Minister Bibeau holds First Bilateral Discussion with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack

Ottawa, Ontario - The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, held her first official bilateral dialogue with the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, in which they reinforced the strength of the Canada-U.S. agricultural trade relationship.

 

Minister Bibeau emphasized the need to work collaboratively on many mutual priorities with a focus on the resiliency of Canada-U.S. food supply chains, climate change and environmental sustainability.

 

Minister Bibeau and Secretary Vilsack also discussed their mutual interest in championing rules- and science-based international trade. Both parties agreed that working together to address these priorities is critical for agriculture to take a leading role in a sustainable recovery that is inclusive, protects workers and supports jobs and businesses on both sides of our border.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how critical Canada-U.S. agricultural supply chains are to food security and to our two economies. By continuing to work together to strengthen and maintain integrated agricultural supply chains throughout the pandemic, we can ensure producers on both sides of the border are finding markets for their quality products, and consumers are getting food at affordable prices.

Video: Season 6, Episode 12: Veterinarians’ Perspectives on Managing Swine Herd Health Across All Phases

Identifying challenges in swine production and turning them into solutions through research and team development is the focus of this episode. Dr. Christine Mainquist-Whigham of Pillen Family Farms and DNA Genetics shares insights on herd health, biosecurity and trial work to improve pig performance. She also discusses her team’s research philosophy, how they evaluate rate of investment and how they gather feedback from employees to address challenges and maintain herd health across all phases of production. Dr. Carlos Roudergue of Country View Family Farms discusses the growing complexity of swine production, especially as technology increases and employee interaction decreases. He also shares how their workforce is shifting toward more specialized roles to support herd health and efficiency.