I love visiting farmers and foodies.
There is always something new to learn, or some innovative farming practice to be discovered, and then of course there are the animals. I grew up on a farm, we had horses, sheep, cattle, goats, a pet pig, geese, ducks, chickens and miscellaneous others. It was a fabulous childhood and while I knew most of the farm animals were destined for the dinner plate, I also knew that this sad fate could be averted if we named our favourites – that was until our naming quota reached capacity and allowances were only made for the orphans that we hand reared!
Please Note: My Local Harvest – Sunshine Coast Regional Food Directory, is about to undergo a major update, upgrade and visual transformation, so I am relocating the Blog on to Pebbles and Pomegranate Seeds. For this reason I thought I would repost some of my favourite blog stories, so that they don’t get ‘lost’. This is one of them…
Repost from May 30th, 2011 – Local Harvest – The Sunshine Coast and Surround’s Regional Food Directory
So, now that I no longer live on a farm, I seek out interaction with any farmer or keeper of livestock that will have me! My latest visit was a bit different to normal. Normally I only visit active farms – and usually that revolve around food, but stumbling upon Craig Bloxsome’s property and his small herd of deer on a recent visit to a friend’s, I had to go back for more.
There was no food here as far as the venison kind goes, the deer that he now keeps on his property are his final favourites that upon selling his deer farm, he chose to keep, and allow them the privilege of seeing out their days happily at his new home in Dulong, in the Sunshine Coast’s hinterland.
Craig proved to be quite the surprise package; one of the earliest deer farmers in Australia, he had a substantial deer farm in Glenn Innes where he bred, hunted and captured many wild deer for an industry that never really reached the expectations anticipated. Venison did not gain the kudos that it was receiving in other countries where it was a revered staple or delicacy and the industry eventually waned to a few that persevered and found other niches in the industry to supplement their income.
Craig was one of those people. Spurred on by his love for these majestical creatures, he opted for a more lucrative utilisation of his resources and harvested the velvet from the antlers of his deer which he sold to the Korean market for medicine and dietary supplements – apparently it is known for its aphrodisiac properties… hmmm, interesting 😉
I was fascinated by not only this process, but also by the antlers themselves – they are absolute freaks of nature, there is no two ways about it!! I don’t know how many readers have ever had the opportunity to see an antler close up while it is still on the head of the stags who carry them so proudly, but they are a mad creations of natural art and beauty. Wow!
Now, antlers, I am told are actually a bone – in fact the only known instance of a bone that grows external to the body. While they do occasionally grow on the females, they are predominantly a male deer’s feature – nature’s weapon to protect their herd during the rutting season from the unwelcome advances of other wandering and possibly more dominant males. What is even more fascinating is that these antlers grow and renew every year – then they just drop off! The older the stag gets, the larger and more elaborate the antlers become – they truly are amazing. While the bone grows, they are covered with membrane which is called the ‘velvet’ which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the antler while it grows, and that is then shed like a bloody sheath at the end of its growing season.
AND, then there is Craig’s shed! Wandering through the shed for me was like being a kid in a lolly shop. There were antlers lined up everywhere; stack upon stack. Craig could even tell you which ones came from which beast, as each beast has its own identifying markers. And let me tell you – they are HEAVY! I couldn’t imagine carrying those things around on my head – neck brace, chiropractics, headaches – were all thoughts that sprung to mind. Poor Sammy!
So who is Sammy? Sammy is Craig’s lovely resident stag and what a beauty he is. While perfectly tame and usually of pleasant and loving nature, we were in the middle of the rutting season and he was putting on his best bad behaviour and letting us know that ‘his girls’, were indeed ‘his girls’ and we weren’t getting near, deer or not. But what a beautiful and majestic boy. Yes, I admit it, I fell in love 🙂 Standing upright and proud amongst his herd, I doubt that there is anything more beautiful. Normally Craig could go within the enclosure and pat and play with him amongst his girls, but during the rutting season that would be a death wish, so we stayed well clear – a reason to go back I say!
The girls were all pretty cute too, and Obi, a baby, he was just like Bambi, sooo cute, definitely take home material. While my backyard would be large enough I would need a height extension on my fence because boy, can these creatures jump! Being a huge fan of venison, while supportive of the industry, I was a little relieved to know that Sammy, Obi and the clan were safe, and reminded myself that when I do finally go and visit a working deer farm, of which there are quite a few in the range, that I would be sure not to ask their names just in case one of them is fated to end up on a dinner plate!
Thanks so much to Craig for his enthusiastic hospitality. Enjoyed a great lunch with spectacular views, Sammy grunting in the distance while I got to hear all sorts of stories along with a fascinating history of deer farming in Australia. Brain food, love it!
This post was written by Petra Frieser – Local Harvest To find out more about the Sunshine Coast’s regional growers and producers visit: www.localharvest.com.au
Please note: Repost from May 30th, 2011 – Local Harvest – The Sunshine Coast and Surround’s Regional Food Directory
