U.S. SOD CHECKOFF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD OPEN UNTIL DECEMBER 15, 2023
By Casey Reynolds, PhD
If you’ve attended a sod industry meeting or read articles in Turf News in the last 18-24 months where there has been discussion around the proposed U.S. Sod Checkoff program, you have likely heard mention of an item called the Public Comment Period.
Public Comment Period for the Proposed U.S. Sod Checkoff Te Public Comment Period is everyone’s opportunity to provide comments on the proposed program and means that sod producers, university faculty members, green industry trade associations, landscapers, athletic field managers, or anyone else for that matter, has 60 days to do so before it potentially proceeds to the next steps.
After the 60-day public comment period is complete, the USDA will review all public comments and respond to them publicly. Tey will make any changes requested by the industry and then post the final version of the proposed program for further review. At some point after that, there will be further announcements about the voting period, how to register, and so on. In a nutshell, it is safe to say that we are still a long way off from voting on a potential sod checkoff program, but the 60-day public comment period is one of the first steps in that direction.
So, what does the public comment period look like and how do you provide feedback? Te public comment period opened on October 16, 2023, and will close on December 15, 2023. We have notified producers, fellow trade associations that represent sod producers, and anyone else who may have a stake in this program. We are here to serve as a resource on how to provide effective public comments and will provide resources on how to do so. Some specific instructions on providing effective public comments follow. As always, please feel free to contact me anytime with questions or comments, and we will be happy to help.
Tips for Submitting Effective Comments Overview A comment can express simple support or dissent for an action. However, a constructive, information-rich comment that clearly communicates and supports its claims is more likely to have an impact on regulatory decision making.
Tese tips are meant to help people submit comments that have an impact and help an agency or policy makers improve programs.
Summary • Read and understand the regulatory document you are commenting on.
• Feel free to reach out to the agency with questions. Tere will be contact information on the announcement.
• Be concise but support your claims. • Base your justification on sound reasoning, scientific evidence, and/or how you will be impacted.
• Address trade-offs and opposing views • Tere is no minimum or maximum length for an effective comment
• Te comment process is not a vote – one well supported comment is often more influential than a thousand form letters.
Detailed Recommendations 1. Comment periods close at 11:59 Eastern time on December 15, 2023 - begin work well before the deadline.
2. Attempt to fully understand the issue; if you have questions or do not understand a part of the posted document, you may ask for help from the agency contact listed in the document. Note: Te agency contact can answer your questions about the document's meaning, but official comments must be submitted through the comment form.
3. Clearly identify the issues within the action on which you are commenting. If you are commenting on a particular word, phrase or sentence, provide the page number, column, and paragraph citation from the document.
10 TPI Turf News November/December 2023
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