Just as Missouri’s' archery white-tail season is getting underway and we see a few bucks still in velvet the local Missouri elk herd is in full rut. Yes I said Elk in Missouri. Imagine it, long piercing bugles from a male calling to his harem as they squeak three short syllables back to him along the Missouri landscape. How long do you think since these wapitis roamed free in Missouri? More than 100 years ago native Indians hunted the large elk herds here in this state. So long ago that no one living in this generation can recall the scene of native Americans living free on Missouri land and hunting a previously native species, like the elk.

Last month while visiting my grandmother in West Plains we drove through the Ozark country to visit and enjoy her 40 acres south of town, along the way we saw three livestock trailers loaded with elk. The does were much smaller than the bucks, which were then adorned in a velvet raiment that caused us long looks of admiration. This month I happened to meet a fellow who manages an elk herd south of Sedalia. He invited my family to come and take a look and suggested purchasing a few cuts of elk meat to see how well we might like the taste of it. Of course, we went to see for ourselves, what an elk farm might be like and to purchase some of the lean meat choices.

The eight foot fences were the first impression we had of this farm, and having seen these impressive creatures roaming free in the Rocky Mountains during our vacation in July of this year we understood the reason for the unusually high fencing. What we were not prepared for however was the unusual sight of an elk game ranch in Missouri and the first hand experience of hearing the call of the wild during mating season revealed to us complete with rutting male bugle calls and the squeal of responding does. The size and aggressive behavior of these animals were quite magnified in comparison to the smaller members of the Cervidae (deer) family. I stood transfixed at the sight before me awed by their impressive display, comparing it to the deer rut activity I had seen.

The MEFA, Missouri Elk Farmers Association is affiliated with the North American Elk Breeders Association and Missouri is the site of the international headquarters of that organization. This state is one of the top elk producing states in the Midwest as well, despite the slow reproductive growth of this single offspring species. MEFA promotes this state farming industry, while educating members and the public alike in management and breeding of elk populations. MEFA and the Department of Agriculture cooperate in a CWD surveillance program with ever watchful eyes
in what they call a 'proactive' approach to Chronic Wasting Disease by keeping close observation on the more than 100 elk farms that exist in Missouri.

Domestic elk farming is in place in almost every state in America. Missouri law requires no special permits for farming elk as they are classified as livestock in this state. The folks we talked to, Robert and Dorothy Poort owners of a local domestic elk farm were helpful in answering our questions about Missouri’s' domestic elk herds and shared lots of facts
and information with us including contact information for the MEFA website: www.wapiti.net .

We also talked briefly about producing herd stock specifically for antler velvet, which is removed at the velvet stage each year by the ranchers instead of being shed naturally. We were allowed to touch the silky furred antlers previously harvested that laid in the protection of the freezer until they could be sold. With the threat of western states that reported CWD the international markets for the velvet is on hold even from unaffected herds of Missouri elk. The foreign market where velvet and antler are used in holistic medicine has banned all velvet exports from the United States because of the CWD cases in the west. Still, there is some research being done stateside for use of this soft velvet and antler in cancer studies and arthritis treatment.

Elk meat is somewhat more expensive than beef at $6.50 a pound for T-bone and other prime cuts of meat, with ground at $3.50 a pound. The meat is leaner and I can attest to the flavor, it is not gamey tasting at all. If elk meat is cooked at a moderate temperature and removed from the direct heat source to finish cooking it is very tender and has buttery soft texture but over cooking will leave you with a leather tough meat entree.

Hunting ranches are another part of the elk industry in Missouri and throughout the US offering expressly priced, trophy bull elk hunts as well as the less pricey smaller elk harvests. These Missouri elk hunts are not subject to hefty permit fees by conservation regulations as they are in the states with open range hunts. Depending on your choice of hunting method, the type and amount of land available to hunt the elk and whether or not you prefer amenities like guided hunts or bed and breakfast comforts the ranch prices for hunting elk will vary. The opportunity to hunt elk in Missouri may prove to be just too good to pass up, especially with choice hunts in northern and southern parts of this state.

I am impressed with this new to me but not so new idea, of domestic elk ranches. Something stirs within me at the sight of this tri-colored majestic wapiti, I can almost see a vision of dominant antlered giants leading gentle brown eyed does with their young calves across an endless land that has never known fences. For now, tall protective fences are necessary for the elk and for our well being. Clover hay and manufactured pellets are in place to nourish elk herds because at present the fescue and other grasses that are covering much of the state which our cattle thrive on cannot sustain elk. I am curious which crops elk would prefer to eat if they were free to roam Missouri farmlands. In contrast to the Wyoming and Colorado prairie brush, Missouri provides nourishment in the form of Ozark scrub brush to an elk population. Will these domestic elk ever stand on the other side of the fence grazing in the greener grass as successful wild herds on the Missouri landscape?