When Iowa cattle farmers Steve Rehder and Mike Cline traveled to China earlier this year with a delegation from Iowa, they saw first hand U.S. beef being sampled in stores. It was a clear example of the high regard the Chinese consumers hold for the quality and taste of U.S. beef.

Now, thanks to the opening of China’s market to U.S. beef, Rehder and Cline hope that serving U.S. beef there will be a whole lot more common.

“One-fifth of the (world’s) population is in China. They have a tremendous amount of people. If they get a taste of U.S. beef, they’ll keep eating it,” says Rehder, chairman of the Iowa Beef Industry Council. Rehder is the fourth generation on his...