• Homepage
• Outline
• Appendix E : Participation
• History
• SAES-422 (Report & Minutes)
• Meeting Info
• Participants Directory
• Tech Committee Officers
• Publications
• Photo Album
• Links
• Additional Documents
• All Projects

NCERA_OLD103: Specialized Soil Amendments and Products, Growth Stimulants and Soil Fertility Management Programs (NCERA-103)

Statement of Issues and Justification

The use of fertilizer and soil amendments is critical to profitable production of agronomic and horticultural crops in the US. There is a large research base available evaluating the use of traditional fertilizers and soil amendments, documenting the economic and environmental impacts of their use. However, non-conventional products for agriculture, including some soil amendments, growth stimulants, or soil fertility management programs may be promoted and sold on the premise of replacing or extending the efficacy of standard crop production inputs. For producers to make informed decisions regarding use of these products or programs, they must have access to information that provides fair and scientifically valid evaluation of these products or programs. Without such information, clientele may invest in products or programs which are of little or no value to them, or may be inappropriate for their climate, soils, or cropping system, or which may have detrimental environmental impact.

Justification

Many of the products or programs evaluated through the committee are expensive to use and are often marketed under different names in different states. The names of the products or programs may change frequently as manufacturer or marketing entities change. The committee has functioned as a repository for the collection and dissemination of information about the active ingredients for products or programs, along with information on manufacturers and distributors of the products or programs, as well as any research which has been conducted on the product or program.

In many states, specialized agricultural products must be registered and/or licensed for sale. Research information on products or programs provided by the committee or individual committee members has been used by state regulatory officials in determining if a product or program has value and should be registered or licensed.