State Fertilizer Reporting & Regulations

Product Registration

Renewal Date: the date and frequency a product is required to be registered. Assume it is on an annual basis unless otherwise noted.

 

Minimum Nutrient Content: the minimum nutrient percentage (e.g. N, P2O5, K2O) allowed for a product to be registered. Not all states have a minimum nutrient content.

 

Nutrient Manufacturer on Application: queries whether the state requires the manufacturer of nutrients to be listed on the registration application.

 

Registrant on Label: queries whether the state requires the registrant to be listed on the label.

 

Package Weight Limit: the threshold weight of a package of nutrients that delineates whether a package is considered a "specialty good" or a "farm good". The weight limit often determines the registration fee and how the fertilizer is taxed.

 

Farm Goods Registration Fee: the registration fee if the package is considered a "farm good" (large) package as determined by the package weight limit.

 

Specialty Package Registration Fee: the registration fee if the package is considered a "specialty good" (small) package as determined by the package weight limit.

 

Licensing

Renewal Date: the date a manufacturer/distributor must renew their license in order to continue selling fertilizer in the state.

 

Licensing Fee: the fee the licensee must pay in order to obtain a license.

 

Inspection/Tonnage Fees

Farm Fees: the amount it costs the manufacturer/distributor in $/ton, for the state to inspect the quality of the nutrients sold for farm goods (agricultural use).

 

Specialty Fees: the amount it costs the manufacturer/distributor, in $/ton, for the state to inspect the quality of nutrients sold for specialty goods (non-agricultural use).

 

Reporting Frequency: the frequency for which the manufacturer/distributor must report and pay the inspection/tonnage fee to the state.

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Tonnage Reports

Frequency of Reports Published: the frequency for which the states publish tonnage reports to the public.

 

Scale of Data: the spatial scale at which the state collects tonnage data (e.g. state, country, zip code).

 

UFTRS System: queries whether the state uses the universal fertilizer tonnage reporting system (UFTRS) to report tonnage sales.

 

Quality Control

AOAC Sampling/Analysis: queries whether the state follows AOAC sampling and analysis methods to determine compliance with fertilizer quality.

 

Penalty for Deficiencies: states the monetary amount of a penalty imposed upon the seller of the nutrients if a product is determined to differ in nutrient content stated on the label. States often determine the value of the primary nutrients (N, P, K) on a regular basis and then penalize the seller based on a certain multiplier of deficiency (e.g. 2X commercial value of deficiency).

 

Stop Sale: queries if a product is stopped from being sold if it is determined to be deficient in nutrients. Often the product is no longer present to be stopped from sale. States vary in how to handle such a situation but often re-label/reformulate the product and/or credit the end-user with money for the deficient amount of nutrients.

 

AAPFCO Investigational Allowances: queries whether the state follows the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials' (AAPFCO) investigational allowances (IAs) for primary or secondary/micronutrients. An IA is the range a fertilizer's nutrient content can differ from the label and not be deemed deficient. Click here to view AAPFCO IA's, which can be found in the Official Publication of AAPFCO. 

 

AAPFCO Uniform Label Format: queries whether the state follows AAPFCO's uniform label format.

 

AAPFCO Terms and Definitions: queries whether the state follows AAPFCO's terms and definitions for categorization of naming nutrients.

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