Breeders Harvest Antlers, Meat, Cash

Elk horns from all over the place dry out in the walkin kilns at Bob Spoklie’s antlerdrying operation in northeastern Montana.

Big Sky Antlers in Antelope is the largest drying facility in the United States and handles up to 7 tons of horns in a year. In 1994, they came from as far away as Ohio and New Mexico.

Selling antlers for use in Asian medicines and aphrodisiacs is one of the ways game farmers make money. Then there’s the meat market, sales of breeding stock and shooting for a fee, with a gun or camera.

“It’s a very, very viable business,” said Spoklie, president of the Montana Game Breeders Association. He began raising elk in 1986 and is one of 97 game farm operators in Montana.

Antlers are bringing $25 to $50 a pound in a rebounding market, and at $3 a pound carcass weight, elk meat fetches considerably more money than beef. Antler prices have been higher, but they’re moving up.

The slump occurred largely because of an antler stockpile in Russia, the top producer of antlers, and a recession in Korea, a leading buyer, said Steve Wolcott of Paonia, Colo., president of the North American Elk Breeders Association. He said the United States and Canada supply about 5 percent of the world antler market.

The operation of elk farms as shooting preserves can bring thousands of dollars, with the largest animals drawing top prices.

At the Big Velvet Elk Ranch in Darby, a four-day experience featuring even a medium-size bull brings $4,900, which includes meals, lodging and guide service, according to a brochure.

Because game farms operate on private property, hunting licenses aren’t required.