Welcome to the 2020 Forrester Stag Sale

Friday 4th December from 12pm. Auction at 1pm

What a year it has been, not only for farmers but humanity in general. Covid19 has thrown some big challenges at farmers and it would be fair to say the deer industry has probably been hit the hardest with our high-end Venison product in particular, not being able to be served in the European restaurants. On a positive note, this has forced the marketers to think outside the box and they are doing a great job of opening new markets in retail and e-commerce – markets we did not really have much presence in pre covid. As an industry we need to “weather the storm”, and when the ‘switch’ is turned back on we should be in an even stronger position than before with exciting new markets gaining more traction.

With all of this in mind, it is important to keep the foot on the throat regarding investing in top genetics. The decisions you make today on what goes into your herd are very long term and these genetics will still have influence in your breeding herd in 10 years’ time.

The lineup of stags this year is exceptional. Every year we are seeing a lift in the averages with W12ebv up 7% to 13.9 and yearling weights up from 126kg to 132kg. (All weighed on 30th November). At the time of writing this we have cut 36 stags averaging 6.13kg. This is very impressive for what are ultimately bred for meat genetics but as we have said before, and is more important than ever in today’s climate, that the more spike you can cut off adds serious value to the animal and converts to a higher meat price. As much as $1.50 more on the schedule price.

You will see a few new Sire’s represented this year. We are continually introducing new blood into the Forrester programme. One Sire representing 13 stags in this lineup is JOBIE. All his progeny are very deep in body structure with some huge velvet and lovely temperament. The 9 stags of JOBIE’s that are cut at catalogue are averaging 8.01kg. Other sires such as Winston, Churchill, Hilson and K21 are new to the line-up this year and some superstars such as Zebulon, Toby, Jeff and Jefferson represent well.

Finally, we are running our auction alongside BIDR this year so you will have the opportunity to bid in real time remotely via this online auction platform. More info in the catalogue.

We welcome all prospective buyers to come and view the stags leading up to the sale so please don’t hesitate to contact Mark on 0277799008 for private viewings.