BOISE: More than $6 million worth of live cattle were purchased from Idaho producers during the first quarter of 2015, a 651 percent increase over the same period in 2014.
The vast majority, $5.6 million, was purchased by Sudan, a Northeastern African nation with a per capita income of $4,500.
The rest of the $492,000 in live animal purchases from Idaho during the quarter went to Canada.
While Canada purchases live animals from Idaho regularly — it purchased $442,000 worth during the first quarter of 2014 — this is the first time Sudan has bought from the Gem State.
Those totals are based on quarterly Census Bureau data broken down for the Idaho State Department of Agriculture by Global Trade Information Services.
The data doesn’t say whether the animals were beef or dairy cows, but Blair Mickelson, an Idaho livestock broker who was involved in the sale of some of those live animals to Sudan, said they were all dairy cattle.
Russia went on a major buying spree of live dairy and beef cattle from Idaho and other U.S. states in 2012 and 2013 after that country committed $10 billion to revitalize its beef and dairy sectors.
But several dairymen and ISDA officials said they don’t know the reason for Sudan’s purchase.
“I haven’t heard back from them,” Mickelson said. “As far as I know, it was a one-time load.”
Peter Vitaliano, vice president of economic policy and market research for the National Milk Producers Federation, said major purchases like that happen from time to time by nations or groups trying to substantially upgrade their dairy herd.
“That’s big, but not unprecedented,” he said of Sudan’s purchase of live Idaho animals.
Idaho live animal exports soared for awhile during the Russian buying spree but they have come to a near halt due to the recent troubles in Russia’s economy, said Laura Johnson, who manages ISDA’s market development division.
Johnson said Russia is expected to start buying live cattle again once its economy improves.
Mickelson didn’t talk about specifics of the Sudan purchase, but dairy and beef cattle producers who have sold live animals to Russia and other countries say it’s likely Idaho producers were paid a good premium.
“They have to pay top dollar when they come here to do that,” said East Idaho rancher Carl Lufkin, who sold multiple loads of bred heifers to Russian buyers during that country’s buying spree.
New Plymouth dairyman Greg Davis, who has sold live animals to Russia and other countries in the past, said foreign buyers have to offer Idaho producers a good premium “or we won’t sell them. I’m guessing (Sudan is) having to pay pretty good money for them.”
