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Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald attended the Iowa State Fair this past weekend to discuss the agricultural partnerships with Canada and the U.S. (Image Credit: X@AAFC_Canada)
Cross border trade

Federal Agriculture Minister discusses trade during U.S. visit

Aug 18, 2026 | 3:48 PM

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food visited the Iowa State Fair on the weekend and met with government officials and agriculture leaders. 

Heath MacDonald joined Mark Wiseman, Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, to highlight the importance of the Canada-U.S. trading relationship and reinforced Canada as a reliable trading partner.  

MacDonald said farmers work hard to feed their communities and people around the world.  

“I’ve seen firsthand just how strong our partnership with the United States truly is and it’s vitally important that we continue working together—as nations and as close friends,” he said. 

MacDonald met with Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, to continue discussions on the integrated partnership between the state and Canada. He later attended the Governor’s Charity Steer Show. At the fairgrounds, the Minister spoke with Glenn (G.T) Thompson, Chairman of the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee and Brent Johnson, President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.  

There was also a meeting organized with Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig to discuss areas of mutual interest. They also took part in the Celebrity Pork Grilling Event. 

During the visit there were two roundtable discussions with representatives in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors to emphasize the role Canada plays in U.S. supply chains as a reliable source of high-quality and affordable agricultural products and inputs to the U.S. 

alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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