Representatives of the entire U.S. red meat supply chain gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday as the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) opened its Spring Conference. USMEF Chair Steve Hanson, a rancher, cattle feeder and grain farmer from southwestern Nebraska, welcomed members with an optimistic message, despite heightened uncertainty in the trade policy arena.
“While our industry is obviously facing many challenges, it’s also a very exciting time to be in the red meat business,” Hanson said. “Our products are better than ever, and international demand is outstanding. There are many factors we cannot control, so it is important to remain customer-focused and not lose sight of our mission, which is to expand the global footprint for U.S. pork, beef and lamb.”
USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom built on this theme, noting that demand for U.S. red meat is at record levels in many international markets, even in the face of heightened competition.
“A lot of times the best defense is a strong offense, and in many key markets we are doing both,” said Halstrom. “We’re defending where necessary, especially against newcomers like Brazil, which has recently gained greater access in several key regions. But at the same time we are aggressively pursuing new opportunities in both established and emerging markets.”
As an example, Halstrom pointed to the recent expansion of USMEF’s staff presence, with new representation in West Africa and Malaysia, and an additional staff member in Indonesia. He also shared video highlights from USMEF’s recent two-day trade seminar in Accra, Ghana, which attracted buyers from 12 African nations.
Halstrom concluded by comparing USMEF’s approach to international marketing to the insights shared recently at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders’ meeting. He noted that Berkshire’s leadership views holdings in markets such as Japan, for example, as investments of 50 years or more, focusing on company fundamentals rather than being distracted by short-term issues that dominate headlines.
“That’s really what USMEF does as well, focusing on the long-term vision of building demand in targeted export markets,” Halstrom explained. “Global populations are growing and the middle class is expanding, but it’s really about the spending power. We’re not focused on all consumers. We’re focused on the top tiers in these markets and those top tiers want and can pay for high-quality proteins. So despite there being a lot of noise about international trade, we’re going to keep our eye on the ball and remain focused on the long term.”
Rick Stott, president and CEO of Superior Farms, explained how community and industry interests came together to overcome a proposal advanced by anti-agriculture activists last year. Voters in Denver rejected a ballot initiative that would have banned slaughterhouses within the city limits. If passed, the measure would have forced closure of Superior Farms’ lamb processing facility, which employs about 160 workers and provides essential services for lamb producers.
“We took a survey right out of the gate and one of the things we found was that economic impact was very important to the community,” said Stott. “We were blessed to have Colorado State University jump on board early on to identify what was close to a $1 billion dollar negative impact on the city of Denver and the surrounding communities, if we disappeared.”
Stott also highlighted the powerful support Superior Farms received, not only from the meat and livestock industries, but also from a community that cared deeply about the livelihood of Superior’s employees and their families. This was amplified by the company’s decision to open its plant to more than 1,000 visitors and observers in the months leading up to the November election.
“Some of them may not like what we do, but they all appreciated it,” Stott explained. “They appreciated our employees, because when they came through our plant, they saw people who were happy to come to work. They saw people who were engaged in what they do, proud of the jobs they did and proud of their company.”
Keynote speaker Randy Blach, CEO of CattleFax, provided USMEF members with a cautiously optimistic outlook on the U.S. cattle industry’s herd rebuilding efforts. He noted that cow slaughter has declined significantly, providing greater herd stability. And while heifer retention has been slow to develop, Blach sees enough encouraging signs that he feels January 2025 will prove to be the low point of this cattle cycle.
“Does this [rebuild] look anything like it did back in 2014 and 2015 – the most rapid expansion in the history of the industry?” Blach said. “No, this one isn’t that way. It is much, much slower, just as we expected it would be. And I think you need to plan on it continuing to be a slower expansion as it unfolds.”
Blach provided a broad outlook of the U.S. protein market, analyzing demand trends for beef, pork and poultry. He noted that the beef industry’s heightened focus on quality has paid enormous dividends – not in terms of consumption volume, but in consumers’ willingness to pay for higher-quality cuts.
“When you look at demand across all proteins, chicken is capturing 50% of the stomach but 25% of the wallet,” Blach explained. “Beef, on the other hand, is getting 25% of the stomach and 50% of the wallet. Which would you rather have?”
Blach said exports continue to make critical contributions to the bottom line of U.S. livestock and poultry producers, who collectively export about 17% of total production. The pork sector leads the way at 30%, with beef exports accounting for about 14% of production.
“Right now we are in a profitable period across the board, for cattle, pork and poultry producers,” Blach. “And that’s something we hadn’t seen in several years.”
The conference continues Thursday with guest speaker John Newton, Ph.D., executive head of Terrain, discussing the challenges involved in developing the new Farm Bill, as well as the latest on agricultural appropriations, tariffs and trade, and other critical policy issues. Following this presentation, USMEF’s Beef, Pork, Exporter and Feedgrain/Oilseed breakouts will offer detailed discussions on topics pertinent to each sector.
At Friday’s closing business session, Jihae Yang, USMEF VP for the Asia Pacific, Latin America Representative Homero Recio and Gerardo Rodriguez, regional director for Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic, will update members on promotional campaigns, consumer trends and trade challenges in their respective markets.
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USMEF – 2025
