From ANLA and SAF:
USDA-APHIS is proposing to restructure the “plants for planting” (Quarantine 37) regulations, and growers have an opportunity to submit comments. The comment period has been extended to Sept. 10.
The proposal is somewhat lengthy, so SAF and ANLA asked APHIS to host a “webinar” to give interested growers a better understanding of what the proposal means. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 14, at 3:00 pm EDT. To register, click here or contact Heather Coady, Heather.S.Coady@aphis.usda.gov.
As an overview, the proposal makes two major changes:
1. It moves all specific restrictions from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to the on-line “Plants for Planting Manual.” Changes to restrictions and requirements would still be done by “notice and comment” but would not require the lengthy, formal rulemaking process. This change is basically a good one, but it will mean that interested persons will have to sign up for the APHIS stakeholder list and watch for notices of changes. (To do that, go to to this website)
2. It proposes to establish a framework for the use of “integrated pest management measures” in the production of some plants for planting proposed for import into the U.S. “when the pest risk associated ... can only be addressed through the use of integrated measures.” The framework proposed is the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) regional standard, rather than the international (IPPC) standard. We believe that the IPPC standard would be a better choice. For more information on these standards, contact us. This new framework will be especially important for cuttings importers, but will likely extend to other imports as well.
Go to this page to submit comments – and please send us a copy of your comments.
For more information, contact Lin Schmale with SAF (lschmale@safnow.org) or Joe Bischoff with ANLA (jbischoff@anla.org).