Charleston, W.Va. — Beef is big business in West Virginia and it could get even meatier.
State agriculture officials say the beef industry has a $140 million economic impact here in West Virginia.
On Tuesday, Governor Earl Tomblin joined state Agriculture Commissioner Walt Helmick and this year’s Beef Queen Jennifer Friend from Braxton County to celebrate the industry with a barbecue at the Governor’s Mansion.
Friend says she wanted to be Beef Queen for a reason. “I grew up on a beef farm and I saw it as a way to promote the beef industry further,” said Friend. She has her favorite beef cuts.
So does Commissioner Helmick who calls beef a “cornerstone of the state’s agriculture economy.”
“I’m committed to finding ways to keep West Virginia cattle and West Virginia dollars in this state,” said Helmick. “We’re consuming, here in West Virginia, $7.1 billion worth of products, that’s beef, poultry, and other food products. Yet, we’re only growing one half of one billion.”
Helmick say he hopes the event will help the beef industry grow.
“This event will help us take this industry to another height and another level, as we move, not only the beef industry, but all West Virginia agriculture products upward.”
Helmick says he believes the state can double the value of what it produces.
He admits that will not happen overnight, but with the help of the beef industry and the folks who attended Tuesday’s event, including the governor, Helmick says he thinks the state can achieve that goal.
Larry Echols, a beef cattle producer in Monroe County, was at the Governor’s Mansion on Tuesday to support the effort.
“It’s important that we as cattle producers get out and promote our products and show people that we have a very healthy product,” Echols said.