From the World Herald...
Nebraska beef going to Greece Olympics
Nebraska beef will be on the menu for Olympic athletes and spectators this month in Athens, Greece.
The Greater Omaha Packing Co. announced Monday that the meatpacker will be the only provider of U.S. beef at the Olympic Games, which begin Aug. 13.
"We will be sending a message that American beef is among the finest in the world," said Henry Davis, chief executive of Greater Omaha Packing. "It is a great opportunity to showcase high-quality beef from Nebraska to an international audience."
Greater Omaha Packing could ship as much as 400,000 pounds of beef for the Games, though an exact amount has not been determined because orders keep coming in, Davis said.
"It will be showcased by several different companies," Davis said.
Despite a general ban on U.S. beef by more than 50 countries because of a case of mad-cow disease last December, some avenues of beef exports have remained open, including meatpackers certified to ship to the European Union.
Greater Omaha Packing is the largest beef processor certified to export to European Union countries. It also is the only U.S. meatpacker shipping to Greece, Davis said.
The European Union requires that, in order for beef to be certified, livestock must be free of growth hormones, their origin can be traced from birth to processing, and there are on-site reviews. Of the fewer than a dozen farmers and ranchers certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for EU export, more than half are from Nebraska.
The shipment to Athens parallels the company's strategy to boost exports to EU countries as greater supplies of hormone-free cattle become available.
Greater Omaha, which employs about 700 people at its Omaha plant, was built with beef exports to the EU in mind. The company processes about 2,500 cattle every day and generates $750 million in annual sales.
Gov. Mike Johanns lauded the Olympic beef shipments as another opportunity for Nebraska producers, particularly because so many countries will be represented at the Athens Games. Johanns has been pushing for exports to resume for other beef products.
"I commend the company for its persistence in pursuing this market for beef from Nebraska," Johanns said. "This may be a niche market, but the number of qualified cattle in Nebraska is growing, so an expanding market is welcome news."
Providing U.S. beef to an audience of thousands at the Olympic Games might ease fears about mad-cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Davis said EU standards are based on science, not fear. "There's nobody in the world that has BSE or a BSE-related disease consuming beef produced in North America."
The growth of hormone-free beef has driven more sales at Greater Omaha Packing, Davis said. It also has increased interest among cattle feeders because they receive a premium for certified hormone-free beef. Still, additional demand exists, Davis said.
"We could use 100 times the feedlots, and we are seeing an increase every month," he said.
