Mexico Media Team Visits Colorado to Learn About U.S. Pork, Beef
Journalists and bloggers from Mexico’s largest cities were given a firsthand look at U.S. red meat production and learned about trends in the retail and foodservice sectors during a visit organized and led by USMEF. Funded by the USDA Market Access Program (MAP), the National Pork Board and the Beef Checkoff Program, the Mexico Media Team spent three days exploring feedlots, ranches, packing plants, supermarkets and restaurants in Colorado.
Members of the Mexico media team participate in a U.S. red meat cutting demonstration at Colorado State University
USMEF is a contractor of the National Pork Board and a subcontractor of the Beef Checkoff.
“The goal was to show them how the U.S. pork and beef industries work and where the quality products come from so when they returned home to Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City, they could share that valuable information with readers and followers,” said Leticia Flores, USMEF communication specialist for Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic.
Flores and Regional Marketing Director Gerardo Rodriguez guided the team through several stops in Denver and northern Colorado.
The Mexico media team learns about U.S. livestock production at the Bloom Ranch in Brighton, Colorado
The first stop was Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, where team members participated in a course on the quality, marbling, safety and health benefits of U.S. red meat. The course, held at the JBS Global Food Innovation Center on the CSU campus, also included a cutting demonstration focused on the U.S. pork and beef cuts that are most popular in Mexico.
The second day included a visit to the Timmerman Feedlot in LaSalle, Colorado, and the Bloom Ranch in Brighton, Colorado, where the team learned about livestock production and enjoyed a lunch prepared by the Bloom family. Greg Smith, a pork producer from Roggen, Colorado, and president of the American Berkshire Association, provided information about U.S. pork production and talked about his operation.
USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom joined the team that evening at the Edge restaurant in Denver, where team members tasted U.S. aged beef and pork and sampled U.S. wagyu beef.
On the final day, the team toured the Frontiere Natural Meats packing plant, stopped at a Whole Foods supermarket in downtown Denver and joined a “Taste of Denver” event that included stops at six different eateries featuring trendy and innovative dishes made with U.S. pork and beef.