Welcome to the

Joe Hicks Elk Farm

Loma, Colorado

Elk can be entertaining to watch, chilling to hear, and challenging to raise.  They are like children that love to run, jump and play.  They enjoy "toys" and will play with whatever can be found within their confinement.  Elk are beautiful, majestic, curious, and hilarious.  

Elk are a hearty livestock.  Three elk can be raised on the same amount of land required for one beef cow.  This fact makes raising elk more economically sound than raising cattle.  This enables elk ranchers to use their own land for grazing, eliminating the need for government permits to graze on Federal lands.  Unlike the Emu and Ostrich, the elk has been classified as domestic livestock.  This classification makes it possible for ranchers to handle elk in a similar fashion as cattle, horses and sheep.  The elk ranching industry had grown tremendously in the last decade and Colorado ranchers are getting involved.  The media coverage of Chronic Wasting Disease has put this industry in a negative light with misinformation and accusations.  The domestic elk ranchers have long had a regiment of testing and regulations that is more stringent that those of ranchers of wild deer and other captive game.  CWD has been in the wild for 30 years in Colorado, but only became an issue when it was discovered in domestic ranches in the Division of Wildlife's "endemic area" in the northeastern corner of Colorado.

This is Allison.  She loves to be around people and  is almost one of the family.  It seems to take drivers by surprise to see a baby elk running loose with the dogs.

There are various markets for the products of the elk industry and each market differs in size and scope.  The most prominent market is for breeding stock.  The other markets include harvesting antler velvet, hunt ranches, and meat products.  The meat market is an opportunity that is currently underdeveloped, but growing as it become harder to harvest elk in the wild.

Ranchers who have breeding stock to sell will capitalize on the demand as new entrants buy beginning stock. It takes two or three years for an elk rancher to start receiving a return from the beginning stock.  A female can not be bred until she is at least 18 months of age, but she will have a reproductive life of between 18 to 20 years.  The average beef cow has a reproductive life of 10 to 12 years and the calves are more susceptible to scours and other health problems.  This industry has such a high growth potential that many ranchers are strictly buying, selling, and breeding livestock in an effort to be in a position to meet the future demand.  

Each elk rancher attempts to continually improve the genetics of his herd and sell animals with superior qualities to other ranchers.  Competitions are mainly local, regional, and sometimes national.  There are conventions and auctions throughout the year for breeders to present their stock for sell and/or competition.  Breeder associations sponsor these conventions and present seminars on issues pertaining to breeding, health, legislation changes, and areas of interest to the ranchers.  

Our herd bull is now a magnificent animal with a 6 by 6 rack.  In 2000, he took 4th place in the hard horn competition with one tine missing.

This picture was taken June 2001. Our 5 year old herd bull is on the left and the middle one is a 3 year old.  The one on the right is a 2 year old.

The production and harvesting of elk antler velvet is a profitable, yet volatile market.  Antler velvet is used by the Asians for medicinal purposes and has been for centuries.  There is an established market in the Pacific Rim countries for North American elk antler velvet, and can easily be accessed by Colorado ranchers through associations such as the North American Elk Breeders Association www.naelk.org .  The velvet grows from March to June.  The antlers are cut off the bull when the velvet growth is about 60-80 days old.  The velvet is then cut, frozen, graded, dried, cut up, and sold to pharmaceutical companies.  A good bull in velvet will produce over 1/3 pound per day of new skin, hair, cartilage and bone.  There is no pain or damage done to the animals which would shed the antlers in the early spring anyway.  A mature, six-year-old bull can produce between 20 and 40+ pounds of velvet each year.  The price of velvet is continually fluctuating, but can range between $10 to $100 per pound.

There are several global sources of competition for the antler velvet market.  The Pacific Rim countries have historically been the largest buyers of the velvet products, but there is a growing demand from other countries.  The main sources of velvet are the Chinese and Russian Deer, Alaskan Reindeer, New Zealand Red Deer, and the North American Elk.  Russia is now the largest producer of velvet on the world market.  The Chinese consume all of the velvet they produce domestically.  Due to governmental regulations and other interfering factors, the Alaskan Reindeer supply has diminished.  The New Zealand Red Deer produces velvet earlier in the year than the North American Elk so these two suppliers do not directly conflict with each other.  If there is a shortage or surplus in the red deer velvet supply, it will affect the price and demand for the elk velvet.  The elk velvet is of higher quality than the other sources, which will help strengthen the Colorado elk ranching industry.  As the demand for products made with elk velvet increases, this market will become less volatile and more viable.

A growing market for elk products is the bull elk himself.  Hunt ranches are becoming more and more popular.  Mountain acreage is enclosed with the 8-foot elk fence and mature bulls are released inside the fenced area.  Hunters pay from $5,000 to $40,000 for the chance to kill one of these elk.  The price fluctuates depending on the size, quality, and rack size of the bull.  This activity is becoming quite controversial and is drawing attention to the elk ranching industry.  Trophy elk are becoming harder to find in the wild and these hunt ranches provide hunters with an opportunity to enjoy the thrill of the hunt and have the prospect of bagging the big one.  Bulls from CWD ranches like ours give the hunter a reassurance that his kill will be disease free.

The meat market currently consists of jerky, sausages and snack type items and is the smallest and most underdeveloped of the elk markets.  This market has exceptional growth potential and can make elk ranching very profitable.  It is anticipated that elk meat will eventually be sold across the counter in all major grocery stores.  Experts say there will need to be approximately 250,000 domestic elk in North America before the meat can be successfully marketed nationally.  Elk meat is the "health food" type of red meat.  When compared to beef, elk is lower in saturated fats and cholesterol, and is higher in protein.  The calorie content is similar to chicken.  In addition to being healthier meat, elk does not have the "gamey" taste that offends some people.  Elk meat is ideal for people on medically restricted diets.  Due to the growth of the elk industry, it will soon be viable to supply meat to restaurants in the required quantities; opening up a whole new marketing niche.  Elk meat will not be able to compete in the fast food market with beef hamburgers and will be focused in markets with $15.00 beef steaks and $4.00 sausage and burgers.  In addition to restaurants, catering of elk products such as appetizers, sausage, and roasts will be a fast growing market segment.  These products can be prepared for large groups and add an exotic flare to the occasion.  It is apparent there is a market for this type of meat.  It is estimated that over 700 metric tons of red deer meat is being imported into the United States annually.  This meat is marketed in restaurants as elk meat.

Research is indicating that elk velvet can be used in dietary supplements to promote health.  The North American Elk Breeders Association, in compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, was able to scientifically determine that there is reasonable basis to claim that antler velvet helps relieve symptoms of arthritis.  The Rocky Mountain Velvet Company is currently marketing pills with a mixture of pure antler velvet and shark cartilage.  This product was produced based on research and reports from Russia, China and Korea that the velvet can be used to control blood pressure, increase hemoglobin levels, increase lung efficiency, improve recuperation from exertion, improve muscle tone and glandular functions, sharpen mental alertness, and heal stomach ulcers.  Many scientists, researchers, and elk ranchers believe that the medicinal uses of antler velvet are just now being uncovered.

We have discovered that elk love water.  They are just like children, if there is water to be found, they will be in it.

This little baby didn't seem to mind her "water bed" during the hot days of summer.