ND Department of Agriculture Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 2, 2009

IMPORTED FERTILIZERS MUST BE REGISTERED WITH STATE

BISMARCK – The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) reminds producers that any fertilizer they bring into the state must be a registered product with the department.

“We have had several recent calls about importing Canadian fertilizer,” said Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson. “Some say it is because of lower prices, but other people think there is a potential supply shortfall in the U.S. In any case, we don’t want people to be out of compliance.”

State law requires that any fertilizer be registered with the Department prior to being imported into the state, regardless of whether it is going to be used or re-sold. People can contact NDDA at (800) 242-7535 to learn if a given fertilizer is currently registered. The department will help manufacturers register products.

Johnson said persons importing fertilizers for re-sale must have a fertilizer distributor’s license.

“Anyone importing fertilizer only for his or her own use does not need a distributor’s license,” Johnson said. “Distributors of non-agricultural fertilizers are also exempt from the license requirements.”

Fertilizer distributor licenses are available from NDDA and cost $100 for two years. License holders must also pay an annual fee of 20 cents per ton of fertilizer and submit an annual report on the net tonnage of each fertilizer they distributed in the state.

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MEDIA: For more information, please call Ted Quanrud at (701) 328-2233 or tquanrud@nd.gov or Patrice Lahlum at (701) 239-7210 or plahlum@nd.gov.