In the Kyushu-Okinawa region, approximately half of the total beef breeding cows in Japan are reared. However, the aging of breeders and the decrease in the number of breeding cows due to the discontinuation of breeding are progressing, which leads to the high price of beef calves. On the other hand, Japanese beef export has increased about 10 times in the last 10 years, mainly in Asian countries, and their demand is expected to grow in the future. Therefore, the agricultural export target of beef is set to increase by more than five times between 2019 and 2025. In order to achieve this goal, it is important to conduct research and develop technologies to significantly increase the number of units shipped.
In the Division of Livestock Research, the Beef Cattle Production and Reproduction Group will work on technologies to shorten calving intervals and speed up fattening and shipping months, while the Feed Production Group will work on year-round multiple crop production technologies to produce high-quality, high-yielding feed that supports the feeding of beef cattle.
By combining these technological developments, we will build a seamless management system that seamlessly improves productivity from breeding, rearing to fattening, and will contribute to the expansion of exports by steadily increasing the number of beef shipped and reduction of production cost of Japanese beef.
