Revisions coming to greenhouse program, eVGN September 2014
Revisions are taking place in the U.S.-Canada Greenhouse Certification Program (GCP). The changes – not likely to be implemented for at least a year – won’t have a significant impact on vegetable plant producers, but are aimed primarily at ornamental bedding plants that are shipped each way across the northern border of the United States.
According to a spokeswoman for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the original intent for the program was to facilitate shipment of greenhouse-grown tropical and bedding plants between the United States and Canada. Under the proposed revisions, most greenhouse-grown plants, including fruit or vegetable plants that are eligible for shipment between the United States and Canada, will be eligible for inclusion in the program as long as they meet the regulatory requirements outlined.
The revisions are intended to address changing trade patterns and offshore sourcing that have increased pest risk. U.S. and Canadian officials agreed there was a need to revise the program and address the risk.
Growers are being asked to work with state and federal regulatory officials to make sure specific plant types are eligible and to determine whether specific safeguarding measures are needed. In general, plants moving under the program are ornamentals and greenhouse-grown bedding plants, the spokeswoman said.
The majority of greenhouses currently under the program are in Florida, primarily due to the large ornamental plant production in that state. The program was developed mainly for greenhouse-grown tropical ornamentals and bedding plants with a low pest risk.
According to the spokeswoman, the distinction between nurseries and greenhouses has been that the nurseries produce higher-risk woody and perennial plants that are grown outdoors for some period.
During an APHIS webinar in August, it was stated the only greenhouse growers that may be impacted by these changes will be those currently in the program, and the impact will depend largely on what their current greenhouse practices are.
If plant growers have Best Management Practices (BMPs) that already meet the program requirements, changes in their daily activities will be minimal. All facilities currently participating in the U.S.-Canada Greenhouse Certification Program will need to get reauthorized to ensure they meet the requirements of the revised program, but there will be a one-year transition period to minimize disruptions to facility practices or trade.
Kimberly Merenz, a trade specialist with APHIS, said the creation of a new working agreement between the governments of the United States and Canada has been pursued since 2006 and will “harmonize how we’re bringing things into North America. We’re working toward a perimeter approach, rather than each country doing their own thing.”
She said the existing memorandum of understand regarding the shipment of plants into each country has expired, with a new deadline for revisions to the agreement having been set for Sept. 30. She said efforts underway would likely extend the agreement.
She said there will not be a specific list of permissible plants under the revised program, but rather “the eligibility of materials will be determined during audits and reauthorization” mechanisms.
The Greenhouse Certification Program (GCP) has been in place since 1996. The program facilitates the export of greenhouse-grown plants between the United States and Canada by allowing authorized facilities to use an Export Certification Label in lieu of a phytosanitary certificate.
To clarify its purpose, the formal name of the program has been changed from the Greenhouse Certification Program to the Greenhouse-Grown Plant Certification Program. This change was made in response to feedback from stakeholders who were unsure if the program was intended for the certification of plants or of greenhouse facilities. The formal name change makes clear that the plants are being certified. However, the program will retain the GCP acronym because it is well recognized by the facilities that use the program.
National stakeholder organizations were consulted on an initial draft of the revised GCP in the fall of 2013, and their feedback has been used to improve the content and layout of the GCP technical requirements.