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WEST VIRGINIA BEEF INDUSTRY MARKING FATHER'S DAY WITH PRESENTATION
TO GOVERNOR, AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER
Charleston, W.Va. - Representatives of West Virginia’s beef cattle industry will present Governor Joe Manchin, III and Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass with select cuts of “Beef for Father’s Day” at a luncheon ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion Courtyard Thursday, June 7, at 11:30 a.m.
Jenny Carder, President of the West Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, and Bill Martin, Chairman of the West Virginia Beef Industry Council (WVBIC) will represent the state’s 12,500 livestock farmers, who raised 420,000 cattle in 2006 and generate well over $100,000,000 in economic impact to the state annually.
“This celebration renews a longtime tradition of the state’s producers and highlights the value of beef in a healthy diet,” said Commissioner Douglass. “It also reminds West Virginia citizens that agriculture is all around them, even if they don’t see it every day.”
Beef cattle production is second only to the state’s valuable poultry industry. But unlike the more concentrated poultry industry, cattle are produced in every county throughout the Mountain State.
“West Virginia farmers and producers not only help feed fellow West Virginians, but also help feed all Americans,” Governor Manchin said. “Our state produces and exports everything from poultry and cattle to delicious apples and feed grains. We have a top-notch beef cattle industry in West Virginia, and this event is a great way to acknowledge its impact on our state.”
Besides being a favorite selection for the grill, beef also provides a significant nutrition punch, and is a safe, domestic product. Beef is a premier naturally nutrient-rich food, giving you more nutrition from your calories. Beef has eight times more vitamin B12, six times more zinc and two and a half times more iron than a skinless chicken breast. Plus, 20 of the 29 lean beef cuts have, on average, only one more gram of saturated fat than a 3-ounce serving of skinless chicken breast.
The industry has a demonstrated record of commitment to food safety, reducing the incidence of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef more than 80 percent between 2000 and 2005, and has consistently increased per-animal production. In 1980, one average animal produced 449 pounds of meat. The same animal produced 619 pounds in 2006.
For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org, or www.wvbeef.org.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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