United States Meat Export Federation officials discussed trade at their recent spring meeting. Two of the major trade areas up in the air include both China and Mexico for U.S. Beef. MEF Executive Committee member Wanda Blair, Vice President of the South Dakota Farm Bureau says protocols are being discussed for opening of beef trade to China while the unrest with NAFTA renegotiation has the Mexican market in limbo.

She says one positive development was the announcement of an exclusive agreement for sending U.S. beef to a major company in South Korea.

Blair says a major concern at the U.S. MEF meeting centered around the President’s budget proposal to eliminate funding for the MAP and FMD marketing programs at the USDA.

Blair says two keynote speakers they heard from at the MEF meeting were Senate Ag Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duval.