Managing Change
AMI's convention designed so processors can meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world
by Ken Krizner, senior editor
It has become a cliché to say: "We live in an ever-changing world." But like most clichés, this one is true.
Whether the subject is government, consumers' attitudes, worker safety, technology, or most anything else associated with processing red meat in the 1990s, the rules sometimes change quickly. Staying ahead of the "ever-changing world" will mean the difference between being successful or unsuccessful.
AMI's 1995 International Meat Industry Convention and Exposition is designed to slow the pace of a rapidly changing world. It will allow processors an opportunity not only to digest the changes that occur both inside and outside the industry, but also to put those changes to work for them.
The convention and exposition, taking place Sept. 21 to 24 at Chicago's McCormick Place, will unite thousands of processors, more than 400 exhibits, four "super sessions" and 11 mini-conferences in an effort to present new ideas, information and solutions critical to the meat industry. The education conferences feature problem-solving seminars filled with practical, proven methods for meeting challenges face to face.
While challenges specific to the meat industry are the brunt of the topics, they are not exclusive.
In the opening session, meat processors will be able to step out of their businesses for a short time and hear how to solve the many challenges facing the United States in the 1990s. There must be a renewal of moral commitment to education and business ethics, according to William J. Bennett, a member of the Reagan and Bush administrations, and whose book, "The Book of Virtues," was a national bestseller. He will be the keynote speaker at the opening general session (Sept. 21, 10:30 a.m.)
His speech will address the most critical issues facing industry, employees and families, and refocus attention on the values that he believes will strengthen and preserve American society.
The second general session (Sept. 22, 10:30 a.m.) will focus on the future, and how the meat and poultry industries can meet the needs and demands of a global marketplace through its products. Speakers include J. Patrick Boyle, AMI president; George W. Bryan, AMI chairman of the board and senior vice president of Sara Lee Corp.; and Clayton Yeutter, USDA secretary under President Bush.
Around the world
There will be a definite foreign flavor to this year's convention.
With free-trade agreements among nations taking place at a rapid pace, and the continued liberalization of trade rules resulting from implementation of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade, meat processors from around the world are looking for new global markets to sell their products.
With officials expecting a record 3,000 visitors from overseas at the convention, AMI is attempting to cater to their needs, as well as catch the attention of the domestic audience.
And because the most requested item by international buyers at the 1991 and 1993 conventions was meat, AMI has developed the U.S. Meat Export Pavilion. The pavilion is designed specifically to match international buyers with U.S. meat exporting companies.
It will afford foreign meat industry dignitaries the opportunity to see U.S. products together on a centrally located area of the show floor.
"Our international outreach efforts, including the pavilion, have been aimed at making it easier for U.S. meat companies to tap into the tremendous overseas demand for our products," Boyle says.
Twenty-eight U.S. meat companies will exhibit at the pavilion, and each booth will include refrigerated meat cases and other amenities that will showcase the variety of high quality products offered.
Highlights include continuous demonstrations of meat cutting, preparation, cooking and merchandising. Industry experts and assistants from the Culinary Institute of America, the American Culinary Federation and the American Institute of Wine and Food, will staff the pavilion.
And the U.S. government is getting involved. USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service will promote the pavilion to 15,000 international buyers through its 78 offices worldwide. Advertisements will also be featured in international food and retail publications.
Rules and regulations
Whether a meat processor is American or from a foreign nation, rules and regulations are a part of doing business.
A portion of AMI's convention will focus on environmental issues and how regulatory reform efforts in Washington will affect environmental regulations.
Also on the agenda will be the implications of European environmental standards and their effects on U.S. business.
The three-day Environmental Conference is one of 11 mini-conferences offered at the convention. It is designed to familiarize attendees with environmental standards and regulations.
The mini-conferences will run concurrently from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Sept. 21 to 23.
In the first session, "EPA's Perspective on Environmental Regulation and Enforcement," Valdas Adamkus, an EPA regional administrator, will address the impact of changing legislative requirements for clean air and water.
During the second session, "Environmental Standards for the European Community: What it Means for American Business," Robin Shapiro, a partner in the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, will brief processors on the International Standards Setting Organization, which develops and applies environmental standards to all food in international commerce.
Shapiro's discourse will focus on the effect of international standards on various sectors of the meat industry.
The final session, "Environmental Priorities for the Meat and Poultry Industry: Complying with CAA, CWA, SDWA and RCRA," is designed to assist processors in assuring regulatory compliance in their operations.
John Copeland, associate research professor of law at the University of Arkansas, and Paul Halberstadt, director of environmental engineering and compliance for Armour Swift-Eckrich Co., will list, explain and prioritize relevant environmental regulations.
Another of the mini-conferences will focus attention on operating issues which all stages of meat production and marketing rely on-product cost, product price and product value.
The Economics and Production Conference is designed to educate processors in the areas of meat and livestock pricing.
Considering that the past 18 months has been a difficult time for hog and cattle producers, based on an overabundance of animals leading to decreased prices, this conference is extremely prevalent.
In the first session, "Pricing Livestock: Where Value-Based Meat Merchandising Starts," Wayne Purcell, professor of agricultural economics at Virginia Tech University, will address the pricing concerns of cattle and hog producers.
The discussion will specifically cover the relationship between livestock pricing and value to packers; the conditions under which pricing impacts value; and the effect of procurement strategies, pricing mechanisms and structural change on today's value of livestock to packers-and how things might be changing in the future.
The second session, "Wholesale Meat Pricing: What's the Real Value of Raw Materials and Finished Goods?," will discuss considerations in developing an appropriate meat pricing philosophy. Bruce Ginn, chief economist of Oscar Mayer Foods Corp., and Ronald Brockman, vice president of purchasing and commodity trading for John Morrell & Co., will address issues such as the role of meat buyers, strategies for dealing with the implications of packer consolidation and the relevance of price reporting.
In the final session, John Story, director of meat and deli operations for Fairway Foods, will talk about "Retail Meat Pricing: What Does it Really Cost?"
Motivated by concerns regarding below-cost meat pricing and the purported subsidization of beef by other meats, this session will discuss recommendations for more effective operation of meat departments, and the implications of today's pricing practices for meat categories of the future.
Other mini-conference subjects include import and export, family business, human resources and worker safety, crisis management, efficient consumer response, food safety, refrigerated warehousing, sanitation, and new technologies.
Before and after
Not only is the AMI convention full of information, but the pre- and post-convention schedules can also benefit meat processors.
Prior to the convention, AMI will again present the Meat Industry Research Conference (MIRC), a two-day gathering of the industry's top scientists and technical experts. The MIRC, co-sponsored by AMI Foundation and American Meat Science Association, will be held Sept. 19 and 20 at the Palmer House Hilton.
There will also be the unveiling of new industry research on intervention strategies for reducing microbes on meat carcasses, discussion of the science of risk assessment, and new information and transfer technologies.
The MIRC's first session will deal with the most important-and controversial-issue facing the industry today: food safety.
Officials from USDA, academia, industry, trade associations and allied suppliers will discuss the proposed Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point program regulation, risk assessment for food-borne microbial hazards, microbiological testing, and the identification of critical control points in a HACCP program. The entire farm-to-table continuum will be examined.
There will also be a discussion on meat quality and consistency from producers and packers to processors and retailers. In addition to elaborating on the roles of various industry segments in maintaining customer satisfaction, processors will hear the results of recent industry surveys regarding beef, pork and poultry products.
The MIRC will also examine new information on nutrition, shelf life, packaging and thermal processing.
Following the convention, the show goes on through the International Meat Merchandising Workshop, Sept. 24 and 25, at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.
The consensus is the industry must do more than just ship product to retailers-that there has to be a partnership with retailers to creatively and efficiently meet consumer demands.
The international merchandising workshop is designed to provide the essential tools for packers, processors and retailers to develop partnerships. Industry leaders with more than 120 years of experience in all aspects of the meat business will be on hand.
A comprehensive, interactive schedule focuses on key elements of boxed meat programs and the basic building blocks of meat operations.
The workshop is designed for plant managers, quality assurance managers, sales and marketing representatives, retail meat managers, and corporate meat and perishable directors.
In this ever-changing world, a week in Chicago can lead to solutions and increasing profits.