DENVER — The US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) announced the two recipients of its most prestigious awards in 2024. Nick Giordano, the former lead lobbyist for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), and Mark Jagels, a fourth-generation farmer and livestock producer from Davenport, Neb., will both be honored at the USMEF Strategic Planning Conference in Tucson, Ariz., on Nov. 7.

Giordano will receive the Michael J. Mansfield Award, established in recognition of the US Senate majority leader and ambassador to Japan whose five decades of government service advanced US trade relations worldwide.

Giordano joined NPPC in 1995 and, for nearly three decades, was deeply involved in negotiating major trade initiatives impacting US agriculture, working on expanding, protecting, and preserving international market share for US pork.

“The best career decision I ever made was to join NPPC, which was one of the first organizations to hire someone to work on trade policy full time,” Giordano said. “It was right after NAFTA had been negotiated and trade was really just starting to heat up. This was the year that the US went from being a net importer of pork to a net exporter of pork. If you don’t have market access, you don’t have anything. So these trade agreements were foundational, and we got a lot of really good deals. That was because, not just yours truly, and not just the NPPC leadership, but rank and file producers across the country stepped up. They understood that this was very important to their bottom line.”

Giordano added that the market access secured through NAFTA, the Korea-US FTA and various trade agreements in Latin America laid the groundwork for market development efforts led by USMEF.

“Once we got that access, USMEF was able to develop relationships with importers and help US exporters find their footing in these markets,” he said. “It was a really exciting period and a great example of US agriculture pulling together. I am happy to have played a role in all of this, and I am so honored and thankful to be recognized by USMEF.”

Jagels will receive the USMEF Distinguished Service Award, which honors outstanding figures in the red meat industry who exemplify the exceptional, individual dedication responsible for the federation’s success.

Jagels became involved with USMEF through the Nebraska Corn Board, a longtime member and supporter of the federation. He eventually joined the USMEF executive committee and chaired the organization in 2014-15.

“I was first appointed to the Nebraska Corn Board in 1999, and I didn’t know a lot about USMEF at that point,” Jagels explained. “But my fellow board member Rod Hassebrook and Don Hutchens, who was executive director at the time, pushed all Corn Board members to get involved and make a difference somewhere. That’s when I really became interested in everything USMEF was doing and in what the organization stood for and could see how that work was having a positive impact on producers.”

Jagels was attracted to the collaborative nature of USMEF, where he saw all levels of the red meat supply chain working together toward a common goal.

Looking back at his time with USMEF, Jagels said it was rewarding to visit international markets and help explain the quality attributes of US red meat to buyers and consumers. He also has enjoyed bringing prospective customers to his farm, where he has hosted buyer teams from several key export markets.

“It’s gratifying to bring in chefs and other international visitors and explain to them that we don’t raise anything here that I won’t feed to my own family,” he said. “That’s a powerful message and a real eye-opener for them.”

Jagels remains active with several Nebraska agricultural organizations, with international trade often at the forefront.