Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans knew about keeping deer in captivity a thousand years before Christ. Venison was reserved for the nobility in medieval Europe. Earliest settlers in America made venison a staple in their diets. Deer farming has progressed greatly since Phoenician times. New Zealanders have taken deer farming to where it is today with high-tech fences and large-scale marketing.
Breakneck Ridge Farm was the first farm in Maine to start raising deer on a commercial basis for the production of venison. We started with 25 common European fallow deer and have since added the bloodlines from the rare Mesopotamian Fallow deer. Our herd is now around 250. |