A spotlight is being put on deer farming in Ayrshire thanks to the region’s first venison farm.
Woodrose Venison in Mauchline, owned by husband and wife duo Jo and Ross Woodburn, welcomed their first deer back in 2016 and now have 300 hinds, stags and calves grazing within their 50 acres.
Their grass-fed farmed meats are not only stocked in top restaurants across the region, including Ayr’s new swanky steakhouse The Drunken Coo, The Laird’s Table, Sorn Inn and Hollybush, but supplied further afield to M&S and Waitrose.
And those looking to try their hand at cooking some venison at home can pick some up at Woodrose’s farm shop, who also stock local produce including handmade chutney, or Ocean Stores at Ayr’s harbourside.
Jo, 33, said: “In Ayrshire it’s predominantly dairy, beef and sheep farming.
“I know when we came into it a lot of the farmers were like, ‘oh really’, whereas elsewhere, where there’s maybe more deer farms, it’s not a taboo subject.
“But I think it’s breaking that mould, and saying it’s a good thing and part of farming."
The couple, who live on the farm with daughter Alex, eight, and six-year-old son Logan, have built up Woodrose Venison from scratch and are now looking to create walkways around the farm so people can view the deer safely, whilst allowing the animals to remain in their natural environment.
Jo, who works as an advanced nurse practitioner between Ayr and Crosshouse, said: “It’s such a spectacle to come up and see and hear these stags during breeding season.
“We’ve got a couple of deer who are very friendly; we’ve worked on temperament with them and they’re lovely.
“They’re what we call ‘our pets’ and we’re looking to keep them and start letting people come up and see them. They will literally eat out of your hands.
“It’s bringing people out, seeing there is a different side to farming and it’s great education for kids."
The male deer go for venison production after 18 months which allows the meat to ‘be at it’s absolute best’, while the females stay on-site to build up Woodrose’s herd.
“They’re grass fed all year round so they have a very subtle taste compared to wild,” said Jo.
“Wild is obviously up on the hill and can eat anything, so they have the rich gamey flavour which is commonly associated with venison.
“We’ve converted a lot of people who have maybe come up and bought it for their husband. They say ‘oh I don’t like venison’, and I tell them ‘I don’t like wild venison but try this’, and people are likening it to a right good bit of beef.
“We also know what age our deer are going and getting killed at; a lot of wild deer you don’t know what age or health status it is, so we can give people that traceability."
Woodrose Venison pride themselves on supporting local and are working on ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
Jo added: “We love working with local suppliers and local producers.
“Supplying local restaurants is great for us. I think it’s brilliant — if you’re in Ayrshire, you’re eating Ayrshire produce.
“What we do at Christmas time is a bit of a play on pigs in blankets and we do venison blankets, and it’s wrapped in Ayrshire bacon, so again it’s incorporating the local produce.”
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