Sector should ride regulatory challenges to make the most of post-covid economic buoyancy.

Deer farmers had an opportunity to reflect on the past season at the 2021 Deer Industry Conference in Invercargill in mid-May.

Issues for deer farmers are similar to those confronting the sheep and beef sector, particularly around modifying farming practice to meet government regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and land and water use, with winter grazing under close focus, needing to be resolved this winter. These issues are creating well-being challenges for some farmers.

Deer farmers have some advantages over their sheep and beef colleagues: the deer industry is a small and cohesive segment of the wider primary production sector, and most deer farms are on extensive hill country, meaning in most instances good practice is already in place and only requires documentation and showcasing to achieve compliance.

Venison returns are at historically low levels. However, as diners return to restaurants around the world post-covid, particularly in the United States, there is cause for farmer optimism. Rising returns and even possible supply shortages are foreseeable.

Velvet accounts for 45 per cent of industry revenue and rising. Despite harvest remaining several months away, and bearing in mind both logistical and market access pressures, velvet’s outlook for next season is positive. New products, added competition, and accelerated post-pandemic economic revivals in China, Korea and Taiwan, the three most significant markets for New Zealand, suggests returns for growing velvet will rise next year. Increased focus on health in these markets bodes well for New Zealand’s velvet industry. 

Both velvet and venison are ideally positioned to capitalise on the so-called ‘revenge spending’ binge: the phenomenon of purchasing luxury items in the aftermath of covid.

Tony Cochrane, PGG Wrightson National Velvet Manager