Hitchcock native talks about market for US agriculture in China
COURTESY PHOTOS
Nicole Hamilton stands on one section of the Great Wall of China north of Beijing. It was a grueling climb, but the view was worth it, she said. In the second photo, the Chinese people buy their meat in open-air markets like this one. The meat is more expensive in the morning because the animal was harvested in the morning. As the day goes on, the prices decreases to get the meat sold, but it also decreases in quality. There is no refrigeration in these markets.
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Nicole Hamilton
(Editor’s note: Nicole Hamilton of Hitchcock traveled to China May 8-21 through part of her “China Class” at South Dakota State University. Her email address is nicole.hamilton@jacks.sdstate.edu)
I recently had the opportunity to travel to China with 18 other South Dakota State University students and two faculty members. It was one of the most eye opening experiences I have ever had, and I have traveled outside of the U.S. other times. Our trip was mostly agriculture-based, but we got to take in the culture and we met with China Ag University students in Beijing.
Though the 19 of us all came from different backgrounds, we all learned about the enormous impact China is having and will continue to have on the U.S. We may be an ocean away, but we are only one click away from being connected to China.
The opportunity to send more exports to China from the U.S. is increasing every day. China imports 30 percent of U.S. soybeans. That’s a third of every acre!
While we were there, we met with the Hong Kong U.S. Consulate and learned that Hong Kong is only a five-hour flight away from half of the world’s population and only a four-hour flight away from all of Asia’s key markets. Hong Kong is the fourth largest export market for the U.S. Think of all that potential to access key markets. Now the U.S. is working out the plans for exporting beef back to China after a 13-year hiatus. It’s an exciting time for U.S. beef producers, but we must continue to look into other specialty markets as well.
The SDSU group visited King Bull beef, a farm that raises beef cattle. The beef are fed wheat straw and will be harvested at 28 months and 700 kg. They get $68 per pound of beef sold there.
One example is in the pork industry. Pork producers have a new opportunity, as China is importing more pig heads. They don’t want tags, ear notches, or tattoos on the head. Since U.S. consumers don’t typically eat whole pig heads, it is just one market that can be capitalized on. China is the largest consumer and producer of pork in the world. Yet more than 40 percent of their production consists of small local farmers with only a few head.
One of the most fascinating things about China’s agriculture is their size. Even though the country is one of the largest in the world, the average farm size is two to three acres. Most harvest and planting are still done by hand labor.
As we rode in a high-speed train from Xi’an to Beijing, we could see the countryside with it’s hundreds of small farms. I had never imagined rural China would be covered in tiny farms. Random cities seemingly popped up out of nowhere.
China is by far one of the most interesting places I’ve been to. I encourage the local community to think outside the box and look into the new opportunities available to us. I learned so much about international agriculture, and I realize now how much small town farmers in the Midwest can make a difference.
