Weekly USMEF Audio Report: Examining Opportunities for U.S. Red Meat in Africa

Jun 06, 2018

In recent years the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has intensified its efforts to build demand for U.S. beef and pork in Africa. Monty Brown, USMEF representative in Africa, was recently in Ghana, where the presence of U.S. beef has expanded beyond the restaurant sector and is achieving success with Palace, one of the leading supermarket chains in Ghana's capital city of Accra.

Brown also has trade servicing activities scheduled this summer in Angola and in South Africa, where he's specifically looking to expand the customer base for U.S. pork. In late June, USMEF will take part in Africa's Big 7 - the continent's largest annual food and beverage trade show - which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Source: USMEF

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.