Ohio Roundtable Discusses International Opportunities for U.S. Beef and Pork

USMEF recently participated in a commodity roundtable hosted by the Ohio Corn Marketing Board that featured a discussion on international marketing opportunities for growing supplies of U.S. beef and pork.

John Hinners, USMEF assistant vice president for industry relations, presented an overview of the World Perspectives study that estimates the value of red meat exports to the corn industry to be approximately $16.1 billion over the next decade. The study also found that red meat exports added $0.45 to every bushel of corn produced in the U.S. in 2015.

“Meat exports equal corn exports,” Tadd Nicholson, executive director of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association, told the roundtable, which was made up of representatives of the Ohio corn, soybean, wheat, pork and beef sectors. “When we invest corn checkoff dollars in USMEF programs, we are investing in all of the Ohio livestock farmers, which are our largest customers.”

Several Ohio agriculture groups count on the success of USMEF, and collectively they believe future demand growth will come from outside the United States, Nicholson added.

Ohio pork producer Kyle Brown and Ohio Corn Board member John Linder, both of whom were part of USMEF’s Heartland Team trade mission to Japan in 2014, reiterated to the roundtable the importance of putting a face on U.S. agriculture by visiting international markets and “telling the story of U.S. farmers.”

Representatives of various Ohio agriculture sectors gathered for a commodity roundtable that included a presentation by USMEF and discussion about international marketing opportunities for U.S. beef and pork