Kaine Tours Poultry Plant, Hosts Industry Roundtable In Hinton

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine visited Hinton today to tour the Virginia Poultry Growers’ Cooperative, Inc. (VPGC) plant and learn more about issues impacting the Virginia poultry industry. Following the tour, Kaine hosted a roundtable discussion with poultry growers to discuss agricultural policies that affect the Commonwealth.

“It's great to hear from industry leaders and local farmers about different policy proposals that will help boost the agricultural and poultry industries, including more open markets for poultry exports and passage of the farm bill in Congress," said Kaine. "I am optimistic that we will soon have a final compromise on the farm bill that will give some certainty to our agriculture industry, all our farmers and everyone in the food production area. Agriculture is our biggest industry and since Ag and forestry are all about jobs, the farm bill has a direct impact on the lives of many Virginians. So if we can provide five years of certainty, I think will dramatically help our farmers and rural communities be able to plan, as well as know what's coming instead of always wondering what Washington might do next year.”

Kaine, who helped pass the farm bill in the Senate, has urged House and Senate negotiators to move quickly to pass a final package this month to restore certainty for Virginia farmers and to protect consumers from possible price increases.  Recently, Kaine also joined a bipartisan group of nine senators in a letter calling for open markets and fair trade of U.S. chicken products, which would benefit poultry growers in Virginia and enable the U.S. poultry industry to remain competitive in the global market.

Later this afternoon, Kaine will visit Clark County High School in Berryville to learn about their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education programming before concluding his five-day tour of the Commonwealth with a retail tour of downtown Leesburg.

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