According to USDA, pork and pork variety meat exports in June totaled 192,667 metric tons valued at $451 million — double the volume exported in June of last year. That drove year-to-date pork exports to 1.02 million metric tons valued at $2.3 billion — 67 percent above the first six months of 2007 in terms of volume, and 58 percent higher in terms of value.

Beef and beef variety meat exports in June increased 35 percent and totaled 89,054 metric tons, valued at $328 million. During the first half of the year, these exports totaled 445,036 metric tons, valued at $1.58 billion — an increase of 30 percent in volumes and 39 percent in value. First-half exports reached 71 percent of the value achieved in the first six months of 2003, and 87 percent of the value achieved during the same time period — before the U.S. had its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Many state corn checkoff programs are working to not only expand livestock production in their respective states, but are also supporting efforts to build demand globally, which helps bring results like what USDA reported.

Corn producers in Nebraska view foreign markets for the state’s livestock industry as imperative to their success — and to the economic success of the state as a whole. "Even though Nebraska has one of the lowest corn checkoff rates in the country, Nebraska corn producers put more resources into promoting the livestock industry than any other state," said Jon Holzfaster, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board.

"Our commitment to the U.S. Meat Export Federation and our promotions of Nebraska beef and pork around the world are a testament of our partnership with the livestock industry," said Holzfaster, a corn and cattle producer from Paxton. "We’ve also helped make Nebraska a leading state for the understanding and use of the corn ethanol co-product distillers grains."

The potential to turn corn and corn co-products into value added products like meat is tremendous – since 94 percent of the world’s population resides outside of the United States. "More people around the world move into the middle income bracket each year. China and India have moved 300 million people into the middle income bracket, which is more than the entire population of the United States," said Dennis Gengenbach, vice chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board. "This gives us a great opportunity to meet the growing demand for protein around the world."

Gengenbach is a corn and cow-calf producer from Smithfield.

Although the resumption of beef exports to South Korea is important for U.S. beef producers, U.S. beef has only regained about 60 percent of the pre-BSE market in Korea and Japan — two very important U.S. beef customers. "That’s costing the U.S. beef industry about $50 million a week," Gengenbach said. "Just think if we can regain that last 40 percent, and the revenue that would generate for Nebraska cattle producers."

Nebraska Corn Board director Mark Jagels from Davenport, said checkoff investments from corn and soybean producers have funded numerous point of sale events and other promotions for beef and pork in Asia and around the world. "These kinds of investments make a difference and translate into more sales of U.S. meat, and better prices for livestock producers," said Jagels, who is a nominee for the executive committee of the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

Other efforts in partnership with the Nebraska Beef Board promote sales of beef here in Nebraska, especially during Beef Month, Jagels said.

Holzfaster added that Nebraska has the unique opportunity to take corn, add value to it by producing ethanol and then utilize the ethanol co-product distillers grains to add value again by feeding it to livestock. "No other state is as well situated to take advantage of this combination as Nebraska," he said.