ELK!: ELK FARMING A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY IN MISSOURI

A group of American elk roamed a field on a Cape Girardeau elk farm. Missouri has more than 70 elk breeders in the state.

Now is a good time to start an elk herd.

Missouri is the home of a multimillion-dollar elk industry, with more than 70 elk breeders, and prices of breeding stock is in a down cycle now.

This is the word from Mary Jenkins, executive director of the Missouri Elk Farmers Association in Jefferson City.

Elk prices, like those of hogs and cattle, are down because of decreased exports to the Far East, said Jenkins, who was a speaker last week at the annual AgriExpo 1999, conducted at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

One of the products of elk farming is "elk velvet," and it is highly sought-after in the Far East for health benefits.

"Korea has been a big elk velvet importer.

"But Korea's economy has been depressed and the elk velvet is a luxury item for the people," said Jenkins.

Elk velvet is a product made from newly formed elk horns, which are harvested, ground and sold, said Jenkins.

Elk velvet has been used for thousands of years for arthritis and building up the immune systems, noted Jenkins, who described the elk velvet market much like the ginseng market.

"The (elk velvet) market has grown without a dollar of advertising," she said. The elk velvet sells for various prices, ranging from $8 to $30 a pound.

Elk farming was part of the AgriExpo program series, entitled "Adding Value to Livestock," one of eight tracks at the program.

Another major Missouri elk industry event of the year was held last weekend at Lolli Brothers Livestock Market at Macon. More than 200 breeders from North America attended the event.

"The two events were not related," said Jenkins. "A number of elk were sold during the Macon program.

Missouri has about 70 elk breeders; 47 of them members of the MEFA.

Area breeders include Jim Wilferth of Cape Girardeau, Joseph Favier of Perryville, Stan Nations of Fredericktown and Kevin Hinkebein of Farmington.

Greg Nettles, an elk farmer from Mexico, Mo., told farmers at the AgriExpo that there was a growing market in the Untied States for elk meat.

"We're importing elk meat from New Zealand that we could be producing here," said Nettles.

Nettles, who has a growing home-based meat business based on his farm, purchases young bulls from farmers who do not use them for their breeding herds. He "feeds them out" for the meat trade.

Elk steak sells for up to $10 a pound, and elk roasts go for $6.50 a pound.

"The meat is delicious without the wild taste of venison," said Nettles.

Both Nettles and Jenkins expect the price of elk to increase as the Korean economy rebounds and the popularity of elk meat grows.

An elk cow, without registration papers, typically sells for $4,000, but during a recent elk auction, elk heifers sold from $1,500 to $7,000 each.

In addition to the meat and velvet market, elk are sold to game parks, exotic animal farms and hunting farms.

Elk are hardy animals, said Jenkins and Nettles. "They don't have the health problems of beef animals," they said.

However, fencing can be a problem. Eight-foot-high fences are required.

The animals are grazers and need good pastures.

"They don't do very well on fescue, one of the most widespread grasses in the state," said Nettles.

Elk farming has grown over the past two decades, especially the past 10 years.

In 1990, 35 elk ranchers formed the North American Elks Association to promote and protect elk farming.

Elk, or wapiti, are majestic animals, second largest of the deer family, exceeded in size only by moose.

Today, there are more than 110,000 elk on farms in the United States., and the NAEA, headquartered at Platte City, Mo., has more than 1,500 members from the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia.

Wild elk disappeared from Missouri more than a century ago, but the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Wild Elk Institute of Missouri are conducting feasibility studies to determine whether wild elk should be re-introduced to the Show Me State.

The MEFA and the North American Elk Association oppose bringing wild elk back.

"We're concerned about safety and health measures," said Jenkins.

"We won't know for more than year how the public feels about it," said Lonnie Hansen, a wildlife research biologist from Columbia who is heading the study for the conservation department.

Elk were in massive numbers in Missouri before, obviously there are a few more people here now. said a spokesman of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which supports states that consider reintroduction.

The study, said Terry Cloutier, south-central regional director for the RMEF, will help to see what the elk and human interactions will be.

Arkansas underwent a similar study in the 1980s and today has about 450 wild elk.

An elk restoration move was rejected by voters in Kentucky, but the Tennessee Valley Authority allowed free-range elk re-introduciton in the Land Between the (Kentucky and Barkley) Lakes. In 1995, elk and buffalo were placed in a 750-acre fenced enclosure. A $3 a car entry fee into the Elk and Bison Prairie was established in 1997. More than 84,000 cars made the circular trip to see elk and bison.

Illinois decided against bringing in elk.

Elk are brought in from states like Utah and Kansas that have an excess population.

Hansen will oversee a statewide phone survey to gauge interest in reintroducing the 800-pound animal. A special landowner survey and public meetings are also planned.

The size of the animals is the primary concern of the MEFA. Motorists who fear hitting a deer should think about the possibility of hitting a 5-foot elk, with an antler rack stretching 5 feet, said Jenkins.

Elk are native to Missouri but died out in the 1850s due to market hunting and habitat loss.

The conservation department knows elk will not be introduced in the northern part of the state where farming is prosperous.

Hansen said elk can do a lot of damage to farmland and compete for food and spread disease among other animals.