Despite an unsettled trade climate, exports of U.S. beef and pork continue at a brisk pace, creating jobs and putting more dollars into livestock farmers’ pockets, executives with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said last week.

“We are very pleased with the results we have seen in red meat exports so far this year,” Phillip Seng, an Iowa native who is USMEF’s chief executive officer, said during a teleconference prior to the group’s annual meeting in Arizona. “Clearly, the international markets want our beef and pork. Exports are growing faster than our production gains here in the U.S., and that’s adding profits for producers.”

Beef exports robust

Beef exports have posted outstanding gains so far in 2017, the meat...