The 2018 Deer Industry Conference "Staying ahead of the game" was held in Timaru on the 15th and 16th of May 2018. A field day was held on the 17th, hosted by the South Canterbury North Otago Branch of the NZDFA.

You can view videos from both Tuesday and Wednesday conference sessions below, along with a few interviews from Rural Exchange.

Wednesday 16th May 2018 - main conference day

Click here for Tuesday sessions videos >>

State of the Industry - Dan Coup (DINZ CEO) and Dr Ian Walker (DINZ Board Chair)

Rabobank address. Blake Holgate. Animal proteins specialist “Another Good Year…Spend It Wisely”

Feature Keynote Speaker - Craig Rispin “Going Global”

Feature keynote speaker Lain Jager (former CEO Zespri), ”The Zespri story including a perspective on NZ Agribusiness. Can venison be the next kiwifruit?"

Venison Markets and Marketing session.

Nick Taylor, Deer Industry New Zealand

Toni Frost, Firstlight Foods

Nicola Johnson, Silver Fern Farms

Chris Bristol, Alliance Group Ltd

John Sadler, Mountain River Venison

Glenn Tyrrell, Duncan New Zealand

Velvet Antler Session

Marketing and the markets - Rhys Griffiths, DINZ Market Manager Asia

Regulatory Control Scheme 2017 update - John Tacon

Environment Session

Mike Petersen, Special Agricultural Trade Envoy: “NZ needs a new story” - A perspective on trade the CCPTP and environmental stewardship

Minister Address - The Hon Damien O’Connor, Minister of Agriculture

The environment, society, farming and evolving expectations - Guy Salmon CEO Ecologic Foundation

Meanwhile back on the Farm: The Next Generation - Environmental stewardship, legacy and environmental succession 

Hamish Orbell

Hamish and Julia Mckenzie

Ryan O’Sullivan (Nuffield scholar 2017) - Global food production and the expectations of farming environment stewardship 

The Deer industry Environmental Management Code of Practice Launch - Dr Ian Walker, DINZ Board Chair, and David Morgan, NZ Deer Farmers Association Chair

Tuesday 15th May 2018 - technical sessions

Stem cell mediated healing - Dr Dawn Coates, University of Otago

Long term monitoring of deer impacts on waterways - Dr Geoff Asher, AgResearch

Current parasite research Jamie Ward, AgResearch

The Animal Health Review” South Canterbury Vet Life’s Hayden Barker plus deer farmer Tim Turner (The Kowhais) report on their experiences with the Deer Health Review

Deer Farm Systems: Farming with different inputs - Jamie Gordon

Utilizing genetic gain: Using EBV's - Sharon McIntyre (DINZ Deer Select Manager) and farmer Michael Salvesen

Changes in Farmer Attitudes, the 2017 national farmer survey - Innes Moffat, DINZ P2P Manager

Changes to National Tb testing programme.   NAIT Review update.  Kevin Crews, Head of programme (National Disease Manager)

Next Generation “Future leadership; Issues and expectations" - A Panel of SCNO Next Generation in a dialogue with the Industry Leaders. Facilitator Kris Orange, DINZ Board and former DFA Chair

International Deer Calendar overview - 4th International Antler Science and Product Technology Conference Changchun, China (Catharine Sayer) plus World Deer farming Congress VII Altai, Russia August 2018, Natalia Sorokina CEO Russian Deer Famers Association and Tony Pearse

Rural Exchange Interviews

A few of our conference speakers were interviewed by Rural Exchange. Check out the links below for the full video or audio interviews:

• An easier way to have good environmental management - Sarah Perriam talks with Janet Gregory of NZ Landcare Trust >>
• Looking after New Zealand's most beautiful farmland - Sarah Perriam talks with Julia Mckenzie of Braemar Station >>
• NZ trade envoy to bust myths about New Zealand in Europe, UK - Sarah Perriam talks with Mike Petersen, the country’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy >>
• Don’t spend it all in one shop; there are challenges to come - Hamish McKay, Sarah Perriam and Richard Loe talk with Blake Holgate, Rabobank's animal proteins analyst >>