USMEF Audio: Cattlemen reflect on beef marketing tour in Japan

(Audio with Scott Niess (pronounced: NEECE), an Iowa cattle producer and member of the Iowa Beef Industry Council Board of Directors and Bill Rhea (pronounced: RAY), a Nebraska cattle producer who serves as treasurer of the Nebraska Beef Council and vice chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s Beef Committee.)

Having just returned from a promotional tour of Japan where they represented the U.S. beef industry on behalf of the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Nebraska Beef Council, cattlemen Scott Niess and Bill Rhea found the marketing efforts for U.S. beef in Japan to be highly successful. Niess, a cattle producer from Osage, Iowa, noted that one of the keys to this event’s success was the collaboration between Iowa and Nebraska beef producers.


Audio Clip #1               : 25       Outcue:            “… more American beef.”


The reason for such strong demand for U.S. product from those in Japan’s beef trade became clear to Niess, once he had the chance to interact directly with Japanese consumers.


Audio Clip #2               : 24       Outcue:            “… more readily available.” 


Rhea, a cattle feeder from Arlington, Neb., agreed, noting that consumer demand for U.S. beef has strong momentum in Japan. But while consumer demand is strong, supplies of U.S. beef in Japan are limited - due in part to the fact that sales are limited to beef from cattle 20 months and younger. Rhea added that building market share in Japan and other overseas markets is critical to the financial health of the U.S. beef industry.


Audio Clip #3               : 29       Outcue:            “… not always used in the U.S.”