Two new-generation co-operatives are offering a boost to depressed markets for elk in Saskatchewan.
Alberta Wapiti Products Co-op plans a share offering in Saskatchewan in April to increase its supply of elk meat for an expanding market, said elk producer Blaine Weber of Lanigan.
Speaking at the Saskatchewan Elk Breeders Association annual convention March 11, he said the four-year-old producer-owned co-op handles the marketing, using an European Union-certified and federally inspected slaughter facility at Fort Macleod, Alta.
Weber said Saskatchewan producer-shareholders would supply the elk.
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“It’s a true co-operative; it will only survive if it is making money and returning some to the producers,” he said. ‘”Nobody’s standing behind them that can put the money in their pocket.”
Weber pointed to the need for a slaughterhouse in Saskatchewan similar to the one at Fort Macleod. He hoped the new Natural Valley plant at Wilkie and Wolseley, Sask., could handle exotics like bison and elk.
A second new-generation co-op, Norelkco wants to sell elk velvet.
Through a private share offering, it hopes to sell 50 shares for $5,000 apiece. A nine-person interim board is overseeing a start-up fund used to seek out markets and other sources of funding.
It will focus its marketing efforts on health-care products for canines, particularly the use of velvet to alleviate the effects of arthritis in dogs.
Board member Ralph Venaas explained securities commission rules prevent Norelkco from advertising and promoting the new co-op. Instead, board members are only allowed to share the information at small meetings like the SEBA conference.
Venaas expects the shares to sell well when available in May, with the board buying elk velvet as early as May if markets are found.
Board member Joanne Forer of Melfort, Sask., said Norelkco has created a business plan and has accessed industry specialists to target specific markets. It will hire professionals who understand the pet marketplace in Canada and the United States, she said.
Like the Alberta co-op, it will serve as a marketing arm, not a production company.
“We want to focus on one area and do it well,” she said.
Most elk producers surveyed expressed guarded optimism over the two new market opportunities.
Weber, a partner in a farm raising 200 elk for velvet, said the two co-op opportunities have kept him going through tough times for elk.
“I would not be here if these projects had not continued to progress,” said Weber. “We have a real shot at doing something here.”
He cautioned that success can only come from a common sense business approach.
“You can’t sustain something without a market,” said Weber, noting the Canadian marketplace will be targeted first before expanding into the larger American market.
SEBA president Luke Perkins said the 410 licensed elk farms in Saskatchewan are weathering depressed markets since outbreaks of chronic wasting disease.
The two co-ops offer a ray of hope coupled with eastern Canadian producers buying velvet from Western Canada to fill orders for their customers.
Perkins cited other positive signs in Saskatchewan hunt farms, which saw an increase from 750 to 1,000 harvested animals.
There is also increasing demand for naturally harvested antlers in craft markets.
The future holds much promise for elk velvet in health-care products for an increasingly health-conscious society, said Perkins.
He said farmed elk’s marketing ace is its ability to track animals from “cradle to grave,” he said.
The industry has learned much from past mistakes and is cautiously moving forward.
