26 April 1995 Bledisloe Medal To Pioneer Deer Farming Scientist

Scientific contributions to the deer farming industry spanning more than 20 years have been acknowledged with the award of Lincoln University's prestigious Bledisloe Medal to Dr Ken Drew of Invermay Research Station, Mosgiel, Otago.

Dr Drew is an alumnus of Lincoln and his pioneering scientific work provided the foundation for the development of a deer farming industry in New Zealand. The medal was presented at Lincoln University's 1995 Graduation Ceremony.

The citation for the award notes that through his involvement with deer farming research, the Deer Farmers' Association and the Wapiti Society, of which he was founding President, Dr Drew raised Invermay to become the foremost deer research facility in the Southern Hemisphere.

Dr Drew's work dates back to 1973 when Invermay received on loan from West Dome Station 90 hinds which became the focus of the first large-scale deer research programme in the Southern Hemisphere.

In a remarkably fruitful science/industry link involving two pioneer deer farmers who were also Lincoln alumni, Sir Peter Elworthy and Mr Bernard Pinney, Dr Drew accumulated a knowledge and understanding of seasonal growth rates, feed demand patterns for different classes of deer, behaviour characteristics and handling requirements. All of this was fundamental to the management of deer in a farming situation and very soon Dr Drew was at the cutting edge of research and practice.

Over time Dr Drew led his Invermay team into sophisticated and diversified research in disease control, reproduction, antler physiology, processing and product research, hygiene and animal welfare standards, to the extent that today New Zealand's deer scientists, many of whom were protégés of Dr Drew, have become internationally accepted as the world's premier authorities on farmed deer science.

Dr Drew has further distinguished himself by his constructive involvement in deer related matters beyond the scientific, such as commercial ventures, breed promotion, industry politics, technology transfer and extension, says the citation.

The Bledisloe award is Lincoln University's top medal of acknowledgement for achievements by alumni or past and present staff members in the area of primary production or the advancement of New Zealand's interests. It was instituted by Governor ­General Lord Bledisloe in 1930.

Ken Drew was born in Dunedin and educated at Otago Boys' High School. He graduated Bachelor of Agricultural Science from Lincoln and followed it with a Masters degree in Animal Husbandry under Professor Ian Coop. On completing this he took up a post as animal nutritionist at Invermay.

Seeking further experience he joined the Nutrition Centre at Ruakura where he set up and evaluated an in vitro digestibility procedure which made a major contribution to nutritional research on ruminants in New Zealand.

Returning to Invermay he carried out a thorough study of hogget nutrition including the evaluation of root crops as a winter feed and the effect of early nutrition on the subsequent growth and productivity of ewes. In this work he saw the possibilities for exploiting the phenomenon of compensatory growth.

In 1968 Ken Drew began studies at Cornell University, New York, and was awarded a doctorate in 1971. He arrived back at Invermay in time to take up a deer research proposal which followed on from a recently completed Lincoln study confirming that meat production from farmed deer could be a viable proposition.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.