Welcome
Mountain River is an integrated deer farming, venison processing and marketing business committed to operating as a successful and sustainable team.
We are a partnership of people and companies with aligned visions and goals. Mountain River has been building niche markets for New Zealand venison around the world for more than 20 years.
The Mountain River processing facility in Rakaia, Canterbury is a sophisticated processing operation producing customised products for clients in markets as diverse as Sweden, Switzerland, France, Japan, China and the USA among others. Mountain River farms its own deer and receives deer from suppliers in the local region and beyond. Mountain River Venison is a boutique brand recognised for quality, innovation and vision.
The farming and processing business was founded by Doug Hood and his family in 1994. Their vision was to produce top quality venison on their farm and neighbouring farms, by operating the farming, processing and marketing as a partnership. Their focus is on delivering the best quality venison to an ever-growing number of export customers. Today the farming and processing business is led by Mary Hood and Ian Stewart.
The marketing business is led by John Sadler based in Auckland. John has been working with Mountain River Processes at Rakaia for over 20 years. He still remembers his first day in October 1994 when the first deer went through the factory and were shipped to Europe for export.
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