Florida Administrative Code › 5 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES › 5E - Division of Agricultural Environmental Services › Chapter 5E-1 - FERTILIZER › Section 5E-1.002 - Registration and Labeling of Animal and Vegetable Manures, Composts, Soil Conditioners, Soil Amendments and Soil Additives

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
Registration and Labeling.
(1) Exemptions. When the labeling does not
				claim to contain any plant nutrients or beneficial plant growth properties as
				defined in Section 576.011(12),
				F.S., unmanipulated animal manure, vegetable manures, potting soils, peat or
				compost are excluded from the provisions of this rule chapter.
(2) The department will require proof of
				beneficial claims made before registering any potting soil, mulch, compost,
				soil additive, soil conditioner and soil amendment. If beneficial claims are
				made as to soil amendments, soil additives or soil conditioners, the department
				will require scientific evidence of usefulness and agronomic value. As evidence
				of proof, the department will accept experimental data, evaluations, or advice
				supplied from an accredited school of agriculture. The experimental design
				shall be related to state environmental conditions for which the product is
				intended to be used. The department will accept information from other sources
				of proof as additional evidence in evaluating soil amendments, soil additives
				or soil conditioners. Proof of beneficial claims shall be mailed to the
				Fertilizer Program Manager, 3125 Conner Boulevard, Building 6, Tallahassee,
				Florida 32399-1650.
(3) Manipulated
				manures, composts, soil conditioners, soil amendments and soil additives come
				within the definition of fertilizer. In addition to the labeling requirements
				set forth in Section 576.031, F.S., the labels on all
				manipulated manures, composts, soil conditioners, soil amendments and soil
				additives, shall contain in or in close proximity to the brand name, the common
				name of the product and the grade numerals in terms of the primary plant
				nutrients, (unless all three are zero), e.g., "Supreme Compost 1-2-1." Claims
				pertaining to the composition or benefits of these products shall be required
				to be substantiated and documented.
(a) When
				the term manure is used in any brand name, labeling, or advertisement
				identifying any product, the animal source of the manure must also be
				shown.
(b) Products containing
				manure mixed or composted with other organic materials shall include the name
				of the other material in its brand, labeling and advertisement, e.g., "Cattle
				Manure plus Organic Compost, " "Horse Manure composted with Peat". The common
				names of the components of such products shall be listed on the label in order
				of relative amount in the mixture.
(c) Manures and products containing manure
				shall be guaranteed to have a minimum of 0.5% total nitrogen, 0.5% available
				phosphorus and 0.2% soluble potassium. All statements of guarantees or grade
				numerals less than one percent shall be expressed as decimal fractions, with a
				zero preceding the decimal.
(d)
				Guano and Earthworm Castings are exempt from paragraph (c).
(e) Material recovered from lagoons or
				holding ponds designed to retain manure run-off is considered to be a compost
				and may not be claimed, branded or advertised to be a manure, except that the
				term manure can be used in a descriptive manner in a listing of source
				materials, as in "Derived from Cattle Manure Compost" or "Derived from
				Composted Dairy Manure Solids". No minimum guarantee shall be required in such
				product.