Fla. Stat. § 576.011 — Florida Code / Title XXXV / Chapter 576 / Section 576.011
576.011 Definitions.
Status: in_force

When used in this chapter, the term:

(1) “Advertisement” means all representations disseminated in any manner or by any means, other than by labeling, for the purpose of inducing, or which are likely to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase of fertilizer.

(2) “Best management practices” means practices or combinations of practices determined by research or field testing in representative sites to be the most effective and practicable methods of fertilization designed to meet nitrate groundwater quality standards, including economic and technological considerations.

(3) “Brand” means a term, design, or trademark used in connection with one or several grades of fertilizer.

(4) “Bulk fertilizer” means commercial fertilizer in a nonpackaged form.

(5) “Certified professional” means an individual who holds a certified crop adviser designation issued by the American Society of Agronomy, who has passed the society’s Southeast Region Certified Crop Adviser Exam, who holds a 4R Nutrient Management Specialty certification, and whose credentials have been verified by the society’s Florida Certified Crop Adviser Board.

(6) “Compost” means a substance derived primarily or entirely from decomposition of vegetative or animal organic material, which is sold or offered for sale for the purpose of promoting or stimulating plant growth, and to which no inorganic fertilizer materials have been added other than to promote decomposition. Such products may not contain more than 12 percent total plant nutrients.

(7) “Coning” means the formation of a pyramidal pile or cone of dry bulk mixed fertilizer such as may occur while being loaded into a holding hopper or transport vehicle and cause separation and segregation of the fertilizer components.

(8) “Controlled release fertilizers” means a slow release fertilizer engineered to provide nutrients over time at a predictable rate under specified conditions.

(9) “Dealer” means any person, other than the manufacturer, who offers for sale, sells, barters, or supplies commercial fertilizer.

(10) “Deconing” means any accepted process employed by a licensee that will prevent or minimize coning.

(11) “Deficiency” means the amount of nutrient found by analysis to be less than that guaranteed which may result from lack of nutrient ingredients or from lack of uniformity.

(12) “Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or its authorized representatives.

(13) “Excess” means the amount found by analysis to be over that guaranteed on the label.

(14) “Fertilizer” means any substance which: (a) Contains one or more recognized plant nutrients and promotes plant growth, or (b) Controls soil acidity or alkalinity, or (c) Provides other soil enrichment, or (d) Provides other corrective measures to the soil. For the purposes of this chapter, the term “fertilizer” does not include unmanipulated animal or vegetable manures, peat, or compost which make no claims as described in paragraphs (a)-(d).

(15) “Fertilizer material” means a fertilizer that meets one of the following requirements: (a) Contains important quantities of no more than one of the primary nutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphate (P 2 O 5 ), and potash (K 2 O). (b) Has 85 percent or more of its plant nutrient content present in the form of a single chemical compound. (c) Is derived from a plant or an animal residue or byproduct or a natural material deposit that has been processed in such a way that its content of plant nutrients has not been materially changed except by purification and concentration.

(16) “Fertilizer-pesticide mixture” means a fertilizer containing a pesticide.

(17) “Grade” means the percentages in fertilizer of total nitrogen expressed as N, available phosphorus expressed as P 2 O 5 , and soluble potassium expressed as K 2 O, stated in whole numbers in the same terms, order, and percentages as in the guaranteed analysis. However, specialty fertilizer may be guaranteed in fractional units of less than 1 percent of total nitrogen, available phosphate, and soluble potash. Fertilizer materials, bone meal, manures, and similar materials may be guaranteed in fractional units.

(18) “Guaranteed analysis” means the percentage of plant nutrients or measures of neutralizing capability claimed to be present in a fertilizer.

(19) “Investigational allowance” means an allowance for variations inherent in the taking, preparation, and analysis of an official sample of fertilizer.

(20) “Label” means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container of any fertilizer or accompanying any fertilizer when moved in bulk.

(21) “Labeling” means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matters upon an article or any of its containers or wrappers accompanying such article.

(22) “Licensee” means a person who guarantees a fertilizer and receives a license to distribute fertilizer under the provisions of this chapter.

(23) “Manipulated manure,” or “manure” when not qualified as unmanipulated, means substances, other than unmanipulated manures, composed of excreta of animals and residual materials that have been used for bedding, sanitary, or feeding purposes for animals, and to which no fertilizer materials have been added other than for neutralization or sanitary purposes.

(24) “Manufacturer” means a person engaged in the business of importing, preparing, mixing, blending, or manufacturing fertilizer for sale, either direct to consumers or by or through other media of distribution, and the word “manufacture” means preparation, mixing, blending, or manufacturing for the purpose of distribution.

(25) “Misbranded” means that one or more label requirements have not been fulfilled.

(26) “Mixed fertilizer” means a fertilizer containing any combination or mixtures of fertilizers.

(27) “Natural organic fertilizer” means a material derived from either plant or animal products containing one or more elements (other than carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen) which are essential for plant growth.

(28) “Nitrogen breakdown” means the classification of forms of nitrogen guaranteed in percent by weight, the sum of which equals the total nitrogen guarantee.

(29) “Official check sample” means a sealed and identified sample taken from the official sample for use in check analysis.

(30) “Official sample” means any sample of fertilizer taken by the department in accordance with the provisions of this law or rules adopted hereunder, and designated as “official” by the department.

(31) “Organic fertilizer” means a material containing carbon and one or more elements, other than hydrogen and oxygen, essential for plant growth. This term includes both “natural organic fertilizer” and “synthetic organic fertilizer.”

(32) “Pelletized fertilizer” means a fertilizer in a form, uniform in size and usually of globular shape, containing one or more nutrients produced by one of several methods including: (a) Solidification of a melt while falling through a countercurrent stream of air. (b) Dried layers of slurry applied to recycling particles. (c) Compaction. (d) Extrusion. (e) Granulation.

(33) “Percent” or “percentage” means the percentage by weight.

(34) “Primary plant nutrient” means total nitrogen expressed as N, available phosphorus expressed as P 2 O 5 , and soluble potassium expressed as K 2 O, or any combination of these substances.

(35) “Registrant” means the person who registers specialty fertilizer under the provisions of this chapter.

(36) “Secondary plant nutrient” and “micro plant nutrient” mean those nutrients other than the primary plant nutrients that are essential for the normal growth of plants and have been added to the fertilizer.

(37) “Site-specific nutrient management” means the application of nutrients in accordance with s. 576.045(4).

(38) “Slow release fertilizer” means a fertilizer in a form that releases, or converts to a plant-available form, plant nutrients at a slower rate relative to an appropriate reference soluble product.

(39) “Soil amendment,” “soil conditioner,” or “soil additive” means any substance or mixture of substances sold or offered for sale for soil enriching or corrective purposes, intended or claimed to be effective in promoting or stimulating plant growth, increasing soil or plant productivity, improving the quality of crops, or producing any chemical or physical change in the soil, except amendments, conditioners, additives, and related products that are derived solely from inorganic sources and that contain no recognized plant nutrients.

(40) “Specialty fertilizer” means any fertilizer packaged, marketed, and distributed for home and garden use and packaged in containers or bags such that the net weight is 49 pounds or less.

(41) “Synthetic organic fertilizer” means a material that is manufactured chemically (by synthesis) from its elements or other chemicals.

(42) “Ton” means a net weight of 2,000 pounds avoirdupois.

(43) “Unit of plant nutrient” means 1 percent by weight or 20 pounds per ton.

(44) “Unmanipulated animal and vegetable manure” means substances composed of excreta of animals or plant remains which do not contain any materials other than those which have been used for bedding, sanitary, or feeding purposes for such animals, and which have not been mechanically or systematically dried, ground, shredded, blended with plant-food additives, or processed in any other manner.

(45) “Water-insoluble nitrogen” means nitrogen not soluble in water.

(46) “Water-soluble nitrogen” means all nitrogen soluble in water.

History: s. 1, ch. 65-348; s. 1, ch. 67-213; ss. 14, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 239, ch. 71-377; s. 1, ch. 76-35; s. 1, ch. 79-204; s. 1, ch. 82-103; s. 1, ch. 83-202; s. 1, ch. 87-170; ss. 1, 19, ch. 92-143; s. 7, ch. 94-311; ss. 1, 11, ch. 97-6; s. 1, ch. 2022-177; s. 25, ch. 2023-154.