Economic Impact of the Texas Deer Breeding Industry

By Agricultural and Food Policy Center, The Texas A&M University System

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• The deer breeding industry is, perhaps, the fastest growing industry in rural America.

• Over 1,300 industry participants were surveyed, with a response rate of 11 percent.

• This extensive survey, which asked detailed questions regarding inventory, size of operation, annual expenditures, revenue sources and production system, was performed in late 2006-early 2007.

• Breeding operations reported expenditures averaging $306,000 per year.

• The deer breeding industry has a direct economic impact of $318.4 million annually.

• When incorporating the indirect impacts of the industry, for example, the farm’s expenditures on feed, veterinary supplies, fuel and other purchases, the total economic impact of the industry is $523 million.

• One of the major customers of this industry is hunters. Estimating the impact of hunting dollars spent, with hunters as the consumer of deer breeding products, an additional $129 million is generated by the deer breeding industry.

• The total impact of the industry, combining the breeding and hunting components, is $652 million annually.

• The economic activity of the deer breeding industry supports 7,335 jobs, most of which are in rural America. If this industry did not exist, those jobs would have to be supported by some other economic activity.

• Exotic wildlife operations are another important segment of this industry. Most of the nation’s estimated 3,750 exotic operations reside in Texas. Using the same survey techniques, the direct economic impact of the exotic wildlife industry is estimated to be $679.7 million.

• When hunting is included, the total economic impact of the exotic wildlife industry is $1.3 billion, and supports an additional 14,388 jobs.

• These results highlight the fact that both the deer breeding and exotic wildlife industries are a growing and important segment of the Texas economy, contributing to the vitality of rural areas of the state.