Industry News
Sept. 3, 2008

NSB officers meet face-to-face with Japanese consumers, meat buyers on trade mission

Two members of the Nebraska Soybean Board (NSB) officer team have just completed a five-day trade mission through Japan. Mike Korth is a farmer/rancher from Randolph, Neb., who represents a seven-county area of northeastern Nebraska and serves as board secretary. Duane Lee farms and raises cattle and hogs near Albion, Neb. He is an at-large member of the NSB and serves as the board’s treasurer. They were accompanied by staff from the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s (USMEF’s) Japan operations and NSB Executive Director Victor Bohuslavsky.

Through face-to-face interaction with key meat buyers as well as Japanese consumers, Korth and Lee gained a better understanding of how financial support from the NSB and the soybean industry is used to enhance sales of U.S. beef and pork in this critical export market. Japan is currently the single largest market for U.S. pork exports when measured by value ($712.3 million in the first half of 2008 — a 23% increase over 2007). It was also once the largest market for U.S. beef before closing to beef exports in December 2003. Since reopening to beef from U.S. cattle 20 months of age and younger, Japan has climbed back to the third-largest beef (including variety meat) export market in terms of value ($177 million in the first half of 2008 — a 70% increase over the same time period last year).

Korth, who owns a cow-calf and cattle-feeding operation in addition to growing soybeans, corn and alfalfa, says regaining U.S. market share in a critical market like Japan is crucial for both livestock producers and grain farmers.

“I’m not just a grain farmer, I’m a beef producer as well,” Korth said. “Coming over here (to Japan) and trying to expand our market back into what was a very loyal partner — it’s an extremely good opportunity to try to get back our market share.”

The group met with leading importers and distributors from Japan’s meat processing and marketing sectors to learn more about the opportunities and challenges this market presents for U.S. beef and pork. In addition, they had an opportunity to interact with everyday Japanese consumers at a series of promotional barbecue events sponsored by NSB. At these events — two in Tokyo and a third tasting event in Shizuoka — the two were able to share their experiences as producers and convey their own personal “We Care” message directly to mothers, fathers and children as well as in interviews with national newspapers, trade magazines and local TV. Korth found consumers participating in the barbecues to be very receptive to U.S. products.

“I told them I feed this same meat to my kids. It’s safe and that’s how we want to keep it,” Korth said. “If you make the parents happy, that’s what they’re going to go pick up at the store.”

Lee, who raises cattle and hogs as well as growing soybeans, corn and hay, agreed that Japanese consumers are very complimentary of U.S. beef and pork. He said consumer attitudes toward U.S. beef have improved dramatically compared to when he visited Japan about two years ago and the market had just reopened to U.S. beef.

“The perception seems to be improving a lot. I feel they are really willing to accept our beef,” Lee said.

He noted, however, that the biggest obstacle now facing beef exports is that supply is limited to beef from cattle no more than 20 months of age.

“They (importers) are having a hard time getting the under-20-months-of-age meat,” Lee said. “They feel they could get into more stores and could move the product — if they could just get it.”

USMEF-Japan Director Greg Hanes said the continued growth of beef exports to this market is being bolstered by a USMEF strategy to market a wider range of beef cuts in Japan. This allows more product to be marketed from the limited supply of Japan-eligible cattle.

“Traditionally, Japanese buyers only purchased a handful of U.S. beef cuts,” Hanes said. “But with the help of some key industry partners, we developed and have been actively promoting 17 alternative new beef cuts that specifically serve the needs of our customers in Japan, and are still perfect for Japanese cuisine.”

The team also attended a U.S. beef chef’s competition in which pairs of chefs from top Tokyo hotel restaurants created unique dishes with brisket, one of the underutilized cuts, and tenderloin, a cut that has seen limited use in Japan.

“I was really impressed by the formality of the event,” Korth noted. “Those chefs were very serious and really created some great-looking meals. You could tell they appreciate the quality of U.S. beef.”

Lee said meeting the needs of Japanese buyers and consumers is critical to success in the market, and he saw great mutual benefit in meeting with these customers face-to-face. They learned more about the “human side” of the U.S. industry and the care that is given when U.S. meat is produced, while he gained valuable insights into consumer preferences in Japan through their positive reactions to U.S. pork and beef.

“I think it’s very important that we put a face with the product. They really like that,” he said. “And we have to do our best to keep our product safe and dependable. We’re going to need international markets in order to stay profitable.”

— release provided by U.S. Meat and Export Federation

Court sides with USDA on BSE testing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can prohibit meat packers from testing cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a federal appeals court ruled late last week.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturns an earlier federal court decision stating Arkansas City, Kan.-based processor Creekstone Farms Premium Beef must be allowed to test for BSE because USDA can only regulate disease “treatment.” The test doesn’t qualify as a treatment, the ruling said, because there is no cure for BSE and the test is conducted on dead animals.

However, the appeals court ruled that a diagnosis can be deemed a facet of treatment. “And we owe USDA a considerable degree of deference in its interpretation of the term,” Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson wrote, according to The Associated Press.

USDA argues the rareness of the disease doesn’t call for expanded testing, and that expanded testing doesn’t guarantee food safety. In fact, the government contends, the testing could create a false positive.

The case now returns to the district court, where Creekstone can make further arguments. Creekstone’s legal counsel has argued that USDA’s own regulations regarding treatment of domestic animals do not prohibit individual companies from testing for BSE, noting the test is conducted only after an animal is harvested.

— release provided by Meatingplace.com.

K-State economists provide information on global farm land per capita

Kansas State University (K-State) agricultural economists Dan O’Brien and Mike Woolverton believe that with the land, technical and human resources available to U.S. producers, the United States can hold its own when it comes to helping provide food and feed on the world market. 



As part of a presentation at the K-State Risk and Profit Conference, the economists provided data from the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book that showed the amount of farmland available per person around the world. For example, there are 6,671,226,000 people in the world with farmland per capita at .73 acres. In comparison, China has 1,325,264,000 people (19.87% of global population) and .26 acre per capita; India has 1,136,264,100 (17.03% of population) and .36 acre per capita.

The United States has 304,746,000 people (4.57%) and 1.45 acre per capita. Other countries have smaller populations than the U.S., but also less farmland per capita except Russia, which has 141,888,900 people (2.13% of global population) and 2.10 acres per capita. More information about the K-State Risk and Profit Conference, including the proceedings, is available on the web at http://www.agmanager.info.

—   release provided by K-State Extension and Research News

 — compiled by Tosha Powell, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.