Velvet antler is the big market for elk farmer
By Heather Thorstensen
hthorstensen@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 02/23/2012 9:19 AM
E-mail article | Print version
HOWARD LAKE, Minn. — Brian Wagner is a former dairy farmer who spends his time these days with a different type of cow.
He began raising elk in 1999 at his family's farm in Rockford. About five years ago, he moved to his 127-acre property in Howard Lake, Black Velvet Elk Ranch, where he keeps 130 to 140 elk.
"I like being around the animals," said Wagner. "They are totally amazing animals."
He likes that elk keep him connected to agriculture and that they have several different markets. Producers sell elk meat, trophy bulls, breeding stock and antlers.
"I need to cover all the markets to make it work," he said.
Wagner is secretary and treasurer of the Minnesota Elk Breeders Association and he waspresident of the North American Elk Breeders Association from 2009 to 2011. He knows elk farmers across the state and throughout the country.
Those connections help with the biggest part of his business: Buying velvet antler to ship to Asia.
He estimates that he sent half of the U.S. supply of velvet antler to Asia last year.
Before a bull's antler hardens and it's still furry, it's "in velvet."Velvet antler is harvested at approximately 72 days of growth, typically in May or June. A mature bull produces 20 pounds to 40 pounds of antler per year. Antlers grow back the following year.
Wagner's herd produces approximately 700 pounds of velvet antler annually.
He spends a month each summer traveling to elk farms to collect more. Once collected, the product is shipped frozen in a 30,000-pound container. He tries to fill the container to at least 75 percent capacity.
Velvet antler is said to have more nutritional properties than an antler that has calcified.It's used to treat joint pain and to provide other health benefits. It can be freeze-dried and the inner material is sliced to be consumed with tea or it can be made into pills. Some in the United States use velvet antler for arthritis, increased energy and recovery from injury.
The price of velvet antler has been stable for the last three years at around $25 per pound.
Wagner also buys hard antler and ships it to Asia for the medicinal market. Hard antler is seeing a growing market in the United States for dog chews, he said. The domestic market also uses hard antlers for jewelry, furniture and other decorative pieces.
Wagner's other big business is buying and selling trophy bulls. In three months, he puts 30,000 miles on his truck to haul hundreds of trophy bulls all over the country, delivering them to game farms where they are hunted for sport.
Having much of the nation's domestic elk herd in Minnesota and the rest of the upper Midwest helps Wagner get the supply of elk products he needs.
"Minnesota is the largest supplier of everything," he said.
At his ranch, Wagner enjoys hearing bugling during fall's breeding season, watching for newborn calves and checking out antler growth.
"They can grow an inch a day at some point," he said. "You can actually see the growth."
Wagner evaluates his cows based on the amount of velvet antler or total inches of hard antler their sons produce.
"That cows needs to prove herself by raising good stock," he said.
The largest antler grown on his farm measured 500 Safari Club International inches. This accounts for main beam length, tine length, main beam circumference and the inside span.
The breeding stock that Wagner sells is typically bred cows, but he also sells breeding bulls and semen for artificial insemination.
While elk meat production represents a smaller portion of his business, Wagner said people enjoy its nutritional qualities. A USDA comparison of three ounces of cooked meat found elk had less calories, fat and cholesterol than skinless chicken, beef and pork, but it had more protein.