1. (1) Grading by department. At the request of a seed potato grower, the department may grade a lot of seed potatoes that the college has certified under s. ATCP 156.02 (1). The department shall grade the lot according to this subchapter, based on a grading inspection under sub. (5). The department may not grade the lot until the college issues its certification in writing under s. ATCP 156.02 (3).

2. (2) Grade assignment. Whenever the department grades a lot of certified seed potatoes under sub. (1), the department shall assign that lot a grade under sub. (3). The department may refuse to assign a grade if the lot fails to comply with any of the grade standards under sub. (3). The department shall do all of the following whenever the department assigns a grade to a lot:

   1. (a) Issue to the seed potato grower a grade certificate that includes all of the following:

      1. 1. A unique identification number for the graded lot.

         Note: A graded lot may be a subset of a lot certified by the college under subch. II.

      2. 2. The identity of the seed potato grower.
      3. 3. A description of the graded lot. The description shall include the potato variety and shall identify the storage bin, container or conveyance in which the potatoes were held when graded.
      4. 4. A copy of the tag issued by the college under s. ATCP 156.02 (3m).
      5. 5. The identification numbers of the department seals issued for the graded lot under par. (b).

   2. (b) Issue an appropriate number of seals for the graded lot. Each seal shall bear an identification number that is unique to that seal. The seed potato grower may use the seals to attach certification tags, issued by the college under s. ATCP 156.02 (3) (a), to seed potato shipments from the graded lot. Certification tags shall be those issued for the certification lot from which the graded lot originates.

      Note: The issuance of the seal does not necessarily mean the department actually seals the bag, tote, bin, truck or other container of inspected potatoes. In many cases, the potatoes are handled by other persons after the department inspects the potatoes and before they are delivered to the customer.

3. (3) Grades and grade standards. The following grades of certified seed potatoes shall meet the following grade standards:

   1. (a) Badger state brand. Badger state brand potatoes shall meet the grade standards in s. ATCP 156.12.
   2. (b) Yellow tag brand [grade]. Yellow tag brand [grade] potatoes shall meet the grade standards in s. ATCP 156.13.
   3. (c) Badger state foundation brand. Badger state foundation brand potatoes shall meet the grade standards in s. ATCP 156.14.
   4. (d) Yellow tag foundation grade. Yellow tag foundation grade potatoes shall meet the grade standards in s. ATCP 156.15.

4. (4) Request for grading. A seed potato grower shall make a grading request under sub. (1) in writing, on a form provided by the department. The requester shall agree to pay the department’s reasonable grading costs, as determined by the department. A grading request may cover 2 or more lots of seed potatoes.

   Note: To obtain the form required under sub. (4), a seed potato grower may do any of the following:
   • Visit the department’s website at www.datcp.state.wi.us.
   • Call the department’s fruit and vegetable inspection office at 715/345-5212.
   • Call the department’s Bureau of Business Trade Practices at 608/224-4998.

5. (5) Grading inspection. The department shall grade a lot of certified seed potatoes based on visual inspection of one or more samples of potatoes selected from that lot. The department shall select samples that appear to be visually representative of the lot. Each sample shall include at least 20 pounds of potatoes and the number of individual samples from each lot may vary with the size of the lot. Tolerances for size and defects shall be calculated on the basis of weight. The department shall inspect enough samples to obtain a reliable representation of the lot.

6. (6) Applying tolerances.

   1. (a) The occurrence rate for a defect or size violation in a graded lot, determined as an average of the occurrence rates for each of the samples selected under sub. (5) from the graded lot, may not exceed the applicable tolerance specified under s. ATCP 156.12 or 156.13.

   2. (b) Within an individual sample selected under sub. (5) from a graded lot, except as provided in par. (c) or (d):

      1. 1. No defect or size violation may occur at a rate that is more than 1.5 times the applicable tolerance specified in s. ATCP 156.12 or 156.13 if that tolerance is more than 10%.
      2. 2. No defect or size violation may occur at a rate that is more than twice the applicable tolerance specified in s. ATCP 156.12 or 156.13 if that tolerance is 10% or less.

   3. (c) Within an individual sample selected under sub. (5) from a graded lot:

      1. 1. The rate of sprout damage may not exceed the applicable sprout damage tolerance specified in s. ATCP 156.12 or 156.13.
      2. 2. There may be no more than one off-size potato and one defective potato.
   4. (d) Potatoes damaged by freezing, soft rot or wet breakdown may not occur, at more than 3 times the applicable tolerance specified in s. ATCP 156.12 or 156.13, in more than one-tenth of the samples selected under sub. (5) from a graded lot.

History

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