Waiting for the day of "reaping fortune"
Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong (57 years old, living in Phuong Hoang village, Son Ham commune, Huong Son district) is one of the households involved in raising deer for velvet. He shared that deer are easy to care for, the amount of food is less than other livestock, but the economic efficiency is many times higher. Previously, deer farmers could only get one batch of velvet each year, but now people have a way to take care of them to get two batches each year, with each pair averaging 0.8 - 1kg, and healthy deer can give "fortune" weighing up to 2kg.
According to Mr. Cong, raising deer is more profitable than raising buffalo or cows. If you calculate the amount of food, a cow can eat as much as 5 deer. It is hard for a healthy person to find food for 2 cows, but it is normal to take care of 7-8 deer. Meanwhile, deer can be harvested for velvet twice a year.
In the past, deer herding had to be done with hard work in the forest cutting down leaves, but now Huong Son farmers have converted ineffective rice fields to grass fields. Ineffective rice and crop fields have been converted to grass fields to feed livestock.
“To effectively raise deer for velvet, you must choose good breeds and during the care process, you must have a source of food that ensures nutrition. When the deer are young, you only need to feed them leaves such as milkweed, jackfruit leaves, lychee leaves, banana leaves, etc., and when the deer start to grow antlers, you should supplement them with young corn, cassava, and sticky rice,” said Mr. Cong.
Visiting the deer farm of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh's family (69 years old, residing in Son Giang commune, Huong Son district) right when the family is harvesting antlers. Busily preparing to cut the antlers, Mr. Binh said that his family is currently raising 6 purebred deer, aged 3 years or more, of which 5 male deer are ready to cut antlers, estimated to bring in an economic profit of about 50 million VND. In order to sell to customers in time, he had to mobilize his family members and ask some local people to come and support.
"Deer are naturally very shy, so to cut the antlers, we had to ask 4-5 neighbors to help. This year the antlers came earlier, and the early season price was also high, so we're very happy," said Mr. Binh.
Holding a rope tied to the end of a bamboo pole, Mr. Binh looped it through the door bar of the cage to trap the deer. When the deer fell into the trap and fell to the ground, he and his neighbors tied its legs, held it down, and used a small saw to gently cut off each antler growing on the deer's head. This pair of antlers weighed approximately 8 ounces. Currently, the antlers are being sold for about 1.1 million VND/ounce.
Mr. Binh added that raising deer has become the main livestock industry of most people in the district, with some families raising a few deer, while others raise more than a dozen. The deer antler harvest season begins from Tet, and lasts sporadically until May, but is most active from January to March (lunar calendar).
“Deer farmers all want to sell antlers at the beginning of the year to earn higher profits, but not all deer can be harvested at the right time. Antlers grow for 45-50 days to reach the standard. If they are cut too early, the weight will be low, but if they are left too long, the antlers will age and lose quality,” Mr. Binh added.
In addition to raising deer for velvet, according to people in Huong Son, raising female deer also creates a large source of income. Each year, female deer reproduce once, if they give birth to a male, they will sell the offspring for 15 - 25 million VND/deer, and if they give birth to a female deer, it will be 8 - 10 million VND/deer. Thus, each pair of parent deer can generate an income of 20 - 50 million VND/year.
Rise to get rich
The family of Ms. Dang Thi Hien (residing in Ha Son village, Quang Diem commune, Huong Son district) is currently raising 17 deer, including 11 male deer. Thanks to good care, this year, the family harvested about 9kg of velvet worth over 100 million VND.
Like Ms. Hien's family, this year, sika deer farmers in Quang Diem commune are very excited because deer antlers are in season and have good prices. With high economic efficiency, deer farming is the choice of many people in Quang Diem commune to develop their family economy.
“The day of picking antlers is also the happiest day for deer farmers because after days of caring for them, it is time to reap the fruits of their labor. What is even happier is that the price of antlers is quite high this year, thanks to which the farmers have more income,” Ms. Hien said with a smile.
As one of the households raising many deer in Son Lam commune (Huong Son district), Mr. Nguyen Van Luan (61 years old) shared that thanks to raising deer, his family has become more prosperous when they were able to buy a new car and have food and savings. Talking about raising deer, Mr. Luan smiled because in recent years, deer prices have increased, deer antlers are trusted by many people, so people are very excited.
Previously, deer antlers were often ground or dried and powdered to cook porridge or sliced into small pieces to soak in wine. Now, Huong Son people have processed many products from deer antlers that are more refined and convenient, such as powdered deer antlers in soluble form, deer antlers extract, deer sole extract... Many of these products have been branded and registered as OCOP products.
According to Oriental medicine, deer antlers have the effect of improving health, increasing resistance, especially good for the elderly, people who have just recovered from illness, people with weak constitutions, stunted children and postpartum women.
Talking to reporters of Dai Doan Ket Newspaper, Mr. Tran Quang Hoa - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Huong Son district said that the whole district currently has a herd of more than 44,500 deer, which is also the main economic product of the locality, helping people have a good source of income and stabilize their lives.
“The district identifies livestock farming as a key economic development focus, of which deer farming is the mainstay, so there are many policies to preserve and develop the deer herd.
Currently, Ha Tinh province is investing in a program to select 100 healthy male deer in Huong Son for breeding to preserve, maintain and improve quality, and minimize inbreeding that causes herd degradation with a support level of 2 million VND/deer/year," said Mr. Hoa.
According to Mr. Hoa, before and after the Lunar New Year 2024, it is expected that there will be about 21,000 deer with antlers with an output of about 18.9 tons. With a selling price ranging from 10 - 11 million VND/kg, the whole district is estimated to earn nearly 200 billion VND from selling antlers.
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