US meat export group elects new officers

Leann Saunders of Castle Rock, Colorado, is USMEF chair, succeeding Mark Jagels. Co-founder of agricultural and food verification and certification company Where Food Comes From, Saunders has also previously held positions at PM Beef Holdings, where USMEF said she developed the first ever USDA process verified programme for US beef.

She has been involved with USMEF for more than 15 years, and spoke highly of the organisation: “It is the rich diversity of USMEF that really makes it such an exceptional organisation. USMEF gives us the opportunity to see issues from different vantage points, get together and make a decision, align on that decision and move forward together.”

Roel Andriessen from Tyson Fresh Meats is the new USMEF chair-elect. Bruce Schmoll, a soybean and corn producer from Claremont, Minnesota, is the new vice-chair, while Dennis Stiffler, chief executive officer of Mountain States Rosen, will serve as the secretary-treasurer.