Nebraska corn-fed beef team wraps up mission in Japan

The final two days of the Nebraska corn-fed beef mission really allowed the team to reach a consumer audience.

On Monday, the team travelled to Nagano, Japan, where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held. As we had Curt Tomasevicz, 2010 Vancouver Olympics Gold Medalist in the bobsled on the trade mission, the U.S. Meat Export Federation set up a meeting for our team with Mr. Koshi, member of the Japanese Olympic Committee and coaching director of the Japanese skeleton team who practices with the bobsled team.

Mr. Koshi gave our team a tour of the bobsled track and facilities. He even took us to the top and let us walk down the track - good thing it was summer! During our walk down the track - about a mile long - Curt had a good opportunity to talk with Mr. Koshi about why he is a spokesman for Nebraska corn, and the purpose of supporting exports of U.S. beef and pork to Japan.

They also have a great training facility that he opened up for the team to practice the bobsled - so we made sure Curt got his training in for the day and pushed each of us for a ride.

Nagano is an interesting town and it was great to see the vibrant culture and the pride that the Japanese people had in having hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics. When we arrived back in Tokyo that evening, the group got to observe a U.S. beef promotion at a Hibachi restaurant where the food is prepared in front of you on a big grill by the chef. The neatest part about this restaurant was the sign hanging in the corner that showed the age & source verification numbers of the U.S. beef.

On Tuesday before the team left, we interviewed with two livestock and meat journalists in Japan, as well as a consumer affairs journalist to answer questions about the trade mission, their farms back home, how beef is raised, their favorite cuts of beef and pork, and more. They also had a lot of specific questions for Curt as they were excited to include his role in promoting Nebraska corn-fed red meat in Japan.

View more pictures of the mission on our Flickr online photo album.