1.00 DEFINITIONS

A. "Department" means the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

B. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, or the Commissioner's designee.

C. "Person" means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, limited liability company, partnership, association, or other legal entity.

D. "Producer" means any person who produces strawberry nursery stock for sale.

E. “Strawberry nursery stock” means those species of Fragaria x amanassa Duchesne produced expressly for the purposes of selling or propagating the stock.

F. “Colorado Strawberry Certification Program” means the certification program for strawberry plants operated by Colorado State University, the official state entity authorized to certify strawberry plants in Colorado.

G. “Tissue culture derived” means strawberry plants that were produced in vitro under sterile conditions in artificial media and have been tested to make sure they are free of any disease. All production must be done in an enclosed pest free production site such as a greenhouse or growth chamber.

2.00 STRAWBERRY NURSERY STOCK PRODUCTION DISTRICT

A. All land in the counties of Rio Grande, Saguache, Alamosa, Conejos and Costilla shall constitute a Strawberry Nursery Stock Production District known as the San Luis Valley District.

B. No producer in the San Luis Valley District shall grow any strawberry plants that are not either: (1) tissue culture derived or; (2) certified by the Colorado Strawberry Certification Program.

C. The provisions of these rules do not apply to:

persons who grow strawberry plants exclusively for fruit production; and/or persons who grow less than 10,000 plants per calendar year.

D. At any time during regular business hours, the Commissioner shall have free and unimpeded access to any land in the San Luis Valley District that is planted with strawberry nursery stock upon consent or upon obtaining an administrative search warrant. Refusal by a producer to permit such access shall constitute a violation of these Rules.

3.00 REGISTRATION OF FIELDS PRODUCING STRAWBERRY NURSERY STOCK

A. All producers of strawberry nursery stock in the San Luis District, prior to planting, must register with the Department each field in which they intend to produce strawberry nursery stock. No producer shall plant any field of strawberry nursery stock until the producer receives written approval of the registration for that field from the Department.

B. For each field in which strawberry nursery stock is to be produced, the producer must complete a registration form and submit it to the Department, along with a copy of the written documentation that identifies the propagative source for each variety of strawberries the producer intends to plant in the field and payment of the registration fee of $20.00 (twenty dollars) per producer.

C. All registrations of strawberry nursery stock fields shall expire at midnight on December 31st of the year in which they were issued.

4.00 ENFORCEMENT

A. The Department, through the Commissioner, shall have the power to enforce the provisions of these rules and any order issued thereunder.

B. The Commissioner, upon the Commissioner's own motion or upon the complaint of any person, may make any and all investigations and/or inspections necessary to ensure compliance with these rules.

C. Whenever the Commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of these rules has occurred and immediate enforcement is deemed necessary, the Commissioner may issue a cease and desist order, which may require any producer to cease violating any provision of these rules or any order issued thereunder. Such cease and desist order shall set forth the provisions alleged to have been violated, the facts alleged to have constituted the violation, and the requirement that all actions in violation cease forthwith. At any time after service of the order to cease and desist, the person may request, at his discretion, a prompt hearing to determine whether or not such violation has occurred. Such hearing shall be conducted in accordance with § 24-4-105, C.R.S.

D. The Commissioner may order any producer to take any action deemed by the Commissioner to be necessary to prevent disease and pest introduction within any District identified in Section 2.00 above, including, but not limited to, destruction of any strawberry plants growing in violation of these rules. Failure to comply with any such order within 24 hours or as otherwise specified in the order shall constitute a separate violation of these rules.

E. In addition to any civil penalty or costs imposed pursuant to section 5.00 of these Rules, the Commissioner may, in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., issue letters of admonition or deny, refuse to renew, restrict, place on probation, suspend or revoke the field registration of any producer who has failed or refused to comply with any provision of these rules, or any order issued thereunder.

5.00 CIVIL PENALTIES AND COSTS

A. Any person who is found to have violated any provision of these rules or any ordered issued thereunder is subject to a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation. Each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

B. No civil penalty shall be imposed unless the person charged is given notice and opportunity for a hearing pursuant to article 4 of title 24, C.R.S.

C. Any person who is found to have committed a violation of these rules shall pay the costs and attorney fees incurred by the Department in enforcing these rules or any order issued there under.

D. The producer of strawberry nursery stock on any land subject to these rules shall pay the actual cost of any inspection conducted by the Commissioner, whether requested by the producer or conducted pursuant to Section 4.00 B above, at the rate of thirty-two dollars ($32) per hour plus any additional costs incurred by the Commissioner in analyzing any samples taken.

6.00 STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE

A. January 12, 2005 – Effective March 2, 2005 Strawberries for certified nursery stock production requires particular attention to maintenance of low disease, or in many cases, disease-free status. Most other regions where strawberries are produced in North America have the presence of serious diseases or pests that are currently not found in the San Luis Valley, Colorado. These diseases and pests move easily between fields by using wind currents and through water dispersal. They are often cause for rejection of strawberry stocks for certification. Additionally, producers seek Colorado nursery stocks since they have such low levels of these serious diseases and pests. To further develop, establish, and preserve this unique situation, exclusion of other field-produced strawberries must be strictly enforced.

The purpose of these rules is to implement the directives of the General Assembly set forth in § 35-1- 104(1)(aa.2), C.R.S. (2004), by:

1. Specifying the class of strawberries allowed for production of nursery stock in Colorado and the geographical locations where each class could be produced;

2. Establishing districts and requiring registration of fields producing strawberries with the designated district;

3. Requiring a producer to take appropriate action necessary to prevent the introduction of diseases and pests;

4. Establishing reasonable penalties and costs for violations of these rules;

5. Establishing a method for determining and collecting the actual costs to be recovered from the producers to offset the cash funds expended for services performed by the Department in the administration of section aa.2.