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vaâ€" 11940 ‘WDeer Farm ~’\<3? heyts" Poor profits are & making farmers look for new ways to use â€" their land. ; LA J 2EN YOU THINK of MRiQE farming, a mob of red W deer behind twoâ€"metre high eyclone fencing . usually isn‘t what comes to mind. â€" ~ But that‘s what some farmers are staking their future on as the > market for venison and antler velvet soars while:most food commnodity@pfices;plunge. *"There has to be something new that pepple can do with _ farms. Then}gre so many farmâ€" ing operations that are just not their land To farm ; deer Red deer farming a growing industry ing operatiore that are just profitable any‘ ore," says Sandy Sparling,\ whose 40â€" 4 k us : pingpomensadd hests SÂ¥ tw BP oSA C CC latec" Exd ! at are just not The redâ€"deer farming industry ore," says started in New Zealand after inâ€" whose 40â€"hectâ€" : ternational demand began outâ€" »are'B,irr area property was‘too ° smallâ€"to make traditional farmâ€" ing practical. * : M wo o hughol ole s ol pe s ons Ees@Min â€" (Ce2 ; He wanted to keep his farm‘s 15 hectares of bush in its natural state so he bought 27 exposed hinds (@impregnated female deer) to make use of it. "Fraditional farmers face bad weather; expensive equipment and low prices for what they do produce: Red deer don‘t. even need a barn. In the winter the bush provides them with adeâ€"â€" quate shelter, says Sparling. ‘"There has to be something in the future to make the land worthwhile, especially if you _« have small acreages," Sparling says. : i 102 i. ocm ltA onceieer sX enR ds PC e "I‘ve‘always been interested in | meat production," he says, notâ€" ‘| ing that venison, the best cuts of which go for $50 or more a kiloâ€" He‘s bought 50 red deer and 50 elk while reducing his horse and cattle populations. . ‘ Doug Weldon, whose Prospect Farms in Arva is highly regarded for its standardbred horses and purebred Anguses, thinks red deer may be,the answer for some who are looking for an alâ€" ternative to traditional farming. gram, is a more appropriate meat for the:1990s. |.0WER IN FAT: He quotes the. New Zealand Farm Raised Veniâ€" son Council ‘charts that say veniâ€" son is lower‘in fat, cholesterol and calories than all other red meats, poultry and even some LCaIditU. New Zealand continues to be the largest producer of farmâ€" raised venison but Sparling says it can‘t meet all the demand for venison in Europe and the U.S. With seasons here being oppoâ€" site to New Zealand, Sparling says Canadahas an opportunity to provide venison when New Zealand can‘t. Canada‘s first redâ€"deer farms began in the fall of 1988 with stock imported from New Zealand. ® * stripping the supply of venison from deer caught in the wild. s WE\dcns \/\‘OSFeg;h 5 C %Q‘fld ’/ 3 ' We\ *% Weldon predicts that raising deer will be a growth industry with farmers who want to try something new. ; j T TWs o) cA sssrnram â€" Top quality red deer antlers go for more than $175 a kilogram and elk about $225 a kilogram. Venison will probably never _ be a regular item on the average dining room table, he adds. "Tt‘ll always be a premium meat." + Just as important are the stags‘ antlers which are surgicalâ€" â€" ly removed each year and sold as an ingredient for health concocâ€" tions in Asia, Weldon says. "It‘s such a price that there‘s not an incentive to kill your males," he says. ____.â€" fish such as salmon. "I love beef but I‘ve got to cut back because my doctor says my cholestrol level:is.to0 l}lgh.’j Â¥&