FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Representatives from across the US meat supply chain have gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, for the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Spring Conference, May 21-23. Wednesday’s opening session highlighted robust red meat demand and livestock production trends, among other industry developments.

“While our industry is obviously facing many challenges, it’s also a very exciting time to be in the red meat business,” said USMEF Chair Steve Hanson, a rancher, cattle feeder and grain farmer from southwestern Nebraska. “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 US pork, beef and lamb.”

Beef on the up and up

On the beef side, keynote speaker Randy Blach, chief executive officer of CattleFax, reported that demand is at a 37-year high. While the current herd expansion is moving slowly, Blach provided a cautiously optimistic outlook on rebuilding efforts. He believes January 2025 marked the low in the current cycle.

Cow slaughter has declined significantly, providing greater herd stability. And, although heifer retention has been slow to develop, Blach has seen many encouraging signs for a herd rebuild.

“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 also analyzed trends for the broader protein demand, including beef, pork and poultry. The beef industry’s heightened focus on quality has paid enormous dividends, he said, through 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 US 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 said. “And that’s something we hadn’t seen in several years.”

International relations

That strong global demand even in the face of heightened competition shows the industry needs to remain focused on the long term, according to USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom.

“A lot of times the best defense is a strong offense, and in many key markets we are doing both,” he said. “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.”

One way USMEF is striving for market penetration is with the recent expansion of its staff presence. New representation has been established in West Africa and Malaysia, with an additional staff member in Indonesia.

Halstrom compared 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.”

A wave of support

Featured speaker Rick Stott, president and CEO of Superior Farms, is one who can attest to the power of the US meat industry rallying together for one shared objective.

During his talk, Stott shared the story of how his company successfully overcame a ballot initiative to ban slaughter facilities in Denver. Voters rejected the proposition with 65% of the vote.

The ban would have closed Superior Farms’ processing facility that employs approximately 160 local residents 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,” Stott said. “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.”

Superior Farms received an overwhelming amount of support, not only from the meat and livestock industries, but also from a community that cared deeply for the livelihood of Superior Farms employees and their families.

Feeding the force of support was 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 said. “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.”