Deer Tracking Magazine Deer Tracking Editor - Randy Barks Box 59 - Cut Knife, SK. - S0M 0N0 - Phone / Fax (306) 398-2293 - Email: ohdeer@sk.sympatico.ca Deer Tracking values your input! Click here to find out how to contact us! Next deadline is September 2, 2002 Print version available by subscription! All articles and advertising in this issue are copyright © of Deer Tracking Magazine. . . and may not be used in any form without express written permission from the editor.

August - September 2002 Issue

CONTENTS:

I've been relieved of my grass-mowing duties this summer, but I was busy enough without that. Hay is hardly affordable, but I've found some and I'm probably still employable off the farm. Pasture production is way down, but our family gopher harvest is way up and my boys and I are having a blast. Hot doesn't nearly describe conditions, but the deer are fairing well and there is some absolutely huge horns out there even in the driest of areas.

Oh, I know times are tough! I'm optimistic- not unconscious! Alberta presently waits for a painfully slow government process to pass CHP's, Ontario contemplates closed borders to the south, and all eyes are on Saskatchewan where trophy ranches are going strong. Wide- spread drought, however, creates additional caution in potential producers and investors and recent stats predict a 73% decline in Saskatchewan farm net income this year. On top of it all, the antis (animal rights activists and anti-game farm hunters) continue to pummel the industry. So you see, my eyes are wide open, but my smile and hope are not dependent on these factors and forces.

Deer farming has all kinds of potential still! Imagine CHP's getting passed in Alberta. Imagine inter-provincial borders opening. Imagine the upcoming US demand for Canadian deer that have fulfilled the rigorous demands of CWD surveillance. Imagine the baseline stability once a meat market is in place. Despite tough times, we have so much to look forward to, to work towards and to actually expect.

It's easy to get discouraged and let dissension creep in. Anyone could not play a part in promoting and protecting our industry.† Anyone could not be concerned for the welfare of the industry as a whole. Let's be the someone who does something positive.

Included, without permission of the humble recipient, is a recent email. Tara is the ohdeer referred to.

"Hello ohdeer! Well, I will start with introducing myself. I am Bob from Calgary, AB and to give you a little background, my views in the past have been very much against game farming -enough so, that I was on the shut down every game farm band wagon. Then over the past few months of reading your views in the†forums I have begun to realize that it's not all just black and white, and the grey in between will probably work for everyone.† I now realize the farmers need to make a living, just like I need to in the oil and gas industry, which has its own effects on our precious environment, too. You're a very intelligent lady and have a great method of expressing your views on the forums.† If you can sway a Rednecks point of view, like myself, you can get a large majority of normal people to see the grey area we need to meet in!† Anyways, I don't want to ramble on here, just wanted you to know that you are doing good for your cause. Take care, Bob"

I may be hauled out back and beat up by a bunch of guys at the next get-together, but I'm going to publicly applaud my wife's deer farming efforts. She sets an excellent example for me in team effort, she's tireless in her hopeful pursuit of a deer farming future for all, plus her distraction at the computer and on the phone allows me to frequently sneak out with the boys for some more gopher hunting. This issue of† Deer Tracking is dedicated to my partner who exemplifies the persistent hope and energy that drives and secures this great thing called game-farming.

Remember, choose carefully whose example you follow!

- Randy Barks

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone had a good and productive fawning season, and that your bucks are getting to legendary size. The AWMDA Board is running full steam ahead with many issues, but the CHP's initiative remains at the top of our agenda. We've presented to the Standing Policy Committee, from which a "Minister's Report" has been compiled and will be tabled by the end of July. By the time you read this we hope that the CHP's initiative will have passed through Cabinet and will be on its way to Caucus. This is a very important step for all of us so make sure that your MLA knows that CHP's are a "must have" for our industry. I am sure you have all written/spoken to your MLA's several times, but now is the time to get all your neighbours to write to let them know this is a positive thing for Alberta and its farming future. We are closer now than ever before to getting CHP's and our campaign will continue until we are successful.

As of mid July, if you are driving in the Edmonton area you might have noticed billboards talking about "Ranched Meats". This is part of the collaborative project that the AWMDA, AEA, and the Alberta Bison Assoc. are working on with the Agri-Food Development Branch to promote diversified meats. Check out the web site at http://www.albertaranched.com

We are also very pleased to welcome Jason McKen to the media/PR position with CCC. He will be monitoring the media specific to issues about our industry in Alberta and Saskatchewan. This is a 6-month joint project with AWMDA, AEA, SEBA, SWAMDPA and the CCC. Jason is currently busy writing positive articles and press releases for our industry and will be working to get them published. He is based out of the AEA office in Leduc and will be a very valuable resource to us, we are glad to have him here to help.

By now you will all have heard that the "Alberta Mandatory CWD program" has been signed by the minister and that Alberta is officially operating under a mandatory surveillance program for CWD. This was the result of a lot of hard work by numerous representatives from the AEA, AWMDA and government. It is important that you understand the program and what it means for you as a producer. If you have any questions about the program please contact your Zone Director or the AWMDA office.

These are just a few of the many things your Board of Directors has been working on. It is important that you stay informed and involved with our ever-changing industry now more than ever. The best way is to attend your Zone meetings. It is only with your help that we can succeed.

Until next time...

Sincerely,

Jason Marsland

In Ontario warm weather was slow to come this spring, but the first few days of July have seen record high temperatures recorded in my region. With the hot weather the deer are slow to move from cover but are a pleasure to watch as they move into open pasture as the evening progresses and the sun sets. Feedback from producers in Ontario indicated a late fawning season this year as our spring was cold and wet. With excellent stock by the producers in Ontario the antler growth on the bucks makes the evening watch of the herd always fresh and exciting.

Again this year as an association we will have a booth at the International Plowing Match in September. This gives us an opportunity to expose the general public to White-Tailed deer farming and make contact with others who may be interested in the opportunity of farming White-Tailed deer. Over the last few months we have had a number of new producers join the association. It is great to have them join the association, ...Welcome. I know I have appreciated and am thankful for the support, information and encouragement of fellow producers as we meet and talk with each other. Don't forget to mark your calendar and attend the Ontario Deer and Elk Farmers Association Summer picnic, August 11th. Hope to see you at the picnic with pictures of the crop that is growing in your fields.

-Stephen Yantzi

ANTLER HARVEST       Restraint Methods       Correct Anesthesia ANTLER COMPOSITION AND QUALITY   VELVET ANTLER HARVEST It has been said that "there is no place for antlers on a deer farm". Bucks carrying hard antler in confinement can be dangerous to each other and to handlers, and of course the onset of rut and the breeding season exacerbates the problems. Animals in soft antler are prone to injury during handling and transport. Besides, the antler at this stage may be a valuable commodity after removal from the animal. In animals whose antlers are not commercially useful the antler can be removed after hardening when the nerve and blood supply have regressed, but for easier management and for behavioral reasons, it is simpler and safer to remove antlers during the velvet stage.           -Murray Woodbury

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Although deer utter little more than an occasional snort or rare bleat, they are remarkably communicative in ways that are difficult for humans to interpret. Visual and chemical signals work together to identify individuals, convey physiological or emotional state, and send specific messages. Collectively, these comprise expressive behavior. Most of the current research on the chemical basis of deer behavior is being conducted by Dr. Karl Miller at the Warnell School of Forest Resource, University of Georgia.

        - Dr. Robert Hudson

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At an Israeli cave site dating back nearly 100,000 years, remains of a man were found clutching an antler in his hands. Man has been interested in antlers since the beginning of time and probably will be until the end of time. It is interesting to ponder whether humans became so attached to antlers because of their usefulness as tools or whether they became widely used as tools because we were so fascinated by them. One cold February morning in Webb County, I found myself laying under my truck, pounding the starter with the only tool available -- a big shed antler. Some things never change. One of the things that makes antlers so interesting is the infinite variety of antler shapes, colours, textures, and unique characteristics. Discussion and admiration of kickers, stickers, drop tines, cheaters, forks, double brows, and triple beams consume many hours in deer camps and at gas stations. It is the oddities and abnormalities that capture our interest the most. If all bucks looked the same, they would be about as interesting as does. Because of our interest in non-typical antlers, much research has been directed  at the causes of antler abnormalities. There are many factors which can cause or affect the expression of antler abnormalities: Genetics, Age, Nutrition, Injury, Disease, Hormones, and magnetic/electronic forces.

        - Jim Heffelfinger

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Question:

About a month ago, there was an article in the Missouri Conservation Magazine about a new live test that can identify CWD in White-tail Deer. It has not been developed for elk yet. Could you do an article on it and let us know how much this test would cost along with how to take samples and where it is sent?

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What do you get when you cross French tenacity with an innate admiration of the whitetail deer? How 'bout a French rock quarry worker, living on gravel and solid bedrock, with a determination to farm whopper whitetails? You get one rock-solid deer farm by the name of Double LD Whitetails. Meet the family that epitomizes planning and persistence. Meet Fred, Wilma and Pebbles... I mean Luke, Lisa, and Jene DeGagne.

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Buck Brush is dead! How do you cushion such news? The deer that captured the attention of producers right across Canada, the buck that turned typical antler lovers into admirers, even fans, of a big non-typical, the deer that appeared to be the cliched "good thing happening to good people" is gone. A "twisted gut" or similar problem appears to have caused the death on July 12th. While the shock reverberates into realization, meet the good people for whom Buck Brush seemed a just reward. Meet Arden and Cheryl Bach (daughters Hannah and Kassia) of Classic Prairie Whitetails.

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I've realized something that must be shared! It may have registered with me at last year's Alberta antler competition, but I was just getting to know my neighbours. It should have hit me when the Extreme catalogue highlighted a certain group of Alberta yearlings, but I assumed they must be from various farms. When the #2 yearling and record setting 2 year old bore the same producer name last fall, I began to get suspicious though and decided an investigative tour was in order. I finally accosted the team as they prepared for the next day's 2001-2002 antler competition in April and made some amazing observations. The competition stats confirmed my discoveries and the picture was fully painted. Wildtail Ranches is a genetic masterpiece. Enjoying many whitetail works of art are the Jorgensen & Wearmouth families of Olds, Alberta.

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©2002 DeerTracking.com

Content of this newsletter is the views of the writer and not necessarily those of the association in general. Tracking The Industry. . . reserves the right to edit submissions. Deer farming is largely experiential and while striving for accuracy and completeness, neither the editor, nor PRISM Web Design, nor Deertracking.com, nor associations guarantees such in this newsletter, nor do we assume liability which may result from reliance upon any information or opinion provided.

All articles and advertising in this issue are copyright © of Deer Tracking. . . and may not be used in any form without express written permission from the editor.