Marketing Elk

Provided by Deb Nevins

My husband, Tom Nevins and I have been raising elk for going on 20 years We have tried many approaches to just about everything you can do with an elk, from handling them to selling them for meat, hunting, breeding and semen sales. In the following articles, we will share with you what we have learned, what works and doesn’t work for us and how we have been able to market our elk and stay in business during both the up and down times in this agricultural industry. There are probably many more ideas and ways to market out there that we have yet to discover but here is what we have learned so far.

Hard Antler bulls

Selling our hard antler bulls to hunting preserves is our main source of our income. The first thing you must do is make contact with the preserves in your area and state to find out if they need any bull elk and if so, what size antlers they are looking for. You can find the preserves online at their websites or your local or state wildlife management website, in local and state wildlife magazines and publications and by word of mouth from other breeders. Once you have located and spoken with the owners and guides at the preserves you can find out what size and style antlers they are looking for and determine what you have to offer. A digital camera is a must because the hunt guides need pictures to show their clients what is available. When photographing bull elk for hunts, it is best not to have anything man made in the picture, like fencing, feed troughs, buildings etc. When you photograph an elk for sale as a shooter, try to get at least two good views of the antlers. A head on picture with the antlers up and shots from both sides and even behind are best. You also MUST score your bulls to determine their value. Trying to guess antler scores is next to impossible. It’s important both for your reputation and the hunt guides to have an accurate score of the antlers for pricing and marketing and everyone’s reputation. We use a hydraulic squeeze to score them and it works very well for us. You can also use a dart gun and tranquilize them if you don’t have a squeeze. We did it that way for years. When you get a bull in the squeeze or on the ground, take a damp towel and cover their eyes with it. This helps to calm them down and makes the whole process much safer. We also have a couple of strong individuals there to help hold onto the antlers while we measure and record. You can learn about the scoring technique from the SCI scoring sheets that can be obtained from TUEFA or on the web. Be as accurate with your measurements as possible, it’s best to have a little less than more.

The pricing of hard antler bulls varies greatly from state to state so we won’t go into our price details other than to say that a bull with more than 400 inches is worth considerably more than one that scores, say 370. You may be able to talk with other breeders in your area to get an idea what the values of bull elk are, but it always boils down to inches, so scoring them is a must! The style of the antler will also make a difference in the value of the animal, though it’s not tremendous. A good, big 6x6 typical is very popular with the hunters coming in to get their prize elk. That is not to say the non-typicals don’t bring a fare price though and you usually get more inches with the non-typicals. We sell our two years olds occasionally for just a couple thousand if it’s apparent they are never going to by very big. Keeping an eye on your spikes and two year olds as they grow will give you a good idea how they may finish as a four or five-year-old which is usually the age we let them go at.

Marketing Elk Meat

As consumers become more aware of the nutritional value of foods and also where these foods are coming from, elk meat has become an increasingly popular choice for many. We have been selling our elk meat at a local farmers market for the last five years and have been able to sell at least 15each year. We also have several restaurants that have elk burger on their menus and we supply them as well. There are some sales of the meat from our home as well and we have acquired a food license from the State of Michigan to sell our meat from our garage freezers. The food license is relatively inexpensive and must be renewed each year at a cost of $70.00. (Be sure to check with your home states’ regulations regarding a license. You would probably need it to sell to restaurants and at farmers markets).

Another option for sales would be the local health food stores, though I have not gone that route because I already sell all the meat we have to offer by going to the market.

When we have our animals butchered, we take them to a slaughter house, live, that has a federal inspector come in and we have the meat stamped with the USDA federal inspection stamp. This too is required to sell to restaurants and at the open air markets. At this time we have to pay for the inspection fee, which I am going to get busy trying to change. Beef, pigs and other types of traditional livestock do not have to pay the inspection fee and it’s not right that we should. I will begin the paperwork to get that changed here in Michigan in the near future.

When we slaughter for meat, we use heifers or cows no older than five for the steak cuts, never bulls or cows that are older than five. When we do slaughter an older cow, we have it all put into elk burger, which is our best selling product. Our bulls we sell to hunting preserves because they are worth substantially more money as a shooter. When choosing animals to slaughter we look at things like temperament, size, calving ability, age and of course, genetics. We never worm the ones we are taking in if we are worming near the slaughter time. (Be sure to read your worming restrictions prior to slaughter)

We have found that high end cut steaks sell the best so we use the following cuts every time. I stay with these choices because I have found too many options make it too complicated plus, products like cubed steak just don’t sell that well.

I do have good luck with roasts, so I have those cut along with Tenderloins, Porterhouse steaks, T-bone steaks, New York strips, Rib Eyes and sizzlers. Anything they can’t make into those steaks is ground into burger.

I rent the table at the farmers market on a yearly basis and it took me almost two years on a list to get it. For my display, I take a big set of antlers and put them on the table to attract attention and for conversation I display one of every cut, which I have found makes a very big difference in how much meat I sell. People like to see the product, so I take two of those aluminum turkey roasting pans and put ice in the bottom one, set the other one on top, put ice in it, and lay the steaks on the ice. I make price sheets on the computer and use an inexpensive 8 x 10 picture frame to display on the table. I also have dry erase boards with prices and a little bit about the meat. We have business cards to hand out and I have written up a little article about our farm and the nutritional values of elk meat versus other cuts. You want to advertise the attributes of elk meat, that it is low in fat and cholesterol and doesn’t contain hormones, antibiotics, steroids or any other additives. We add nothing to our burger like fat or pok because it isn’t necessary and is degrading to the natural quality of the meat, which is what attracts people to it. I also take pictures of our elk and set them on the table, you will be surprised at how many folks don’t know what an elk looks like!

We also sell them by the 1/4, 1/2, and whole, charging per pound hanging or hot weight which is paid to us. The buyer then makes contact with the butcher to order the cuts they want and pays the processing fees directly to the butcher.

I take the antler buttons and sell them as dog chews for $10 a piece and am able to sell every one we can find because dogs really do love them!

Be sure to bring a cash bank with you to make change, as about 90% of our sales are cash. Bonus!!

Collecting and Marketing Semen

The first thing you need to market elk semen is a really great bull with proven genetics and one who can pass those big antlers along to his offspring. Marketing semen can be done using a variety of advertising techniques. One of the best ways is to enter your bulls’ antlers in the TUEFA regional and national competitions. This exposes the bull to your main market for semen sales, other elk breeders. TUEFA also publishes magazines and brochures occasionally and you can take advantage of those as well. If you have a website, that’s another good spot to advertise and you can show your shooters there too. If you have some good yearlings or two year olds sired by the bull you’re collecting, advertise and show them as well. That is the TRUE test of the ability of your bull to pass along those big antler genetics. Entering the TUEFA "Breeders 3" competition is another very good way to advertise your bull and prove he is a good investment.

When you have determined that you have a bull that is good enough to collect, you should find a reputable veterinarian or technician who is experienced in semen collection and handling of elk, maybe even specializing in exotic animal semen collection. Once you get the semen collected, you will need a tank to store it in, or as we do, ship it to a distributor of semen products who will handle the storage and shipping details for you. You should check the quality of the semen from time to time to make sure that motility is good and the sperm count is high enough to ensure good insemination. This is to protect you and your bull’s reputation and to ensure that those investing in your semen have the best possible conditions, to ensure a successful calf crop in the spring. We have had about a 70% success rate here at our farm with AI work and that number has continued to go up as techniques, technology and experience improve.

Marketing Breeding Stock

Selling breeding stock is really fairly self explanatory. You have the option of selling either calves, yearlings, open cows, bred cows or bulls. Prices can vary depending on the genetics of the animal, age, potential antler size, demand and the state or location where you are marketing them. We have always stayed away from selling our spikes because we can’t know for sure how they are going to turn out until they are at least two years old and have had a chance to grow their first "real" set of antlers.

As you can see, there are many avenues to explore and utilize when marketing and selling your elk and elk products. We all must continue to work together to keep the industry alive by working with fellow elk farmers, breeders, hunt guides and with TUEFA. We wish you great success in your elk businesses and if we can be of any assistance or answer any questions you may have, please feel free to contact us at :

Elkaholic2@mei.net
or phone (269) 664-4904

Best Regards,
Tom and Deb Nevins
Valley Elk Farms

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