In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays features comments from Oklahoma cattle producer and Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion Board Chairman Cheryl Devuyst, who is representing U.S. cattle producers during a special trade mission to Japan.
Devuyst says the Heartland tour has brought beef, corn and soybean producers together with Japanese buyers and industry representatives to learn more about the demand for U.S. agricultural products. “Well, we’ve had a great time on this Heartland tour,” Devuyst said. “We have beef and corn and soybean producers here in Japan talking with some of the people who import our products.”
Beef Tongue and Variety Meats Find a Market
One of the stops on the tour gave producers a firsthand look at how beef tongue is processed for the Japanese market. While beef tongue is not commonly consumed in the United States, Devuyst says it is a popular product among Japanese consumers. “We were able to get some great information about beef tongue today,” Devuyst said. “Went through a beef tongue processing plant, and while we in the U.S. are not great consumers of beef tongue, the Japanese love beef tongue and eat a lot of our tongue over here.”
The group also had an opportunity to sample the product. “So it was great to be able to go through that plant, see the processing of the tongues, and then be able to actually have some. And it is pretty good,” she said.
Devuyst says the tour has also highlighted the demand for other U.S. beef variety meats. “I’ve had not only beef tongue, but intestine and other variety meats that we really don’t eat in the United States very much,” Devuyst said. “But they love the product, so it is really great to be able to increase the bottom line of our producers that they are buying that product at a premium.”
Japanese Consumers Know U.S. Beef Quality
Japan has been a longtime customer for U.S. beef, and Devuyst says the relationships developed over decades continue to support that market. “Yes, they are great customers, and they are very loyal,” she said. “We have great staff with USMEF in Japan, and they have formed some great relationships. They want our beef products. They know the quality, and they know the service that they get when they’re able to import the beef that we have.”
The producers on the tour have also visited retail locations where U.S. beef is featured, giving them a better understanding of how the products are marketed and consumed. “We really have been able to spend some time learning more about how they prepare our product,” Devuyst said.
Beef Plays a Role in Japanese Culture
During a visit to Sendai, the group traveled by bullet train and continued learning about the cultural importance of U.S. beef products in Japan. “We were able to really learn more about how essential our product is in their culture, and how they really enjoy the beef tongue and other beef variety meats,” Devuyst said.
She says those products have become part of social and family gatherings. “They are really able to build their culture, their family gatherings, their business gatherings,” Devuyst said. “They sit around a table and they enjoy our product.”
USMEF Relationships Support U.S. Beef
Devuyst also pointed to the role of the U.S. Meat Export Federation in developing the Japanese market. This year marks USMEF’s 50th anniversary, with Japan having been home to the organization’s first international office. “Yes, it is. It’s the 50th anniversary of USMEF, and like I said, it’s almost 50 years now that they’ve had an office here in Japan,” Devuyst said. “It was the first office opened, so they have formed these relationships and these business partnerships.”
She says those relationships are especially important as U.S. beef competes with products from other countries. “While there are a lot of competitors, they work really hard to make sure that they’re getting our producer’s product in front of the Japanese consumer,” Devuyst said.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR above for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
