DEER | YEAR IN REVIEW
Lows and highs in a year of Covid-19 BY: JOANNA CUTTANCE
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aihape farmers Andrew and Pam Peters, who own Balquhidder, have never had a year quite like 2020. Andrew described it as absolutely terrible. The Peters’ who along with their 800 deer, also run 1400 ewes and 300 hoggets, started the year on a low, with extra low wool prices. The continuing drought over the summer meant there was a shortage of feed and they ran out of good stock water, and because the whole North Island was in drought the store lamb market was sluggish. Usually the Peters get a good cash injection to the business selling their weaner stags at the Taihape Weaner Sale in April. However, Covid-19 meant the fair was cancelled. By this stage the Peters had already used all their supplementary feed and it became very difficult to get any cull stock killed, so they carried a lot of extra stock. It was a double whammy, the drought and not being able to get rid of any stock, meanwhile the farmgate price had dropped considerably. Andrew said rubbing salt into the wound, was having to pay provisional tax and the continual barrage of illconceived regulation. There were some highs, production was good with 94.5% fawning and weaner sale weights heavier than previous years. Prior to lockdown the Peters replaced their original homemade deer crush with a Heenan hydraulic deer crush. Andrew said he should have done it years ago. They also installed a gravity water system
Pam and Andrew Peters on their Taihape farm in 2016.
out of necessity because they had to get water to the stock. The biggest highlight for Andrew and Pam was the midNovember loop motorbike tour of the South Island with a group of friends – the first extended break for quite a while. As for 2021, the Peters are planning nothing too dramatic, keeping things much the same, if anything lighten their stocking rate and watch the regulations, Andrew said.
Recovery hopes pinned on Covid vaccines BY: LYNDA GRAY More deer were sent for processing in September than 2019 indicating that farmers took on board warnings from venison exporters in August. They urged farmers to take the money offered for the spring chilled season because of uncertain price prospects beyond Christmas. Alliance Group filled and dispatched its last sea freight orders about the same time Europe went into a second lockdown. European food service distributors venison manager, Terry O’Connell, said the timing couldn’t be worse for the recipient. It was a very challenging situation and it had added more uncertainty. There were some very nervous clients in the food
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service industry who might have to freeze down products. “At the same time there’s been cancellation in orders so it’s a very volatile situation.” Andy Duncan, of specialist venison processor and exporter Duncan New Zealand, reiterated venison marketer concerns. Although pleased at venison supply and production during the chilled season, he was apprehensive about the ramifications of a second lockdown. “The chilled product was on the water when the latest lockdown came into force so it remains to be seen how successfully distributors can move it along the supply chain.” The European food service sector was expected to come out of lockdown on
December 2, so there was still hope for reasonable consumption during the traditional game season, O’Connell said. Contract prices for the September to end of October spring supply period peaked at more than $7/kg, Innes Moffat, DINZ chief executive said, but retreated quickly thereafter as the second wave of Covid-19 in European markets forced restaurant closures. “No one is going to enjoy summer 2020/21, and the timing of the recovery remains uncertain.” The arrival of vaccines which promise increased control of the disease offered an expectation that restaurants and consumer travel could return to more normal circumstances in the main markets in the year ahead.
Country-Wide
December 2020
