Randy Spronk elected as chair of USMEF

Nov 13, 2023

Spronk say exports will be key to recovery for the pork market in 2024

By Jean-Paul McDonald
Farms.com
Photo credit: USMEF

The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) announced that Randy Spronk, president and managing partner for Spronk Brothers Holding, was elected chair of USMEF.

Spronk is a past president of the National Pork Producers Council as well as the Pork Producers Association.

Spronk is prioritizing exporting U.S. beef, pork and lamb in the international marketplace.

Spronk acknowledged that the US is experiencing domestic demand challenges for a variety of reasons, but he believes focusing on the international markets will bring profitability back to the domestic swine industry.

“I think it's very important that we actually focus again on our exports,” said Spronk in an audio report. “I think it's one of the things that we've identified in the swine industry is our story on sustainability. That can differentiate. It's because of how we produce our feed. It's about our corn and our soybean, how we utilize that that is our sustainability story that nobody else in the world can replicate."

Video: Validating Net Energy in Commercial Swine Systems - Gustavo Lima

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate at Iowa State University, explains how soybean meal net energy is evaluated using growth assays and calorimetry. He discusses caloric efficiency, validation under commercial conditions, and differences between controlled and real-world environments. Gustavo also highlights practical implications for diet formulation and ingredient valuation. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Indirect calorimetry provides a precise estimation of ingredient energy, yet validation under production conditions remains essential for accurate application in real systems.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, specializing in swine nutrition, ingredient evaluation, and energy metabolism. With over 15 years of experience across Latin America, his work focuses on soybean meal utilization, caloric efficiency, and applied research for commercial production systems.