171250_VCTGA_WinterNL_2019_PROOF

Elongate Hemlock Scale Fiorinia externa Ferris

Photo Credit: Kristopher Abell, University of Massachusetts, Bugwood.org

A real Christmas tree from Rifton Farm & Nursery is featured on the cover of the December 2018 issue of the VIRGINIA LIVING magazine, as well as a 2-page spread in the article “Feeling FESTIVE – Home for the holidays in Bath County”! VDACS - Celebrate the Holidays With A Virginia Grown Christmas Tree November 26, 2018 [This is one of the news releases and social media promotions that VDACS sent out for Christmas tree growers and retailers.] Post pictures of your decorated real, Virginia Grown Christmas tree using #VaGrownChristmas . The Virginia Department of Agricul- ture and Consumer Services (VDACS) encourages consumers to celebrate Christmas with a real, Vir- ginia Grown evergreen tree. With ideal growing conditions and plenty of moisture, Virginia’s Christmas tree growers have beautiful, fresh, farm- grown trees available for this holiday season. Search for Virginia Christmas tree growers online at www.VirginiaG- rown.com or on the Virginia Christ- mas Tree Growers website, www.vir- giniachristmastrees.org . Along with choose-and-cut and pre-cut trees, many farms also sell fresh-made wreaths, garlands, holiday greenery,

County level observation Date created: 25 August 2016 TheAlienForestPestExplorermaintains spatialandbiological information for 89non-indigenous pests to theUnited States forests. Someof thesepestsarewidelyknown,butagreatnumberof themareobscure and relativelyunknown. Becauseof thisdisparity, information for this site isgenerated fromavarietyof sourcesanddepictsageographic rangeat the county scale. For someof the regulated forestpests,we collect data fromForestHealthProtection (FHP)and itspartner’s InsectandDisease Survey (IDS)Dataset. For theotherpests, information isannuallyupdatedusingpeer-reviewedarticles,gray literature,museum specimensand communicationswith experts. We strive togeneratemaps that reflect thebestofour currentknowledge for each species;however,adegreeof error is inherent inallmaps.Themapsaredistributed “AS-IS”withoutwarrantiesofanykind, either expressedor implied, includingbutnot limited towarrantiesof suitability toaparticularpurposeoruse. TheForest Serviceand itspartners shallnotbeheld responsible formissingor inaccuratedata.Anaccuracyassessmenthasnotbeen completed for thisdataset. Mapsanddatamaybeupdatedwithoutnotice. For themostup-to-datemaps,pleasevisit theAFPEmapping tool athttp://foresthealth.fs.usda.gov/portal/Flex/APE. Please cite this map as follows: USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station and Forest Health Protection. “Alien Forest Pest Explorer - species map.” Database last updated 28 July 2016. (access date). State level report

Elongate Hemlock Scale Currently EHS is found in Connecti- cut, the District of Columbia, Dela- ware, Maine, Maryland, Massachu- setts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Caro- lina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Is- land, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia. See attached map. Any Christmas tree grower shipping material, which may have EHS in it, to states other than those listed above, may experience difficulties selling their products, or may have their products destroyed. Before any shipments leave Virginia, the growers should look at the Na- tional Plant Board (NPB) website, un- der the State Laws and Regulations tab to see what requirements must be met and any restrictions. This could save a lot of headaches and money. If questions or more information is needed please let me know. Danny Neel Virginia Dept. of Agriculture & Con- sumer Services Wytheville, VA 24382 276-228-5501 Office danny.neel@vdacs.virginia.gov

Rifton Farm & Nursery Tree Graces Cover of Virginia Living

Floyd County Christmas Tree Grower, Rifton Farm & Nursery’s tree graces the cover of Virginia Liv- ing magazine!

VCTGA News Journal ‒ Winter 2019 VCTGA News Journal – Winter 2019

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