THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 1995 TAG: 9507180369
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
These cows won't ever be coming home.
About 40 Virginia dairy cows flew out of New York on Saturday on a one-way, cargo-class trip to South Korea.
These are Holsteins on a mission. They will help improve the production and genetic diversity of South Korean dairy herds.
The Virginia cows were joined by 160 others from 15 states. Plans call for two other 200-cow shipments later this year.
The shipment of Virginia Holsteins was arranged by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
``American cattle, especially Virginia cattle, were a natural choice when Korea wanted to upgrade its dairy herds,'' said Joseph Chu, an international marketing specialist with the agriculture department. ``We have been able to provide cows which meet their high standards.''
The Virginia dairy cows being shipped Saturday were selected from among the 170,000 head in the state's dairy farms. The shipper, Sejoong Trading Co. of Seoul, South Korea, required that the cows rank among the top 30 percent of milk producers in the nation.
These dairy cows were outstanding in their field.
Sejoong bought the Holsteins from six Virginia dairy farms. The cows were quarantined for 30 days in Culpeper to ensure their health. From there they were shipped to Harrisburg, Pa., and then to New York.
The cows will be used as breeding stock to improve South Korean herds, which never were developed to be as productive as U.S.-bred dairy cows, said Marion Horsley, a spokeswoman with the state agriculture department. ILLUSTRATION: Color drawing
Cow by CNB