Feb 13, 2026
Another Deer2Succeed DFA field day was held at the beginning of this week in glorious Otago sunshine at the AgResearch Invermay Research Centre (now known as the Bioeconomy Science Institute, or BSI).
About 30 people attended including a class of senior agriculture students from Taieri College. The day started off with a BBQ lunch kindly sponsored by Duncan Venison. This was followed by a classroom session covering feeding nutrition for velvet stags and updates on the research on haemostasis.
The group then jumped into 4WDs and headed into the research farm for an introduction to the deer herd and Tomorrow’s Deer breeding hind herd – the industry-funded research programme that underpins advances in deer genetic improvement. This was followed by a stop at a research site examining water quality impacts from four different catchment treatments (fully-fenced waterways, partially fenced, temporary-fenced and no fencing). This led on to findings from the long-term hill and high-country water quality project (water quality on ten deer farms monitored for five years).
Both generated lots of discussion but the bottom line was that each farm has its own environmental conditions and stocking regimes so environmental management has to be tailored to those circumstances. There is no single solution or silver bullet.
The group then visited the Disease Research Limited lab and deer CT scanner and heard updates on parasitology diagnostics and Johne’s disease.
Our thanks to all the staff at BSI AgResearch Group and Duncan Venison. In particular Bryan Thompson for putting together the day and Sam Earle for his BBQ prowess (and the burgers!).
Keep an eye out for more on the day in the next issue of Deer Industry News.
Archie White (left, AgResearch) talks about Tomorrow’s Deer
Bryan Thompson and Archie White (right) with hopefully the next generation of deer farmers (from Taieri College) Photo: Lynda Gray
Richard Muirhead (right) talking about retirement options for waterways.
“It is easier for a deer to pass through the eye of a CT scanner…” Photo: Lynda Gray
