Japanese Importers Get Firsthand Look at U.S. Beef Production in Idaho and Kansas
April 21, 2025
A team of buyers from major Japanese beef importers recently came to the United States to learn about U.S. beef production practices. The team visited U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) headquarters in Denver before getting an in-depth view of the full beef supply chain at work in Idaho and Kansas.
Jay Theiler , executive vice president of corporate affairs for Agri Beef and USMEF’s current chair-elect, hosted the team for a tour of the True West Beef processing facility in Jerome, Idaho, as well as a nearby feedlot. He says the Japanese market is very important to the U.S. beef industry.
"We had about a dozen buyers that represented four of the major beef importing companies in Japan come to visit us here in Idaho," said Theiler." We had the great opportunity to show them all the steps in the beef supply chain, starting with ranching, going to a ranch operation, and then a feedyard Agri Beef's feedyard out in Parma, Idaho. And then we took them to the producer owned plant, True West Beef in Jerome, Idaho, and showed them that. So they really got to see a good overview of all the steps in our U.S. beef supply chain, and see the focus that we put on quality. The buyers were able to see one of the newest plants in the United States. This True West beef plant in Jerome, Idaho, opened in June of 2023 so it's a good example of a new facility, and it's a plant that is also partially owned by producers here in the Northwest. That's a little bit different for the Japanese to see a model that's a little bit different than all the other plants in the United States. John Herath 01:10
Maintaining that relationship with Japanese buyers is key for the beef industry.
"There's not enough beef in Japan, per se, for all domestic consumption, so they rely on trading partners," said Theiler. "And like I said, with the U.S., it's been such a long relationship that they really do appreciate the quality that we produce here. The Japanese markets are critical to Agri Beef. There's a lot of items that go over there that are not necessarily consumed here, domestically. And if you look at as an industry, exports in total are around $415 a head, but $75 of that actually comes from Japan. So it's actually a critical market. It's the number one volume market, and second only to South Korea and the value."
The team also visited a cow-calf operation in Idaho and met with representatives from the Idaho Beef Council, Idaho Department of Agriculture, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, Washington State Beef Commission and Oregon Beef Council. They also toured the National Beef processing facility in Dodge City, Kan., and learned about the Kansas ranching and cattle feeding sectors.
Funding support for the team’s activities was provided by the Beef Checkoff Program, the Idaho Beef Council, Washington State Beef Commission and USDA’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.
For more information about the U.S. Meat Export Federation, visit www.usmef.org.
Source: Western Ag Network
