(NAFB.com) – U.S. and United Kingdom agriculture officials and industry leaders met last week at a Virginia cattle farm to highlight expanding beef trade between the two countries following a recent bilateral agreement. The visit, organized by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, brought British officials and U.S. agricultural leaders to Whitestone Farm in Loudoun County as part of a United Kingdom Embassy farm tour. Participants included U.K. Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Emma Reynolds, Virginia Agriculture Secretary Katie Frazier and Deputy Agriculture Secretary Ben Rowe, along with representatives from the U.K.’s National Farmers Union and the Virginia Farm Bureau. NCBA President Gene Copenhaver, a Virginia cattle producer, said the event was intended to showcase U.S. cattle production and strengthen ties between producers on both sides of the Atlantic. The gathering comes as the first shipments of U.S. beef under a new U.S.-U.K. trade agreement reach British markets. The deal, signed last year, expands market access for American beef and follows years of negotiations and industry outreach to British regulators and farm groups.
