The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) hosted the Ohio-Israel Agricultural Initiative Advisory Committee meeting at ODA’s campus on Tuesday, May 17.

The program is sponsored by the Negev Foundation and is dedicated to improving agricultural trade and research and development ties between Ohio and Israel by working with government, academic, and business entities and growers in both regions.

“We are very excited to host this meeting at ODA and have the opportunity to share what Ohio has to offer to the international agriculture community,” said ODA Director David T. Daniels. “Additionally we were interested to learn about the successes and challenges faced by our Israeli counterparts, and how the issues farmers face in Ohio are similar to the issues farmers face across the globe.”

“I feel extremely delighted to be in Ohio and engage in a collaborative effort in forming partnerships between the state of Israel and the state of Ohio in the field of agriculture,” said Yaron Sideman, Consul General of Israel to the Mid-Atlantic Region and keynote speaker of the meeting. “Both Israel and Ohio are global leaders in agriculture and well poised to leverage each other’s capabilities into partnerships. I look forward to continuing that this week.”

Additionally, three cattle ranchers from Israel attended the meeting and will visit various locations across Ohio to learn more about the potential of exporting Ohio live cattle and genetics to Israel.

This article was submitted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.