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Deer improvement programme hopes high

Wanaka deer farmer and vet Mandy Bell  has chaired the Productivity Improvement Programme over...
Wanaka deer farmer and vet Mandy Bell has chaired the Productivity Improvement Programme over the past year. Photo supplied.
Mandy Bell hopes the Productivity Improvement Programme will ultimately prove to be of significance to New Zealand's deer industry.

Judging by the momentum it had gathered so far, some really good uptake looked likely, Dr Bell said.

The programme, which aims to increase sustainable profitability across the industry, is run through Deer Industry New Zealand.

It has six stakeholder groups working on different areas across the value chain.

An update on the programme will be presented at the 2012 deer industry conference in Wanaka next month.

After a year's work, 15 proposals were on the table, all designed to improve profitability by achieving the goal of "more deer, heavier, earlier and better".

Not all initiatives would be approved or undertaken as there was a need to prioritise and focus, Mark O'Connor, from Deer Industry New Zealand, said.

• Through the Processing Group, venison processors and marketers have developed, for the first time, a definition of an ideal venison carcass - with a target of 65kg (up from 54kg-55kg).

• The Feeding Group is developing feeding and growth pathways for deer, so farmers could meet the 65kg carcass target cost-effectively.

• The Value Chain Group has mapped the whole value chain for the first time (from growing pasture through to meat sale) and a model has been created to show what happens to the bottom line when production, yield or costs change.

• The Genetics Group suggests realising the genetic potential of deer by using DEERSelect (a genetic evaluation system) to produce venison according to market requirements.

Tools such as fetal ageing to better predict conception and developing 100-day breeding values were other priorities.

• The Deer Health Group has identified that many of the technologies to lift production are already available to farmers and processors. Adoption is the issue.

The group has set a target of every deer farmer having an individually tailored, annually reviewed, formally constructed animal health plan based on a risk assessment process.

An initial part of the programme has been to survey deer farmers to better understand their attitude to change and how they prefer to learn.

The resulting report is being used to develop strategies when communicating with farmers.

Dr Bell, a Wanaka-based farmer and veterinarian who has chaired and driven the programme over the past year, said that it had been gathering "tremendous momentum".

It had been an exciting project, with up to 30 people involved in the process who were all leaders in their fields, ranging from farmers and processors to scientists and marketers.

There had been some "fantastic thinking and robust discussion".

It was a translation of science and knowledge into business practices - how to take that information and run a better and smarter business, and how to do that efficiently.

Dr Bell believed the deer industry was "sitting in a really good space", with a lot of like-minded people all on the same pathway.

One of the benefits was the industry was smaller - "we're light on our feet" - and there was a team of people who were determined to do things better and take some good foundations that were there and "fine-tune them".

That was important given the land-use competition with both the dairy and forestry sectors.

Dr Bell has the benefit of being involved with the industry both as a vet and a farmer.

In 1993, she and her husband, Jerry, converted historic Criffel Station, near Wanaka, into a deer-breeding and finishing farm.

Dr Bell's passion for deer went "from beginning to end".

Deer were wonderful animals to work with; they were farmed in a great environment that they were suited to; and it was a fantastic and exciting product.

She also enjoyed associating with those involved in the industry, saying there were some very passionate people and "good thinkers".

The annual deer industry conference is run jointly on behalf of Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) and The New Zealand Deer Farmers Association.

With a theme "Naturally deer, naturally better", it will be based at the Lake Wanaka Centre from May 15 to 17.

Guest speakers include Primary Industries Minister David Carter; Seaworks International retired chief executive Bill Day, who won the New Zealand Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2000; New Zealand Landcare Trust chief executive Dr Nick Edgar; James Palmer, who is director of strategy systems and science policy strategy at the Ministry for Primary Industry; and Richard Copland, from Rabobank.

• A recent update from DINZ said the weighted average venison schedule over the past four years had been $8 a kg. Prospects for the season ahead once again appeared strong, with spring schedules likely to be in the $8/kg-$9/kg range.

Over the past four years, the venison price had varied only 7%, despite a 32% higher New Zealand dollar and the global recession.

Breed-finish deer returns over that period were above sheep-beef returns and farmer confidence was increasing.

 

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