Gold Standard HVX

[gesila9]

Chris,

Today I saw an unattended roadside stand in Hudsonville that was covered with Gold Standards severly infected with HVX. I've been by this stand hundreds of times and have never seen it attended (it's one of those pay on the honor system stands). I didn't know what to do, so I filed a complaint on-line with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and checked the box indicating that I want to be contacted regarding this complaint. Do you know if the MDA really does contact you regarding these complaints? If so, what should I say to them if they do contact me.

Thanks!

[Chris_W]

Hi,

Typically they will look into the situation, resolve it to the best of their ability, and then let you know the final resolution. If they do contact you they might just ask to clarify anything, but I've never been contacted until after they checked into it themselves. In the past I've been very impressed with their response to these types of reports. Even though these are ornamental plants the Michigan Department of Agriculture takes plant health seriously no matter what it is.

Thanks for making the report!

Chris

[gesila9]

Thanks Chris, I spotted these driving down the road, that's how bad it was. I left my phone at home, or I would have taken pictures.

[gesila9]

Here's some pictures I took today.

[Chris_W]

That's horrible! I can't believe that first, there is such an operation going on where there isn't even someone there to talk to and second that these people are so clueless about how bad those are!

[ViolaAnn]

Unbelievable! Thank you, gesila9, for reporting that.