Chapter ATCP 40

Total Nitrogen (N)   1.0%

Available Phosphate (P2O5)   1.0%

Soluble Potash (K20)   1.0%

Calcium (Ca)   1.0%

Magnesium (Mg)   0.5%

Sulfur (S)   1.0%

Boron (B)   0.02%

Chlorine (Cl)   0.1%

Cobalt (Co)   0.0005%

Copper (Cu)   0.05%

Iron (Fe)   0.1%

Manganese (Mn)   0.05%

Molybdenum (Mo)   0.0005%

Nickel (Ni)   0.05%

Sodium (Na)   0.1%

Zinc (Zn)   0.05%

ATCP 40.10(2)(b) (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to any of the following:

ATCP 40.10(2)(b)1. 1. Ready-to-use liquid fertilizer labeled only for nonagricultural uses.

ATCP 40.10(2)(b)2. 2. Fertilizer labeled only for hydroponic or continuous plant feeding use.

ATCP 40.10(2)(b)3. 3. Potting soil with nutrient guarantees.

ATCP 40.10(2)(b)4. 4. Primary nutrient guarantees, authorized under s. ATCP 40.12 (9), for fertilizer distributed pursuant to a permit under s. ATCP 40.12.

ATCP 40.10(2)(c) (c) Except as provided in sub. (6) (b) or (7), a fertilizer label may not identify any plant nutrient that has a guarantee of zero.

ATCP 40.10(3) (3) Format. A guaranteed analysis shall appear in the following format:

Guaranteed Analysis

Total Nitrogen (N)   ___%

_____% Ammoniacal Nitrogen

_____% Nitrate Nitrogen

_____% Water Insoluble Nitrogen

_____% (Other recognized and determinable forms of nitrogen)

Available Phosphate (P2O5)   ___%

Soluble Potash (K2O)   ___%

Calcium (Ca)   ___%

Magnesium (Mg)   ___%

Sulfur (S)   ___%

Boron (B)   ___%

Chlorine (Cl)   ___%

Cobalt (Co)   ___%

Copper (Cu)   ___%

Iron (Fe)   ___%

Manganese (Mn)   ___%

Molybdenum (Mo)   ___%

Nickel (Ni)   ___%

Sodium (Na)   ___%

Zinc (Zn)   ___%

ATCP 40.10 Note Note: Percentage guarantees must equal or exceed the minimum guarantees specified in sub. (2).

ATCP 40.10(4) (4) Nutrient source statement.

ATCP 40.10(4)(a) (a) A guaranteed analysis shall include a separate nutrient source statement if any of the following apply:

ATCP 40.10(4)(a)1. 1. The sum of the guarantees for the primary plant nutrients is less than 24%.

ATCP 40.10(4)(a)2. 2. The fertilizer is a fertilizer-additive combination.

ATCP 40.10(4)(a)3. 3. The fertilizer label represents that the fertilizer contains an organic or slowly released plant nutrient.

ATCP 40.10(4)(b) (b) A plant nutrient source statement under par. (a) shall do all of the following:

ATCP 40.10(4)(b)1. 1. Identify the source materials from which the guaranteed plant nutrients are derived, in descending order of content by weight of source material.

ATCP 40.10(4)(b)2. 2. Identify the source of each plant nutrient, using only terms defined in the Official Publication of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, No. 71 (2018).

ATCP 40.10 Note Note: The Official Publication of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, No. 71 (2018) is on file with the department and the legislative reference bureau. Copies may be obtained from the treasurer of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, Inc., North Carolina Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 33508, Raleigh, NC 33636-3508, or online at http://www.aapfco.org.

ATCP 40.10(5) (5) Percentage guarantees; how expressed.

ATCP 40.10(5)(a) (a) A zero shall precede the decimal point in every guarantee that is less than one percent.

ATCP 40.10(5)(b) (b) A minimum guarantee for a primary plant nutrient shall be stated as a whole number if the guarantee is at least 1.0%.

ATCP 40.10(6) (6) Chemical forms.

ATCP 40.10(6)(a) (a) If a guaranteed analysis identifies any chemical form of a plant nutrient that has more than one chemical form, it shall identify all chemical forms of the plant nutrient and provide a percentage guarantee for each. The percentage guarantee for each chemical form shall precede the identified chemical form and may include non-zero decimal units. Subsection (3) illustrates the correct format for nitrogen.

ATCP 40.10(6)(b) (b) A chemical form under par. (a) may have a percentage guarantee of zero, provided that the combined guarantee for all chemical forms of the plant nutrient equals or exceeds the minimum guarantee required under sub. (2).

ATCP 40.10(6)(c) (c) No person may represent that a fertilizer contains an organic or slowly released plant nutrient unless all of the following apply:

ATCP 40.10(6)(c)1. 1. The guaranteed analysis lists slowly released chemical forms of that plant nutrient.

ATCP 40.10(6)(c)2. 2. The combined guarantees for slowly released forms of the plant nutrient comprise at least 15% of the total guarantee for that plant nutrient, except as otherwise provided for nitrogen under sub. (8) (b).

ATCP 40.10(7) (7) Maximum guarantees.

ATCP 40.10(7)(a) (a) A fertilizer label may contain a separate written statement, not part of the guaranteed analysis, which states that the amount of a specified plant nutrient or other substance does not exceed a specified percentage by weight of the fertilizer.

ATCP 40.10(7)(b) (b) No person may sell or distribute a fertilizer for use on tobacco unless its label states the maximum amount of chlorine that may be present in the fertilizer.

ATCP 40.10(8) (8) Nitrogen guarantees.

ATCP 40.10(8)(a) (a) A nonagricultural fertilizer label shall guarantee the ammoniacal, nitrate, water insoluble, and other chemical forms of nitrogen, as illustrated in sub. (3).

ATCP 40.10(8)(b) (b) No fertilizer label may identify nitrogen as organic unless the water insoluble or slow release nitrogen guarantee is at least 60% of the non-urea nitrogen designated as organic.

ATCP 40.10(9) (9) Phosphite and phosphorous acid.

ATCP 40.10(9)(a) (a) Notwithstanding sub. (5) (a):

ATCP 40.10(9)(a)1. 1. No fertilizer labeling may identify phosphite or phosphorous acid as a fertilizer ingredient.

ATCP 40.10(9)(a)2. 2. No phosphate nutrient guarantee may include any phosphate derived from phosphite or phosphorous acid.

ATCP 40.10(9)(b) (b) Paragraph (a) does not prohibit the identification, in a fertilizer–pesticide combination, of a pesticide containing phosphite or phosphorous acid.

ATCP 40.10(10) (10) Fertilizer-additive combinations. The guaranteed analysis for a fertilizer-additive combination shall be in the format shown in Appendix A. Enhancing nutrients other than cobalt and sodium, if claimed, shall be guaranteed as soil or plant additive active ingredients.

ATCP 40.10 Note Note: See definitions of “enhancing element” and “fertilizer-additive combination” in s. ATCP 40.02 (7) and (9).

ATCP 40.10 History History: CR 04-140: cr. Register September 2005 No. 597, eff. 10-1-05; CR 14-047: am. (4) (b) 2. Register May 2015 No. 713, eff. 6-1-15; CR 16-012: am. (4) (b) 2. Register August 2016 No. 728, eff. 9-1-16; CR 18-019: am. (4) (b) 2. Register January 2020 No. 769, eff. 2-1-20.

ATCP 40.12 ATCP 40.12 Fertilizer permits.

ATCP 40.12(1) (1) Permit required. Except as provided in sub. (2), no person may distribute a mixed fertilizer for which the sum of the primary plant nutrient guarantees totals less than 24% unless one of the following applies:

ATCP 40.12(1)(a) (a) The distribution is for special agricultural uses, pursuant to a permit under sub. (4).

ATCP 40.12(1)(b) (b) The distribution is for nonagricultural uses, pursuant to a permit under sub. (5).

ATCP 40.12(2) (2) Exemptions. Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following:

ATCP 40.12(2)(a) (a) A fertilizer labeled with the statement “for further manufacturing use only” and distributed to licensed fertilizer manufacturers who use the fertilizer only for further manufacturing.

ATCP 40.12(2)(b) (b) A fertilizer provided without cost to a recognized research institution solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research.

ATCP 40.12(2)(c) (c) A fertilizer derived from a single source material of uniform plant nutrient content, provided that all of the following apply:

ATCP 40.12(2)(c)1. 1. The source material is accurately described by a term defined in the Official Publication of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, No. 71 (2018).

ATCP 40.12 Note Note: The Official Publication of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, No. 71 (2018) is on file with the department and the legislative reference bureau. Copies may be obtained from the treasurer of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, Inc., North Carolina Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 33508, Raleigh, NC 33636-3508, or online at http://www.aapfco.org.

ATCP 40.12(2)(c)2. 2. The source material and the fertilizer are clearly and conspicuously labeled using the defined term under subd. 1.

ATCP 40.12(2)(d) (d) A fertilizer labeled solely for organic crop production if all of the following apply: