Hanson Voted New USMEF Chair

Steve Hanson, a rancher from Elsie, NE, was elected chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation at the organization's Strategic Planning Conference in Tucson, AZ on Friday.  Hanson said a priority for him will be the partnerships with the various checkoffs that support the work of USMEF around the globe.

“The checkoffs are one of the ways we invest in ourselves, because if we don't tell our story, somebody else will, and it probably won't be in the way we want them to," Hanson noted.  "The checkoffs have done great things on research for nutrition. You know, we have become great environmentalists because of it. Our stewardship of our cattle - we learned how to handle our cattle better, and this is because the checkoff dollar invests its money back into the farming community and the ranching community so that we can do a better job.”

Hanson added the strength of USMEF, comes from the involvement of all of the diverse sectors of the red meat industry.

"You know, it's got producers, it's got exporters, it's got packers, it's got a lot of different avenues,:" he said.  "There's grain producers. Everybody performs a part in this and it takes all of us, and we all have to be healthy to have a good economy in the meat business.”

Hanson succeeds Minnesota’s Randy Spronk, who has served as USMEF chair for the past year.

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