Congratulations to Jim Peterson Being Elected U.S. Meat Export Federation Chairman

Congratulations to Jim Peterson Being Elected U.S. Meat Export Federation Chairman

DENVER —- While addressing U.S. Meat Export Federation members during last week’s U.S.M.E.F. Strategic Planning Conference in Denver, Jim Peterson, newly-elected U.S.M.E.F. chairman for the coming year, said limited market access for U.S. meat exports is costing the industry billions of dollars. Resolving these access issues would be a tremendous boost for livestock producers, he added.

“Many of you have heard me say the export market is a shovel-ready stimulus project waiting to be implemented,” Mr. Peterson said. “It is $3 billion a year to our industry and we’re not going to increase any U.S. debt in the process. It’s something that has to be done.”

He urged industry to be more receptive to voluntary measures that will help address overseas consumers’ concerns about source verification and food safety, offering some examples from his recent visit to Japan, China and South Korea.

“[The] number-one [consumer concern] is traceability,” Mr. Peterson said. “They want to know the background of the product. We saw computers on meat counters where you could swipe the bar code and up would flash the source of the product. Secondly, age source process verification is a big deal for those folks. And finally on everyone’s mind in the Asian markets is food safety.

“You know, there’s an old song a lot of us have learned to like [titled] ‘My Way,’” he added. “Well, I think it’s time we put that song on the shelf. We have to do it ‘their way’. If we’re going to open these markets, we have to listen to the consumers and they’re clear on what they want to have done if we’re going to implement this shovel-ready stimulus project.”

Mr. Peterson, a Montana rancher, succeeds Iowa pork producer Jon Caspers. Mr. Peterson works a ranching operation near Buffalo, Mont., and is majority leader of the Montana State Senate and Associate Dean of Agriculture at Montana State University.

He was formerly the executive vice-president of Montana Stockgrowers Association and executive secretary of the Montana Public Land Council. He was raised on a family operation in Montana and has been involved in cattle-feeding, farming, ranching, agricultural-banking and beef-industry associations for more than 30 years.

Other U.S.M.E.F. officers recently elected include Keith Miller, a farmer-stockman from Great Bend, Kan., as the new chairman-elect. Mr. Miller owns a commercial cow/calf operation and farms more than 7,500 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and milo.

Danita Rodibaugh, an Indiana pork producer, is the new vice-chair. Her family farm operation near Rensselaer, Ind. produces corn, soybeans, wheat and purebred seedstock swine. She became active with U.S.M.E.F. as a member of the board of directors of the National Pork Producers Council and as a past president of the National Pork Board.

U.S.M.E.F.’s new secretary-treasurer is Steve Isaf, president of Atlanta-based Interra International.