Daily News Update, Dec. 19, 2007

TSCRA delegate Missy Bonds reports on final leg
of European tour promoting U.S. beef

TSCRA Marketing Committee Vice Chairperson Missy Bonds has completed her tour of Europe traveling with a special delegation hosted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The group visited farms, slaughter plants, cattle operations, and spoke to representatives of the industry about many different aspects of beef imports to the European Union.

Bonds, of Bonds Ranch, Saginaw, Texas, is one of two producers that participated in the trip, which included visits to the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Holland, and concluded on Dec. 12 in Switzerland.

Her first report may be read by clicking on: Dec. 7 News Update.

On the final leg of their journey, the delegates saw examples of more European slaughter plants, cattle operations, and spoke with a varied array of cattle industry folks. Bonds reported on her growing perspective, meeting interesting people, and getting to know their current and future European trade partners.

Dec. 10 Bonds and the U.S. Meat Export Federation delegates arrived in Lubbecke, Germany, and visited a beef slaughter plant. A co-op owned this smaller plant, so farmers and ranchers had ownership of the packing plant.

Bonds reported, "It was interesting to see a three-year-old dairy cow carcass hanging in the chiller next to a yearling bull carcass. The differences in fat coloration and muscle content were quite evident." They were also able to see a sample to be tested for BSE being taken.

The next stop included a visit to one of the co-op member's farms, where both dairy and beef cattle were feeding. Dairy cows were raised at this farm, as well as Simmental bull calves that were bought at four weeks old and grown to slaughter weight.

Each young animal was rationed milk through an electronic collar that helped determine if one of the calves was ill; if a calf did not finish his rationed milk for the day, he was looked at to determine if he was sick. Each dairy cow also wore an electronic collar and was fed individually on the amount of milk that cow produced.

Next, the group traveled to Amsterdam to meet with Nice to Meat, importers of U.S. products. This was the American group's first glimpse of American products in the European Union.

Nice to Meat provides beef to hotels and restaurants within the European Union, mainly to the Netherlands and Germany. They reported seeing a greater demand for U.S. beef, especially for middle meats.

"Not only is their customer base growing, but the customers they already have are demanding more product," Bonds revealed. Nice to Meat had imported five containers in October and November, and will be importing three containers in December alone.

Dec. 11 Bonds met with the largest importer of U.S. beef, a company that supplies products to hotels and restaurants. One of their customers is Metro, a German warehouse store for chefs similar to Sam's Club or Costco in the U.S.. A Metro membership is required for entrance, because their clientele is limited to chefs and restaurant or hotel owners.

Bonds said the company was optimistic about the future of U.S. beef products in Europe. "They said that they were in this market for the long haul because they like the product and see a bright future for a higher quality product that is grain fed for the EU.

"They also admitted that they were having more of a challenge moving middle meats than they first thought that they would." Bonds went on to say they have seen the largest demand for a chuckeye roll.

On Dec. 12 the group visited with D.G. Sanco and the European Union Commission to discuss their respective outlooks on animal welfare and the future of beef imports.

"They are estimating that in the year 2012 there will be a 700,000-ton deficit of beef in the European Union," Bonds said. "So this product will have to come from other countries. The EU's largest imports of beef come from Brazil and this is a very controversial topic because they are seeing some problems arise from that country.

"The EU may have to reduce the amount that they are importing from Brazil and will need to replace the deficit with beef from somewhere else. We are hoping that the U.S. will be able to take up some of that slack."

The delegates' final day was spent with a third importer in Brussels that sells product to hotels and restaurants including Cash and Carry, a shop comparable to the Metro store the group had visited in Germany. "They want a product that has been on feed for at least 150 days to try to increase the product's quality and eatablity," Bonds reported. "They were optimistic about the U.S. market, but cautious."

Bonds claimed that in addition, the importer did not want a heavy increase of product to flood the market, resulting in a decrease in price. The group was also told that in the first part of 2008, there would be a grocery store beginning to make U.S. beef available to the average consumer.

"This was a very interesting and educational trip!" she concluded. "I am very optimistic about the future of the U.S. beef imports to the European Union and I believe this market has room for growth."