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Issue: 1057 Date: 11/25/2010
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密蘇里州農業廳撥款補助
鼓勵吸引中國從中國空港進口密州豬肉、牛肉
Missouri Department of Agriculture Awards $1 Million to 10 Organizations
FAST try to attract China to import U.S. pork and beef from the Mid-West China Hub
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| Midwest China Hub Commission Chairman Mike Jones (left), St. Louis RCGA EVP, Steve Johnson; RCGA CEO, Dick Fleming; Lambert International Airport Director, Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge; and Executive Director of the World Trade Center Saint Louis, Tim Nowak present a progress report on the "St. Louis/China Big Idea" at Thursday's (11/18/2010) RCGA Board of Directors meeting. |
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【時報訊】密蘇里州農業廳日前由銷售稅中提撥超過一百萬元經費，撥予密州10個農業組織，這些款項可以用做任何商業計劃用途。密州哥倫比亞FAST(Future Ag Sustainable Technologies)「未來農業發展技術組織」表示，他們將使用所得到的經費作市場促銷之用，促成中國大陸自即將成立之中國空港進口密州的豬肉和牛肉，作為國與美國(聖路易)商貿產品。
FAST作這項決定是基於密州農民之要求，如果中國能由中國空港進口豬肉、牛肉，將可直接使密州農戶受益。
FAST組織Don Nikodim表示，我們可以在聖路易林白機場看到許多來自中國大陸的產品，例如電腦、烤箱等，現在的目標是如何把這裡(密蘇里州)的產品出口到大陸。
出口農產品到中國大陸是一個新的市場開發，能夠創造商機，加惠農民，但是，Nikodim暸解農產品是不可能由農民們個別出口到中國，農民需要透過一個現在已有的配銷系統，加強對中國市場的努力，在目前中國空港推動期間期，希望將出口農產品到中國之計劃落實和實現。
Missouri Department of Agriculture Awards $1 Million to 10 OrganizationsFAST try to attract China to import U.S. pork and beef from the Mid-West China Hub
More than $1 million was awarded to the 10 agriculture organizations. The grants were funded from the sale of tax credits. According to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, they can be used for any kind of business planning purposes.
Don Nikodim is with the Future Ag Sustainable Technologies, or FAST, foundation in Columbia. He says they're using their grant on a marketing plan to supply pork and beef exports to China with the help of the China Hub Project, that's a commerce exchange project between the US and China, based in St. Louis.
"This particular grant deals with the innovation of trying to attract Chinese entities to import U.S. pork and beef products from the Mid-West to China."
Because of interest from producers and university personnel, Nikodim says, it was key for the FAST foundation to take this export opportunity knowing it would benefit the pork and beef sectors on a trade standpoint.
"As we look at the terminal in St. Louis that is wide open to doing a lot of business, there is a lot of products: computers, toaster ovens, etc. that comes to the U.S. from China air transport. And so the goal was to try and put the nuts and bolts together to fit together a program that would allow those same transport carriers to pick up product from our plants here in the Mid-West and take it back to China."
Nikodim says this is a tremendous opportunity for the FAST foundation because of the growing economy in China. He says this trade opportunity would also benefit local rural economic development as well.
"Well, anytime we can access new markets and create more demand for our products, it's great for the folks out here on the farms that raise it. So, from a standpoint of them selling the product individually to China, that's not likely going to happen, and we'll go through the distribution system that's already in place. But, in run, we have the ability to create more profit opportunities for farmers when we're able to sell more of their product in varying markets."
Nikodim says they will use existing facilities in St. Louis to pick up the product and bring it to China. He says a lot of work still needs to be done, but it's a great opportunity for Missouri to be engaged in a process that can put together the framework for moving more products to China's market and use the economic opportunity to their advantage.
Doug Romine from Centralia also received a grant. He's doing a feasibility study to put in a methane digester for handling cattle manure from his family-owned farm and cattle feeding facility. Romine says they had been thinking about this for years, and with the help of the grant, they could actually fund the project.
Romine has completed the grant-funded study. But, because electricity is cheap where he lives, it turns out putting in an anaerobic digester would not be cost efficient. Romine says he's leaving the idea open for the future.
"All the footwork's been done now, so if things change in the next year or two or three years, then we still go forward with it."
Romine says to get the grant, he went to Jefferson City to speak to a committee. He presented his idea, and then they voted to support the study.
"We would have never done the study to start with without state money, because it would have been too expensive. But they covered 90% of the cost of doing it, and it's valuable information that might be applied in the future, or we might look at different parts of it. It was a good experience and we got a lot of valuable information, but it just so happens that we live in an area where our electricity is cheap. We didn't think it was to start with, but it actually is compared to the rest of the country.
Other projects include oil seed crushing and red lime distribution.
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