Feb 13, 2026
Greetings from an unseasonably green Hawkes Bay. After what was a very dry six months Mother Nature has decided to bless us with some precipitation: over 150 mm in January. We finished the calendar year about 350 mm short, the worst rainfall number since the horrendous 1998 drought. The grass, crops and lucerne have taken off, which is great timing for lactating hinds and fawns, and the normal February feeding out is on hold for the moment.
I have just returned from a successful “Deer 2 Succeed” field day run in conjunction with Invermay (Bioeconomy Science Institute – AgResearch Group!). The afternoon started with a barbecue lunch with the venison patties kindly supplied and cooked by the team at Duncan NZ. We then had an update on feeding nutrition for velvet stags and velvet haemostasis by Dr David Stevens and Bryan Thompson before heading out on a farm tour of Invermay and further discussing the projects they are currently running. The knowledge held by those working at Invermay is a massive resource and it would be good if we could find more ways of enabling farmers to interact with them and the science they are doing.
In this month’s Stagline we have the annual advertisement for industry positions. It is my turn to retire by rotation and after six years I will not be seeking re-election. I would like to take this opportunity to promote the role and encourage DFA members to put their names forward. We are a small industry and the NZDFA has an important job in ensuring the producers’ perspective is understood and considered.
However, apart from being an advocate for farmers, being on the NZDFA Executive Committee has enabled me to learn a lot more about our industry and connect with many different primary industry people. Our network around New Zealand is full of great people and interesting stories that this role enables you to experience first-hand. If you are interested in any future governance roles the NZDFA Executive provides a great introduction and you get to work with a great team, so don’t be shy and take this opportunity to get involved.
As usual, the NZDFA Executive Committee has been busy in the background ensuring farmers have representation on the Velvet Grading Guidelines panel as well as continuing to support DINZ in the endeavour to create a Velvet Export Licensing system. Planning for this year’s Next Generation programme is well underway; it’s going to be in the Bay of Plenty/ Waikato region. The registration opening date and event date are in this Stagline and the itinerary will follow.
The next thing for us on farm is weaning and setting hinds up for mating, we have pastures to resow after summer crops and so the year rolls around. And as many are now considering their parasite management in their weaners, DINZ, Wormwise and Beef & Lamb have produced an excellent parasite management calendar which is designed to be an educational tool and now includes specific information for deer. This can be downloaded from the Deerhub on the DINZ website (see Parasites - Deer NZ).
I hope that weaning and the autumn goes well for you and your deer.
Karen Middelberg
NZDFA Executive Committee
