Section 4. Appeal Procedures
A. Any grower who has a potato field rejected
for certification by an MSU inspector shall have that field re-visited by the
MSU chief inspector for verification or rejection of the original inspector's
decision. If the field is rejected by
the MSU chief inspector, the grower will be immediately notified verbally and
will be sent a registered letter postmarked within five (5) days of the date of
inspection.
B. If a grower disagrees with a decision
rendered by a certification inspector on a crop or any other decision
resulting in non-certification of a crop, the grower may appeal this
decision. The grower must file a
certified letter of appeal within five (5) days of receiving the decision
notice. The letter should be signed,
dated and mailed to Director, Seed Potato Certification, MSU-Bozeman, PO Box
172060, Bozeman, Montana 59717-2060.
C. Upon receipt, the letter will be submitted
to the Head of the Department of Plant Science, or a designated representative
if the Department Head is not available within the time frame of the
appeal. The Head of the Department of
Plant Science will make the final decision for the University. Within seven (7) days after receipt of the
letter, the complainant will be notified of the University's ruling.
D. Roguing or sorting is not permitted
between the time of the initial inspection and the re-examination of the
field(s) or storage(s) when growers have submitted an appeal. Violators shall lose the right of appeal and
shall have certification rejected.