Jay Theiler of Agri Beef Elected Chair of USMEF
Hear/Download the Audio Report HERE.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) concluded its Strategic Planning Conference in Indianapolis Friday with election of new officers. Chairing USMEF for the 2025-26 term is Jay Theiler (pronounced TYLER), executive vice president of corporate affairs for Agri Beef Company, based in Boise, Idaho.
Theiler told attendees differentiating the quality of U.S. red meat is essential to continued expansion of the global customer base. And while emphasizing the need to diversify export destinations, he noted the importance of defending hard-earned market share with established trading partners such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico.
Theiler succeeds Steve Hanson, a rancher and cattle feeder from southwestern Nebraska, as USMEF chair. The USMEF chair-elect for the coming year is Dave Bruntz, who raises corn and soybeans and feeds cattle in southeastern Nebraska. Bruntz is a past president of the Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Cattlemen. The USMEF vice chair is Darin Parker, director of Salt Lake City-based exporter/distributor PMI Foods. The newest USMEF officer is Secretary-Treasurer Ross Havens, a cattle producer who serves as marketing coordinator for Nichols Farms in Bridgewater, Iowa.
More details and photos from the conference are in this USMEF press release.