Suggested Lead: The United States traditionally has been a net meat importer,...

Suggested Lead: The United States traditionally has been a net meat importer, but that has been changing in recent years. Mike Schumm (Shume) is a Western Ohio farmer who represented the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation at the U.S. Meat Export Federation annual meeting in Mexico recently. He says U.S. agriculture is recognizing the value of taking a different approach in exports.

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Schumm says it goes beyond just promotion of the product internationally.

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According to Schumm, there is good recognition on an organizational level of the value of having someone to represent U.S. meat on an international level.

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Understanding of the value of the export market isn’t necessarily recognized by everyone in U.S. agriculture.

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Schumm farms with his father and two brothers near Wilshire, Ohio. They have a diversified operation, milking about 65 Holsteins and raising about 50 sows, 20 beef cattle and 150 laying hens on approximately 1,600 acres.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, lamb, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.

– USMEF –