Fallow Deer

Fallow Deer

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
"There you go, they like the sound of corn." The they that Aaron Phelps is referring to are deer that he raises behind 8 foot fences. "My name is Aaron Phelps, owner operator of Black Pine Deer farm about 11 miles south of McCall and 4 miles north of Donnley. We are Idaho's largest fallow deer farm. Out of the 300 some odd fallow deer in Idaho, there's about 140+ of them here." Phelps along with wife Luanne and his parents Ivan & Wilmina have been farming deer since 1998. The breed is European Fallow Deer. They have been raised as a prime meat source for over 5000 years. The Phelps family offers USDA certified all natural venison for sale. Ranging from venison burger..at 6 bucks a pound to tenderlion at 21.50 a pound. "We do some restaurants, Boise co-op, farmers market, plus we sell through the farm. We have freezers and our stuff is all inspected by the local health department guy. Things have started to pick up real good with the natural food markets and now people want to know where their food is coming from. It isn't wild, it isn't run around, there is zero stress so the meat is very tender. The main thing is that it is very high quality and low fat." Before raising deer, Aaron raised beef.

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