Shoot more Deer !

[Camdig]

My situation is, I shoot about 50 deer a year of which 15-20 I will sell/pass on in skin to private consumers the rest I pay to be processed by a local butcher which we consume and gift the processed meat away to friends and family.
I definitely make a loss but have grateful friends and family and minimum waste.

 

[Tim.243]

Because the cover gets up and it's hard to see them. Therefore, most are shot in the winter and spring.

I think this is where people go wrong, and give them the summer off, take this season with all the very late drilling
(around here hardly any) so they will be visible for a lot longer this season.
You have to adjust your style (I do) and pick your spot. We had a good season in my friends wood just changed what we did and was shooting a lot of them in the summer.
The Lucerne is cut twice a year and stays short for a long time like the hay meadows.
Some crops might not go in spring barley being one of them so those fields will stay fallow, maple peas don't grow very high which will be easy to see them.
Shot many a muntjac on tram lines as like foxes they take the path they can see what is in front.
The old farm saying is drill to the crop not the clock, same for shooting.
@Overlay

 

[Overlay]

Supply and demand. Increase demand and the need for supply increases.

For that to happen, wild venison needs to stop being marketed and sold as a premium product at a premium price, to be eaten on ‘special occasions’.

Your average family aren’t eating meat at £20+/kg regularly, especially when they don’t know what to do with it, will probably overcook it so it tastes awful. They might try it once, but will carry on walking to the £4 whole chicken aisle next time.

Dealers should get it made into highly accessible products like burgers and sausages, price them in line with pork/beef equivalents and watch them fly. Whenever I’ve fed venison burgers/sausages to friends most have loved them and, those who dont know, ask where I get them from. They are often disappointed with the answer as they don’t have the knowledge, time, access or interest in stalking. Then further disappointed that I and people like me cannot ‘sell’ them to them. I cannot justify the cost or time to jump through the ridiculous numbers of hoops to become a food business (that’s a whole other issue!).

If it doesn’t make business sense for dealers to process and sell burgers and sausages at volume, then they should be centrally subsidised if they are serious about controlling deer numbers. We’ve been doing it with farmers for long enough!

Yus very valid point indeed, as a rule of thumb when products get fulfilment on availability and ease of supply prices do mostly come down and or become a promotional reduce price product not so with venison
That as you say is the problem with deer product sales / supply
Venison pricing and supply needs a facelift from field to fork pricing , year round availability and remove the “ for special occasion stigma attached to venison” it should be a fair price for a home grown and best process product that one thing on pricing would alter consumption in this country re brand with a assurance on a price match to make it buyable as a go to product

Deer /venision supply has a long way to go yet in regards to making it a household go to product alongside our normal meats like lamb, pork and beef it’s nots like they haven’t been bred and in the same place. The British countryside ???!

they all feed off the land and in the winter we supplement our normal domesticated meat animals including deer farms but not so wild deer they carry on living without supplement and that is not managed and is levelled as damage ???
There is a urgent need for deer management policies to be dragged into the product line of pricing as our deemed normal meat produced for customers

3 things

A good processed product

Readily available

A consistent NORMAL price

You could do away with promotion if need be, people can find out about venison easily they all shop USING their eyes and prices

Venision needs to be seen as a quality normal day to day product for normal people not a special purchase food until it’s sold normally there is always going to a short sale season for venision slot of supply

It’s needs a big overhaul to resolve the end sales problem especially on the price

 

[VSS]

. I cannot justify the cost or time to jump through the ridiculous numbers of hoops to become a food business (that’s a whole other issue!).

There aren't a ridiculous number of hoops. There are very few.
It's incredibly simple.
Venison producers are extremely fortunate in having so little red tape to negotiate, compared with producers of meat from sheep, cattle etc.

 

[Overlay]

I think this is where people go wrong, and give them the summer off, take this season with all the very late drilling
(around here hardly any) so they will be visible for a lot longer this season.
You have to adjust your style (I do) and pick your spot. We had a good season in my friends wood just changed what we did and was shooting a lot of them in the summer.
The Lucerne is cut twice a year and stays short for a long time like the hay meadows.
Some crops might not go in spring barley being one of them so those fields will stay fallow, maple peas don't grow very high which will be easy to see them.
Shot many a muntjac on tram lines as like foxes they take the path they can see what is in front.
The old farm saying is drill to the crop not the clock, same for shooting.
@Overlay

100% Tim
Change of species due to seasons and spring and summer growth of the land requires change of tactics to maintain levels, keeping numbers flowing is down to field craft mainly to produce results
Roe buck season my stance on that is maintenance on numbers and damage limitation on the run up to the rut and that’s it, antlers don’t come into it, Muntjac 365 days a year irrespective on bucks and does with consideration for fawns
These two species are the spring /summer stalking- getting a GD to take them is pretty hard in some areas so there is a dip in readily available fresh venision to the GD
Real time it’s private supply or goeshomers for most
Deer number control and venision supply is always maintainable change of tactics is the key as is supplying a GD

 

[Overlay]

There aren't a ridiculous number of hoops. There are very few.
It's incredibly simple.
Venison producers are extremely fortunate in having so little red tape to negotiate, compared with producers of meat from sheep, cattle etc.

Agree VSS 100%
My concerns with venision you supply a top notch product you deserve top notch price period

You get a badly planned overload of deer some with shot problems bad practice etc etc and some still expect top prices

Then the end consumer can’t or won’t pay for over priced meat for the family, that is the main reason Joe Public stick to what they know and that is price until venision prices are inline with other meat for sale

There will always be a market for quality food at a quality price

It seems that the overload of supply particularly in the Red and fallow season is the lack of sales and that is because the price of venision puts it out of normal shopping purchase for most, as said previously people shop on price - because they have to



It’s a right old pickle

 

[VSS]

Agree VSS 100%
My concerns with venision you supply a top notch product you deserve top notch price period

You get a badly planned overload of deer some with shot problems bad practice etc etc and some still expect top prices

Then the end consumer can’t or won’t pay for over priced meat for the family, that is the main reason Joe Public stick to what they know and that is price until venision prices are inline with other meat for sale

There will always be a market for quality food at a quality price

It seems that the overload of supply particularly in the Red and fallow season is the lack of sales and that is because the price of venision puts it out of normal shopping purchase for most, as said previously people shop on price - because they have to



It’s a right old pickle

On a "per portion" basis, venison retail prices are inline with other meat products, because there's no waste in a pack of venison.
No customer has ever asked me what the per kg price is, only the price per pack or per serving.

 

[Overlay]

On a "per portion" basis, venison retail prices are inline with other meat products, because there's no waste in a pack of venison.
No customer has ever asked me what the per kg price is, only the price per pack or per serving.

Yep
I’ve seen your products, you earn the price top job

 

[nun_hunter]

There aren't a ridiculous number of hoops. There are very few.
It's incredibly simple.
Venison producers are extremely fortunate in having so little red tape to negotiate, compared with producers of meat from sheep, cattle etc.

I think you need to caveat this with it's very simple if you have the time and space to do it and the time to sell it.

If you're working 40hrs a week in an unrelated job to stalking then spending a further few hours a week stalking, driving to your ground, then add in butchering time, selling time, building or making space to do all of this. This is all time away from your family, friends other life commitments etc and isn't practical for a lot of stalkers, especially those who nip out, shoot a deer, drop it off at a game dealer, get a few quid and are home to help with their kids homework.

For you it's part of your job and lifestyle so it fits in and you make a living from it and that's awesome and very satisfying, but it's not suitable for everyone.

 

[VSS]

I think you need to caveat this with it's very simple if you have the time and space to do it and the time to sell it.

If you're working 40hrs a week in an unrelated job to stalking then spending a further few hours a week stalking, driving to your ground, then add in butchering time, selling time, building or making space to do all of this. This is all time away from your family, friends other life commitments etc and isn't practical for a lot of stalkers, especially those who nip out, shoot a deer, drop it off at a game dealer, get a few quid and are home to help with their kids homework.

For you it's part of your job and lifestyle so it fits in and you make a living from it and that's awesome and very satisfying, but it's not suitable for everyone.

I was referring specifically to the bureaucracy (or rather, the lack of it).
Whether or not you've got the time and the skill is another discussion altogether.

 

[Steve29]

There aren't a ridiculous number of hoops. There are very few.
It's incredibly simple.
Venison producers are extremely fortunate in having so little red tape to negotiate, compared with producers of meat from sheep, cattle etc.

It was a bit of a side point to my post, but, there are for someone who might want to do it as a sideline or hobby, and perhaps justify shooting a few more deer by covering some costs. I have a setup in my shed that I use for butchering and processing. I’m fastidious about cleaning everything before and after i use it. But I can’t justify keeping that space for deer only so my cat sometimes goes in there in between times, the tumble dryer lives in there so does other stuff. There is no running water, I fill a bowl. Try registering that as a food premises to enable the sale of a few items. Not simple!

In reality people like me won’t be the ones to make a big difference in numbers and, as I say, it was a side point. Every little helps though!

 

[Rasputin]

Face it: Venison is not very popular the UK.
I can’t see a problem. Just shoot what you want to eat.
This “problem” that keeps recurring about not being able to get much money for carcasses is actually a product of greed and jealousy.
You want lots of ground and want to shoot lots of deer, but you also want money back from this?
I’ve said it before: there’s thousands of people waiting to get a little foot in the door, who want to shoot a few deer each year and take the carcasses home to eat with their families.

It’s time we started sharing opportunities with each other and get some young blood into the sport.

Exactly this too many folks with too much ground not killing enough. I always thought if we were serious about getting deer numbers down then 1 or 2 monteria drives per year would be more than effective and control the surge of venison into the food change.

 

[75]

I've posted about my experience on here before but this seems to be a good thread to do so again.

I moved to the Peak District a few years back. It's all red deer around here and big reds at that. A hind is often 80+kg in the larder and there are simply no game dealers. Willo and the like will collect 6 at time (last time I checked), but my chiller will only hold 3-4 so processing and selling is key to me being able to get stalking around here. The first thing every farmer / landowner asks is "can you move the carcasses?"

I set up a small business to process and sell the carcasses and I can't get enough. I am registered as a food business which is incredibly easy and gives my customers (particularly pubs and farmshops) important traceability as several have told me how EHOs have asked them where they get their venison. I either sell them whole to a handful of farmshops and pubs locally (sometimes in the skin, sometimes skinned) or I have a trade butcher I use who collects, skins and cuts for me. I then sell on to the general public (via FB and word of mouth) as venison boxes for a hundred quid a pop. I know my price is low(I average £12.50/kg on venison) and I do worry about de-valuing venison for those like @VSS who do it professionally but a bit of deer money is nice, it covers some costs, but I'd still be stalking without it and the route to market is more important for me than the profit.

I shot two reds last week - combined larder weight of about 175kgs. I advertised them on FB and the whole lot was sold (as venison boxes) in about 30 mins. Butcher is dropping off the cut venison this morning and taking another carcass away with him.

So I have little sympathy with folk who whinge about not being able to move carcasses. It's a fundamental part of stalking for me and if you can't move then give the stalking to someone who can.

 

[75]

I have a setup in my shed that I use for butchering and processing. I’m fastidious about cleaning everything before and after i use it. But I can’t justify keeping that space for deer only so my cat sometimes goes in there in between times, the tumble dryer lives in there so does other stuff. There is no running water, I fill a bowl. Try registering that as a food premises to enable the sale of a few items. Not simple!

I've got a chiller in a stone floored barn. No running water. I have a 5* hygiene rating and am registered with local authority. You don't need a dedicated space.

 

[baguio]

I think this is where people go wrong, and give them the summer off, take this season with all the very late drilling
(around here hardly any) so they will be visible for a lot longer this season.
You have to adjust your style (I do) and pick your spot. We had a good season in my friends wood just changed what we did and was shooting a lot of them in the summer.
The Lucerne is cut twice a year and stays short for a long time like the hay meadows.
Some crops might not go in spring barley being one of them so those fields will stay fallow, maple peas don't grow very high which will be easy to see them.
Shot many a muntjac on tram lines as like foxes they take the path they can see what is in front.
The old farm saying is drill to the crop not the clock, same for shooting.
@Overlay

That's fine and I agree if you're shooting over crops. However, even then you're not going to be shooting as many as in the winter because they're not moving around so much and there are times when a lot of the crops are too tall and the hedges provide plenty of cover for them to hide in.
I'm paid to manage woods and therefore like to give the pay master value for money. I shot 3 muntjac last night. All 3 would have been invisible in a month's time as the cover is growing rapidly. It would therefore be wrong of me to be taking money with little chance of being successful.
We also have the guides who get far more money if their clients shoot trophy bucks. Clearly that requires hard antlered bucks. Mature munties are casting now and won't be in hard antler again for a few months which means that even if the cover was down they wouldn't want to shoot them. The same goes for the Trophy hunters.

 

[Dunwaters]

The problem with the venison market is that there’s no such thing, there are 6 very different products being marketed under a single banner.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Not a lot of people in the UK has tried venison, everyone I give some to beg me for more!

Me and my mentor literally just get what we can eat and friends, the most iv ever had in my freezer at one time is 2 fallows

Yes first you pay for a walk in the woods followed by a pay to take a shot charge then you pay to on top take the deer home, seems a silly system to me.

 

[Smellydog]

Greedy.


I blame Walt Disney and the film Bambi.

Had he done a film about an abattoir things might be different.

 

[Steve29]

I've got a chiller in a stone floored barn. No running water. I have a 5* hygiene rating and am registered with local authority. You don't need a dedicated space.

I've posted about my experience on here before but this seems to be a good thread to do so again.

I moved to the Peak District a few years back. It's all red deer around here and big reds at that. A hind is often 80+kg in the larder and there are simply no game dealers. Willo and the like will collect 6 at time (last time I checked), but my chiller will only hold 3-4 so processing and selling is key to me being able to get stalking around here. The first thing every farmer / landowner asks is "can you move the carcasses?"

I set up a small business to process and sell the carcasses and I can't get enough. I am registered as a food business which is incredibly easy and gives my customers (particularly pubs and farmshops) important traceability as several have told me how EHOs have asked them where they get their venison. I either sell them whole to a handful of farmshops and pubs locally (sometimes in the skin, sometimes skinned) or I have a trade butcher I use who collects, skins and cuts for me. I then sell on to the general public (via FB and word of mouth) as venison boxes for a hundred quid a pop. I know my price is low(I average £12.50/kg on venison) and I do worry about de-valuing venison for those like @VSS who do it professionally but a bit of deer money is nice, it covers some costs, but I'd still be stalking without it and the route to market is more important for me than the profit.

I shot two reds last week - combined larder weight of about 175kgs. I advertised them on FB and the whole lot was sold (as venison boxes) in about 30 mins. Butcher is dropping off the cut venison this morning and taking another carcass away with him.

So I have little sympathy with folk who whinge about not being able to move carcasses. It's a fundamental part of stalking for me and if you can't move then give the stalking to someone who can.

Perhaps I have misunderstood then. I would love to do exactly this! How did you get started?

 

[VSS]

Perhaps I have misunderstood then. I would love to do exactly this! How did you get started?

Happy to advise, as I am sure @75 is too. Along with many others on here who are running small-scale venison retailing businesses.
Drop me a PM anytime.

You have to be registered as a food business anyway, in order to sell to a Game Dealer, so you might as well take the extra step and upgrade to a food premises.