History
Prior to 2003, the Washington State Department of Agriculture coordinated the Northwest Livestock Health Conference (NWLHC). That conference brought together animal health experts from Alberta, BC, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho to exchange information with their animal health counterparts. Staff changes at the Washington State Department of Agriculture and BSE put a halt to the NWLHC.
At the 2005 Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) meeting, the Agriculture Working Group brought forward an action item that would resurrect the Northwest Livestock Health Conference. An assessment conducted with key stakeholders to determine their level of interest was overwhelmingly positive.
Given the desire for a broader focus, the NWLHC was renamed the Cross-Border Livestock Health Conference (CBLHC) and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development and the Washington State Department of Agriculture worked collaboratively to bring the first new "replacement" conference to fruition in Spokane, Washington in January 2007.
The first CBLHC conference in 2007 included a day and a half of presentations and discussions on priority animal health issues as well as a half-day industry/animal health expert breakout session. The industry session provided industry with an opportunity to discuss key animal health issues from their perspective. Agenda topics from both sessions included: Transmissable Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE's), Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, Blue Tongue, Anaplasmosis, Emergency Management Tools and H5N1 Emergency Preparedness, Avian Influenza, Anthrax, Animal ID, Johne's Disease and Rule 2 - Shipments of Over Thirty Month (OTM) Breeding Stock into the US.
Feedback and comments from the 2007 conference were very positive. The general sentiment was that the conference was extremely valuable in terms of the overall interaction and communication between American and Canadian industry and government officials as well as for the networking and relationship building opportunities. One quote in particular is a good summation of many others: "Building stronger relationships with common neighbours in order to improve our markets simultaneously is a good thing."
Click here for details on recent meetings.
At the 2005 Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) meeting, the Agriculture Working Group brought forward an action item that would resurrect the Northwest Livestock Health Conference. An assessment conducted with key stakeholders to determine their level of interest was overwhelmingly positive.
Given the desire for a broader focus, the NWLHC was renamed the Cross-Border Livestock Health Conference (CBLHC) and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development and the Washington State Department of Agriculture worked collaboratively to bring the first new "replacement" conference to fruition in Spokane, Washington in January 2007.
The first CBLHC conference in 2007 included a day and a half of presentations and discussions on priority animal health issues as well as a half-day industry/animal health expert breakout session. The industry session provided industry with an opportunity to discuss key animal health issues from their perspective. Agenda topics from both sessions included: Transmissable Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE's), Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, Blue Tongue, Anaplasmosis, Emergency Management Tools and H5N1 Emergency Preparedness, Avian Influenza, Anthrax, Animal ID, Johne's Disease and Rule 2 - Shipments of Over Thirty Month (OTM) Breeding Stock into the US.
Feedback and comments from the 2007 conference were very positive. The general sentiment was that the conference was extremely valuable in terms of the overall interaction and communication between American and Canadian industry and government officials as well as for the networking and relationship building opportunities. One quote in particular is a good summation of many others: "Building stronger relationships with common neighbours in order to improve our markets simultaneously is a good thing."
Click here for details on recent meetings.