It’s not every day a 747 drops into London, nor takes off with 200 cows aboard. Norman De Bono reports on an unusual airlift Friday that’s part big agriculture, part international aid.

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It’s a $1-million flight that will be crowded and smelly — and don’t even ask about the in-flight meal.

Forget the jokes, too, about being packed in like cattle.

Cows — 200 — are headed from Southwestern Ontario to Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic halfway around the world, in an unusual airlift that’s an odd mix of big agriculture and international aid.

All pregnant, the Angus and Holsteins were to be trucked from their Woodstock-area farm to the London airport for the wee-hours Friday morning takeoff aboard a Boeing 747 to the Central Asian country.

Humans who complain about long pre-boarding procedures have nothing on these bovine travellers — it’s three hours of weighing and documentation before they get loaded onto the jumbo for the 15-hour flight.

After that, it’s full throttle to Kazakhstan, more than 9,000 km away, with a refuelling stop in Iceland.

“It’s an adrenaline rush,” said John Ysselstein, president of Friesvale Farms, who’s shipping the cattle,

“It is very challenging, and I am all about challenges. The farmers over there are kind of primitive and I am helping them.”

Ysselstein has sold the cattle for between $4,500 to $5,500 US a head, making his latest shipment worth about $1.1 million. He will ship about 1,600 cattle this year in total — another flight leaves Dec. 29 — and exported 3,000 last year.

Cattle are big business in Southwestern Ontario, home to much of Ontario’s beef belt and its largest milk-producing counties. The region is known to buyers from around the world, many of whom descend at major events like the Royal Winter Fair to bolster their herds by buying cattle, embryos or semen.

But it’s not all about dollars, says Ysselstein, who runs a successful dairy farm on Gunn’s Hill Rd. He says he likes to help farmers learn the trade.

“I don’t just sell the cows, take the money and run. I go back four times a year to help with breeding and nutrition and they need a lot of help,” he said.

“It is all new to them and I think I have an obligation to help them.”

For London International Airport, the cattle trade means work for its cargo terminal — business it couldn’t have without the facility, said Mike Seabrook, airport chief executive.

“We are just scratching the surface of this industry. It’s an opportunity and we are continuing to grow,” he said.

Ysselstein will fly with the cattle and make sure they get off and settled, then work with the farmers, meaning he’ll be there until Wednesday.

“They’re happy when they get there. They are out to pasture on the other side of the world,” he said.

Ysselstein said Kazakhstan is trying to build up its beef and dairy herds, “and government is offering incentives.”

“They have a similar climate to Canada and a lot of vacant land and they are basically building up their infrastructure for their own food supply,” he said.

So, why fly the cattle?

Because the alternative — 15 days by ship — is a long, tough haul for the animals, he said.

Ysselstein has been exporting for about 20 years, mostly to the U.S. and Mexico, but began shipping to Kazakhstan about three years ago.

One bonus about the latest shipment? With all the cattle pregnant, they’re coveted because the buyer “won’t have to wait as long to get more production,” Ysselstein said.

norman.debono@sunmedia.ca

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COWS CAN FLY

Facts about the cargo:

200 livestock, flying from London International Airport.

Angus and Holstein, valued at $4,500 to $5,500 each.

Destined for Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.

15 hours flying time.

Why? Needed to replenish depleted beef and dairy livestock in that country.

One Southwestern Ontario farm sent 1,600 cattle this year, 3,000 last year.

Kazakhstan buys from Canada, the U.S. and Australia — not Europe, whose livestock raises concerns over diseases. Canadian beef and dairy cattle are valued for their quality and productivity.

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HOW THEY’RE SHIPPED