New Zealand has secured export access to Vietnam for farmed venison and for deer velvet, the latter in both frozen and dried forms, opening a significant new market opportunity for the country’s farmed deer industry.

Fresh from a three-week programme of market activity in the United States, the DINZ team has returned from New York where the centrepiece was the Summer Fancy Food Show, North America's largest specialty food trade event.

The best quality assurance programmes are often the ones nobody sees. Consumers increasingly expect high standards of animal welfare and care, but the work that underpins those expectations happens long before a product reaches the shelf. In late June and July, a series of driver training days highlighted the role transport operators play in safeguarding deer welfare.

In Brief: Attitude is everything and more... | Meet and Greet: Mason Jones | Post-conference updates | Velvet: Under pressure but not broken | Protein boom fuels US venison demand and retail growth | NZDFA: Farewell to a deer farming original, Mark signs off, Optimising performance in summer-dry country | Science: Climate change strategy and more...