Release Date: December 10, 2005
By Peter Harriman, Argus Leader
Japan's announcement Thursday that it will end a two-year ban on U.S. beef imports is not likely to have an immediate effect on cattle prices in South Dakota.
But the South Dakota Certified Beef program that is part of Gov. Mike Rounds' 2010 Initiative should give the state's ranchers and meat processors a leg up on other U.S. cattle producers and packers in meeting Japan's stringent requirements for imported beef, according to representatives of the cattle and meat industries.
Japan, which had bought $1.4 billion in U.S. beef imports in 2003, closed its markets to U.S. beef in December of that year shortly after a dairy cow brought into a Washington herd from Canada was discovered to have mad cow disease when it was slaughtered.
Following lengthy negotiations, Japan has agreed to reopen its markets to meat from U.S. cattle under 21 months of age, beginning next week. It is believed those young animals would not have come in contact with feed containing animal byproducts that carry the prion responsible for causing bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Johnny Smith, a co-owner of the Fort Pierre Livestock Auction, says Japan's action won't have a dramatic effect on U.S. cattle markets that are already booming.
"We got along just fine without them the last two years. I think this big export thing has been way overplayed. We've got a shortage of cattle in the U.S. right now. We can use all the meat we've got here in America right here in America."
At Fort Pierre, fat cattle were bringing $90 per hundredweight this week, Smith says. During the past year, they have traded in a range between $82 and $94 per hundredweight. "It's been decent," says Smith.
Mike Stahly of Cavour, president of the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, agrees with Smith that Japan's announcement won't do much to drive up cattle prices.
"If it does actually open, it won't be any great, big immediate impact," he says of the Japanese import beef market. "It might eventually make a difference in our market." But first U.S. meat processors will have to reclaim a market share in Japan that was lost to Australia when Japan banned imports of U.S. beef, Stahly says.
Estimates vary widely, but Jeremy Russell, spokesman for the National Meat Association, says the percentage of animals in the U.S. beef herd that could qualify to be slaughtered and have their meat exported to Japan range from about 7 percent to 25 percent.
"Even if they are eligible, that does not mean people will send meat from that animal," he says of U.S. packers. The Japanese beef market has traditionally featured cuts like livers, hearts and tongue, Stahly says.
"The problem will be any one company getting enough of those products together to make shipping worthwhile," Russell says. "It's all about volume. But if you can only certify a small amount, you may not be able to get the volume together to make a shipment worthwhile."
Russell called Japan's action on beef imports "a light at the end of the tunnel. But it's not a gate."
But the South Dakota Certified Beef program that is part of Gov. Mike Rounds' 2010 Initiative should give the state's ranchers and meat processors a leg up on other U.S. cattle producers and packers in meeting Japan's stringent requirements for imported beef, according to representatives of the cattle and meat industries.
Japan, which had bought $1.4 billion in U.S. beef imports in 2003, closed its markets to U.S. beef in December of that year shortly after a dairy cow brought into a Washington herd from Canada was discovered to have mad cow disease when it was slaughtered.
Following lengthy negotiations, Japan has agreed to reopen its markets to meat from U.S. cattle under 21 months of age, beginning next week. It is believed those young animals would not have come in contact with feed containing animal byproducts that carry the prion responsible for causing bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Johnny Smith, a co-owner of the Fort Pierre Livestock Auction, says Japan's action won't have a dramatic effect on U.S. cattle markets that are already booming.
"We got along just fine without them the last two years. I think this big export thing has been way overplayed. We've got a shortage of cattle in the U.S. right now. We can use all the meat we've got here in America right here in America."
At Fort Pierre, fat cattle were bringing $90 per hundredweight this week, Smith says. During the past year, they have traded in a range between $82 and $94 per hundredweight. "It's been decent," says Smith.
Mike Stahly of Cavour, president of the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, agrees with Smith that Japan's announcement won't do much to drive up cattle prices.
"If it does actually open, it won't be any great, big immediate impact," he says of the Japanese import beef market. "It might eventually make a difference in our market." But first U.S. meat processors will have to reclaim a market share in Japan that was lost to Australia when Japan banned imports of U.S. beef, Stahly says.
Estimates vary widely, but Jeremy Russell, spokesman for the National Meat Association, says the percentage of animals in the U.S. beef herd that could qualify to be slaughtered and have their meat exported to Japan range from about 7 percent to 25 percent.
"Even if they are eligible, that does not mean people will send meat from that animal," he says of U.S. packers. The Japanese beef market has traditionally featured cuts like livers, hearts and tongue, Stahly says.
"The problem will be any one company getting enough of those products together to make shipping worthwhile," Russell says. "It's all about volume. But if you can only certify a small amount, you may not be able to get the volume together to make a shipment worthwhile."
Russell called Japan's action on beef imports "a light at the end of the tunnel. But it's not a gate."
S.D.'s program
Entry to the Japanese market for beef from U.S. cattle is still tightly controlled. Japan has approved only two methods of ensuring that beef imported from the United States comes from animals 21 months or younger. One method is a rigorous examination of an animal's physical characteristics. However, "what they are really looking for is a birth date attached to an animal," Russell says.
The South Dakota Certified Beef program provides that reliable birth date. South Dakota is the first state to provide a certification program for beef animals from birth to slaughter.
"To be part of it, the animal's got to be electronically identified. There you've got your proof of age and a source that makes them qualify right there," Stahly says. He is enrolled in the Certified Beef program.
"It totally confirms the protocols ... that were established through the South Dakota Certified Beef Act of 2005," says Mark Johnston, a spokesman for the governor.
About 6,000 animals in South Dakota raised by about 108 producers are already certified by the state program. The state has also certified five meat processors. Another training session for processors is set for January, Johnston says.
"We are working on a national animal identification program," Russell says. "Programs like South Dakota Certified Beef, which provides that trace-back, make that possible."
Overall, the state has about 17,500 beef cattle producers who annually raise about 1.7 million head of cattle, according to the South Dakota Ag Statistics Service. That makes the state the fifth-largest beef producer in the U.S.
Japan might be further conditioned to be especially receptive to beef imports from South Dakota, Johnston says. The state hosted a Japanese television production crew last spring that visited a South Dakota ranch, feedlot and processing plant and did a story on the certified beef program that was widely broadcast in Japan, according to Johnston.
"The Pacific Rim market is certainly interested in what we are doing," he says. "By Japan opening up its border, it provides us an opportunity to get South Dakota certified beef to more consumers around the world."
The South Dakota Certified Beef program provides that reliable birth date. South Dakota is the first state to provide a certification program for beef animals from birth to slaughter.
"To be part of it, the animal's got to be electronically identified. There you've got your proof of age and a source that makes them qualify right there," Stahly says. He is enrolled in the Certified Beef program.
"It totally confirms the protocols ... that were established through the South Dakota Certified Beef Act of 2005," says Mark Johnston, a spokesman for the governor.
About 6,000 animals in South Dakota raised by about 108 producers are already certified by the state program. The state has also certified five meat processors. Another training session for processors is set for January, Johnston says.
"We are working on a national animal identification program," Russell says. "Programs like South Dakota Certified Beef, which provides that trace-back, make that possible."
Overall, the state has about 17,500 beef cattle producers who annually raise about 1.7 million head of cattle, according to the South Dakota Ag Statistics Service. That makes the state the fifth-largest beef producer in the U.S.
Japan might be further conditioned to be especially receptive to beef imports from South Dakota, Johnston says. The state hosted a Japanese television production crew last spring that visited a South Dakota ranch, feedlot and processing plant and did a story on the certified beef program that was widely broadcast in Japan, according to Johnston.
"The Pacific Rim market is certainly interested in what we are doing," he says. "By Japan opening up its border, it provides us an opportunity to get South Dakota certified beef to more consumers around the world."
S.D.'s delegation
Sens. Tim Johnson and John Thune and Rep. Stephanie Herseth all have helped apply pressure at the federal level to get Japan to accept U.S. beef imports again.
South Dakota's congressional delegation co-sponsored legislation in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House that would have imposed $3.14 billion in tariffs on Japanese products if Japan's beef ban had remained in force past December.
South Dakota's congressional delegation co-sponsored legislation in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House that would have imposed $3.14 billion in tariffs on Japanese products if Japan's beef ban had remained in force past December.
