For the past year WWIF has been working with stakeholders across Washington, Oregon and Idaho to advance the cause of clean plants in the northwest, using a systems approach to:
- Update rules and regulations to move toward harmonization in handling and tracking plants between Northwest states (WA, OR, ID)
- Address and inform the process of inspecting, auditing and certifying nursery stock production
- Update antiquated inspection systems by modernizing certification protocols to include the use of current scientific technology
- Provide vine labeling using RFID tag linked to Department of Ag database (in WA)
This work has been funded by a USDA APHIS Farm Bill grant, and on February 16, 2016, WWIF was awarded an additional grant from the USDA to continue this work by developing a harmonized quarantine pest list and multi-state certification program for grapevine nursery stock. The ultimate goal is to increase participation in these programs and ease interstate shipments of virus-tested grapevine plants for planting within the Pacific Northwest. The first year of the project is designed to develop draft regulations for and in support of the harmonized multi-state certification program, while the second year will implement a pilot study in nurseries in two states, based on the draft regulations. WWIF is collaborating with the agriculture departments for Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
