Companies participating in the USMEF Branded Products Promotion Program use their own money, leveraged with matching funds from the program, to develop export markets for their U.S. red meat exports. The 16 companies involved in the 2008 program exported pork and beef to markets that included Mexico, Japan and Europe and reported sales of U.S. beef and pork valued at almost $12 million. In doing so, the companies exceeded their projected sales goal by 26 percent. Participation in the program is limited to small companies as defined by the Small Business Administration, i.e., eligible companies with 500 or fewer employees, or be a producer cooperative or an association.
http://www.usmef.org/TradeLibrary/News09_1125a.asp