The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 6 : Agriculture
Chapter 028 : Fertilizer and Lime
(Cite as: 6 V.S.A. § 363)-
§ 363. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Agricultural lime” or “agricultural liming material” or “lime” means one or more of the following:
(A) All products with calcium and magnesium compounds that are capable of neutralizing soil acidity and that are intended, sold, or offered for sale for agricultural or plant propagation purposes.
(B) Limestone consisting essentially of calcium carbonate or a combination of calcium carbonate with magnesium carbonate capable of neutralizing soil acidity.
(C) Industrial waste or industrial by-products that contain calcium; calcium and magnesium; or calcium, magnesium, and potassium in forms that are capable of neutralizing soil acidity and that are intended, sold, or offered for sale for agricultural purposes. For the purposes of this chapter, the terms “agricultural lime,” “lime,” and “agricultural liming material” shall have the same meaning.
(2) “Brand” means a term, design, or trademark used in connection with one or more grades or formulas of fertilizer, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, soil amendment, or lime.
(3) “Distribute” means to import, consign, manufacture, produce, compound, mix, blend, offer for sale, sell, barter, or supply a fertilizer, a plant amendment, a plant biostimulant, a soil amendment, or lime in this State through any means, including sales outlets, catalogues, the telephone, the internet, or any electronic means.
(4) “Distributor” means any person who distributes fertilizer, plant amendments, plant biostimulants, soil amendments, or lime.
(5) “Exceptional quality biosolid” means a product derived in whole or in part from domestic wastes that have been subjected to and meet the requirements of the following:
(A) a pathogen reduction process established in 40 C.F.R. § 503.32(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8);
(B) one of the vector attraction reduction standards established in 40 C.F.R. § 503.33;
(C) the contaminant concentration limits in Vermont Solid Waste Rules § 6-1303(a)(1); and
(D) if derived from a composting process, Vermont Solid Waste Rules § 6-1303(a)(5).
(6) “Fertilizer” means any substance containing one or more recognized plant nutrients that is used for its plant nutrient content and that is designed for use or claimed to have value in promoting plant growth or health, except unprocessed animal or vegetable manures and other products exempted by the Secretary.
(A) A fertilizer material is a substance that either:
(i) contains important quantities of at least one of the primary plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium;
(ii) has 85 percent or more of its plant nutrient content present in the form of a single chemical compound; or
(iii) is derived from a plant or chemical residue or by-product or 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.
(B) A mixed fertilizer is a fertilizer containing any combination or mixture of fertilizer materials.
(C) A specialty fertilizer is a fertilizer distributed for nonfarm use.
(D) A bulk fertilizer is a fertilizer distributed in a nonpackaged form.
(7) “Formulation” means a material or mixture of materials prepared according to a particular formula.
(8) “Grade” means the percentage of total nitrogen, available phosphorus or phosphoric acid, and soluble potassium or potash stated in whole numbers in the same terms, order, or percentages as in the guaranteed analysis. Specialty fertilizers and fertilizer materials may be guaranteed in fractional terms. Any grade expressed in fractional terms that is not preceded by a whole number shall be preceded by zero.
(9) “Guaranteed analysis” means:
(A) in reference to fertilizer, the minimum percentages of plant nutrients claimed by the manufacturer or producer of the product in the following order and form: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash; and
(B) in reference to agricultural lime or agricultural liming material, the minimum percentages of calcium oxide and magnesium oxide or calcium carbonate and the calcium carbonate equivalent, or both, as claimed by the manufacturer or producer of the product.
(10) “Label” means the display of all written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container or a statement accompanying a fertilizer, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, soil amendment, or lime.
(11) “Labeling” means all written, printed, or graphic material upon or accompanying any fertilizer, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, soil amendment, or lime, including advertisements, brochures, posters, and television and radio announcements used in promoting the sale of the fertilizer, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, soil amendment, or lime.
(12) “Official sample” means any sample of fertilizer, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, soil amendment, or lime taken by the Secretary.
(13) “Plant amendment” means any substance applied to plants or seeds that is intended to improve growth, yield, product quality, reproduction, flavor, or other favorable characteristics of plants, except for fertilizer, soil amendments, agricultural liming materials, animal and vegetable manures, pesticides, plant regulators, and other materials exempted by rule adopted under this chapter.
(14) “Plant biostimulant” means a substance or microorganism that, when applied to seeds, plants, or the rhizosphere, stimulates natural processes to enhance or benefit nutrient uptake, nutrient efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, or crop quality and yield, except for fertilizers, soil amendments, plant amendments, or pesticides. The Secretary may modify the definition of “plant biostimulant” by rule or procedure in order to maintain consistency with U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements.
(15) “Percent” or “percentage” means the percentage by weight.
(16) “Primary nutrient” includes nitrogen, available phosphoric acid or phosphorus, and soluble potash or potassium.
(17) “Product” means the name of the fertilizer, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, soil amendment, or lime that identifies it as to kind, class, or specific use.
(18) “Registrant” means the person who registers a fertilizer, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, soil amendment, or lime under the provisions of this chapter.
(19) “Soil amendment” means a substance or mixture of substance that is intended to improve the physical, chemical, biological, or other characteristics of the soil or a distinct form of horticultural growing media used in lieu of soil. “Soil amendment” does not mean fertilizers, agricultural liming materials, unprocessed animal manures, unprocessed vegetable manures, pesticides, plant biostimulants, and other materials exempted by rule. A compost product from a facility under the jurisdiction of the Agency of Natural Resources’ Solid Waste Management Rules or exceptional quality biosolids shall not be regulated as a soil amendment under this chapter, unless marketed and distributed for the use in the production of an agricultural commodity.
(20) “Ton” means a net weight of 2,000 pounds avoirdupois.
(21) “Use” includes all purposes for which a fertilizer, plant amendment, plant biostimulant, soil amendment, or lime is applied.
(22) “Weight” means the weight of undried material as offered for sale. (Added 1985, No. 126 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 17; 2021, No. 41, § 10; 2023, No. 6, § 38, eff. July 1, 2023; 2023, No. 73, § 17, eff. July 1, 2023; 2023, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. July 1, 2024.)
