We went to Kazakhstan as part of Breedexpo

From October 16th to 22nd, we visited Kazakhstan together with project partners from Estonia and Finland, and this is our second visit to this country within the framework of this project. Our goal in Kazakhstan is to introduce Kazakh livestock farmers to the Latvian beef cattle breeding industry, promote cattle exports to Kazakhstan, and get acquainted with the current situation in this industry.

Our visit to Kazakhstan has been organized by the Kazakhstan Hereford Breed Association and we are starting in the south of the country, around Almaty, where we are visiting two farms that are engaged in Angus breeding of purebred animals.

“KazMyaso” is the first farm we visit and this farm also has its own slaughterhouse and meat processing plant. The farm manages 17,000 hectares of land and raises more than 3,000 Angus breed cattle.

The second farm we visit on the outskirts of Almaty is located by a small lake with the appropriate name “Lake Farm”. The farm manages 15,000 hectares of land and Angus The breed has only been breeding cattle for 2 years and is still gaining experience in breeding these animals.

We conclude our visit to the Almaty region with a visit to the local sheep breed exhibition and participate in an event where farmers from the region are congratulated for their good work results. Next, our path leads to the capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, where we participate in the international agricultural exhibition “KazAgro/KazFarm”. The exhibition is comparable in scale to our own “Rāmava”. The exhibition demonstrates machinery, agricultural equipment and bulls of the most popular beef cattle breeds in Kazakhstan. We, Estonians and Finns, are at the stand together with our cooperation partners in Kazakhstan, the Hereford Breed Association. During the exhibition, we share our representation materials and talk to local farmers. On the TV set up at the stand, we show a film about the most popular beef cattle breeds in Latvia, shot within the framework of the project. You can also watch this film on the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWc_45oX7A0

Demonstrations and judging of the most popular beef bull breeds took place outside the hall.

During the exhibition, a seminar was also held, where Ieva Freidenfelde and Kristīne Ādama, board members of the Latvian Beef Cattle Breeders' Association, introduced the attendees to the Latvian beef cattle industry and export opportunities.

Read more about the visit to Kazakhstan in one of the next issues of our magazine.