The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) recently hosted meat processors from across Latin America for a further processing seminar at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This was the fifth global processing seminar conducted by USMEF, but the first since COVID travel restrictions were imposed in 2020. Participants included representatives of further processing companies located in Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Chile, Peru, and Jamaica.
Travis Arp, USMEF assistant vice president for export services, said the seminar is aimed at educating participants about the advantages of using U.S. pork and beef as raw material for further processed products and to introduce them to alternative cuts and new product development concepts.
“We invited further processors from across Latin America, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean,” Arp said. “These are companies that are importing raw materials to manufacture them into further processed products that they’ll distribute in their home markets. Part of the reason we do these seminars is to teach them not only the technical information about why they should use US beef and pork as a raw material, but also help them troubleshoot quality issues and ultimately help them produce better products and be more successful with the products that they distribute in their market. We want to give them a fully rounded picture of U.S. agriculture and the U.S. red meat industry. So we’re not only doing these technical programs at the University of Nebraska, but also exposing them to the livestock industry and providing them tours of feedlots and packing plants that they might be buying raw materials from, and then also doing retail tours where they can see some of the trends for further processed products in the U.S. markets and help give them some ideas that they might be able to take back to their markets and help their businesses be more successful.”
The seminar was funded through support from the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). NCGA board member Dan Wesely attended the event. He sees the seminar as a wise investment for U.S. corn producers, noting the important contribution beef and pork exports make to their bottom line.
“Exporting our product is very important and we know we can do that in part by going through livestock, pork, and beef,” Wesely said. “They use up quite a bit of our corn which equates to about 12%. If you figure you have five and a half dollar corn, about 66 cents is credited to going through the meat process, so we know it’s very important. It’s a good partnership, corn and USMEF, and it’s getting our product out to the customers all over the world.”
For more information, visit usmef.org.
