Farming deer at Raincliff Station in South Canterbury, Morgan is as excited about the industry now as he was when he came to New Zealand as an 18-year-old on work experience.
Originally from Wales, Morgan has farmed deer all his life and it was that first NZ experience that got him started.
“I saw what could be done with deer and went back home to set up a deer farm and farm deer for venison supply.
“All the young farmers and friends I had in farming back home were in sheep and beef. This was an exciting new product and I wanted to be market-leading.
“I had nothing to lose because I had nothing to lose.”
Quite the contrary it’s been most rewarding, Morgan said.
That was a few years ago now and since then a lot has happened in farming in the United Kingdom.
“There was BSE and a foot and mouth crisis. Not that we got it but the business fell through the floor overnight so I decided to come back to NZ for a look.”
That was in 2002 and there was an opportunity at Raincliff Station that Morgan decided he would give a go.
While the initial circumstances changed soon after, Morgan and his wife Janet managed their way through a few personal and financial turmoils, eventually ring-fencing the original station block where they are now settled.
Over the past five years Morgan has been passionately involved not just in his own deer farming operation but also at a wider industry level. He is the association’s immediate past president.
And he’s as excited now about the future of deer farming as he was when he went back to Wales as an 18-year-old to pioneer the industry there.
“I’m excited with both venison and velvet – as an industry we are in a pretty good spot.
“The work done with Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) is levies well spent and the joint-ventures with meat companies in the chilled market space is encouraging for commercial farmers to action better returns now if we all play the game.”
Morgan said five NZ exporters sitting around the one table, trying not clash too much, has been a big part of the industry’s buoyancy and record high prices over the past year.
“We are just a small industry and in terms of the volume of product we produce we are very small on the national stage.
“But we want to be and we can be and need to be at the top end of the white cloth in all European and UK markets and we do have to stay nimble on our feet to compete.
“With the work DINZ is doing, and there’s celebrity chef shows on the television about every hour, it’s a lot easier to get the message to consumers these days than it was 15 years ago.
“Our ducks are lining up and the industry needs to keep investing to hold that point of difference in the market.”
That point of difference needs to be driven forward from this point of strength.
“We are trying to differentiate wild game into these markets as well and the brand Cervena seems to be looking good – so it’s fantastic in my eyes.
“As farmers we can go to the banks and it’s great to say we’ve been steady now for five years.
“It’s a chance for the banks to invest in us, both for start-up farmers to the industry and for existing farmers to grow their businesses.
“It’s encouraging that every year we’re getting further away from the roller coaster years of 2003 and 2004 and that’s with both products, venison and velvet.”
Velvet potentially has its issues but again exporters have done a good job.
With more than $1 billion tied up in the velvet sector it’s a big commitment for a small industry but Morgan is confident it’s a reasonable investment.
“It’s about getting the more modern oriental doctors looking at healthy, functional foods with state-of-the-art factories. There’s good commitment from both sides of the table but time will tell.”
People are now getting on the same page and buyers of both venison and velvet want traceability.
“The NZ deer story is giving the market confidence and we want to keep celebrating success but we will have to keep on our toes with a bit of discipline between producers, processors and exporters to keep ahead because there’s always going to be someone trying to trip you up.”
