March 3, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		 CONTACT: Ralph Peck
406-444-3144
Washington, D.C. -- The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture hosted a meeting of senior agricultural officials from fourteen northern states and six Canadian provinces on March 2 to discuss trade in products ranging from swine to planting seeds. The result was a five-month work plan designed to produce significant progress in fifteen specific areas of trade.

The meeting was the latest in a series of exchanges under the auspices of the States/Provinces Agricultural Accord, an agreement among the top U.S., Canadian, and Mexican officials at the state and provincial level to cooperate in seeking solutions to trade issues of regional importance.

"At the end of the day, many of the international issues that worry our farmers and ranchers must be addressed at the Federal level," according to Ralph Peck, Montana Director of Agriculture and the chair of the U.S. side of the U.S./Canada Accord Working Group. "However, we're finding that Federal officials are becoming more sensitive of the need to obtain local input as they work on these problems, since they usually have a strong regional component. We opened our meeting with a frank discussion with the officials from both countries who have been leading at the Federal level, and it's clear that they're listening."

Dwain Lingenfelter, Minister of Agriculture and Food and Deputy Premier of the Province of Saskatchewan let the Canadian delegation. "Our producers have told us they want to see trade issues dealt with before they become disruptive border disputes," Lingenfelter said. "This meeting is an important step. We have an aggressive agenda which shows the commitment provinces and states have to work on these issues together."

Execution of the bilateral work plan, which includes a series of issue-oriented meetings among state and provincial officials and producer representatives, will set the stage for for the annual States/Provinces Agricultural Accord meeting, scheduled to take place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, July 27-29, 2000.

In recognition of the importance of this annual meeting of state and provincial leaders as a focus of attention on the need to remove unnecessary barriers to trade along the U.S./Canadian border, Federal trade negotiation officials have decided to hold the next meeting of the U.S./Canadian Consultative Committee on Agriculture in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, one day prior to the opening of the Agricultural Accord meeting.

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