Idaho Cattle Feeder Cevin Jones is New USMEF Chair

On Nov. 8, USMEF concluded its Strategic Planning Conference in Tucson, Ariz., with the election of new officers. Cevin Jones, a cattle feeder from Eden, Idaho, was elected USMEF chair. He succeeds Iowa pork producer Conley Nelson.

Jones is a past president of the Idaho Cattle Association. He later chaired the Idaho Beef Council and the Federation of State Beef Councils and served on the Beef Promotion Operating Committee. He discusses his background and involvement with USMEF in the attached audio report.

USMEF's new chair-elect is Pat Binger of Wichita, Kan., a vice president at Cargill Protein Group. Mark Swanson, the new vice chair, is CEO of Birko Corporation, headquartered in Henderson, Colo. The newest USMEF officer is Dean Meyer, who was elected secretary-treasurer. Meyer is a corn, soybean and livestock producer from Rock Rapids, Iowa, and a director of the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations. USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law. USMEF is an equal opportunity employer and provider.