Foreign animal diseases and ag trade were among the topics during the Tri-National Agriculture Accord hosted last week by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting also served to increase communication and build trust among ag leaders across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
“What we’re after is a quest to make certain we have that trust and understanding of what we’re going to do and is importantly what we’re not going to do,” said Ted McKinney, CEO of NASDA. He’s also a native of Tipton County, Indiana and had previously served as Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs from 2017-2021.
McKinney says one of the main goals was for ag leaders throughout the states and provinces across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to put together a plan to coordinate their efforts in the event of containing the spread of a foreign animal disease—such as African Swine Fever.
“African Swine Fever (ASF) is in the Dominican Republic, which is not too far offshore from Mexico,” he said. “Mexico is worried that they don’t want it and we, of course, don’t want it. Canada, too, could find it. So, if we’re able to find the funding, we’re going to do a very significant table-top exercise that includes all three countries and work through to make sure that we identify what gaps need to be filled, where are there inadequacies, and what more can we all do on that fateful day if it ever does hit one of our countries.”
Even though Mexico’s import ban on biotech corn was put into place by their previous president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, McKinney hopes that having discussions with the ag leaders of the different Mexican states can help move the needle to overturn their country’s ban with their current president, Claudia Sheinbaum.
“We still have some things to resolve the major point being in November when the dispute settlement committee of USMCA will rule on whether Mexico is right or if they’ve been wrong, and I hope the new president will abide by that. She’s a PhD scientist, so if you’re going to believe in the science, here’s the great example of the leader that should be believing and following that,” said McKinney.
He adds that this year’s meeting also included the chance for state and provincial ag leaders to meet face-to-face with many of the leaders from within the ag industry.
“Industry from Canada, industry from the U.S., and Industry from Mexico were all there and that was quite the hit,” said McKinney. “It was civil. It was diplomatic. It was respectful. [Industry leaders] highlighted things that some of the state government leaders did not know, and so we’re going to continue to build on that because it’s the industry—and at some level of the farmers—who are on the cutting edge of all this. They’re the ones who see what’s working, what’s not working, what’s threatening them, and what’s keeping them awake at night.”
In addition to the joint communiqué, a statement from tri-lateral meetings and statement from the U.S.-Canada bilateral meeting were published at the accord. Mexico will host the 34th Tri-National Agricultural Accord in 2025.
