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SB
150 Commercial
Fertilizer Update
From Sam Custer, OSU
Extension, Darke County
Please see below the latest
update on SB 150 as shared by Peggy Hall, OSU Extension Law Asst
Professor.
"Agricultural Law &
Taxation Blog
"Ohio House Passes
Bill to Create Fertilizer Applicator Certification Program
"The Ohio Legislature
is one step closer to creating a unique fertilizer applicator
certification program for Ohio agriculture. The Ohio House of
Representatives recently approved the measure in S.B. 150, which had
already passed the Senate in January (see our related post.) The
legislation aims to reduce fertilizer runoff into Ohio's waters in
response to recent problems with algae blooms in Lake Erie and Grand
Lake St. Mary's. Other states with fertilizer applicator
certification programs focus on professional, turf or urban
applications of fertilizer, but Ohio's program would require farmers
applying fertilizers on their own land to complete the
knowledge-based certification program.
"An amendment by the
House extends the certification requirement to anyone applying
fertilizer for agricultural production on more than 50 acres of land,
rather than on more than 50 "contiguous" acres as approved
by the Senate. The amendment will likely expand the program to more
smaller-acreage farmers. Although urged to do so, neither the
House of Representatives nor the Senate agreed to extend the proposal
even further by including "manure" in the definition of
"fertilizer."
"The Senate must now
approve the House-amended version when it reconvenes in early May. Upon
Senate approval, the legislation would move to the Governor by
mid-May. If enacted, the bill gives the Ohio Department of
Agriculture three years to establish and implement the fertilizer
applicator certification program. The bill also contains provisions
for voluntary nutrient management plans, operation and management
plans for animal feeding operations, and a few changes to Ohio's
fertilizer license laws.
"Watch for our final
analysis of S.B. 150 as it continues the legislative process next
month."
As you saw in the article,
the House amended the Senate version switching it from 5 contiguous
acres to more than 50 acres of land.
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