dcarmich

What checks do you get if you've visited a farm/ranch outside the US? (I was coming back from CPH on SK yesterday, and there was an airport announcement to 'please make yourself known to an agriculture officer if you've visited a farm/hiked in the countryside/etc. outside the US').

--Douglas

GadgetFreak

Depends. They will ask a few questions likely. In one case, when I had been traipsing around the edges of rice patties in the jungle in the Philippines they got my shows and checked for dirt on them. Basically cleaned the treads out pretty good with a tool. It depends a lot on the region you are in I suspect. In my case they told me they were concerned about specific types of fungus that can grow on rice.

Dodge DeBoulet

We visited the stone circle in Avebury, England on our vacation last week. Danced around a lot of sheep doodoo while there (no, not *that* kind of dancing); most of the circle runs through grazing areas. I felt obligated to answer "yes" on that farm/ranch question on the I-94.

The immigration agent asked only if we'd "taken care of" the clothes . . .

Cholula

My experience has been pretty much the same as the previous posters. I made the mistake of checking the box showing I had been on a farm outside the US. I was on a business trip through Thailand, Malaysia and China scoping out some new products and it entailed tromping through a lot of farm fields in these countries.
My compatriots didn’t check the box and whizzed through Customs. My shoes got the once over bigtime but I don’t remember anybody poking the treads with a tool. Plus I got the 21 Questions routine. Slowed me down maybe 15 minutes so no big deal I guess.
But this thing is purely on the honor system. There is no way they know if you were on a farm unless you decide to be honest about it.

GadgetFreak

I would encourage people to be honest. I was amazed in talking to the inspector how trained and knowledgeable they are. He was looking for specific potential problems that could be a threat to US agriculture. It was not a TSA type circus. He was professional and thorough and it just took a couple minutes. I have a Ph.D. in molecular biology and know that in this case he was doing very reasonable, targeted and specific stuff. Based on where I was he was looking for particular pathogens that grow on particular plants. Since I told him what I did he explained what he was looking for in some detail. He even showed me some training materials he had showing him what to look for from certain areas of the world. Please cooperate with these folks, it is important.

hp_fa

I also suggest people be honest about this issue. It is done to protect the US agruculture industry from foreign biological material that could substantially harm the US. Unlike the lighter ban and the show carnival, this one makes sense.

stinky123

When we came back from Wales, where we had stayed on a farm, we had to walk through a trough of some kind of solution at US customs and then raise the soles of our feet and have them sprayed with something.

Interestingly, I'm not sure all of us were wearing the same shoes that had actually touched the turf at said farm. Pretty sure some of the shoes were in the suitcase.

Xyzzy

I, too, have found these inspectors to be entireley reasonable. I generally check off the "food" box and have a brief discussion with them about what I have. They rarely send us for secondary, but on occasion they send our stuff through a special X-Ray like device to see what's inside. We're always careful to only bring back stuff that's allowed. For example, if bringing back cheese it can only be hard cheese so I write that on the form so they know that I know the rules.

With regard to being on a farm, etc. you may wish to write on the form (next to the box) exactly where you were (ie "sheep farm") so they can make an educated decision about sending you to secondary rather than just sending you there because you checked the box.

SDF_Traveler

As other posters have said, when it comes to this question, be honest and check yes.

It may hold you up a few minutes, but the individuals I've dealt with when checking yes were experts. They ask specific questions and they are looking for specific threats to US Agriculture.

In one case I had my shoes looked at and cleaned for me , in another case I had the soles of my shoes soaked in a solution of some type (this was during the foot/hoof and mouth episodide, IIRC).

It was explained to me soil and pathogens, etc, can collect on shoes and other items when one goes onto farm land outside of the US - which has the potential to endanger US agriculture if these pathogens (or even types of seeds from soil) are brought into the USA.

SDF_Traveler

MichaelCharlie

When my parents, my husband and I returned from England last year (where we had stayed a week in a converted barn in the middle of a sheep pasture in Yorkshire), both my father and my husband answered all of the questions exactly the same. My husband and I were sent for secondary screening, my parents were not.

I think we were even in the same Customs line -- so maybe it was just being the second couple going through that made them decide that we needed to be checked out more...

exerda

A little off-topic, but a lot of people bring back unpasteurized cheeses from Europe, where they're legal and of no harm to anyone. They're not only illegal to bring back to the US, but illegal to have in the US, period. The silly FDA is concerned people can catch things like lysteriosis from raw-milk cheeses that aren't hard and aged at least 60 days (parmesan, for instance, is "safe" due to its dryness and aging) This is complete crap by the FDA, of course--there are no documented cases of death and very few of illness from consuming raw milk cheeses in the US, but we're such a safety conscious society that Uncle Sam has to decide what risks we can take... next thing you know, they'll ban any steaks cooked to less than well-done

In the past, the Customs agents have had a bit of a spitting contest with the FDA over funding and have pretty much ignored violations of the rules. I don't know how this is anymore, but I don't intend to find out anytime soon. Seems they would be able to smell most cheeses you bring back.

GadgetFreak

Trade sanctions may also be involved in this.

klawsteve

mad cow, foot-in-mouth, bird flu.

(go vegan)

bigred93

No, it's their regulatory mission. Risk is to be minimized, no matter how small. Therefore if the chance of listeriosis causing even one serious case (presumably someone immune suppressed) is a positive number - even a very very small positive number - they view that as sufficient reason to put the kibosh on imports. Balancing risks isn't their mandate - minimizing risks is. Sounds crazy to me, I'd much rather have a situation where grownups can make informed decisions about risks (as if we don't already just by walking out of the house in the morning) but in this legal environment we have today...

Similar issue with thalidomide. To my knowledge the only downside to thalidomide are to fetuses. Now, those downsides are severe and obviously there were some terrible things that happened to some babies back in the 60s. However, thalidomide does some great things too - I believe it's a good therapy for some AIDS related symptoms, etc., but the view is that if it's on the market, some pregnant woman might take it by accident, and that's too much risk to take. Even if it was only prescribed to men and post-menopausal women.

oklAAhoma

Exactly! There is actually a reason for these precautions.

I just pull my farm/ranch boots from the suitcase and the inspector disinfects them and returns them in a plastic bag.

The only time I have had any type of problem was the trip when I presented very muddy boots to the agent. (Normally I clean them before I head home.) I received a stern lecture about bringing potential diseases into the country and I didn't help my case much when I told the agent - truthfully- that it was US mud on my boots. He didn't believe me that I hadn't had the time nor the inclination to clean them before I headed overseas.