By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Canadian Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced on Wednesday that Canada and the United States have agreed to recognize one another’s zoning measures in cases of foreign animal disease outbreaks. While foreign animal disease outbreaks are rare, this new agreement will help mitigate trade disruptions while maintaining measures to prevent spread of disease. The new arrangement will outline an agreed-upon process and set of conditions for the zoning recognition. This framework will involve extensive consultation with various stakeholders, including states, provinces and industry groups.This announcement follows a commitment that was made in Dec. 2011 under the Joint Action Plan of the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council – which seeks to work towards enhancing the two countries’ regulations.