State Sends Beef Trade Mission to Russia

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Agriculture Department recently joined with its counterparts in Montana and Kansas to send a beef trade mission to Russia.

Officials say Russia wants to rebuild its beef industry, and that means South Dakota producers have a huge opportunity to supply that country with high-quality breeding females, semen and embryos.

The trade mission ran from Oct. 23 to Nov. 2. It included stops in Moscow and Novosibirsk, Russia's third largest city located in the Siberian region. The group met with U.S. officials, local government leaders, Russian cattle producers and potential buyers of U.S. beef genetics.

Ty Eschenbaum of the state Agriculture Department says the trip helped demonstrate that the Northern Plains is a top producer of high-quality beef genetics.

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