DEER FARMING IN THE UK
Modern deer farming has developed from work done at the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland in the early 1970s.
Encouraged by the need for diversification in agriculture ther was an initial boom in livestock prices but the industry suffered severe competition from venison imported from both Eastern Europe and New Zealand, this led to a reduction in price to a more realistic level. As a result the number of deer farmed and the number of farms has fluctuated. There was an increase in the total number of farmed deer from 36 000 in 1989 to 55 000 in 1993, of these approximately 50% were breeding hinds.Total numbers then fell back in 1995 to the 1989 total, falling a further 10% giving a total herd in 1998 of 32 000 on 311 farms. The national Red deer herd represents 90% of the total, the balance are Fallow. Total consumption of farmed venison is estimated to be approximately 750 tonnes per annum of which around 550 tonnes is home produced. The market has recently become stronger and there is renewed confidence in the industry with wholesale prices for farmed venison carcases around £3.52 per kg.
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BRITISH DEER FARMERS ASSOCIATION (BDFA)
The BDFA was formed in November 1978 to further the interests of deer farmers. It is national body representing deer farming to government. Membership is open to anyone interested in deer farming; it now represents the interests of the majority of British deer farmers.
It is closely involved in the improvement of deer farming methods, and in co-operation with government sponsored research and advisory services and with the veterinary profession, helps the advancement of education and research into deer farming.
On the political front, it pursues actively the interests of deer farmers by keeping a watching brief on the activities of government organisation and of Parliament itself. It was deeply involved in drawing up the EC Game Meat Directive, which now governs deer farming in the community. It was also instrumental in setting up the Federation of European Deer Farmers Association (FEDFA) to represent deer farming interests in Brussels. BDFA policy is to ensure that any regulations governing deer farming in the UK or EC are framed after consultation with deer farmers. Although it is not a marketing organisation, it is responsible for the promotion of farmed venison.
It raises an annual levy on all farming members which funds its work and its most significant achievement has been to differentitate the market for farmed and wild game. Farmed game is produced to quality standards, a Quality Mark was awarded in 1992. The BDFA has developed and promoted the Quality Assured Farmed Venison scheme to further differentiate its product from both wild and imported venison and to help maintain a price premium for farmed venison over game. This MAFF scheme is now administered by BDFA using independent inspectors. It also introduced the first Sire Reference Scheme for farmed deer and a Costings Scheme for members to identify costs of production and provide average figures for the industry for comparison purposes.
The Association organises a wide range of activities from training courses and an annual conference to farm open day and attendance at national agricultural and food shows. I publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for members and a quarterly journal Deer Farming which is available to non-member subscribers as well. The BDFA has recently launched its website at www.deer.org.uk , it distributes information packs to farmers considering diversification as well as selling a number of publications about deer husbandry and preparing farmed venison.