Forrester Auction - 14th December 2022
It’s crazy how fast this last year has gone, and I find myself reflecting on the year just been. Yet another very wet winter and a slow, dry spring has made farming challenging, although I must say the stock have come through looking fantastic which is testament to the crew here at Peel Forest working tirelessly through these challenges. There is also pressure on farmers with increasing costs and meeting tougher regulatory factors – but deer farmers are a resilient group who continually innovate and adapt, and I feel the future is very bright for the deer industry.
You may have noticed a ‘new look’ to our branding. We wanted a new brand identity to represent Peel Forest Estate and the quality of animals we are producing at our stud, for our local and international markets. A huge amount of work went into the development of our brand, but after nearly 2 years, we got there. Here at Peel Forest Estate we’re proud of our new look, and it also serves as a constant reminder of our ongoing search for excellence - in everything we do.
It has certainly been a challenging two years within the venison industry, with COVID disrupting our markets more so than other proteins. We have seen a lift in prices from the year before, but we still need to see higher schedule prices to offset the increases in operating costs. Its very promising to see new markets like the USA and China gaining traction and having less reliance on the European chilled season. This is a very good thing for our industry, - a prolonged, stable high price is exactly what we require, and it looks like this is where we are heading.
We have another very strong line-up of stags on offer in this catalogue. There have been lifts in the stat’s across the board with the most notable being the increase in yearling weights from 137.5kg last year to 142.8 kg this year (top is 174 kg). W12ebv average is slightly up at 14.52 and the velvet is consistently cutting decent weights – allowing you to reap the rewards from more spiker velvet before the head out the gate.
There are some new Sires represented this year too - Husky, Rangi and Rawata. Husky is a truly magnificent stag and has all the traits we strive for in the Forrester line. We have put him not only to the Forrester line but velvet too, and now have over 400 progeny on the ground. Unfortunately, we don’t have any Magnum sons this year as he was lame for mating but next year we will have his sons back on offer.
BIDR will be running again this year so if your unable to make the day you can always jump online and bid in real time remotely. More info in the catalogue.
We welcome all prospective buyers to come and view the stags leading up to the sale so please don’t hesitate to contact Mark on 0277799008 for private viewings.
