30,287 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast
May 2018 Edition
INSIDE
THIS EDITION Stink bug killer
p5 Students to finals
p11 Education
p16 Gypsy Week
Well fed: a growing demand for pet foods containing venison is pushing up returns to deer farmers.
Pampered pets drive up deer prices Strong demand from the pet food industry has helped underpin a stellar season for venison farmers.
❚ by Trevor Walton p32
Photo: Richard Hilson
Typically, prices to farmers peak in spring when demand from European markets is at its highest, then ease off from November. But not this season, says Deer Industry NZ chief executive Dan Coup. “Average venison schedule prices to farmers lifted steadily in almost a straight line from about $7.90 a kilogram in January last
year to just over $10 in December. Since then, they have continued to rise,” Coup said. In mid-April, a 55kg stag carcase was fetching around $11.00/kg in the South Island, up from around $7/kg in March the previous three seasons. “A growing appetite for venison from the booming pet food market, globally worth more than US$75 billion and growing by
about 4% a year, has been a major factor,” Coup said. “Trim and mechanically deboned meat are being snapped up for premium pet foods at prices that can’t be matched by the human foodservice sector. “They now account for about $80 of the value of a deer carcase.”
TO PAGE 2