Danish Officials Meet with USMEF, Learn About U.S. Red Meat Production

A team of Danish officials visited USMEF headquarters in Denver and met with USDA staff in Washington, D.C., to get a better understanding of the American red meat industry and how agribusiness is conducted in the United States. The team, which toured a cattle ranch, feedlot and slaughter facility in Colorado, as well as Smithfield Foods pork plant in Tarheel, North Carolina, was led by Per Henriksen, chief veterinary officer of the Danish Ministry for Agriculture and Environment.

USMEF led a team of Danish government and industry officials on a tour of the Cargill beef plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado

Among those making the trip to Colorado were Christian Stroyer, head of unit with responsibility for veterinary issues in the Danish Ministry for Agriculture and Environment; Troels M. Vensild, agricultural counselor at the Danish Embassy in Washington; Knud Buhl, director of government affairs at Danske Slagterier (the Danish industry organization); and Jens Munk Ebbesen, director of food and veterinary issues for the Danish Agriculture and Food Council.

“It was a mix of Danish government officials and representatives of the Danish livestock and meat industry,” explained Cheyenne McEndaffer, USMEF technical services manager. “Denmark is a member of the European Union, and we have collaborated with them on many things, such as getting products eligible for export or on issues concerning the EU’s high-quality beef quota.”

Danish officials toured a cattle ranch and feedlot in Colorado to gain a better understanding of U.S. beef production

The team’s U.S. visit began in Washington, where the Danish team met with several USDA departments that are similar to their counterpart agencies in Denmark, as well as the Washington, D.C., offices of several U.S. industry associations. The team then traveled to North Carolina for a meeting with Smithfield Foods.

In Colorado, the Danish team toured the Cargill beef slaughter plant in Fort Morgan, the McEndaffer Cattle Company feedlot in Merino and the Christensen Brothers cow/calf operation and feedlot in Weldona. The visit wrapped up with meetings with USMEF staff.

“Denmark has very little beef production, and what they do have is all dual-purpose, primarily for dairy,” said McEndaffer. “So, beef cattle production and grain finishing are something they are very interested in. Denmark is a huge pork producer, and their visit to Smithfield was also a learning experience on pork processing and packaging.”