Venison Processing Changes in Wis

[Tree Spud]

Just recently learned that 2 of our venison processors will no longer be processing whole or quartered deer. One has closed their doors (local seasonal deer processor) and one will only take boneless trim only for essentially sausage making. This means you will now have to skin & de-bone your deer.

Apparently our DNR in all their wisdom has classified deer bone carcasses & scraps as hazardous waste. They decided to add a surcharge for disposing of this stuff in landfills.

Anyone else dealing with this?

 

[Mortenson]

I haven't heard of anything like that yet, but it could certainly become true at some point. That's too bad you're losing good butchers. Illinois hasn't even released their 18/19 hunting season CWD report yet. I wonder why. Awful lot of sneakiness going on. Right or wrong, going ahead I've decided to use our preferred lockers for nothing. Going to miss out on some good sausages, but I'm going to do 100% of the processing and am looking at grinders now. We have a grinder attachment for our Kitchen-Aid that has been adequate on a tiny scale in the past, but now I'll look to go bigger. Always liked processing, but occasionally it was just nice to drop a deer off at the locker and get certain things made.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Ive never taken a deer in that wasn't de-bonned.

 

[Bill]

They decided to add a surcharge for disposing of this stuff in landfills.

They or someone higher up who figured out this is a way to get more $ in the coffers without calling it a tax...

 

[Rit]

Quite a few butchers in Ohio no longer accept whole deer. I had to make a lot of phone calls last year just to find one.

 

[Tree Spud]

They or someone higher up who figured out this is a way to get more $ in the coffers without calling it a tax...

The problem is that I think the reverse will happen and revenues will down. The small local processor did 500-600 or so whole deer a year big processors did a lot more. Most folks will shoot 1 maybe 2 deer per family for meat. First target is a buck. Many won't shoot a doe for a variety of reasons. Processing a whole deer to cut & wrapped roasts, steaks, etc. plus ground burger meat is $80. Unless you have the tools and are really into butchering your own deer, hard to beat that price.

There is a deer donation program where people can shoot does and take them to a processor who will process the deer for food kitchens for free. The processors who did this have now backed out of the program because of the surcharge.

In my county our deer density is 60-70 dpsm. The DNR is obsessed with trying to bring the herd down to 20-25 dpsm.

With lose of processors and no deer donation program, I am willing to bet that the deer harvest will take a pretty good drop.

 

[Bill]

The problem is that I think the reverse will happen and revenues will down. The small local processor did 500-600 or so whole deer a year big processors did a lot more. Most folks will shoot 1 maybe 2 deer per family for meat. First target is a buck. Many won't shoot a doe for a variety of reasons. Processing a whole deer to cut & wrapped roasts, steaks, etc. plus ground burger meat is $80. Unless you have the tools and are really into butchering your own deer, hard to beat that price.

There is a deer donation program where people can shoot does and take them to a processor who will process the deer for food kitchens for free. The processors who did this have now backed out of the program because of the surcharge.

In my county our deer density is 60-70 dpsm. The DNR is obsessed with trying to bring the herd down to 20-25 dpsm.

With lose of processors and no deer donation program, I am willing to bet that the deer harvest will take a pretty good drop.

If so they may have to rethink things.

 

[spaniel]

$80 to process a deer??? It has been YEARS since I've seen a price that low.

I gave up on processors. That was whole carcass, if you've already deboned, what are you paying for? I bought a really nice grinder from Cabelas and it paid for itself in two seasons. And I get higher meat recovery from a deer than any processor I've ever tried, and when I weight theirs it includes the packaging and bone, mine is deboned in Ziploc...

 

[Barndog56]

I usually butcher my own, but will take it in if it's early in the season and too warm to hang outside overnight. Where I take them only accepts deboned meet now. Next closest place is a half hour drive now, so I just won't be hunting evenings if I can't stay up that night and butcher it right away.

 

[davidhelmly]

Ive never taken a deer in that wasn't de-bonned.

It's funny how different parts of the country are different, I haven't gutted a deer in 10+ years much less skinned or deboned one. We shoot our deer and take it straight to the local processor, he immediately guts, skins and hangs them and gives you whatever cut you want for $50-$60.

 

[sandbur]

Ive never taken a deer in that wasn't de-bonned.

It's funny how different parts of the country are different, I haven't gutted a deer in 10+ years much less skinned or deboned one. We shoot our deer and take it straight to the local processor, he immediately guts, skins and hangs them and gives you whatever cut you want for $50-$60.

I hope you are close to a processor. I was always taught to gut ASAP.

50-60 is a bargain. Do you have to wrap?


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[davidhelmly]

I hope you are close to a processor. I was always taught to gut ASAP.

50-60 is a bargain. Do you have to wrap?


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Yes less that’s 10 minutes away. No it’s completely processed, wrapped and frozen when you pick it up.

 

[Freeborn]

Yes less that’s 10 minutes away. No it’s completely processed, wrapped and frozen when you pick it up.

Is that the norm or tradition in your area? I have never heard of hunters not gutting deer in the field.

 

[davidhelmly]

Is that the norm or tradition in your area? I have never heard of hunters not gutting deer in the field.

That's the norm, the processors skin the deer before gutting to keep all hair out of the meat.

 

[hillHuntR]

When i lived in Florida, i was the oddball that gutted deer. It was common to have deer out for a half day in temps that would fry peoples minds in the midwest. Never heard of any issues though. Process my own now in Indiana. The best local livestock processor quit doing deer this year. All the others i have tried give a barely acceptable to poor quality product in my opinion...unless i want to drive 2 hours one way

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[ksgobbler]

Is that the norm or tradition in your area? I have never heard of hunters not gutting deer in the field.

The processor I like to use charges extra if you gut the deer. I drove 35 minutes with an ungutted deer after my 2 hr recovery last night.