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Delegation will push Missouri rice in Cuba

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon at the Missouri Farm Bureau Legislative and Commodity Conf., Jefferson City, Mo., Feb. 24, 2015.A Missouri delegation of 30 people leaves soon on a trade trip to Cuba.  The mission has been planned since President Obama announced a warming of U.S. and Cuba relations that have been frozen for more than 50 years.  Governor Jay Nixon says he wants to make clear to Cuba early on that the state can be a significant supplier for them.

“We wanted to be first in the door, so as they rebuild those relationships they had before, especially in rice, cotton, biofuels, that the connections they had specifically will be the agriculture sector, and specifically Missouri agriculture,” said Governor Nixon, following an address the Missouri Farm Bureau members in Jefferson City Tuesday.

Missouri Ag Director Richard Fordyce in the Derry Brownfield Studio, Oct. 30, 2014.Richard Fordyce, Missouri’s Director of Agriculture, is part of the delegation that will be promoting several of the state’s commodities, but he says chief among them is Missouri rice.

“And while there are other states that produce rice, we think we have an advantage, given our location and given the reputation of Missouri rice across other countries that we export to,” Fordyce told Brownfield Ag News.

The delegation – traveling with the larger U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba – departs Sunday.

AUDIO: Gov. Jay Nixon (2 min. MP3)

AUDIO: Richard Fordyce (4 min. MP3)

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