Deer Select

Deer Select: we’re onto it.

We’re pleased to be able to add Deer Select data to the catalogue for the first time this year, which should help your purchasing decisions. At Forest Road Farm we have literally decades of deer production data, so it was a simple job to get that uploaded into Deer Select and have generations of our deer data analysed. The amount of back-data we provided ensured strong accuracy in the results and can be relied on to help inform our breeding decisions and yours as well.

These numbers reflect an animal’s performance within our herd, and the strength in this data will increase as we build linkages with other stud and commercial herds, which allows Deer Select to compare the performance of genetics in different environments. As examples, we have already sold sires to commercial herds using Deer Select, which will provide some of those linkages. Our AI programme will inevitably create more linkages, especially as more herds join Deer Select.

Without going into too much detail, the key information we’ve added to the catalogue for your consideration is a Mature Velvet Weight breeding value (MVW) and a Weight 12 breeding value (W12). There are layers of information in these numbers that connect generations of deer.

Velvet: the MVW BV is a measure of how well this stag and his offspring will perform compared to the average animal within our herd. A stag with a MVW of 3.00kg is three kilograms of velvet ahead of the average stag. Mated to an “average” hind, his sons would be 1.5kg heavier than average… and he’d pass those same genetics to his daughters. That benefit is a permanent improvement for your herd.

Bodyweight and growth: we have used bodyweight data to generate the W12 BVs as well. This is a continued focus for us, creating added value for stock by ensuring bodyweight and carcase weight are reflected in strong venison returns for you as well. Not every animal gets to make the velvet herd or the breeding mobs, so ensuring good growth rates and respectable carcase weights for those animals adds greatly to the bottom line. Nearly all the stags on offer this year have good positive growth rates, so they are truly all-rounders for commercial operations.

Please do bear in mind that the data only tells part of the story. Stockmanship should be what drives your initial choices and that is an individual thing: your eye for a nice animal, how he looks or holds himself, how he behaves, how you like his velvet style. We have made our choices for this line up, based on our eye for a top animal too. The Deer Select data will help inform those choices, as it doesn’t currently account for velvet style, body conformation or temperament.

Buy with added confidence as these stags and selected yearling hinds have the breeding and data to genuinely make a difference in your herd.

We love the interaction with our clients and value your feedback… Your success is our Success!

2021 Sale Stags BV's and Velvet weights on lot order

Lot 1

We love the interaction with our clients and value your feedback… Your success is our Success!