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U.S., Canada, and Mexico working together to prevent ASF

The U.S., Canada, and Mexico are working together to combat foreign animal diseases like African Swine Fever.

Canada Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay says they must address ASF before it comes, not after.  

“We have to realize that (African Swine Fever) is in China, it’s in Vietnam, and it’s spreading right across Asia,” he says. “This type of thing is so vitally important because it takes one to cost us billions of dollars.”

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says it’s critical that they continue to communicate and share confinement protocols.

“I think it’s kind of like neighborhood watch,” he says. “You have to design a program to watch out for your neighbors and guard there if you see something happening and have standards of protection that we all can agree upon.

Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Victor Villalobos says the countries have strong programs in place but must continue to work together.

“There are more and more risks because of the communication and export of products and because of trade so we have to strengthen our relationship to be more prepared for that,” he says.

The three leaders made those comments during the USDA Ag Outlook Forum.