The Field Inspection Emergency of 2008
Since 1952, Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth of the United States. In many ways, Puerto Rico is like any other state. In many ways, Puerto Rico is its own country. In February of 2008, USDA APHIS noted that Puerto Rico’s growing season inspections lacked Federal oversight to meet international trade expectations. PRDA’s policy was to establish an MOU with seed companies, allowing them to conduct phytosanitary inspections. ASTA communicated USDA’s position to the industry, which immediately raised concerns. Would the seed be ineligible for export from the US without a USDA APHIS-recognized growing season inspection?
Of the four major companies on the island, only one was accredited under the NSHS for field inspections. Dennis Thompson, Illinois Crop Improvement CEO from 1996-to 2012, reached out to ASTA, USDA, and the Puerto Rico seed industry to see if the association’s services would be recognized on this scale. A complicating factor to this solution was that Illinois Crop Improvement’s winter farm was not staffed to provide inspection services at the level needed to replace the PRDA process in March of 2008.
An “I’ll go” comment from then-Assistant Field Services Director Dave Rambow quickly became a workable solution. “I said I would go on Wednesday, and on Saturday, I was heading to Chicago to catch a flight.” Dave conducted phytosanitary inspections on soybean, corn, sorghum, and cotton for all four major seed companies on the north and south sides of Puerto Rico. Samples were analyzed by the University of Puerto Rico and the University of Illinois Plant Clinics, both members of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) recognized under the NSHS. Much of the work was in soybeans for one major Company, but as Dave recalls, “it snowballed from there.”
When asked what other highlights he could recall from the trip, Dave shared that he flew first class along with Bears Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner. The average field size he was used to seeing dropped from 30 to 40 acres to 0.3 acres. “More paperwork, but the view was better!” In addition to working throughout the island, “I was invited to a high school reunion.” Somewhere in the archives is a picture of a well-tanned Dave Rambow, now Head of Sales at AgDia, taking in a high school reunion as part of his Puerto Rico experience. Flying down on Easter weekend was another logistical hurdle to overcome since Illinois Crop closes for Good Friday.
Today, Illinois Crop’s NSHS-accredited phytosanitary field inspections are still part of the service profile in Puerto Rico. Our dedication to serving the seed industry can be seen in the emails between industry members and policymakers who ultimately counted on a dedicated employee who spent an intense ten days of sun-up-to-sun-down phytosanitary field inspection work in Puerto Rico. We are thankful for all of Illinois Crop’s field inspectors and staff – past, present, and future.
Field Inspection Emergency\100-Years of Illinois Crop Improvement (#4)