Unidentified, unsolicited seeds arrive in MT
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News from the Office of Senator Tester and USDA
MONTANA – The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Kevin Shea are being asked to quickly investigate and produce findings on multiple instances of Montanans receiving unsolicited packages of unidentified seeds that appear to have originated in China.
Tester said, “If folks plant unidentified seeds from abroad, it could lead to an unmanaged invasive species outbreak. Especially in places like Montana, this could be devastating to local wildlife, agriculture, and our public and private lands.”
The USDA is aware that people across the country have received suspicious, unsolicited packages of seed that appear to be coming from China. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, other federal agencies and State departments of agriculture to investigate the situation.
The USDA urges anyone who receives an unsolicited package of seeds to immediately contact their state plant regulatory official or APHIS State plant health director. The contact person in Montana is Ian Foley, SPRO, at Agricultural Sciences Division Montana Dept. of Agriculture, P. O. Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201; 406-444-3144; fax: 406-444-9466; ifoley@mt.gov.
Please hold onto the seeds and packaging, including the mailing label, until someone from your state department of agriculture or APHIS contacts you with further instructions. Do not plant seeds from unknown origins.
At this time, we don’t have any evidence indicating this is something other than a scam where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales.
