Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay delivered a keynote address over the weekend at the Legislative Agriculture Chairs Summit of the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders (SARL) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The annual SARL summit is the premier meeting of provincial and U.S. state legislators.

“This summit is a prime example of the strong agricultural trade partnership that exists between the U.S. and Canada," said MacAulay "The U.S. is our closest friend, partner and most important economic relationship. Working together to identify opportunities for our farmers offers them the best opportunity to succeed, grow our economies, and create jobs.”

MacAulay pledged to work with the incoming U.S. administration and Congress to further strengthen the bilateral agricultural trading relationship between the two countries.

He spoke of the many benefits of the Canada-U.S. agriculture relationship, and the need for continued cross-border collaboration to ensure the respective agriculture sectors remain globally competitive and prosperous.

In 2015, bilateral trade in agriculture and agri-food between Canada and the U.S. reached $47 billion.