Montana Stockgrowers Association Says China Should Consider Partnering On Processing Plant

China should consider partnering to build a beef processing plant in Montana in light of that country’s recent lifting of a ban on U.S. beef imports, an official at the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) said. Fred Wacker, vice president at the Helena, Mont.-based group, told China’s Xinhua News Agencythat it would make sense for China to invest in a beef packing and processing plant to meet the needs of the expansive marketplace. "We have the land, we have the cattle, we have the quality, we have the water," Wacker said. “We need a partner who would take a look and be a major buyer of our plant." Wacker made the proposal at a roundtable featuring a delegation from China and Montana farmers and ranchers. The state does not have the large processing plants it needs to send U.S. beef to China as cost effectively as possible. Wacker estimated it would cost about $80 per head to send cattle to feedlots and processing plants currently in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. He also would like to market Montana beef in China so consumers there can taste different kinds of products made from U.S. beef. “As the second largest importer of beef, we are extremely excited that an agreement has been made to restore U.S. beef to China,” an MSGA spokesperson told Meatingplace in an email. “Montana’s ranchers have been waiting since 2003, to ship the nation’s highest quality beef to China’s 1.3 billion consumers.”