Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts wrapped up his first agricultural trade mission this week with a visit to Novozymes world headquarters in Denmark, where a company tour showcased the production of unique enzymes and microbial products used in the animal nutrition, agriculture, and biofuels industries. The visit marked the end of the trade mission with agriculture industry representatives that also included stops in Italy and Belgium with a major focus on beef, biotechnology and biofuels.

Among the topics discussed with EU representatives was the need to standardize approvals of biotechnology traits for trade. “One of the things that we are finding that there’s a lot of consensus about using the science to make decisions in the EU,” said Ricketts. “Talking about the innovations in bioscience is one of the more important things we did to educate people about what we do in the United States.”

Ricketts says there is definitely a bias against crops developed through biotechnology and there is also a strong perception that American agriculture is all big corporations. “That couldn’t be further from the truth with 98 percent of our farms and ranches being family owned,” he said. “Part of what we have to overcome to get our products more accepted in Europe is to get past that notion.”