Message Board - BigPumpkins.com

Deep breath guys. It is frustrating.

I contacted the USDA yesterday in writing. I asked for their formal written inturpretation of how this phyto-cert affects the hobbyist/non-commercial/no money changing hands situation of ours.

We may be over reacting in a very big way. There is a chance we can afix an "Exempt from Certification" declaration decal to all packages sent under the "pedigree declared/variety not stated" exemption clause.

If we spend our time looking for solutions instead of pointing fingers, we might work this thing through without issue.

Steve

1/24/2004 12:52:00 PM

iceman

I hearby nominate "Steve" as mediator.

1/24/2004 12:56:08 PM

burrhead gonna grow a slunger

Ontario, Canada.

great work Steve.

1/24/2004 12:57:35 PM

southern

Appalachian Mtns.

once again, Steve stands up

1/24/2004 1:24:25 PM

Mill Creek West by god Virginia

steve do ya remember the old saying you eat an apple one bite at a time?sometimes the first bite is bitter but as ya dig a little deaper it gets sweeter!lets hope this issue is the same,thanks for the good work hopefully everything will work out a ok!burrhead

1/24/2004 2:35:47 PM

island orange

van isle b.c. canada

hey steve thanx for the info and the effort. as you say there may be a solution yet. great job. craig

1/24/2004 2:40:36 PM

docgipe

Montoursville, PA

Good move Steve. Now push for the exact form and wording the label must carry. Surely there will be standard size, form and wording, or thais is just another example, of our fine servents making noise.

By the time this gets resolved someone will deduct that, for a mere five bucks a pop, in minimums of a thousand the sticker will be availabe...as a service, of course.

1/24/2004 3:56:16 PM

ontario

thanks for you efforts Steve..............wayne

1/24/2004 4:04:39 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Steve do you have a link for the exemption clause. I would like to follow it up on monday morning with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa. Get the letters & phone calls going to.
Marcel Dawson
Plant Health and Production Division
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Ottawa(613) 225-2342 ext. 4355

1/24/2004 4:28:05 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Here is a link I have found that may further help all of us.

http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/USDAComment.htm

1/24/2004 4:53:17 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Please send your USA letters, emails and calls to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) in Maryland (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/).

1/24/2004 4:55:41 PM

Ontario, Canada.

USDA Plans Severe Gardening Restrictions

Direct quotes from USDA Action Plan

"Clean list" - Everything not on government approved list banned.
Penalties - $1000 for home gardeners, up to $250,000 for nurseries.
Interstate movement of seeds - To be prohibited without permit and inspection

1/24/2004 4:56:59 PM

Russ,

I bookmarked the USDA stuff on the other computer. Here is another exemption I just found:
__________________________________________________________
Hard Frozen Containers: Refrigerated containers whose cargo has been endorsed as hard frozen are exempt from packing declarations. For this exemption to be granted, the temperature must be continuously maintained at a minimum of -18 C (0 F) for a period of not less than seven days. Statements such as 'Goods maintained at -18 C (0 F)' must be clearly evident on either the bill of lading or the delivery order, which are issued by the relevant shipping company. The issued date on the bill of lading will be considered to be the start of the seven-day period.
___________________________________________________________
And here's a link to the page it's on:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/swp/swaus.html

This "hard frozen" exemption might be a questionable approach. Zero degrees farenheit is pretty cold for a freezer. But then, I can't imagine how anyone could prove a frozen seed either was or wasn't held at 0* for seven days either. It also doesn't sat the goods must be shipped frozen. Just held frozen for 7 days.

continued

1/24/2004 8:03:52 PM

Don't get nervous about having to make the statement on a bill of lading. "Standard Bills of Lading" can be purchased at most Office Depot, Staples, Office Max, & similar office supply stores around here. Motor freight carriers issue them for free upon the asking to any valid shipper. Canada shouldn't be any harder I don't imagine.

In this case, you the shipper, are certifying the contents are frozen on the day you filled out the bill of lading. So in theory, you hold the frozen seed & the BOL for 7 days. Of course you could just back date the BOL. But I didn't say that did I? LOL

Then you attach the BOL, with the declaration clearly visible, to the envelope (Bubble?) so that postal inspectors can see it without having to tear it apart.

So there's one way around the phytosanitary certificate without even waiting for the USDA response.

I'm already in possesion of the US version of a PS cert that I downloaded as a PDF file. I also found one exempt declaration but it doesn't suit our needs. What we need is the CanadiEn version that I haven't looked for yet.

The funny thing about all this is that I've never requested seeds from a CanadiEn & have no plans to do so. What am I thinking anyway? LOL

Steve

1/24/2004 8:04:01 PM