VZCZCXRO0488
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHWR #0365/01 0961305
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061305Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8123
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000365 
 
USDA FAS FOR OFSO/DYOUNG, SSCHAYES; OCRA/SNENON, JKOWALSKI; 
OTP/JHESSE, BBORRIS, TCLARK; OSTA/CHAMILTON; 
OCRA/DSALMON; OSTA/RMACKE, APHIS FOR IS/JMITCHELL, LALFALLA 
USEU BRUSSELS FOR AG MINISTER COUNSELOR, AGATT STANGE, 
APHIS/FERNANDEZ; 
EU MEMBER STATES FOR AGR AND ECON 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD PL
SUBJECT: DAIRY GENETICS SUCCESS 
 
¶1.  Summary: This cable outlines 18 months of diplomatic work and 
USDA programs that resulted in a new market opening for U.S. farm 
exports to the European Union's largest new member, Poland.  April 1 
the Holstein Association USA and the Polish Federation of Cattle 
Breeders and Dairy Milk Producers signed a path-breaking deal led by 
FAS Warsaw which will lead to $50 million in U.S. sales of bovine 
semen and embryos over the next five to seven years.  The agreement 
reduces technical barriers to U.S. exports and gives our products a 
competitive playing field with Poland's EU partners.  At the EU 
Member State level a targeted effort can open new markets for U.S. 
products and help our farmers. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
A new U.S.-Polish Agreement in Agriculture 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  April 1, 2009, the Holstein Association USA's Gerardo Quaassdorf 
signed a mutual cooperation agreement with the Polish Federation of 
Breeders and Milk Producers, President Leszek Hadzlik, a farmer from 
Leszno.  The agreement benefits both Polish and U.S. farmers through 
the exchange of genetics, training and education.  This agreement 
followed a two-day training program held in the National Institute 
of Animal Breeding in Balice, Poland featuring expert speakers from 
Poland, the United States and the Czech Republic in the area of 
dairy herd breeding, classification, new technologies, and the EU 
regulatory framework for dairy and cattle breeding. 
 
¶3.  Growing out of FAS/USDA Warsaw's success from 2008 which rolled 
back the administrative burdens for animal genetics' imports put in 
place in late 2007 by the Polish Government, in 2009, FAS Warsaw 
with a USDA Emerging Markets Program grant increased the 
understanding and interest in the new U.S. breeding value system. 
The system indicates an animal's value by using DNA markers to 
predict efficacy as compared to progeny testing.  This procedure 
cuts years off proving breeding stock to customers.  America's elite 
bulls, just got supercharged.  This leading edge science from USDA's 
Agricultural Research Service scientists displays U.S. technical 
superiority and encourages overseas partners to seek our products. 
 
 
¶4.  The Polish market for U.S. dairy livestock genetics experienced 
unprecedented growth since Poland joined the European Union in 2004 
with about 20 percent annual growth.  Poland is now near the top 
among member state dairy producers.  Then, in the fall of 2007, 
Poland implemented animal genetics regulations that threatened to 
limit this rapid growth.  The source of the new regulations was 
Poland's own Breeders Association.  Instead of viewing high quality 
U.S. genetics as a means to improve their own animal economy, they 
viewed it with fear.  Through education, recognition of Poland's own 
scientific achievements and diplomacy, the Polish Federation of 
Cattle Breeders and Milk Producers, Polish farmers and the Polish 
Ministry of Agriculture saw that Poland's competitiveness and future 
in animal breeding depended on using the best science.  By 
demonstrating mutual respect and trust and investing in training and 
education, the government of Poland and the Polish Federation showed 
their support by reversing several of the onerous new procedures and 
went further to open their markets to the United States.  In January 
2008, Ambassador Victor Ashe and USDA awarded Professor Henryk 
Jasiorowski a prize, recognizing his global contribution to 
agriculture.  Former Deputy Director General of the UN Food and 
Agriculture Organization, Professor Jasiorowski was a pioneer cattle 
breeder that has worked with the United States for 50 years. 
Showing our respect for Professor Jasiorowski built trust for USDA's 
work. 
 
----------------------------- 
THE 2009 USDA EMERGING MARKET 
PROGRAMS IN DAIRY GENETICS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Cooperative programs that led to the final agreement included: A 
week-long seminar on genomics testing as a means to evaluate dairy 
cows that was held in early March 2009 in Washington D.C.  This 
seminar was sponsored by the USDA's Emerging Markets Program and 
organized by Cooperative Resources International; a visit to the 
Holstein Association USA headquarters in Brattleboro, Vermont March 
16-17 by members of the Polish Federation to develop a road map for 
future cooperation; and finally a dairy seminar co-sponsored and 
supported by the Polish National Animal Breeding Institute in 
Balice, Poland March 30-31 which brought together a wide group of 
Polish experts, including Federation members, government officials 
and U.S. experts to exchange practical information.  Ms. Jane Shey, 
an expert on breeding and EU law, residing in Brussels, and a 
consultant to the National Association of Animal Breeders also 
 
WARSAW 00000365  002 OF 002 
 
 
attended the conference to discuss the European Union dairy programs 
and regulations providing invaluable support.  Post notes to USDA 
program specialists in the Foreign Agricultural Service that the 
project was possible only with superb support from the Office of 
Capacity Building and Development and Office of Trade Programs. 
 
----------------------------- 
WORK WILL AND SHOULD CONTINUE 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  The agreement signing will further cooperation; there are plans 
under way for dairy youth leadership training and classification 
training later this year and in 2010.   There is more work to be 
done in terms of the new technology called genomics and Interbull, 
the EU-based international dairy bull classification system. While 
both the United States and the EU (and therefore Poland) participate 
in Interbull, there work that needs to be done to ensure Interbull 
will accept the new genomics technology.  Educating EU Member States 
in this new technology and creating bridges between industries such 
as in Poland should speed their interest in leading Interbull to 
recognize the importance of including genomics in their rating 
system. 
 
¶7.  Comment.  Central and Eastern European countries respect the 
United States and are willing to overlook the enticement of EU 
integration and money where the United States can demonstrate its 
willingness to be honest and our competitive superiority for win-win 
solutions.  End comment.