we don’t actually take it seriously,” he said.

Addressing the deer industry conference Petersen said NZ has a huge opportunity to capitalise on that.