Idaho cattle feeder Cevin Jones is wrapping up his one-year term as chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, and while it has been a challenging and most unusual year, he says USMEF has found new and innovative ways to communicate with international consumers and industry stakeholders.

"This year's demand has been especially challenging. The COVID disruptions had a very big impact on our markets, no doubt," Jones says. "We've had to move from a lot of face-to-face trade shows and in-person visits to more virtual and online presence. … I think that's one of the big things that we've done at USMEF that's been really successful not only now but going into the future. We've had to adapt as an organization, and I think moving forward will strengthen us."

Jones notes that even in this challenging environment, USMEF members and funding sources, which cover a wide range of agricultural sectors, have remained firmly committed to keeping U.S. red meat on the world's table.

"There's still lots of support, I think from the industry out there for those markets to expand and international trade," Jones says. "You know, when you look at 97% of the world's population lives outside of the U.S. borders, I mean, it's very important that we continue to focus on those markets and where we can move our products into and create a profitable environment for producers all over. We're seeing really true value. I mean, for beef producers, when I talk about it, $300 roughly per head added value in those export markets, that's very important for the profitability of our industry."

Jones will complete his term as USMEF chair at the upcoming USMEF Strategic Planning Conference, which will be held virtually Nov. 10-13. He will be succeeded by Pat Binger of Wichita, Kan., who directs a network of overseas offices for Cargill Protein Group.

Source: U.S. Meat Export Federation, which is solely responsible for the information provided, and wholly owns the information. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.