ND Cattle in High Demand Overseas - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Thousands of North Dakota cows are finding a new home overseas.

And those foreign countries are now looking for more of the beef we have to offer. 

Ag Reporter Sarah Gustin has the story.

(Larry White / ND Trade Office) "It's a global market."

Many countries are looking to North Dakota for cows because the cold here prepares them for what they are about to get into. 

(Larry White / ND Trade Office) "It was minus 65 degrees Fahrenheit the day I was there. I don't know how anybody puts it but that is cold. and it's really cold and they were calving in that kinda of environment. The cattle were out of Canada and the cattle were doing pretty well."

Larry White is the International Agribusiness Manager for the North Dakota Trade Office.

White says Global Beef Consultants has shipped roughly 4-thousand head of cattle to Kazakhstan during the past few years.

He says Kazakhstan continues to be a growing market with a goal of importing 72-thousand cows.

He says so far only about 20-thousand have arrived.

They are looking for something that is adaptable to their climate. Something that would match their management scheme for what they have. Mainly in the grass development side of it. Low input cattle that would do extremely well in that colder environment.

White says one company in Russia is importing 200-thousand head of cattle.

(Larry White / ND Trade Office) "That would be a fourth of North Dakota's cow herd. They brought 63-thousand head in last year, so they are still in the market." 

White says the trade office is currently working on dairy development in eastern Russia and beef development near St. Petersburg.