Daniel Eades Extension Specialist Community, Economic & Workforce Development West Virginia University The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the WV Deer Farmers Assoc., WV DNR, and financial support from WVU Grants for Public Service

Deer Farming and WV Agriculture West Virginia (All Farms) 1 45% of farms acres 24% of farms acres Avg farm sales: $27,500 49% of farms sold less than $2,500 Deer Farming Trends 2 Avg farm PA: 68.5 acres; 30% less than 10 acres Avg farm OH: 29.2 acres; 82% less than 50 acres Avg sales PA: $ 53,650 Avg sales OH: $71,391 1.USDA Ag Census, Shepstone Management Company

Counties with One or More Deer Farms Survey Respondents

West Virginia Deer Farms by Industry Segment Sales of West Virginia Deer Farm Products

West Virginia Deer Farms by Year Established West Virginia Deer Farms by Acres of Land

WV Deer Farm Numbers Avg. of farms reporting sales: $22,000 Employ an estimated 46 workers; pay $343,00 in wages Spent estimated $1.9 million on capital expenditures and operations 97% of spending occurred in West Virginia

Leading Purchases by West Virginia Deer Farm Operations Real Estate$559,74130% Farm Equipment$190,61910% ATVs$173,4689% Stock/Animal Purchases$149,7528% New Construction$136,1987% Fencing$118,9096% Vehicles$104,5736% Grains$79,7184% Supplement Feeds$46,7673% Fuel$39,5282%

Total Impacts from Spending and Payroll Employment: 66 jobs Output (Sales): $1.44 Million Value Added (GSP):$1.03 Million Labor Income$784,000 Indirect Business Taxes$ 62,000 Other Property Income$185,000

Study, Model, and Policy Considerations The impacts presented are conservative estimates Ignores travel and tourism spending Assumes non-respondents are NEW operations Jobs represent 12 months of work but NOT necessarily full-time employment Input-output models are NOT Feasibility studies Cost-benefit studies A complete picture

Thank You

Table 1. Assumptions for Economic Impact Calculation From Surveys Median Non Response Value Survey + Non- Response Sales$300,300$950$14,250$314,550 Employment (WV) Wages, Salaries, Benefits (WV) $318,504$1,650$24,750$343,254 Intermediate Expenditures (Total) $1,347,498$36,508$547,620$1,895,118 [1] [1] The median number of employees, while small, seems to be a reasonable assumption. Ohio, which has a well developed industry, reported average employment of only 2.4 jobs per operation.