It’s Fertilizer and Seed Season – Help Us Help You
CONTACT:
Logan Kruse, Montana Department of Agriculture, (406) 444-3684
Dawn Bales, Montana Department of Agriculture, (406) 278-9120
It’s Fertilizer and Seed Season – Help Us Help You
Behind a Fertilizer and Seed Inspection from the Montana Dept. of Agriculture
HAVRE, Mont. – Earlier this month, Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director, Jillien Streit, joined our Agricultural Sciences Specialist, Dawn Bales, for an educational fertilizer and seed inspection in Havre, MT.
The largest division of the Montana Department of Agriculture is the Agricultural Sciences Division (ASD) which houses the Commodity Services Bureau (CSB). A vital function of CSB is conducting fertilizer, seed, and feed inspections throughout the state. These inspections include licensing, labeling, and verifying label claims.
Director Streit visits with Ag Sciences Specialist, Dawn Bales, as she probes a bag of fertilizer in Havre, MT
“In a nutshell, we are here to protect the consumer and their investments in the products they are using in the field or their yard,” said MDA’s Dawn Bales.
As fertilizer and seed season is in full swing, we wanted to take the opportunity to provide a more detailed look into why the MDA conducts inspections.
A bag of sampled fertilizer – to be sent to MDA’s Analytical Laboratory for analysis
Licensing – simply put, a business that sells agricultural fertilizer into or within Montana must obtain a license to do so (lawn, garden, turf, nursery are generally exempt). Additionally, when a business sells seed into or within Montana, they must obtain a license to sell seed product.
Whether a business is selling fertilizer or seed, they will receive an occasional visit from one of our inspectors. The department often conducts random inspections but additionally performs inspections based on complaints from the public. During inspections you can expect the following:
- Introduction from the inspector
- License status check that is posted in facility
- A walk through the warehouse or additional storage areas
- Addressing issues/areas of concern (bulk storage not labeled correctly, rodents/cleanliness issues, commingling risks, etc.)
- Possibility of sampling the product (bagged product, bulk product, etc.)
- Determining registration status of specialty fertilizer products
When conducting fertilizer sampling inspections, our inspectors will often probe and climb the pile to take 10 total samples randomly from throughout the pile. If you see a sticker on a bag that states “Sampled for Analysis by the Montana Department of Agriculture”, you can ensure this bag has been inspected by the department.
Following a probe sampling event, samples are then sent to the MDA’s Analytical Lab (fertilizer) or the Montana State Seed Lab (seed) for analysis. These samples will be tested against their label claims. For example, if a fertilizer label claims 14% nitrogen, the lab will determine the nitrogen content and then determine a variance. If the variance is far different than the labeled claim, penalties could be issued. When analyzing seed samples, purity, weed seed, other crop seed, inert, and germination are determined. Germination tests are good for 12 months unless it is lawn, landscaping or ornamental grass seed (good for 15 months).
Dawn Bales pulls probed fertilizer samples in Havre, MT
The ultimate goal of these inspections is to help protect Montana agriculture. Our inspectors take pride in their sampling and want to avoid the spread of noxious weeds, poorly cleaned seed, or a failed crop due to poor germination. If you are a consumer, know the department is here to help and has an open door for any questions.
The Montana Department of Agriculture is serving Montana Agriculture and growing prosperity under the Big Sky. For more information on department programs and services, visit agr.mt.gov.
###
Tags: Fertilizer and Director Jillien Streit
