Christmas tree inspections allow Washington trees to travel the world

Karla Salp
Communications

WSDA inspector Sue Welch checks baled trees

It was a chilly, foggy morning a week before Halloween when WSDA plant protection inspectors Sue Welch and Haley Palec pulled up to a remote Christmas tree farm near Cinebar, just west of Mount Rainier National Park. While most people were still carving pumpkins and designing costumes, at Bear Canyon Tree Farm, the smell of fir was in the air. The farm’s freshly-cut Christmas trees were waiting for WSDA inspections so they could be shipped around the world. 

Bear Canyon Tree Farm’s trees were destined for markets in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. In past years, they’ve even sent Christmas trees to Dubai.

To export Christmas trees to these and other countries, an inspection is usually required to make sure the trees don’t harbor any pests that might cause problems in the destination country. WSDA

Welch finds a slug under a tree, but it isn't a concern
in the countries where these trees are headed

inspectors will visually examine both baled trees (trees that have been cut and wound with string to tightly secure the branches to the trunk) and cut, loose trees.

While baled trees get a close inspection, it’s the loose trees that get the action with a forceful, lengthy machine shaking that will knock loose needles and pests from the trees.

Farmworkers shake tree while Welch observes.

To the untrained eye, the shaking just appears to create a pile of dead tree needles. But inspectors know what to look for. They bend down to carefully examine the pile, looking for needles showing signs of disease or insects that have fallen out.

On this inspection, several insects had lost their grip on the tree, but none were pests of concern and inspectors did not find evidence of any diseases. This was great news for the tree farm waiting to export their trees.

As for the baled trees, they also get a good shake prior to being bound and are then visually inspected.

Haley Palec examines fallen needles for potential pests

Washington ranks fourth nationally in the production of Christmas trees, with all of those trees grown on about 400 tree farms statewide.
Noble and Douglas fir trees are the most popular Christmas trees sold in Washington, accounting for 90 percent of all sales.

But many of our state’s Christmas trees end up in Hawaii, California, Canada, Mexico, Asia, and U.S. military bases worldwide.

Tilth Conference draws ag industry and WSDA staff

Chris McGann
Communications 

WSDA joins a host of agricultural experts participating in the annual Tilth Conference in Yakima this weekend.  Agency specialists from a wide range of disciplines will share their expertise and experience in workshops, meetings and presentations throughout the three-day event that begins Nov. 8.

This year's theme is "Growing a Resilient Future: Production and Beyond," and will provide an opportunity for farmers, food system professionals, researchers and educators to learn from one another, share best practices and network with others in the agriculture industry.

Attendees will have a chance to explore topics such as crop and livestock production, pest and weed management, marketing, certifications, land access, and opportunities and challenges in agriculture.

WSDA staff are among the numerous speakers at the conference, and will cover a variety of topics including:

Market Expansion and Development

• Hear from our Farm to School team and learn the basics of selling to schools and how to get started.

• Later, our WSDA staff will be involved in a panel discussion offering practical guides and checklists for hiring and training (including what hires need to know), market day operations, food safety requirements, booth and display set-up, customer service, working with market managers, and vehicle safety. 

Business Planning Toolkit

• Get an update from the Office of the Washington State Veterinarian, including new outreach materials, animal disease status in the state, personnel changes, new programming, foreign-animal diseases of concern, regulation changes, and the new WSDA website.

Resource Opportunities to Support Farm Success

• Listen to a panel discussion on the Farm to Food Pantry initiative where participating farmers, food pantry managers, WSDA, and Harvest Against Hunger partners recount their roles within this initiative, share their vision for scaling it up and sustaining it statewide, and how attendees can participate in the effort.

Technology, Regulations and Certifications

• WSDA conducted their first season of inspections under the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule. Hear how farms responded and the results of these initial inspections. WSDA staff will share their inspection approach, the frequency of inspections and the prioritization process used by the WSDA Produce Safety Program.

• Take part in a Q&A with the WSDA Organic Program staff and get an overview about the program, as well as updates on program activities. The session is intended to answer certification questions, cover the organic system plan, as well as recordkeeping, forms, processes, and other things to know about certification. 

Market Expansion and Development

• The newest edition of the Handbook for Small and Direct Marketing Farms (popularly known as the “green book”) is now available for free. In this workshop, attendees will hear from the experts behind the handbook, learn what’s new in this updated edition and how to find the information needed for your farm business.

Visit the Tilth event schedule for a full list of the talks, workshops and panel discussions.

From timber to hay, inspectors keep busy and keep exports moving

Sue Welch
WSDA Plant Services Program

Keeping out invasive plant pests and diseases is a challenge for every country, especially since so many plants and plant products are shipped around the world every day. Whether it is timber products going to China or Christmas trees to Mexico, hay to Japan or seed potatoes to Uruguay, it must all be inspected and certified before it can be shipped.

Inspection of logs at the
Port of Olympia.

WSDA’s Plant Services Program has 10 environmental specialists who conduct export inspections of Washington plants and plant products bound for market in other states or overseas. These specialists focus on ornamental plants, and fruiting shrubs and trees, which carry a higher risk of moving live pests, as well as agricultural products like timber, hay and grain. WSDA has a separate program, Fruit and Vegetable Inspection, that focuses on inspecting edible produce.

The author training a
new inspector.

Most countries – including the United States - require a phytosanitary certificate, or “phyto,” before plant products are allowed in. An inspector in the country of origin issues the phytos once they have determined a product meets the requirements of the importing country.

While many of the international shipping inspections are done by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a lot of them are done by WSDA inspectors who are trained, tested and licensed by USDA to issue international phytosanitary certificates.

The inspectors with the Plant Services Program work in log yards, vineyards, nurseries, packing warehouses, or out in growing fields. Growing season inspections are timed to match when disease symptoms will be most noticeable. So tulip bulbs are inspected for viruses during flowering, and grape plants are inspected twice, for early spring and late summer viruses. Logs, lumber and grains can be inspected year-round.

A commercial nursery greenhouse in Elma, Wash.

Inspectors examine plants for symptoms of viral, fungal or bacterial infections, or for signs of insect infestation. Sometimes, before they can be certified for export, plants must be tested and found free of specific diseases. Some products, like lumber, may need to be treated with heat or chemicals to ensure that there are no live pests hitching a ride.

From incredibly destructive insects like the Japanese beetle and gypsy moth, to diseases that can wipe out entire crops, the goal is to do all we can to keep intruders from invading new territory.

Every country has their own requirements for the import of plant products, and they vary greatly by the type of plant, and what part of the plant is being shipped. Inspectors refer to the Phytosanitary Export Database, which lists official plant health requirements for all countries, to determine whether the products are in compliance with the importing countries’ rules.

Plant Services supervisor John Wraspir (L) and
inspector Ed Stansbury (R), inspect tulip bulbs
for export.

WSDA Plant Services inspectors issued 29,584 export certificates for foreign countries in 2017. The goal of state inspectors is to help shippers meet all export requirements so the shipping process goes smoothly and Washington plant products continue to enjoy a reputation for high quality and desirability.

If you need help exporting plant products, contact WSDA Plant Services inspectors at PlantServices@agr.wa.gov or 360-902-1874.

Keeping those who support agriculture safe on the job

Jason Gambill 
WSDA Western Washington Safety Officer

For many WSDA employees, supporting Washington agriculture means spending time out of the office and in the field. So to make sure our employees are safe, WSDA’s safety team has begun a new campaign we call “The day in the life of a WSDA employee.”  

As part of the campaign, agency safety officers are shadowing supervisors and field employees to learn more about their work and safety concerns while offering ways to improve their safety and championing best practices about workplace safety.

Feed inspector Angela Gantuah collecting samples.

Through this new initiative, I recently joined Angela Gantuah, a feed specialist in WSDA’s Food Safety and Consumer Services Division, during a routine inspection of a busy Bellingham chicken feed processing plant.

Traffic collisions are a common factor in workplace injuries, as are tripping hazards like pallets and being struck by objects, like forklifts. Angela and I discussed these hazards, and her strategies for staying safe.

Angela took several samples from peas, fish meal, wheat and other commodities to test for Salmonella and other diseases. Some of her samples were taken from an auger, which was amazing to watch, but can also be a serious workplace hazard. Care has to be taken when working around augers. Again, I discussed this with Angela and offered some tips on keeping safe.

Our agency inspections are essential to the agricultural way of life. Producers require our various inspections in order to export their products to overseas markets. It's my team's job to make sure our inspectors are safe while doing their jobs.

In fact, our team’s motto is “Their Safety Matters.”  I will be shadowing other employees throughout the coming year, playing my part to support WSDA’s staff as they support Washington agriculture.

WSDA hits the rodeo circuit to protect animal health

David Bangart
Livestock/Animal Health Inspector

WSDA Animal Services staff working at the Spokane Rodeo. 

During the busy Washington rodeo season over the last few months, staff from the WSDA Animal Services Division attended several of these events. Officials set up inspection points to assure that both participants and stock contractors were complying with animal health and movement laws.  

Agency investigators and inspectors attended check-in at four of the larger livestock events held in Omak, Ellensburg, Spokane, and Lewiston, Idaho. 

This was the third year WSDA officials were invited to attend the Idaho event and work alongside Idaho authorities to make sure animals in transit between the two states complied with animal health and livestock identification rules and regulations. Unfortunately this year’s event in Idaho was hindered by poor weather conditions, canceling many of the planned activities. 

Later that week in September, roles reversed and Idaho authorities were invited to participate in a compliance effort at the Spokane Rodeo. The Spokane rodeo attracted many contestants from across the western states and was an extremely valuable experience for all involved personnel. 

Brand inspection supervisor, Kris Budde (center) and investigator
Bryant Blake (right) talk to a participant at the Spokane Rodeo. 

Throughout the four events, WSDA officials contacted 121 participants, resulting in opportunities to educate about 39 identified violations -- mostly associated with invalid health or proper ownership paperwork. Those found in violation were issued warnings and required to come into compliance before leaving the event. 

Compliance efforts were sensitive to event operations and timelines and were conducted on the grounds with the permission and support of the organizers. This was yet another example of interstate cooperation to protect the health and wellbeing of our state’s livestock industry.

It’s already Christmas, if you’re a tree

By Mike Louisell
Communications Office

Kids might not be counting down the days before Christmas yet. But for state export inspectors, November means Christmas tree season. Frank Curtin and Scott Brooks from WSDA’s Plant Services Program recently inspected a shipment of trees from Snowshoe Evergreen in Orting.

Curtin said about 2,800 trees were shipped to Mexico.

“It was pretty cool because they were using a helicopter to fly the trees to the loading area,” he said. “The trees were then mechanically shaken for about 20 seconds, a requirement for export to Mexico. Then trees are stacked, bailed and loaded into trucks.”

See the video Curtin shot of flying trees, below. 

Washington is the fourth largest producer of Christmas trees in the U.S. Many of those trees end up in Hawaii, California, Canada, Mexico, Asia or military bases worldwide.

Christmas trees bound for export must be inspected by WSDA. Overseas customers don’t want any dangerous pests or diseases hitchhiking on our trees. Inspections begin well before the holidays approach.