LIVESTOCK PROMISES STRONG CORN DEMAND

May 29, 2012  |  Today's News

At a recent meeting of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, word was that there continues to be a strong demand for meat protein worldwide. The Illinois Corn Marketing Board invests corn checkoff dollars with the USMEF to promote the consumption of beef and pork in overseas markets.

ICMB director Lou Lamoreux said that the news from USMEF is encouraging. “It’s great to see that the worldwide demand for beef and pork is staying strong. In fact, the first quarter of 2012 saw especially strong demand for our Asian trading partners to import U.S. meat.”

“Our contacts overseas told us that the most recent case of BSE in this country was reported by foreign news media in a fair and balanced fashion with little sensationalism. Large scale retail outlets did not cancel orders for beef,” Lamoreux added.

The U.S. livestock industry is a large customer of corn. In fact, corn holds the top spots in livestock rations with corn at #1 and DDGS holding the #2 spot for ration inclusion. U.S. beef and U.S. pork are gaining ground with brand recognition in important markets like Japan.