The Deer Farmers Association says it will continue lobbying AgResearch to keep its current level of deer research at Invermay, saying it is vital for the industry.
The Crown Research Institute plans to relocate about 250 staff from its facilities in Otago and Hamilton, to expand its bases at Lincoln and Palmerston North.
That will leave only 33 staff at Invermay.
Chair of the association's executive committee Kris Orange says they're not against the AgResearch's Future Footprint vision.
But the group believes the future of deer and sheep research in farming systems, genomics and reproductive sciences remains clearly situated within the Invermay campus.
The association is also worried that the open and effective communication at the farm level between the science and farmer communities, which has been a strong feature of the deer industry's evolution, will be eroded by a shift north.
Mr Orange says the Deer Farmers Association has had a couple of meetings with Agresearch - but there's been no shift in its position yet.
