Are you confused by SANC?
SANC is the largest project that the National Plant Board has ever undertaken and there are many different pieces of the puzzle. The best way to gain confidence is to attend a SANC training. The trainings are 1.5 days in length and are held at different times of the year in different locations. The trainings are available at no cost to the state and the intended audience is both inspectors and SPROs.
Watch your email for information regarding training opportunities in 2019 and 2020.
Test your SANC knowledge with these true or false questions
- SANC is a partnership among NPB, AmericanHort and PPQ —True!
NPB and American Hort are the primary drivers of SANC, but PPQ has also been involved since the inception of SANC. - SANC will eliminate the need for compliance agreements — False!
Compliance agreements become a part of the Facility SANC Manual and are a vital component of SANC. - The principles of SANC can be implemented at any nursery or greenhouse — True!
Regardless if the facility becomes a full SANC participant or not, the principles of SANC can still be utilized to help make a facility better. - SANC will become fully operational in 2021—True!
Yes, it is true, SANC will no longer have the word “Pilot” associated with its name in January 2021. This means it will be a fully functioning program. - SANC is open to any facility that expresses an interest — True … with a caveat!
It is important to remember that not all facilities are going to be able to meet the requirements of SANC so the State has the right to decline an application. - Nursery dealers are eligible for enrollment in SANC — False!
SANC is only eligible for facilities that actively grow plants. Dealers, brokers or anyone who does not grow the plants would not be able to become SANC‐certified. - SANC certification can be achieved quickly — False!
While the amount of time it takes a facility to become fully SANC‐certified is decreasing, it does take a considerable amount of time and effort. The current average is between 9 to 12 months.
Spotlight on Outreach Subcommittee
The Outreach Subcommittee is comprised of co‐chairs Piera Siegert (NH), and Anni Self (TN). Other members include David Blackburn (AR), Joshua Kress (CA), Karen Rane (University of Maryland), Karen Suslow (Dominican University), and Gina Zirkle (AmericanHort).
The goal of the outreach committee is to promote SANC and the SANC logo. The outreach subcommittee develops and provides outreach materials to states and the industry in order to promote and raise awareness about SANC. The outreach subcommittee works with all other SANC subcommittees to ensure that relevant outreach materials are available to support SANC. Areas of focus for the outreach committee include printed materials, display materials for presentations and Expos, and oversight of the website.
Outreach Materials
Several outreach items are available by request from the SANC website. These include brochures, booklets, promotional inspector’s notebooks, and table and floor banners to be used at expos. New this year is a tip‐in card that provides current information about SANC-certified and participating pilot nurseries. Also new are materials in Spanish, including a tri‐fold brochure about the SANC process, as well as materials that describe the SANC process, critical control points, and best management practices. You can request SANC materials by visiting the “Contact Us” page on the SANC website: sanc.nationalplantboard.org/contact/.
The SANC outreach team asks that requests are made three weeks prior to when materials are needed. Several of the outreach materials can be printed directly from the website as print‐quality pdfs. Ready access to outreach materials in a variety of ways is part of transitioning SANC from a pilot program.
Photo Upload Portal
New to the SANC website in 2018 is a photo upload portal, also available from the “Contact Us” page. Nursery inspectors are encouraged to submit photos of SANC nurseries as well as good and bad nursery practices to this portal to support SANC training and communication efforts.
The photo portal includes guidance on taking and submiting photos in order to protect the privacy of the pictured nurseries. The goal for this nursery portal is to build a library of images of nursery practices in order to develop relevant training and outreach materials. As such, there is no public access to the submitted photos on the SANC website, although some photos may be selected for use on the website.
SANC Website
A group representing each of the SANC subcommittees has been reviewing and re‐organizing the SANC website to increase ease of use and improve content delivery. The group has been working with a contractor to develop a password‐protected test site. The group meets periodically by conference call to focus on specific aspects of the website design.
The new website design highlights the SANC Certification Process and provides information about the SANC program including the benefits of SANC, testimonials from certified facilities, and state training opportunities. Next steps in finalizing the re‐designed website include an external review process, and presentation of the website at the SANC Subcommittee workshop in February, 2019.
Involved in the website re‐design effort are: Grace Dixon (Web Designer), Morgan Dube (Inspector Subcommittee), Susan Ehlenbeck (Pilot Subcommittee), Joy Goforth (Training Subcommittee), Emily Hagen (DRAFT Subcommittee), Melissa Lujan (Evaluation Subcommittee), Piera Siegert (Outreach Subcommittee), and Marcia Wensing (Inspector Subcommittee). Many others have also contributed knowledge and expertise to this project, including Charles Elhard, who manages the NPB website.
Pilot Nursery Updates (12/14/2018)
[table id=4]
* Phase 1 nursery
** Phase 2 nursery
*** Transition nursery (state is able to go through all SANC steps on their own because the state already has a
fully certified SANC nursery)
Type of facility N=nursery; GH=Greenhouse
wip = work in progress
