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Grain producers take note – a 1 percent increase in U.S. red meat exports equals an additional 2 million bushels of corn and soybeans exported as value-added animal protein.

It’s just one of the reasons OFBF is a member of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), according to David White, OFBF director of commodity relations.

White, along with with OFBF board member Kim Davis, recently attended the USMEF board of directors meeting in Washington D.C. USMEF is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry.

White said farm organizations, agribusinesses, packers and processors and commodity groups must work together in order to stay competitive in a global marketplace. He noted the impact U.S. meat exports have in Ohio.

"We are in the top 10 in pork production, the largest sheep producing state east of the Mississippi and a major producer of corn and soybeans," he said.

But U.S. meat exports face resistance in many countries, especially since the United States’ lone case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as mad cow disesase, in 2003. Since then only 38 percent of lost markets for U.S. beef have been reclaimed.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, who gave the keynote address at the USMEF meeting, said he will not rest until Japan reopens its borders to American beef products. He called for a level playing field based on scientific standards for the U.S. meat industry and its trading partners.

"If we demand a level playing field, we also have to offer one," Johanns said. "We cannot treat Canada one way and Japan another and expect that will go unnoticed."

White said one way to open up markets is through free trade agreements.

If passed, the Central American and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement would result in $40 million to $50 million for the U.S. beef industry and $110 million for pork over the life of the agreement.

"Products from Central and South America are coming into the United States duty-free. The United States does not have that same access," Johanns said.

European Union Ambassador John Bruton encouraged U.S. beef exports to the region, saying consumption there is greater than production. However, he said resistance regarding U.S. beef hormones will most likely remain in place.

"To hear someone from the EU welcome imports from the U.S. is heartening," White said. "It just goes to show that our efforts in all these areas can be stronger if we work together, because we all have common interests."