Mike is absolutely correct. I've considered several times now, going to
the effort of driving to the closest USDA extension office (30 miles away),
but to get there on a business day between 8 am and 4:30 pm, I would
definitely have to take at least a half day off from work. (Apparently the
USDA thinks the only people who need to do business with them in the
greater Los Angeles metropolitan area don't live within the area; all their
offices are on the periphery.)

Every time I've had to renew, I've done it using the paper forms.
Although, I've discovered the way to speed the process by a few days is to
use old-fashioned technology and fax the forms in. It works every time! ;-)
(And faxes are about as fast as email or the Internet…)

Also, Karl, I agree with those who suggest getting the plant import permit
while you're at it. Both the seed and plant permits are free, the seed
permits are good for 3 years and the plant permits are good for 5 years,
are good for plant material from any place in the world, and you never know
when you might actually have the opportunity to import something you really
want fairly easily, and you'll already be prepared with the proper permits!
You can even use the permits when bringing back material in your luggage
that you may have purchased while traveling abroad. The seed permit can be
used by anyone sending you seeds from abroad. The plant permit really only
has one catch that makes its use a lot more difficult: You have to get a
phytosanitary certificate in the country of origination of shipment that
must accompany the plant(s). In some cases (like Japan), this is easy and
in other cases (like Brazil), it's nearly impossible. Plus, some places
(like Australia) charge outrageous amounts for the phyto inspection. In
many countries, it is so much trouble to get this one step done, that no
one even bothers to try. (Except for large commercial entities.)

How I wish the USDA would amend their procedure so that a U.S. importer
could have them do the phyto inspection immediately upon arrival. I would
even pay for this! ;-)

--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena, California, USA - USDA Zone 10a
Latitude 34°N, Altitude 1150 ft/350 m

On Feb 22, 2013, at 5:33 PM, Michael Mace wrote:

online,

go

mail

online

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