International dairy leaders from Cambodia and Kazakhstan traveled to Wisconsin with the ASA’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health program in September to explore opportunities for U.S. soy with the dairy industry in Asia.
The trade team included three representatives from Kazakhstan and two from Cambodia who visited the state Sept. 27-Oct. 1 for the World Dairy Expo. WISHH hosted the visit in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board.
The Wisconsin trip gave the international dairy and feed leaders an opportunity to see the U.S. soy supply chain firsthand. The team visited Hammer & Kavazanjian Farms, operated by U.S. soybean farmer Nancy Kavazanjian and her husband, Charlie Hammer, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, providing an opportunity to directly see how reliable soy is grown in the United States.
The trade team also attended World Dairy Expo in Madison, one of the dairy industry’s major international gatherings. For participants from Cambodia and Kazakhstan, the event provided opportunities to learn about U.S. dairy production and connect with businesses across the dairy and feed sectors.
The team included Ziv Sar, manager of Kirisu Dairy Farm, a pioneer in modern milk production in Cambodia. Kirisu currently has approximately 1,800 Holstein cows, including about 900 milking cows, and uses 150-170 tons of soybean meal each month. Kirisu is also preparing to open a second farm.
Kirisu’s experience demonstrates the potential for growing demand for U.S. soybean meal as dairy production expands in emerging markets. WISHH’s work in Southeast Asia helped introduce quality U.S. soybean meal to Cambodia’s modern dairy sector, building on an aquaculture project that shipped $18 million of U.S. soybean meal to Southeast Asia.
The trade team’s Kazakhstan participants represented dairy operations that also incorporate soybean meal into their feed rations. Kazakhstan’s dairy industry is part of WISHH’s broader Trans-Caspian market-development efforts, an emerging region where WISHH is working to expand opportunities for U.S. soy.
WISHH leveraged funding from USDA’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program alongside the Wisconsin Soybean Checkoff to bring the trade team members to Wisconsin.