WEST PARIS – Kevin Billings’ wife calls him “Dances with Elk,” because he spends most of his free time with the herd.
“She can be sarcastic, but I know she loves me,” he said.
Billings raises semi-wild elk in a 42-acre, fenced-in habitat.
He likes to unwind with his hobby after working all day at his retail sporting goods shop on Route 26. But his idea of stress management involves the possibility of getting kicked, gouged or gored.
“I got hit the first year I had them and got a six-inch scar on my back,” Billings said. “The old bull tested me.”
The elk hooked him and knocked the wind out of him. “I chased him all over the pasture and threw snowballs and sticks at him, because it hurt like a son of a gun.”
After that, he said, the herd accepted his presence.
Buying the farm
Seven years ago, the couple bought an old dairy farm in West Paris, dubbing it Deer Meadow Farm.
“I hate to see old farms die,” Billings said.
But instead of stocking it with dairy cows, he bought a starter herd of 18 farm-raised, purebred North American elk – cows, bulls and calves – from an elk farmer in Woodstock.
Mature elk bulls average 800 to 1,100 pounds and stand 5 feet to 5 feet, 6 inches at the shoulder. Mature cows average between 550 to 600 pounds, and stand 4 to 5 feet at the shoulder.
“The animals themselves are really neat. I have yet to see a herd as docile as mine, but I’ve worked with them a lot. Now they won’t bite you, kick you or gore you,” Billings said.
Of course, that doesn’t hold true when rutting season rolls around in the fall or when the calves are born in the spring to overly protective mothers.
“Trust me. I have to be careful when the bulls are in rut,” Billings said.
Elk, which are native to most of the west and central half of North America, also seem to be a perfect fit for Maine’s climate.
To raise the exotic animals here, Billings said he had to get a license from the Department of Agriculture.
“My wife and I own a couple of different businesses, so we do not have a lot of time. Elk are very low maintenance and have a natural immunity to most diseases, and that enables us to work elsewhere and still operate the farm,” he said.
Multifaceted
What began as a hobby now has the potential to become a multi-faceted business venture.
One facet: elk meat is heart-healthy.
Billings did some research and learned that farm-raised venison is very lean and low in cholesterol.
Elk venison, which has just a third of the calories of beef, is also endorsed by the American Heart Association.
“It’s an extremely healthy product, and it should generate a profit in the near future. I’ve had a great response so far,” he said.
According to the Maine Deer and Elk Farmers Association, venison is high in protein and contains iron, zinc and many of the B vitamins. It’s also raised naturally, without growth hormones.
Demand for farm-raised venison is also high and, Billings said, that includes elk jerky.
“I want to get into my own line of jerky, because the venison jerky business is growing considerably,” he added.
In North America, venison consumption almost tripled from 1990 to 2000, states the deer and elk farmers association on its Web site.
“Over the past 20 years in the U.S., we were importing 87 percent of the commercially consumed venison in this country, so there is great potential there, too,” Billings added.
Agri-tourism
Another facet: tours, a gift shop, field trips for schoolchildren.
The agri-tourism side of elk farming is “a way for elk farms to operate more profitably,” he said.
Since purchasing the elk and spending $40,000 to fence in their 42-acre habitat, Billings has put the herd on display, keeping them in a pen at his Deer Meadow Farm on Route 26 every Sunday.
“During our summertime good weather, we had between 400 and 500 people stop to look at the elk, so there’s a tremendous commercial potential,” he added.
But not everyone walks away happy after seeing the herd and learning that Billings is raising them for meat harvesting.
“When I tell people I raise them for meat, I have had people disappointed in me.” People have suggest he return the animals to the wild.
“Elk farming is not Disney, and it’s not Bambi,” he said. That’s why he takes pains to teach visitors about the concepts of animal husbandry.
“I try to educate the public about where the food on their table comes from. My elk are raised for a purpose, and I give them the best life they can have. I treat them with respect and care,” Billings said.
The prospect of producing something off the land is something that he has always worked toward, and that’s at the heart of his desire to raise elk.
“I enjoy that. It’s a good feeling to know I produced something,” he said.
tkarkos@sunjournal.com
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