Virginia cattle shipment slated for Turkey

By Greg Edwards
Richmodn Times-Dispatch
Published: July 10, 2008

State agriculture officials report that a second shipment of Virginia cattle is awaiting export to Turkey.

A shipment of more than 1,000 Black Angus beef heifers and 1,000 bred Holstein heifers is ready for Turkish buyers, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said this week.

The planned shipment follows by just seven months a shipment of 1,800 bred Holstein, Angus and Hereford heifers to Turkey through Culpeper-based T.K. Exports Inc.

While most Virginia cattle give birth in the spring, the Turkish buyers wanted heifers that calve in the fall, the department said. After scouring the state from Fauquier County to Tazewell County, enough candidate cattle were found for a final selection by Turkish officials.

The international cattle sale is a positive for Virginia farmers, said agriculture department Commissioner Todd P. Haymore. He cited a variety of Virginia farm products that have found international markets from Christmas trees to Mexico, apples to Cuba, and chicken, vegetables, cotton and grains to Canada, China, Russia, Germany and South Korea.

Wheat and wheat products are Virginia largest farm-product export category, accounting for $86.7 million in 2006, according to the U.S. Agricultural Statistics Service. A close second were poultry and poultry products, valued at $86.4 million. Live animals and meat, tobacco and soybeans were ranked third through fifth.