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 Genetics company Deer Improvement has turned in a solid performance in its first year thanks to the support of commercial farmers, according to Chairman Graham Fraser. “Individuals are positioning to capitalise in the better times”.

“In our view venison is an outstanding product with a bright future. In the meantime efficiency gains need to be made regardless of schedule prices. Many Deer Improvement customers have sheep and beef operations and they know what genetics can do for efficiency if objective evaluation systems are in place”.

Deer Improvement independent Director Alastair Porter has been farming deer for 30 years and owns the Remarkables Park Stud near Queenstown. He says the uptake of artificial insemination (AI) is ahead of the Deer Improvement business plan targets, but he never doubted the willingness of deer farmers to seize the opportunities presented by new technology. “There is a clear need to improve growth rate and achieve killable weights in time with market demand. Now we have the tools to do it”.

The Deer Improvement team has just completed a tour of the stag sales but Geneticist Jake Chardon says purchases at auction are just the tip of the iceberg as a proportion of the company’s investment in genetic progress. In addition, stags are being purchased by private treaty, semen is being purchased, and hinds are being bought or bred for the nucleus herd where embryo transfer technology is used to further speed up progress. “Some sire-dam combinations are too valuable to have only one offspring produced annually”, says Chardon. 

"We have now sampled a wide range of the promising venison bloodlines and progeny testing will tell us which ones deliver in the commercial environment. To do this we must generate many offspring across multiple herds. Seven weights will be taken before the animals are yearlings, and every stag, hind and calf is DNA tested so we have absolute confidence in the data”.

Farmers will not have to wait long to see progress. “The stags we use for AI in March will be selected using BVs derived from progeny weights taken in January and February”.

Chardon says across-herd evaluation is essential if farmers are to be sure of what they are buying. “We have no doubt that farmers will increasingly gain confidence in the use of Breeding Values”.