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USMEF Business Session Features Feedgrain and Oilseed Leaders, Value-Added Products Panel

Published: May 27, 2016

The USMEF Board of Directors Meeting and Product Showcase concluded Friday in St. Louis with a business session featuring presentations from two soybean and corn industry leaders. John Becherer, chief executive officer of the United Soybean Board (USB) gave an overview of the USB Strategic Plan. Becherer emphasized the excellent partnership and relationship between USB and USMEF, which dates back to the mid-1990s.

“Given that 97 percent of our soybean production goes to animal agriculture, our industry won’t be successful unless you are successful,” Becherer said. He noted that from 2005-2015, U.S. meat and poultry exports accounted for more than 40 million tons of soybean meal valued at $13.8 billion.

USMEF Executive Committee member Dean Meyer, a corn, soybean and livestock producer from Rock Rapids, Iowa, offered his perspective on the value red meat exports deliver for U.S. corn producers. Meyer said one of the reasons he participates in USMEF is to ensure that his three sons will have an opportunity for successful careers in production agriculture.

Attracting more convenience-driven consumers to products such as jerky, sausages and other processed items was the focus of “Value-added Product Trends and Opportunities,” a presentation given during Friday’s closing business session of the USMEF Board of Directors Meeting.

Jihae Yang, USMEF director in South Korea, and Liz Wunderlich, USMEF representative in the Caribbean, shared strategies and activities in their respective regions that are designed to add value to several alternative cuts of U.S. beef, pork and lamb. Greg Hanes, USMEF assistant vice president for international marketing, added a look at what USMEF is doing to increase demand for alternative cuts in Southeast Asia and Japan.

“Along with the muscle cuts we are all familiar with, USMEF does a lot of work on the value-added side, which are cuts that bring value back here to the U.S. industry,” said Hanes.

Yang talked about how the Korean meat market is changing and is becoming much more focused on convenience. USMEF has worked to promote U.S. processed meat because it is in great demand by a new generation of Koreans. This work includes introducing new items through seminars, consumer events and cooking classes.

USMEF-Korea Director Jihae Yang tells the meeting that Korean meat-buying habits are changing

“A growing number of single households in Korea has led to the demand for more convenience in food products,” said Yang.

Home Meal Replacement (HMR) is a rapidly growing opportunity in the Korean market. Many ready-to-eat and heat-and-eat products are being made with U.S. red meat. U.S. branded beef products continue to gain popularity in the market, with ready-to-cook steaks leading the way, Yang added.

Wunderlich said offering a wide variety of items and ideas in the Caribbean market is important to gain an advantage for U.S. beef, pork and lamb. Introducing packaging and portion control measures is one way USMEF is helping restaurants, hotels and foodservice companies in the region, she said.

Liz Wunderlich discusses growth opportunities for U.S. red meat in the Caribbean market

Wunderlich explained efforts to increase the use of U.S. red meat in burgers across the Caribbean, noting that people are willing to pay for a genuine burger made with U.S. beef – or even lamb and pork.

Technology-wise, Wunderlich described the “larding and brining” of pork, which is injecting fat back into pork cuts, and the creative and convenient preparation of lamb in a cooking bag.

Hanes talked about new products developed in the ASEAN region with underutilized cuts, including processed beef bacon for the Muslim population and a high-end processed pork item for the pork-eating population that is shaped like a pig and packaged individually. It is being marketed as a “100 percent U.S. pork” item and has become very popular as a gift item.

In Japan, USMEF continues to promote processed items like beef jerky.

“We started talking to several USMEF members who make jerky and we were able to display some products during last year’s FOODEX trade show in Japan,” said Hanes. “It was very successful and capitalized on a great opportunity. We were able to set up a lot of meetings, including one with one of Japan’s largest retailers. Now, a year later, this U.S. company is selling its product to that large Japanese retailer. That’s just one success story that USMEF helped make a reality.”

Friday’s USMEF business session concluded with the adoption of a resolution that originated in the Beef and Allied Industries Committee, which calls for USMEF to support the Beef Industry Long Range Plan. The first core strategy of the plan, which covers 2016 through 2020, is to drive growth in U.S. beef exports.

USMEF members also updated and extended two existing resolutions that were scheduled to sunset: one supporting science-based trade, and another requesting that USDA expeditiously complete the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Public Health Information System Export Module.

The next meeting of the USMEF Board of Directors will be held at the USMEF Strategic Planning Conference, Nov. 2-4 in Carlsbad, California. This event will also mark the organization’s 40th anniversary.