A delegation of 24 leaders and producers representing beef, pork, corn, and soybean organizations from across the country traveled to Japan last week to see the impact of U.S. meat promotion efforts up close. Organizers with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) showcased how checkoff investments are driving consumer demand for U.S. beef and pork in one of the nation’s most valuable export markets.
Among those representing the nation’s soybean growers was Northeast Indiana farmer Tom Griffiths, who serves as a director on the United Soybean Board.
Griffiths noted that while Japanese consumers are eager to eat American-style cuts, local cooking realities require tailored marketing and education.
“The Japanese people don’t have grills on their back porch or their patio because they don’t have a back porch and a patio,” Griffiths said. “What we need to do, what we’ve been doing, is training them the best ways to cook beef and pork the way we do it with what they have.”
A key part of USMEF’s strategy involves working with culinary students and professional chefs so they can adapt preparation techniques and share them throughout the industry.
“To be able to see this is truly remarkable in the fact that, you know, the Japanese people want to do that,” Griffiths said. “We’re kind of changing their culture on how they eat beef and pork.”
During the trip, the delegation toured retail meat displays, a beef tongue processing facility, and a Tokyo processing plant and Wagyu auction. Participants also met with USMEF Japan staff and representatives from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service for market briefings.
For grain producers, supporting meat exports is a direct way to expand value for feed crops back home. Griffiths explained that investing checkoff dollars into global red meat marketing delivers substantial returns to American operations.
“That money’s going to stay here in the United States for that infrastructure to raise that livestock,” Griffiths said. “The tax dollars stay here, it’s processed here, employing people here. It’s a lot easier to export a soybean through beef and pork than it is to just export a soybean as far as dollars are concerned.”
The mission coincided with a major milestone for USMEF: Japan officially surpassed $100 billion in cumulative sales of U.S. beef and pork over the organization’s 50-year history.
