Committee reviews bill recasting fertilizer chapter to regulate ‘beneficial substances’

Michael Grady, legislative counsel, briefed the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry on draft legislation to revise the state’s fertilizer and lime chapter by folding plant amendments, soil amendments and plant biostimulants under a single term: "beneficial substance." The proposal would require registration, labeling, and give the Agency of Agriculture inspection and enforcement authority; an effective date of July 1, 2025, was discussed.

Why it matters: Committee members were told the change aims to create a uniform, flexible regulatory umbrella so the agency need not repeatedly return to the Legislature as new product types appear. The draft aligns state definitions with recommendations from the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials and mirrors language used by other states, the counsel said.

Grady told the committee that the draft replaces multiple product categories with the term "beneficial substance," defined in the bill as "any substance or compound other than primary, secondary, and micro plant nutrients (fertilizer) and excluding pesticides that can be demonstrated by scientific research to be beneficial to one or more species of plant, soil, or media." He said the change lets the agency register new products without repeatedly amending statute and that some substantive requirements are added for registration and labeling.

Key provisions described by legislative counsel include: - Definitions: The bill would add or revise definitions for beneficial substance, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, plant inoculant and soil inoculant. Compost produced under Agency of Natural Resources jurisdiction would not be regulated under this chapter unless marketed for agricultural commodity production. - Registration: Producers must register each product; registration is $85 per product per year and the fee is deposited into the feed-and-seed/fertilizer special fund that supports the program and certain related activities. - Efficacy and labeling: An efficacy statement is required on registration forms; the label must include net weight, brand, a purpose statement, a statement of composition listing each ingredient and the ingredient primarily responsible for the product’s intended use, and the percentage and genus for named beneficial ingredients. - Fees and tonnage: Beneficial substances would not pay a tonnage fee; tonnage fees continue to apply to fertilizers and contribute significantly to the program’s special fund. - Inspection and enforcement: The Agency of Agriculture could inspect distribution and premises, sample products, issue stop-sale orders, detain or condemn adulterated products, and require destruction when necessary. Adulteration examples include presence of noxious weeds, heavy metals, radioactive substances or other hazards to human, animal, aquatic life, soil or water. Administrative penalties would follow the agency’s general penalty authority (example cited: up to $5,000 for a first offense, up to $15,000 maximum).

Grady said the proposal generally follows the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials’ uniform approach and keeps the existing fertilizer and lime rules (including tonnage fees and guaranteed analyses) separate from the new beneficial-substance provisions. He noted the federal Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) governs substances defined as pesticides and those remain outside this chapter.

Committee members asked whether common products — including inoculants used with seed — would be captured and whether producers must prove efficacy. Grady said an efficacy requirement exists: "There is an efficacy requirement for all of these. Yes. For the beneficial substances... they have to have make an efficacy statement, when they register on their registration form." He also said many products have been registered piecemeal over the past several years and that the new language is intended to reduce inconsistency among states.

No formal motion or committee vote was recorded during this briefing. Members discussed inviting Agency of Agriculture staff to provide additional details, including how many products would be affected and the projected fiscal impact to the special fund, and whether any commonly used inoculants or seed treatments already are registered.

The committee noted the bill could be converted to a committee bill and amended as needed; a July 1, 2025 effective date was mentioned for enacted provisions.

What’s next: Committee members said they would consider inviting agency staff for a follow-up to clarify registration counts, revenue impacts, and examples of products that would newly fall under the proposed definition. The bill remains under committee consideration and no formal action was taken at this meeting.