Assessment of deer breeding industry from the viewpoint of producers
2012
Proskina, L., Latvia Univ. of Agriculture, Jelgava (Latvia). Faculty of Economics
A survey of producers engaged in deer-breeding industry was conducted to assess the present situation in deer-breeding industry in Latvia and to determine whether it is a prospective industry along with traditional agricultural industries in the future. The research aim was to ascertain the opinion of deer breeders on the factors affecting the development of deer-breeding industry in Latvia. The survey was performed in 2011. A sample population consisted of farms rearing red deer (Cervus elaphus) or fallow deer (Dama dama) for meat, animal selection, reproduction, or recreation. Totally, 86% of deer farms in Latvia were questioned in the survey. The data obtained were processed by employing Microsoft Excel statistical methods. One can conclude from information gained from the respondents that there are significant differences in the areas of deer farms and the number of animals. Of total farms, 50% had a fenced area of less than 99 ha, 40% - had a fenced area within a range from 100 ha to 350 ha, and only 10% or 4 farms had a fenced area of more than 350 ha. The number of deer ranged within 1-100 on 60% of the farms, on 28% of the farms it was within 101-350, and on 12% of the farms the number of red deer and fallow deer exceeded 350 animals. In the group of medium and large farms, the largest income (56% and 70%, respectively) was gained from meat production, while the main source of income of small farms was sales of live animals (37%). As regards sales possibilities of products of deer farming, the respondents view the domestic market as significant (8.9±1.56), at the same time they point that the sales possibilities for deer meat are limited (7.80±2.10), and deer meat processing possibilities (7.70±1.42) and the market of deer meat are not sufficiently developed (8.30±1.34). According to them, the main factors hindering the development of the industry are product quality (8.90±0.88), development of the market of deer meat (8.30±1.34), availability of financial resources (8.10±0.88), and herd size on farms (8.1±1.20).
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