Nov 29, 2024
Photo: Jodie Gibson
DINZ chatted with Jamie Ward, who is leaving AgResearch in early December after almost 28 years to take up a position with Fish & Game, overseeing their Central Otago district as Operations Manager. In addition to managerial work, the job will include biodiversity, habitat improvement and stakeholder engagement. He will be based in Wanaka.
DINZ: How long have you been involved with the deer industry?
I have been in the deer industry essentially since I started at AgResearch in February 1996. My first seven years were in Genomnz (the DNA-pedigree testing lab) during its start-up phase. Deer breeders were big early adopters of DNA-pedigree technology so were the majority of our customers, and I got to know a lot of stud breeders in my roles in Genomnz. I joined the DeerSystems team in Feb 2003. So, I am approaching 28 years, 21 in a research capacity.
DINZ: Why are you leaving AgResearch? What motivated that change, and what attracted you to your new role?
JW: Just time for a life reset, really. Like I said, I’ve been at AgResearch for almost 28 years. That’s quite a stint. I’ve enjoyed my time there, met some amazing people and worked on some things I’m really proud of, but change is a good thing. I’m not getting any younger, so it just felt like a good time for it.
I’m really lucky to have found a job in an area that is a passion of mine, in the outdoors and recreation, and in wild things and wild places. Which was how I came to be in the deer industry in the first place, based around my life at the time and interest in hunting.”
DINZ: You’ve worked in the deer industry for many years. What are some of the major advancements in the research space you have seen over your time?
JW: I’ll preface this by saying a lot of the really fundamental science was done in the years preceding my time at AgResearch. The core biological stuff. But the biggest area of gain for the industry in my time has been in genetics and genomics. The advances in technology at a macro level have really facilitated some huge advancements in that field.
Deer Select, introduced in 2005, and the genetic progress that breeders have made since, and the subsequent advancements in farm management on the back of that, that has been really impressive. Better yet, there is still plenty of opportunity there for further improvements in genetic selection for certain traits.”
DINZ: Perhaps tying into the the previous question, what piece of work that you personally have worked on was the most exciting and/or your proudest work for the industry?
JW: The science process is a rather long one, so it is less about what projects were exciting and more about which projects I enjoyed working on. So, the genetics work, that would be one, but one of the very first projects I was involved in was around lactation (2003-2007). That was one of the last pieces of fundamental biology that hadn’t been done before, and it gave us some good biological knowledge on how to ramp up production or how to increase productivity from the dam side of things. The cool thing was that inspired some innovators and farmers to actually jump into milking deer, which serendipitously led to our deer milking industry. That always makes me smile, knowing that our research played a role in that.
And the other one was the CARLA research I was a part of. Again, I struggle to use the word “exciting” to describe it, as there’s not too much exciting about taking fecal samples from 150-300 animals a day, but that work gave the industry an animal health breeding value and a resistance to internal parasites breeding value. It also resulted in some lessons that could be shared with the sheep industry, which is very cool. I’m always proud when the deer industry gets to reflect some lessons back to other industries to learn from, as we have borrowed quite a bit from them at different times.
DINZ: And finally, what will you miss most about the deer industry? And are you going to remain involved in any capacity going forward?
JW: I’ll definitely miss the people. That’s probably the biggest thing. Honestly, I’m not a science-driven guy. I’m more driven by improving things for the people and for the country. And I’ve met some great people through the years. It’s what has probably kept me in the role as long as I have been, as much as anything.
The other thing I’ll miss is the innovation. The deer industry was founded on innovation, and it has always been keen to lead, unafraid of change. It’s unfortunately been a bit tougher of late to find the space for farmers to innovate, given the amount of regulatory expectations.
And look, I haven’t died. I’ve got a lot of lifelong friends in the deer industry. I’m going to be based in Wanaka, so I’ll be tripping over a few deer farmers, I’m sure. Plus, the work I’ll be doing, as I’ve said, will involve some engagement with landowners, including deer farmers.
In the interim, I’m going to continue to be involved in the organisation of the 2026 International Deer Biology Congress, which my new bosses are happy with. And if any in the deer industry want to call me up to pick my brain or just chew the fat, I’ll be around.
DINZ would like to wish Jamie well in his new endeavours, with some words from DINZ Board Chair Paddy Boyd and DINZ Science and Policy Manager Emil Murphy:
Paddy Boyd, DINZ board chair:
Jamie Ward has for a long time been totally committed to science evaluation around deer productivity and was always available for discussions around his projects and any other specific programmes.
It's pretty well understood that a lot of claims need to be backed by good science, and the deer industry has been very fortunate to have had such a close working relationship with Jamie and his wider team at Invermay.
Over his time at Invermay, Jamie has had more than a simply science-based interest in the deer industry and has always been prepared to put his hand up to help or add value wherever he could.
Jamie is well regarded within the deer industry, and his skills and general passion will be sadly missed, but we wish him all the very best in his new venture going forward.
His legacy will remain in his science papers, and I feel this is not the last we will see of Jamie around the deer industry.
Emil Murphy, DINZ science and policy manager
Jamie has been part of the deer team at Invermay for a long time, and through the years he has contributed immensely to our knowledge of deer, particularly to our genetics programme. You don’t have to ask around the industry much to hear how appreciated he is, and there will be a lot of people recognising his contributions right now. But beyond that, to me, Jamie as a scientist is one of Jacques Yves Cousteau’s curious men, looking through the keyhole of nature, trying to know what’s going on.
When I first met Jamie about 10 years ago, his passion for deer was obvious and infectious, and as he has stepped into the role of leading the deer programme in more recent years, this has showed through even stronger. He always takes the time to share with farmers what we’ve learned, has an uncanny ability to recall that one little study someone did 40 years ago, and also has the ability to communicate scientific language in a way that still makes sense in everyday terms. We will miss the deep knowledge Jamie has brought, as well as his enthusiasm, but remain grateful for his involvement in the industry over the years.
