Mystery Seeds (Department of Agriculture)

Dear Mr. Koebler,

This email is to acknowledge that the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) received your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on August 5 , 2020. You requested:

"- Any lab reports, internal communications, analyses, warnings, or other guidances about the mystery seeds.
- Any case reports about the mystery seeds.
- Any forensic analysis or communication with law enforcement (state, local, or national) about the mystery seeds.
- The number of consumer reports as well as the reports filed about the mystery seeds.
- Any presentations or other documents prepared about the mystery seeds
- Any emails concerning the mystery seeds
- Any photos or video related to the mystery seeds

Please search from July 1, 2020 until the day this request is processed."

Please note that in order to continue the processing of your FOIA Request, that we do require the actual mailing address of the requestor. Please email me so that I can add that to your FOIA request.

Also, please note that on March 22, 2020, Governor Carney issued his Fourth Modification of the Declaration of a State of Emergency for the State of Delaware due to COVID-19. That Declaration extended every public body's deadline for responding to FOIA requests until 15 days after the termination of any active state of emergency.

The specific language is as follows: The statutory time periods for responses to requests for public records made pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10003 and for the filing of and response to petitions filed pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10005 (e), whether such requests or petitions are presently pending or submitted hereafter, are hereby extended until 15 business days following the termination of any active Declaration of a State of Emergency.
Due to the modification, your FOIA request may be delayed.

Thank you for your FOIA request to the Delaware Department of Agriculture.

Sincerely,

Stacey Hofmann
DDA FOIA Coordinator

STACEY HOFMANN, Chief of Community Relations
Delaware Department of Agriculture
A 2320 S. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901
W agriculture.delaware.gov

Dear Mr. Koebler,

I have been awaiting your response to my email regarding your FOIA request. According to the email you had sent it stated that “This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests.” Therefore, I was seeking your actual mailing address so that I could continue to process your request.

In response to your request, you can access the press releases responsive to your request here:

* https://news.delaware.gov/2020/07/27/delawareans-report-receiving-mysterious-packages-of-plant-seeds/
* https://news.delaware.gov/2020/08/04/mysterious-seeds-continue-to-show-up-in-delaware-mailboxes/

Information regarding “Unsolicited Seeds” and how to report are available here: https://agriculture.delaware.gov/plant-industries/

As of today, Delaware residents have submitted nearly 100 packages of unsolicited seeds to the Delaware Department of Agriculture or USDA for testing as part of the brushing scam.

Your request is denied in part, because the remainder of the records are excluded from public record as “investigatory files compiled for civil or criminal law-enforcement purposes,” pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10002 (l)(3).

The Delaware Department of Agriculture considers your FOIA Request closed at this time.

Sincerely,

Stacey Hofmann
DDA FOIA Coordinator

STACEY HOFMANN, Chief of Community Relations
Delaware Department of Agriculture
A 2320 S. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901
W agriculture.delaware.gov