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New England Agricultural Statistics Service
- - - a field office of the
National Agricultural Statistics Service
United States Department of Agriculture
Aubrey R. Davis, Director Phone: (603) 224-9639
22 Bridge St, 3rd Floor Fax: (603) 225-1434
PO Box 1444 Internet: http://www.usda.gov/nass/
Concord, NH 03302-1444 E-Mail: nass.nh@nass.usda.gov
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Camelid and Cervidae Farms
January 11, 2001
The following is an abbreviated version of the report.
The entire document is available as a PDF file on
the Internet through: http://www.nass.usda.gov/nh/
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Camelid and Cervidae Farms
1997 Census of Agriculture
January 11, 2001
This information is being published at the request of
grower associations representing farms raising Camelid
(llamas and alpacas) and Cervidae animals (deer, elk,
etc.). A special note of "THANKS" goes out to all who
took the time to complete the 1997 Census of Agriculture
and also to those who have helped with any of our annual
or monthly surveys. Without your help, information such
as this would not be available.
The New England field office of NASS is pleased to provide
this special service to a unique segment of New England
agriculture. The data presented here for llamas, deer, etc.
is a sum of data reported in the "Other Livestock"
section of the 1997 Census of Agriculture. Farmers were
asked for a total of all livestock on hand December 31,
1997 and livestock sales during 1997. We have not made any
attempt to estimate for those who did not report Camelid
or Cervidae inventory or sales in the Ag Census. In some
cases, individual states cannot be published in order
to protect confidentiality.
Camelid
There were 148 Camelid (llamas and alpacas) farms in
New England on December 31, 1997, with total inventory
of 1,888 head. During 1997, the gross value of camelid
sales in New England totaled $975,000.
Llamas: [In this summary, New England totals for
llamas do not include Rhode Island, with the exception
of the number of farms. Rhode Island information was
not published in order to prevent the disclosure of
information about individual farms.]
There were a total of 1,550 llamas on 135 farms in
New England on December 31, 1997. Vermont accounted
for 36 percent of this total with 557 head on 37 farms.
Massachusetts had the next highest count with 278 head,
making up almost 18 percent of the five-state total
inventory. Connecticut was the leader in the number of
llama sales for 1997, with 72 head sold at an average
price of $935 per head. Vermont was next with its farms
selling a total of 71 llamas, averaging $1,255 per head.
The total sales of llamas in New England was reported at
317 head, with an average price per head of $1,254 and
a total value of sales equaling $397,500.
Alpacas: The size of the alpaca herd in New England
totaled 338 head as of December 31, 1997. New England
farms sold 47 alpacas totaling $577,500, at an average
price of $12,287 per head.
Cervidae
There were 47 Cervidae (deer, elk, and reindeer) farms
in New England on December 31, 1997, with total inventory
of 3,873 head. During 1997, the gross value of cervidae
sales in New England totaled $431,000.
Red Deer: On December 31, 1997, Maine led New England
in the number of red deer farms and in red deer
population. The state contained 11 red deer farms,
making up just over half of all red deer operations
reported in New England; there were 1,575 red deer
which was 82 per cent of the region's inventory. Maine
sold 213 head at an average price of $1,230 each for a
gross value of $261,900. Twenty operations in New
England reported a total 1,921 head of red deer. The
New England total of red deer sold was 258 head for a
total of $315,000.
Fallow Deer: On December 31, 1997, fallow deer in
Vermont totaled 1,269 head on 13 farms. These farms
sold 255 head in 1997, at an average price of $133 each,
for a total market value of $33,900 for the state.
Total sales for New England was 667 head at an average
price of $174 each, for a total regional value of sales
equaling $116,000.
Other Cervidae (Elk, Reindeer): On December 31, 1997,
there were six farms across New England with elk
and/or reindeer totaling 42 head. In order to prevent
the disclosure of individual farms, no other information
can be published.
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