In early November, the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) organized a trade mission to Southern Chile, all in the name of promoting Montana cattle genetics with producers in that country. The trip spanned from November 3rd to the 12th and was packed with exciting visits to local ranches, the Kampenaike Research Station, and a bull sale. The delegation members in attendance included two MDA representatives, a U.S. Livestock Genetics Export (USLGE) representative, a Trans Ova Genetics representative, as well as five Montana cattle breeders. These breeders included three Hereford breeders and two Angus breeders: Ray Gardner from Gaugler/Gardner Angus and Jim Stampfel from Pine Coulee Angus.

The trip left Montana on November 3rd and arrived in Chile on November 4th, with visits to local ranches beginning the next day. On the first day, attendees had the opportunity to visit Complejo Torres del Paine, which is the largest cattle ranch in Magallanes. The second day consisted of a tour of the Kampenaike Research Station. On the third day, attendees visited two different Angus ranches: La Esperanza Angus Ranch and El Cerrito Angus Ranch. Tours of Estancia Maria, Estancia Skyring, and Estancia Las Charas, which are considered the best commercial producers in the region using U.S. genetics, took place on the fourth day. The Magallanes Bull Sale was the main event of the fifth day and the sixth and final day in Chile included two more ranch visits.  

It’s people like Weston Merrill, MDA international trade specialist, who remain instrumental in the planning and execution of trade missions such as these. His work specifically focuses on connecting our Montana ag exporting companies with markets overseas and further expanding opportunities for ranchers in Montana. In his six years at MDA, he’s taken part in as many as 18 of these trade mission trips (2 to 3 a year), taking him to places such as Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Nicaragua. When I spoke with Merrill, he gave a lot of insight into how these trips are selected for and planned, stating that it typically all starts with interest from the foreign country themselves. In the case of this trade mission trip, Chile had a lot of interest in what genetics Montana had to offer, and producers had even visited Montana to tour ranches before the organization of this mission. 

Selecting the delegation members for these missions is no different than how the location is selected. “These breeders participated partly because this is kind of an ongoing relationship-building process,” Merrill explains, emphasizing his earlier point about how much these trade missions rely on interest. When breeders from Chile first visited Montana, they had the opportunity to travel to various ranches that had genetics they were interested in incorporating into their herds back home. Jim Stampfel of Pine Coulee Angus in Absarokee was one of those ranches. Stampfel tells me that “[Merrill] had a group come in from this past summer… so we ended up having them come by and had a display for them and they could see a lot of our genetics.” Pine Coulee genetics were ones that producers from Chile had specifically expressed interest in, which led to Stampfel having the chance to be a part of this trade mission trip. 

As a delegation member, Stampfel found himself getting to experience firsthand how cattle ranchers in Chile are run and gain a better understanding of some of their operational differences and the challenges they face. “Not only do you get to meet some people that are also in agriculture that are also raising cattle like we are, but from a completely different climate in a completely different country and find out that they have kind of a lot of the same issues that we have,” Stampfel says. Cattle ranching in Southern Chile is somewhat different than what we are used to here in Montana. Calving seasons are the opposite of ours and many of the operations are less hands-on and focus on low-input management systems. However, they are still in a moderately harsh climate and can face some of the same issues we do when it comes to weather. While they may not be getting negative temperatures, they still face severely wet weather conditions. Stampfel tells me that in Chile, there are riders on the range, and “they would basically spend all their time out there watching the cattle.” This becomes especially important during calving, as their cattle all calve out in the pasture, rather than coming into corrals or a barn. They also don’t feed cattle out like we do, as they can’t grow grain or hay like we can. There’s a different management style present in Chile and one that was exciting for the attendees to learn about. 

Visiting the Kampenaike Research Station was a highlight of the trip. The station has been operating since 1969 and focuses its work on adaptive and demonstrative research, and technology transfer, with special emphasis on processes that allow for increased agricultural productivity in the Magallanes region. Livestock is one of the main areas of research. At the research station, they maintain an Angus herd and a Hereford herd. “Their research center is very much like our USDA research center in Fort Keogh,” Merill explains. When thinking about producers all over the region, it’s a pretty important center that provides a lot of crucial information. 

The Magallanes Bull Sale was another one of the highlights of the trip, especially because bulls are typically sold via private treaty in Chile. “Up until this year, they had not done a live auction bull sale ever,” Merrill tells me. The sale was specially organized with several different consignors and the mission was organized so that the MDA and its delegation members could be there for it. Since it was the first of its kind, the Chile producers made it a whole event. There were producer-focused workshops in the morning, highlighting topics such as genetics and cattle health, followed by lunch, and then the actual bull sale. 

Approximately 40 head were sold that day. It was an incredible experience to see these producers doing something they haven’t done before, especially with the influence of the Chilean culture. “That was really interesting to see, but really exciting because our international presence really for them put a stamp of legitimacy on the event,” Merrill says. Stampfel also reflected on the bull sale, highlighting the differences in how the sale was run and even the bulls being brought through. Unlike most of our sales, the bulls were brought in on horseback, which was fun for the attendees to see. “Normally they're selling their bulls as two-year-olds because they're not fed up at all and by the time those bulls are two they're looking pretty good. They did sell a few yearlings that day [during the bull sale],” Stampfel explains. Not only was the bull sale a great way to get a look at different cattle, but it was also a great way for the attendees to immerse themselves further into the culture.

“It was a great experience for myself but I also think it's really beneficial to the Montana genetics, which I personally believe are some of the best in the world, if not the best, and I think people out there are seeking something to improve,” Stampfel expresses. And Stampfel is right: many of the producers in Chile are looking to improve their herds and their practices, and it’s fantastic that they are looking toward Montana for those changes. One of the biggest changes on the horizon seems to be a shift towards more of a focus on carcass traits. Granted, making a change such as this takes time and careful consideration of genetics. “Most of the breeders we work with try to maintain a good balance between maternal traits and growth traits, but it's definitely [more of] a maternal focus,” Merrill states. Part of Chile producers’ focus on maternal traits stems from the fact that the demand for carcass traits just isn’t there. 

These types of changes and global producer connections are exactly what these trade mission trips hope to inspire and foster. They offer incredible opportunities for producers in Montana who are looking to expand the reach of their genetics, whether they’ve been involved in exporting before or are looking to get started with exporting. “I think that breeders from all over the world are really looking for something new and something different and a way to improve their genetic base,” Stampfel says. It also is beneficial for countries like Chile that are on the receiving end of these missions, as it brings opportunity to those producers as well, offering strengthened relationships and advancements in genetics and practices. 

But, MDA’s work isn’t stopping at these trade missions. “We're always looking at the metrics of success from these missions. Sales and exports are obviously kind of like the crowning jewel. That's what you want,” Merrill says, “But another piece to this is what are we going to do next? And we have looked at collaborating with the research center [in Chile] and we're going to do some continuing education opportunities for producers down there to further develop the market.” Merrill believes that providing an educational program would only seek to further improve our relationship with Chile and help improve cattle operations there. For example, most producers in places like Chile aren't utilizing tools like artificial insemination (AI), but through a program that provides education on the benefits of various advancements in the cattle industry, as well as on topics such as breeding and nutrition, MDA can provide producers with useful knowledge and encourage them to implement tools such as AI into their operations. Ideally, this program will be a multi-year program that will include bringing breeders or other industry professionals to Chile to discuss and educate on these various topics. As of now, the program is specifically being thought of with Chile in mind, but as Merrill says, this program will be built in a way that it could be implemented in other countries as well. It’s an extremely exciting prospect that will continue supporting Montana producers by furthering these international relationships and highlighting Montana cattle.  

Trade mission trips like this one are crucial for expanding Montana’s markets. Montana is a leader in cattle genetics, so it comes as no surprise that the genetics here are highly sought-after. Not only do these trips drive the demand for Montana’s cattle genetics and uplift our producers, but they reward those who take part in these trips with incredible first-hand experiences and knowledge. As Stampfel tells me, “it's just a real eye-opening experience to meet people from other parts of the world that are also in the same industry.” Montana’s reputation for high-quality, productive, and healthy cattle is driven by the focused and hard-working producers who continue to strive to improve so that they can offer proven, productive, and efficient cattle.