LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The changes to the Japanese Beetle Quarantine & Nursery Act record keeping continue to move forward. Member feedback and questions during a conference call on November 7, 2017 and at the Owners & Managers Leadership Retreat were received. The feedback and questions did not require additional changes. The next step is a public hearing which will be held at the Colorado Department of Agriculture on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 9:45 am.
The hearings will be held in the San Juan Conference Room at 305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield, Colorado 80021.
An overview of the changes for both the JB Quarantine and Nursery Act record keeping are as follows:
Japanese Beetle Quarantine Redline Version
To ensure that nursery stock does not enter the state with Japanese Beetles, the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is proposing an additional change. Specifically, under 4.1.2. Commodities Covered, it would changed to:
All plants with roots with the exception of nursery–produced, container–grown plants imported in containers with a diameter of
127 inches or less and WITH A VOLUME OF 252the volume of the container is less than 750 cubic inches(ALSO KNOWN IN THE TRADE AS A “#1 CONTAINER”) OR LESS, except as provided in Part 4.1.3;
Nursery Act Recording Keeping Redline Version
In addition, there is a proposed change to nursery record keeping. Nursery’s that are outside of the eleven quarantined counties and receiving stock from those counties would be required to retain records for a minimum of three years and make them available to the CDA upon request. The specific rule would read:
Any persons engaged in the business of selling nursery stock in this state shall keep records of all shipments of nursery stock imported from outside this state and from AND FROM QUARANTINED AREA WITHIN THIS STATE. These records shall be kept for a minimum of three years and shall be made available to the Department of Agriculture upon request.
If there is additional input that requires changes to the proposal, you will be notified of those changes and have another opportunity to provide feedback. The CDA hopes to bring this to the Agriculture Commission in February 22, 2018. The changes would take effect on April 15, 2018.
If you are unable to make the public hearings but would like to provide input, please contact me at 303.758.6672 or agault@coloradonga.org.
— Allison Gault, CAE, Executive Director, Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association
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