September 4, 2024
Mexican, Central and South American importers at USMEF's meat processing seminar held at US university
The US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) brought importers from Mexico and aremiCentral and South America to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States for a global meat processing seminar.
The event was supported by the National Corn Growers Association and the South Dakota Soybean Checkoff.
Attendees had an opportunity to meet with industry leaders, including USMEF secretary and treasurer Dave Bruntz.
"It's good to make these relationships," Bruntz said. "Most of these countries represented here are from Mexico down through Central America - good trading partners. You know, if we can't trade with our neighbors, who are we got to trade with? Glad to have them here on the University of Nebraska campus."
The seminar went way beyond the classroom as the buyer teams also took to the meat lab to explore new product development ideas. This was a highlight for Columbian importer Valery Ways.
"We had a workshop where we were presented a problem and we had to develop a strategy and a solution right there and then and get to work," Ways said. "So it was definitely the part that I enjoyed the most, was the workshop, and that really broadened my mind to see what else we can invent, what else we can create to better our customer experience and to better our business as well."
The delegation also made retail visits and toured processing plants operated by Certified Piedmontese and Wholestone Prestage.
- USMEF