The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) hosted one of the tour stops on a United Kingdom Embassy Farm Tour at Whitestone Farm in Virginia. During the tour stop, stakeholders from Virginia and the United Kingdom met for a round table discussion and included Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Rt. Hon. Emma Reynolds MP, Virginia Agriculture Secretary Katie Frazier and Virginia Deputy Agriculture Secretary Ben Rowe. Also in attendance were leaders from the Virginia Farm Bureau and the U.K.’s National Farmers Union.
According to NCBA, “The U.S. signed a trade deal with the United Kingdom last May, significantly increasing market access for U.S. beef. This follows years of hard work by NCBA to build a foundation for a trade deal with the U.K., including numerous meetings with British industry stakeholders; Members of Parliament; the British Embassy; the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and other top British authorities. NCBA will continue to engage British consumers and stakeholders to build trust, ensuring more top-quality U.S. beef is exported to the U.K.”
NCBA President Gene Copenhaver said, “NCBA hosted this event to showcase U.S. cattle producers and share the great story of U.S. beef, which continues to resonate with British consumers as demand for American beef grows in the United Kingdom. NCBA engages continually with our international trading partners to expand market access and create more opportunities for U.S. producers. This event highlighted the shared values of British and American producers and the production practices that are common to both sides of the Atlantic, those commonalities make us ideal trading partners. With the first shipments of U.S. beef exports reaching the U.K. this week, the event was a great opportunity to celebrate our reciprocal trade deal.”
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.