Beef it's what's for dinner, but could Idaho cattle cross the pond to the United Kingdom after the Brexit vote?
Leaders at the Idaho Cattle Association say the UK's departure from the European Union has sent shock waves through the beef industry, right when they were working on new trade deals.
"We've been in negotiations and talking with the European Union through what we call "T-TIP" negotiations those have been taken completely off the table after the U.K. left the European union," Laurie Lickley president of the Idaho Cattle association.
Even with those T-TIP negotiations being taken off the table, experts in the Idaho beef biz say there may be a silver lining. Previously a member of the E.U. the U.K. has not imported a lot of beef from the United States. The major reason, stricter beef standards.
"There standards are pretty much a non-hormone natural type of a product. The European Union is a very small part of the united states export market," explained rancher Tucker Shaw.
But with the U.K. leaving the E.U and other European countries thinking of following suit, those restrictions may be lifted. Meaning a new market for one of Idaho's biggest economic generators.
"This exit of the U.K. from the European Union may give us some opportunity to get into those countries we've not had a relationship with," said Lickley.
However, the Idaho Cattle Association says competition from other countries could make bringing Idaho cattle to a London market even harder. Ranchers say they're not going to bet the farm just yet,
"Kind of a wait and see possibility, it will bring more partner potentially to the table to purchase American beef," said Shaw.
