True Measure of Container Volume Do you ship your plants to Pennsylvania? If so, the following note may be of interest to you. Dear Industry Leader: In response to the green industry's concerns regarding compliance with several issues relating to the sale of hanging baskets and flowerpots, the Department has extended the compliance date to April 1, 2004. Over the course of several months, the Department and the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association (PLNA) have been working to resolve this issue. Both parties agree that these issues must be resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible to meet the requirements of Pennsylvania law and protect the consumer. For these reasons, we ask for your cooperation to immediately being transitioning to compliance by inventorying your stock and developing a business strategy to be in compliance by April 1, 2004. Background: Pennsylvania law (Pennsylvania Code Title 70) requires that container advertisements and labels must accurately reflect the true measure of the actual container volume. This includes references to "gallon" or "quart" nursery containers and other pots using Imperial measures that don't actually contain that measure. Department regulations also provide that a pot that is advertised or labeled by linear measure, e.g. a " 4 1/2 inch" pot must measure 4 ‡ inches on a side if it is square and 4 ‡ inches at the inside diameter at the top of the pot if it is round. In measuring diameter, we will use the inside diameter of the pot. The containers do not have to have a label. However, if it does, it must indicate the correct measure or volume of the container. The Department understands there are many containers in warehouses and circulation that are labeled incorrectly. We also understand there cannot be an overnight fix to the problem. For these reasons, we are willing to give the green industry until April 1, 2004 to work through the inventories and bring the sizes and volumes into compliance. Contact information are available on the Department's website, www.pda.state.us. If you have questions or require more information, contact Ken Deitzler, Chief of Weights and Measures, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards at (717) 787-9089 or email to kdeitzler@state.pa.us