Source: NATIONAL ASSOC. OF STATE DEPTS. OF AGRICULTURE, 10/12/17

Members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and their counterparts from Mexico and Canada will gather in Denver, Colorado next week for the 26th annual Tri-National Agricultural Accord. The Tri-National Agricultural Accord represents a longstanding commitment among the senior state and provincial agricultural officials of Canada, the United States, and Mexico to work together collaboratively on agricultural trade and development issues. The vital importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the agriculture and food processing economies of all three countries will be the key focus of this year’s Accord.

“As our federal governments continue to negotiate a modernized NAFTA, it is imperative that the gains agriculture has made under NAFTA are preserved and that we 'do no harm’ so that agricultural trade with our North American neighbors can continue to grow and prosper,” said NASDA President and Connecticut Commissioner of Agriculture Steven Reviczky. “We look forward to meeting with our colleagues from Canada and Mexico to unite in emphasizing NAFTA’s importance for agriculture and to urge that agriculture takes a front seat in these negotiations.” 

Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Don Brown is hosting this year’s Tri-National Accord. The U.S. Delegation will be led by NASDA President and Connecticut Commissioner of Agriculture Steven Reviczky, with Michigan Director of Agriculture Jamie Clover Adams chairing the U.S.-Canada Bilateral and Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese chairing the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral. The Canadian delegation will be led by Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeff Leal and the Mexican delegation will be led by Jalisco Secretary of Rural Development Héctor Padilla Gutiérrez. 

The Tri-National Agricultural Accord is hosted by one of the three countries each year. In the United States, the Accord is hosted through the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). The 2018 Tri-National Agricultural Accord will be hosted by Mexico.

NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories. NASDA grows and enhances agriculture by forging partnerships and creating consensus to achieve sound policy outcomes between state departments of agriculture, the federal government, and stakeholders.