Protecting the Fertilizer Industry

Protecting the Fertilizer Industry. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture.

Outlandish product claims by fertilizer companies can land them in hot water with state Ag Department. Oregon's Fertilizer Program is primarily geared towards consumer protection, says ODA's Don Wolf. It starts by requiring that all fertilizer products are registered and goes from there.

WOLF:  We try and make sure that they are fairly represented on the label, that the claims are consistent with what the company states is in the product, and that the claims are consistent with what the consumer can expect that product to do.

Lsat year the ODA stopped the sale of two products out of California that were sold in hydroponic stores. Lab analysis showed the products contained significant amounts of a plant growth regulator– which is considered a pesticide and can't be applied on food crops or animal feed.

WOLF:  It had potential hazards to humans that were not listed on the label. It didn't have proper cautionary information. So it was mislabeled and it was adulterated.

Wolf maintains that the plant growth regulator was added to the fertilizer product intentionally. Wolf emphasizes that most fertilizer companies are doing things properly, but ODA's team of investigators sometimes find products with fraudulent claims. Janet Fults, who supervises ODA's Fertilizer Program, says there are more than 78-hundred fertilizer products registered in Oregon– the highest number on record.

That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.