When it comes to building and maintaining a strong export market, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) leverages education as a tool.
USMEF recently hosted meat processors from across Latin America, specifically Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Chile, Peru and Jamaica, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to advance their knowledge of meat processing.
“These are companies that are importing raw materials to manufacture them into further processed products that they’ll distribute in their home markets,” says Travis Arp, USMEF assistant vice president of export services. “Part of the reason we do these seminars is to teach them not only the technical information about why they should use U.S. 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.”
Arp explains the seminar allows for these representatives to see, firsthand, U.S. beef and pork production and a range of processed meat products and merchandising ideas. Additional activities the participants experience include:
• Feedlot tour, Champion Feeders near Mead, Neb.
• Pork processing facility tour, Wholestone Farms near Fremont, Neb.
• HyVee Supermarket tour, Lincoln, Neb.
• Marble Technologies, a meat processing automation company, presentation
The seminar is also funded through support from the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), seeing the experience as a wise investment for corn’s contribution to U.S. beef and pork production.
