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The usual drop in farmer returns for venison that follows the spring chilled export season is expected to be much smaller this year. After reaching peak of around $7.10 a kg in October, average prices to deer farmers eased to around $6.90 a kg in mid-November and are expected to stay around that level at least until the end of the year.

The 2021/22 deer velvet season has opened on a strong note, with prices up 10 to 15 per cent on last season’s close. This reflects strong underlying consumer demand, as well as the concern of overseas buyers to secure stock in advance of any possible Covid-related supply disruption.

In the event of a Covid-19 outbreak on a farm it may only be a matter of hours before health officials decide where the infected people and any close contacts will be isolated. Planning for this worst-case scenario is extremely important.

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Velvet companies and Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) are reporting strong underlying demand for NZ deer velvet antler in major Asian markets. The season begins in October each year and runs through to late January.

Venison has a great long-term future, say venison marketers. They predict a steady recovery in prices to farmers in the next 12 months as traditional markets recover and new markets bear fruit.

As the deer industry’s seven-year Passion2Profit (P2P) programme enters its final year, design work for a successor programme is well advanced. P2P is the Primary Growth Partnership between DINZ and the Ministry for Primary Industries that launched in 2015.

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Dr Lindsay Fung has been appointed producer manager at DINZ. He is currently the organisation’s environmental stewardship manager. DINZ is now advertising for a new environmental stewardship manager to replace Fung in his current role.

The gradual opening up of Europe on the back of growing vaccination rates is good news for venison producers. There’s healthy demand for chilled venison from restaurants opening for the game season – the challenge for exporters is getting it there.

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The article “First triple active oral drench for deer” pertaining to the launch of Cervidae Oral, published in the Deer Industry News issue 109, August/September 2021, pp20-21 contained an error regarding the efficacy of Cervidae Oral against lungworm.

Velvet buyers, agents and packhouses from across the country are now familiar with the hand-held scanners they will be using to scan VelTrak tagged deer velvet this season. Almost everyone who will be using a scanner in the 2021/22 season attended one of five buyer meetings held in July.

It may have been a bitterly cold day in much of the country, but a good number of Kiwis dusted off their barbecues and cooked a venison-based meal on Saturday 7 August, the world’s first Venison BBQ day.

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The first triple-active oral drench for deer, Cervidae Oral, will be available from rural supplies stores and vets from 1 September. The three actives in the drench are mixed in ratios tailored specifically to deer. The new drench has a 28-day withholding period.

Grass-fed venison ribs and venison cubes marketed by Silver Fern Farms have been selected as two of the Top 50 products entered in the 17th SIAL China Innovation Competition – one of the world’s biggest food and beverage events.

DINZ has appointed a leading specialist in farm animal welfare, Dr Rob Gregory, as general manager, quality assurance. He replaces John ‘JT’ Tacon who is retiring after working for deer industry organisations for more than 30 years.

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Prices for venison animals during the traditional spring game season are expected to be only a little more than last year. However the contracts on offer from marketers this year are likely to be for larger volumes than in 2020, which means average prices across all venison animals may be higher.

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“It is hellishingly frustrating to be a producer of one of the world’s most healthy and delicious proteins and to lose nearly all your top-end customers overnight. It’s never happened before. Not for New Zealand food producers anyway.”

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Global food brands, consumers and investors are looking for the proof that food producers are acting in an ethical and environmentally sustainable manner. New Zealand farmers agree that one of the best way to do this is for each farmer to have a robust farm environmental plan.

The winners of the 2021 Elworthy Award, the premier environmental accolade for deer farmers, are Grant and Sally Charteris, Forest Road Farm, Central Hawkes Bay. The award was presented at the Deer Industry Conference in Invercargill earlier this month.

Good progress is being made with the roll-out of VelTrak™, the new electronic track and trace system that is being introduced in readiness for the 2021/22 velvet season. Registration for vets and buyers opens on 6 April and for farmers on 3 May.

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Deer farmers have a new tool available in their fight against one of their industry’s most productivity-sapping animal health challenges: internal parasites.