1. (1) Field inspection. Before the college certifies a lot of seed potatoes, the college shall conduct at least 2 field inspections of the farm on which that lot is being grown. The college shall visually inspect at least 100 potato plants per acre of plants from which the lot is produced, and may inspect any other potato plants growing on the farm. The inspection of a potato plant may include a visual inspection of the plant and any tubers from the plant. The college shall inspect potato plants for compliance with the standards in s. ATCP 156.03 (2) and (3).
2. (2) Harvest inspection. Before the college certifies a lot of seed potatoes, the college shall visually inspect a representative sample of harvested tubers chosen from that lot. The college shall choose the tubers at harvest, or after the tubers have been harvested and stored. The college shall visually inspect at least 100 tubers for each harvested acre of tubers comprising the lot, and may inspect any other tubers harvested from the farm. The college shall inspect tubers for compliance with the standards under s. ATCP 156.03 (3).

3. (3) Post-harvest test.

   1. (a) Except as provided in par. (b) or s. ATCP 156.03 (4) (b), the college shall conduct a post-harvest test on each lot of certified seed potatoes. The college shall conduct the post-harvest test according to par. (c). The college may not certify foundation seed potatoes until it completes the post-harvest test, but may certify other seed potatoes before completing the post-harvest test.

      Note: The college must perform a post-harvest test before certifying foundation seed potatoes. The college may certify other seed potatoes before completing a post-harvest test, but must withdraw the certification if the post-harvest test shows a violation of standards under s. ATCP 156.03 (4).

   2. (b) No post-harvest test is required under par. (a) if the certified lot will be planted in the following season on fewer than 0.25 acres and only on the grower’s own farm.
   3. (c) For a post-harvest test under par. (a), the grower shall deliver to a location specified by the college a representative sample of 400 tubers for every 50 acres from each lot to be certified, with a maximum of 4 samples per lot. Each tuber shall be 1¾ to 2¼ inches in diameter and no more than 2½ inches long. The college shall plant the tubers in a winter growing location chosen by the college. The college shall inspect the potato plants and potatoes grown from those tubers for compliance with the standards under s. ATCP 156.03 (4) (a).
   4. (d) The college shall deny or withdraw its certification of a seed potato lot if the seed potato grower impedes or fails to permit a post-harvest test under this subsection. If the college is unable to perform a post-harvest test because of conditions outside the control of the seed potato grower or the college, the lack of a post-harvest test does not affect the validity of a certification under s. ATCP 156.02 (1).

History

History: CR 06-085: cr. Register April 2007 No. 616, eff. 5-1-07.