The Livestock Exporters Association (LEA) will hold the fourth annual Livestock Exporting 4.0 seminar on Monday, February 16, at the Ameristar Casino Resort Spa in St. Louis, Missouri, in conjunction with the United States Livestock Genetics Export (USLGE) annual meeting. This seminar is designed for experienced exporters, LEA members and industry affiliates interested in marketing livestock abroad.

“The exporting business continues to grow world-wide as do the challenges we face on virtually every transaction”, says LEA President Renee Strickland. “The fact is that we have lots of tools that can help U.S. exporters be competitive, but to be successful you have to know how to tap into those resources.”

The day-long session will give participants an in-depth look inside the procedures associated with shipping livestock overseas, and educate exporters on the sweeping changes taking place in the industry. Officials from the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Services, Veterinary Services (USDA APHIS VS) will be present to review the latest rule changes and provide exporters on country by country update on protocol negotiations.

In addition to updates on the overall livestock economic picture and updates from Washington D.C., special segments will focus on genomic testing in today’s export environment and provide exporters with a clear understanding of how genomic testing can be an asset for livestock exporting in certain countries, and what it can and cannot prove.

The biggest hurdle for most exporters is the ability to meet the disease and testing protocol required of the foreign customer. Livestock Exporting 4.0 will provide industry experts to discuss the various diseases and testing options available. As new markets become available in countries that are not formally open to U.S. livestock exporters, exporters face unique and sometimes specific challenges to complete the process. The segments on ‘Testing’ and ‘Doing Business Outside the Boundaries’ will help exporters with answers for those challenges.

The LEA has developed extensive standards for the safe handling for livestock during export and will provide exporters the opportunity to complete the initial training required, which will help qualify themselves for future audits.

Advanced registration is available on the LEA website beginning December 15 with a cost of $150 for LEA members and $200 for non-members. The registration fee includes all meals for the day. For more information regarding LEA and marketing livestock abroad or to register for the seminar visit the LEA website for details.