Farm406

Exporting Fresh Montana Beef to China 38 farm406 partnership between an Alaskan entrepreneur and a Montana cattlewoman is blazing an international trade trail for fresh Montana beef. When entrepreneur Robert Jones of Wasilla, Alaska, first approached livestock marketer Nicole Wines of Pray, Mont., about his plan to ship fresh U.S. beef to China, Wines was "gun shy," yet intrigued. "I had to prove to her I was serious," says Jones. "So, I bought some cattle from her." Jones' business, Northern Lights Meat of Alaska, was born out of an idea to ship fresh beef to China using the Alaskan seafood industry as a model. "I was looking for an investment opportunity in a kill facility and had a taste of export markets," says Jones. "I had driven the Alcan highway from Utah to Alaska hauling utility trailers so I had figured out the logistics of international travel." In 2003, China banned U.S. beef imports after the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a Washington cow. Prior to 2003, the United States was China's largest supplier of beef. Mission Impossible: Alaska Businessman, Montana Cattlewoman Blaze International Trade Trail Exporting Fresh Montana Beef to China Thirty-seven head of cattle are fed a ration of Delta barley and mineral mix until Jones is ready to process the beef. Jones says there is less than 3,000 head of cattle in Alaska at any given time because they can't feed them - most of his cattle's finishing was done in a North Dakota feedlot before transported to his ranch. A By Shannon Ruckman Photos Courtesy of Robert Jones

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