A high-level delegation from the US government visited the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) in Cirencester this week.

The visit was part of a fact-finding trip to study the present state of British agriculture, food and drink.

The visit, which was organised jointly by the British Embassy in Washington, included agriculture directors and commissioners from Arizona, Tennessee, Connecticut, Indiana, Virginia, Iowa and Massachusetts, as well as representatives from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the American Farm Bureau Foundation and the National Farmers' Union.

Professor Mark Horton, the RAU's pro vice chancellor research and enterprise, who organised the visit, said: "We were delighted to welcome the delegation from the United States' agriculture sector to the RAU.

"After a working breakfast with senior RAU academics and researchers, we discussed a number of topics, including animal health and regenerative farming systems, and our work in the agricultural sector in Ukraine.

"We also told them about the history and heritage of the RAU and the university's role in the development of agricultural research and education over the last 178 years. The delegates left with samples of our student enterprise, including cans of our award-winning Cotswold Hills wine."

The delegates, who are in the UK for a week-long visit to Somerset, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire, were also shown around the RAU campus, including the university's agri-tech incubator Farm491 at the Alliston Centre and were told about the plans for the RAU Innovation Village. 

Professor Horton added: "It was a great privilege to meet up with the key figures in American agriculture and to exchange ideas. We have so much in common in seeking a net zero future for food and farming and we hope that this visit is just the start of what is a mutually beneficial relationship."