The Oregon Department of Agriculture advises growers and transporters of hay and straw that shipments may be turned back at the California border without proof that the shipment is free of cereal leaf beetle. A quarantine on hay and straw shipments to California not only affects large scale shippers, but even those who may be transporting a single bale. Those letters will allow the material entry into California. Anyone transporting hay, straw, sod, bulk shipments of grass seed or grain, and used harvesting equipment or machinery is affected by the California quarantine. Also affected is anyone transporting cut or balled Scotch, red or Austrian pine trees as well as any livestock hauler carrying show animals along with hay or straw for use as feed or bedding.
Bedding used exclusively in shipment is exempt.
With several livestock shows scheduled this fall in Northern California, a number of animals and their owners are expected to arrive from Oregon. Without proper certification or paperwork, shippers will be stopped at the border and not allowed to enter or will have affected materials confiscated. Cereal leaf beetle was first found in the U.S. in Michigan in 1962. It has since infested the Eastern U.S. and was identified in Oregon for the first time this past April. The pest has also been found in the State of Washington.