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Nebraska’s new certified beef program could appeal to China

As part of their agreement to resume imports of U.S. beef, China will reportedly require source verification on all beef entering the country.

Nebraska director of agriculture Greg Ibach says a new Nebraska certified beef program could be a good match.

“Absolutely,” Ibach says. “What we’re working on is chain of traceability that would be able to verify that cattle were born and raised under the control of Nebraska producers, from the cow-calf through the feedlot segment.”

Ibach says the program, which is called “Certified Beef from Nebraska”, is designed to add value to product leaving the state.

“That could be a wrapper that goes around a Certified Angus, a Certified Hereford, NHTC (Non-Hormone Treated Cattle)—as an inclusionary, value-added step,” he says. “That’s what we’re hoping to be able to do with China, is to cater to those customers who want to have more of a connection to how their food was produced and where it came from.”

Ibach says the certified beef program is a premium program, intended to provide producers at all levels with a premium price over the marketplace.

AUDIO: Greg Ibach