Despite a nearly 70 percent decrease in prices for white-tailed deer,
the industry says it is not only surviving but profiting from the
experience.
Ron Friesen raises deer near Warman, just outside of Saskatoon. He is
president of the Saskatchewan Whitetail and Mule Deer Producers
Association and represents 113 producers with a combined inventory of
about 9,000 deer.
“I think producers that are raising breeding stock are making money at
today’s prices and people selling are profiting as well,” said Friesen.
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He said it is still one of the few ways a farmer can make a living on
as little as 160 acres of land.
The white-tailed deer industry was hit by the discovery of chronic
wasting disease in some Saskatchewan elk herds.
“We were sideswiped by it. No doubt about it. But there has been no
link between white-tailed deer and the disease. But you get tarred with
the same brush…. It brought prices down and there was a time when
people didn’t want to get into the business,” said Friesen.
Prices fell from a high three years ago that saw producers buying and
selling high quality does for more than $10,000 each, to about $3,000
today.
White-tailed deer have lured hunters from across the United States to
Saskatchewan for a variety of hunting experiences.
Most white-tailed deer grown on farms in Saskatchewan are destined for
trophy ranches or hunt farms, or for export to the U.S. for similar
marketing.
Hunters pay a fee for the right to hunt the farmed deer on producers’
land. Often packaged with other tourism and hospitality offerings, the
price tag for hunting a single animal ranges between $7,000 and $15,000
for an average, four-day visit.
U.S. hunting clubs routinely buy the larger Canadian animals for
release into leased areas to improve local genetics through breeding
and to provide improved trophies for members.
Murray Woodbury, an elk and deer specialist with the Western College of
Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, said Canadian
deer are larger due to the imbalance of daylight hours and healthy food
stocks. The result has been a genetic pool of animals prized by
American hunters.
“I think there’ll be a good market for Saskatchewan whitetail as long
as there is hunting in the States. That could be a very long time, so I
am optimistic about its future,” said Woodbury.
He said the “market adjustment” of deer due to CWD has hastened the
industry’s move from a price “inflated” breeding market to a “more
realistic” commercial one.
“It happens eventually (to new livestock industries) as market demand
is met. It just happened earlier in this industry, but many producers
say they are still making a living,” he said.
Brad Nielsen raises white-tailed deer near Saskatoon.
“For top end genetics, I think prices will remain stable to increasing
for the next few years,” he said.
Alberta is considering whether it will allow deer hunting preserves
after lobbying from the game farm industry.
“We would like to see it get approval in Alberta … we don’t see it as
competition. The more there are of us the better it is. There is
strength in numbers … more of us means we can better protect our
industry,” said Friesen.
