Photo by Craig Steinberg

With the state legislature out of session, what’s a governor to do? If you’re Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, the answer is simple: Go to Canada and sell livestock.

While on a trade mission in Quebec, McDonnell announced that the commonwealth has just closed a deal that will allow ranchers to make direct shipments of beef cattle to purchasers in Canada.

Canada is the third-largest consumer of Virginia’s agricultural products, according to a statement from McDonnell’s office. But previously, beef cattle from the Old Dominion passed through middlemen in other farming states before being shipped north of the border. And there’s money in those cows. From the press release:

Five shipments are part of the new export deal to Canada, with several loads having crossed the border this week. At current market prices, the value of each shipment of cattle is in excess of $75,000. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, for every $1.00 in agricultural exports another $1.40 is generated via in-state activities such as shipping, processing, storing, and financing.

Virginia can’t seem to export its cattle enough. In January, the state announced a deal to ship dairy cows to Russia. It’s also pursuing other agricultural deals in “unconventional” markets like Cuba and Venezuela.