(Host) Three Vermont dairy farms have found a new market for Holstein embryos – in Argentina.
The sale is the result of a three-year project by the Agency of Agriculture and dairy farmers to develop business relationships in Argentina’s growing dairy industry.
Steve Justis is a marketing specialist with the Agriculture Agency. Justis says the department learned there was a demand for dairy genetics in the South American country and worked with a consultant to match Vermont farmers with their Argentinean counterparts.
Justis says it took time to educate farmers about Vermont and its dairy industry:
(Justis) "Some face to face, some email correspondence and then eventually they develop a comfort level in dealing with us, and that they know they’re going to get a good product and we can tell our farmers that yes, they’re going to get paid in a timely fashion. So all these things take time."
(Host) A trade delegation visited Argentina in 2005, and dairy industry leaders from that country later visited farms in Vermont.
Now 50 embryos worth $30,000 have successfully been shipped to customers.
Justis says he expects opportunities for the sale of dairy genetics to South American countries to grow over the next decade.
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