National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Chief Executive Officer Neil Dierks will be honored on Nov. 11 with the coveted U.S. Meat Export Federation’s (USMEF) Distinguished Service Award during the USMEF Strategic Planning Conference in Carlsbad, Calif.
This award, created in 1991, honors outstanding figures who exemplify the exceptional dedication responsible for the red meat industry’s success in building global demand for U.S. pork, beef and lamb, USMEF said in a release.
“I am so humbled to receive this award because my first opportunity to work with USMEF was when I was with IPPA, helping host international buyers coming to Iowa and taking them on tours of the U.S. industry,” Dierks said in the release. “At that time, and even in my early years with NPPC, there was a conceptual understanding of the opportunities exports provide, but the United States was a net importer of pork until 1996. It wasn’t until more recently that producers really ‘got it’ – when they saw the amount of pork destined for international markets and the positive impact exports have on the hog market – and they bought in.”
USMEF noted Dierks and his team have had an enormous impact on pork trade, especially in securing improvements in market access in key destinations such as Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Central and South America, the Dominican Republic and Oceania, where free trade agreements eliminated or reduced both tariff and non-tariff trade barriers.
“The reality is that before you can promote pork in a market, you have to have access,” Dierks said. “I do take a lot of pride in what NPPC and the entire industry helped accomplish, and the small role that I played in it. I remember some of those trade policy battles, and they weren’t always easy. But that effort has paid off by expanding opportunities for everyone in the pork supply chain.”
USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom praised the selection of Dierks for this award, citing his lengthy history as a tireless and extremely effective advocate for U.S. exports.
“Having worked with Neil for many years on a wide range of critical issues, I can tell you he’s a tremendous champion for trade,” Halstrom said in the release. “Neil is determined to shape science-based policies that give U.S. ag products a fair opportunity to compete in the global marketplace, and this is exactly the type of commitment that has made the United States a pork-exporting powerhouse.”
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