U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) members from throughout the nation gathered in Palm Springs, Calif., Wednesday for the organization’s annual Strategic Planning Conference. The meeting attracted a record number of participants as USMEF celebrated its 50th anniversary.
USMEF Chair Jay Theiler, executive vice president of Idaho-based Agri Beef Co., welcomed the group by paying tribute to those who founded the organization a half-century ago.
“We all owe a debt of gratitude to the past leaders of USMEF for their vision of foresight, which made possible these 50 years of growth and success,” Theiler said. “But to properly honor their legacy, we need to keep our eye on the future and continue to build on USMEF’s strengths. One of our greatest strengths is our diverse membership, bringing many sectors of U.S. agriculture together to work toward a common goal.”
USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom, who began his career as an exporter more than 40 years ago, echoed this theme, noting the enormous obstacles the U.S. meat industry faced decades ago, when access to global markets was severely limited and exports accounted for just a small fraction of total production and sales.
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