Mar 13, 2025
DINZ National Deer Herd Survey
In the February issue of DINZ eNews, there was an article that covered off the “cautiously optimistic” sentiment out there among deer farmers. This position was arrived at due to separate surveys carried out by Scarlatti and the NZDFA, as well as interviews with stock agents. While the eNews article focused on the Scarlatti survey, Stagline would like to cover briefly the NZDFA contribution to these findings.
A big thanks must go out to all the participating branches, with 140 individual farmer responses and also four branches providing a general response for their farmers. The more information we have, the clearer a picture we can build.
Largely, the results of the NZDFA surveys reflected similar themes to the Scarlatti survey, namely a slight decrease in actual deer numbers but an increasing interest in lifting those numbers. There was also no large swing to velvet. While a slight uptick toward velvet was observed, particularly with new entrants to the industry, venison intentions were also strong, meaning a relatively balanced outlook for the future.
Some observations from stock agents:
- Most regions are displaying hind herd stability, though a few farm exits or transitions to velvet.
- 12-month contracts for venison are providing optimism, certainty, better pathways to financing.
- New deer fences are going up, but there are also deer fences without deer behind. Potential to grow quickly.
- New entrants tend to be velvet-focused.
- Finishing weaners are in demand.
Combined with the Scarlatti survey, these findings helped to define the “cautiously optimistic” position that was arrived at. As mentioned in the eNews article, these surveys are simply a snapshot in time. DINZ is committed to running these information-gathering exercises regularly so that we can maintain an ongoing understanding of where the industry is at and where it is headed.
