USU Extension agent lets Iraqis sample Utah beef

BRIGHAM CITY — The best-laid plans went awry, but Lyle Holmgren, an agent for Utah State University's Extension Office, still calls his recent trip to Iraq a success.

Holmgren's regular job description includes educating others about the many facets of agriculture. Last month, he was invited to take his knowledge of the beef industry to Iraq, where he could be part of an initiative to help that country rebuild its cattle herds.

Holmgren, representing USU, traveled to Baghdad with representatives from the Babylon Livestock Trading Co.

He left home with two large coolers full of beef, frozen solid and packed in dry ice, and secured with duct tape. He had planned for a four-day stay in Baghdad, where he would participate in a trade show.

A large trade center — and the hotel where the Holmgrens stayed — is located inside the Baghdad Airport and vendors are frequently invited to participate in trade shows there. Security is still tight — the Holmgrens were not allowed to leave the airport during their stay.

On their first day in Iraq, Lyle found out their trip had been cut in half because their visas weren't ready on their arrival.

"I was really bummed," he said. "I couldn't sleep. I had these two coolers of meat for samples."

He spent his first day at the trade show visiting with the people there.

"The thing that hit me really hard by the time we got done was how normal it was," he said.

Holmgren said the people there are anxious to get back to a normal life again, a life that might include eating out at a restaurant.

"And there is a definite demand for good U.S. beef," he said.

Some of the beef carried in those orange coolers was given out as samples that day. But Holmgren had to get creative because there was no way that meat would make the 31/2 day return trip home.For Holmgren, the highlight of his trip came on day two, when officials from the University of Baghdad stopped by his booth at the trade show and invited him to speak at the university.

E-mail: amy@benewsjournal.com