In the wake of record low prices for farmed elk and a diminishing international market for velvet antler products, a Calgary company is switching gears to promote ranch-raised venison as an healthy food alternative.

Qeva Group Inc., which already produces and markets elk velvet antler capsules as a natural nutritional supplement and for traditional Asian medicines, has entered into a deal with a Balzac-area butcher to help build Alberta’s retail and wholesale elk meat market.

“There’s been some trials and tribulations marketing velvet antler for the past couple of years – and since we’re publicly traded, we were always looking for some form of diversification for the company to bring in new sources of revenue to keep the dream alive, so to speak,” says company president Robert Pek.

Qeva Meats Ltd., a wholly owned subsidy of Qeva Group (QVA-TSX) has purchased a five-year operating deal at Balzac Meats, which has been catering to local customers for more than two decades.

Robert Pek of Qeva Group is moving into elk meat sales.

Alberta’s elk industry has been battered by low prices amid fears of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a debilitating nerve disorder in captive elk and deer that has caused the market to bottom out in recent years. While Korea, a major elk velvet importer, has slapped a ban on North American antler imports, both Alberta velvet and elk meat are still being sold on domestic and international markets.

Unlike the established link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare, fatal brain disorder in humans, there is no scientific evidence that CWD affects people.

There has been a moratorium on importing elk or cervids of any kind into Alberta since 1988. CWD had been detected in deer and elk in several western provinces and states, including elk farms in Colorado, Montana and South Dakota. One captive elk has been diagnosed in Alberta.

Unlike beef, every single elk slaughtered and processed in Alberta will undergo provincial inspections before being packaged and sold within the province as a high-protein, low- fat, red meat alternative.

“Because we can’t move that product until the heads are tested, we can slaughter on a Monday, and the following Tuesday we’ll have meat released. By the time we hang it, cut and wrap it and get it ready for market, we’ll have the results back,” with the assurance that the product is CWD-free, says Pek.

The company plans to close out its office lease in Calgary and move to the Balzac property, about 75 acres just east of Highway 2.

Pek says landowner Spencer Hayes is nearing retirement, and saw the deal with Qeva as an opportunity to slow down. “Basically his whole concept for the last 30 years is having a place for neighbours, friends and family to custom slaughter beef, pork, sheep and goats,” adds Pek.

Plans call for the company to continue to offer abattoir, processing and packing services for those products, plus speciality game meats such as buffalo and elk.

Another Leduc-based enterprise, Alberta Wapiti Products Co-op (AWAPCO), a co- operative of 141 producers, is already a big player on the international scene with its Vencana-brand ranched elk meat products.

Pek says Qeva looked at the possibility of expanding into the elk meat market a few years ago, but prices were still too high to be competitive with the dominant beef and pork markets. But, he adds, “the price of elk is just criminal right now – you can buy a live elk for under $500. They’re cheaper than the price of beef cows.”

The company believes that diversification into the meat business is an important strategic step without abandoning its core interest in the elk velvet business. And Pek says consumers will be able to buy quality meats directly, without the added costs from middlemen.