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MONTANA STATE LIBRARY 



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NEWS LTE T T E R 



Montana Department of Agriculture 



September - October 2002 



^ffontana: Leader in Country of Origin Labeling 



July 24-25, 2002 saw a whirlwind of discussion in Chicago as several 

 National Association of State Departments of Agnculture (NASDA) 

 members met and participated in a teleconference and meetings with 

 industry representatives. From the Montana Department of Agriculture, 

 Misti POster attended and Will Kissinger, Deput)- Administrator, and 

 Brent Poppe, AMBD Bureau Chief, participated in the conference call. 

 Discussion focused on Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), 

 implementation procedures, costs, segregation of animals, trace-ability, 

 venficadon and other general trade concerns. 



The second half of the conference involved several NASDA 

 representatives as well as representatives from the USDA and Canadian 

 Provincial officials. After several presentations on livestock trade 

 between the U.S. and Canada and COOL guidelines in the new farm 

 bill, a discussion session was held. Discussions focused primarily on 

 how products would be labeled, most specifically if animals were raised 

 in one country and then slaughtered and processed in another country. 

 The law states that to be a product of the U.S., it must be "born, raised 

 and slaughtered" in the U.S. Currendy, there is no mandatory ID/ 

 tracking system in place in the U.S. 



Several of the Canadian representatives expressed concerns that trade 

 would be disrupted resulting in WTO trade actions. The conference 

 participants were in favor of continued movement and trade of 

 agricultural goods and services across the borders. One of the key 

 objectives that came out of the meeting was to have profitable market- 

 driven integrauon. Ultimately, the meetings served as a valuable tool to 

 gather information and identify the key issues associated with COOL. 



"The person who figures out how to harness 



the collective genius of his or her organization 



is going to blow the competition away." 



(Waller Wriston) 



r 



Keys to Success In Value Added 

 Agriculture 



(Taken from Appropriate Technology Transfer 

 for Rural Area's web site. . . fuU version of the 

 article written by Holly Brown, NCAT Agriculture 

 Specialist, is available at www.attra.org/attra-pub/ 

 keystosuccess.html) 



1. Start small and grow naturally 



2. Make decisions based on good records 



3. Create a high-quaUt}' product 



4. Follow demand-driven production 



5. Get the whole family or parmers involved 



6. Keep informed 



7. Plan for the future 



8. Continuous evaluation 



9. Perseverance 



10. Adequate capitalization 



■ Events & Information 



Montana Ram Sale: Miles Cit)-, Fairgrounds, September 12 



Ethanol Workshop for Rural America: BiUings, October 15 



For more information, please call EPAC at 406-785-3722 or log onto 



wwwiethanolmt.org 

 NILE: Billings, Metra Park, October 16-19 

 FOODEX JAPAN 2003: March 11-14 Makuhari Messe, Japan 



Deadline is October 18 

 Farmfair: Edmonton, Alberta, November 1-10 

 MSU Ag Appreciation Weekend and Ag Days: Bozeman, 

 November 15-16 



Trade Show Briefing 



GROCERY INNOVATIONS CANADA 2002 



October 27-29, Toronto, Canada 

 For more information contact Sharon Cook at 202- 

 720-3425 or e-mail: Sharon.Cook@fas.usda.gov. 

 Options include booth space or U.S. companies testing 

 the market can send sample products for display in 

 FAS' "American Cafe." FAS staff will prepare and 

 distribute the samples. 



lEFP & PACK EXPO 2002 



November 3-7, Chicago, IL 



To learn more about this show visit: 



www.processfood.com/iefp 



This IS the largest food processing and packaging 



show held in the U.S. This show is targeted to 



industry professionals looking for a competitive 



advantage in the food processing and packaging 



industry, opportumues to reduce equipment costs, and 



discover the latest equipment. Registrations received 



before October 11, 2002, will be discounted 50 



percent. 



Montana Department of Agriculture Coordinates "A Chef for All Seasons" Food 

 Ingredients Promotion in Japan 



The Montana Department of Agriculture Marketing and Business Development Bureau, in cooperation with the VCTJSATA (VC'estern 

 United States Agricultural Trade Association), is taking the lead in organizing an intensive training seminar on Montana food 

 ingredients scheduled for October 2-3, 2002 at the New Otani Hotel in Kumamoto City, Kyushu, Japan. 



This opportunit)- will enable Montana producers to work directiy with the food service industry in Japan, and to showcase the quality 

 and versatility of their products to the importers, buyers, distributors and decision makers in Japan's Hotel, Restaurant and Institution 

 (HRI) industr)^ on Kyushu, a major test market in southwest Japan. Chef Carl Kurokawa of Julian's Restaurant in Billings will be 

 leading the program tided, ^apan HRI Food Ingredients Seminar, CuUnary Applications for International Cuisines.' 



An informal table-top trade show on October 8, 2002, hosted by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Montana Department of 

 Agriculture and Montana Department of Commerce in conjunction with the Montana-Kumamoto sister state/prefecture 

 relationship, will foOow the federally funded seminars. The seminars are the first step in an ongoing effort to promote the use of 

 Montana's high quaUt)' food ingredients in Japanese LIRI markets. 



