Testimonials
Maize: Fuelling velvet growth and magnificent trophies
For Ian Bristow, who runs the 400 ha operation at South Head, northwest Auckland, feeding maize silage and grain is vital to maintaining the condition and health of his 1,500 red deer and 1,000 fallow deer.
From velvet production to trophy breeding, every aspect of Ian’s operation benefits from the consistent quality and high energy content of VPMAXX ® maize; animal health, condition and productivity have been optimised, even in the most challenging season.
Pinewood’s red deer herd includes 350 velvet stags, 450 breeding hinds, and the remainder as yearlings or replacement stock. The velvet stags’ purpose is clear – to produce high-quality velvet, harvested from late spring through mid-summer. For the breeding hinds, Ian carefully splits their roles: 200 are integrated into the velvet herd, while the remaining 200 are bred to Wapiti stags, creating hybrid offspring that are sold as premium meat to Silver Fern Farms.
The fallow deer herd, comprised of 500 breeding does and 500 stags and yearlings, is dedicated to trophy stag production. This line of business is particularly important to Pinewood.
“It’s a big part of our operation – we sell 150 fallow trophy stags annually to trophy farms across New Zealand,” Ian says. “Our focus is on producing attractive, high-scoring trophies”. Maize plays a critical role in the Pinewood operation. For the past 10 years, Pinewood has grown 15 ha of maize annually, divided into 5 ha harvested for silage and 10 ha for grain.
This year Ian planted VPMAXX ® hybrids VP483 for silage and VP399 for grain. The silage is fed out during winter to stags and breeding hinds of both deer breeds, while the grain is fed year round, providing essential nutritional supplementation.
“Winter is no problem for us, but we live in an area prone to summer dry,” Ian says. “We often reach out for the grain during the summer to fill the feed gaps left by the dry weather”.
Feeding maize silage and grain has brought measurable benefits to Pinewood’s deer herds.
“We’ve definitely seen an improvement in animal condition and health since introducing maize as a supplementary feed,” Ian says. “It’s hard to imagine a time when we didn’t have maize in our system”.
Ian credits much of the success of his maize crop to his partnership with his VPMAXX ® Account Manager, Alastair McConnachie. “Alastair is very supportive,” Ian says. “He follows the crop from planting to harvest, dropping in every two to three weeks to check on things and ensure there are no bugs or health issues with the crop”
Ian’s wife Diane, son Dean, and employees Beau Cornish and Keaton Stead-Hill are also key contributors to Pinewood’s success, ensuring the farm runs smoothly year-round.
By combining superior genetics, excellent management and a high-quality and reliable supplementary feed such as maize, Ian and his family have built a world-class deer farming operation.
“We certainly intend to carry on feeding maize,” Ian says.