BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
Senator Anthony Cannella, Chairman
BILL NO: AB 2174 HEARING: 06/19/12
AUTHOR: Alejo FISCAL: No
VERSION: 06/14/12 CONSULTANT: Anne Megaro
Fertilizer: reduction of use.
SUMMARY:
Existing law pursuant to the Food and Agriculture Code:
1. Provides fertilizer materials definitions, an advisory
board, requires licensing, registration, inspection
requirements and fees, tonnage reports, label requirements,
sampling and analysis, establishes violations, procedures
for prosecution, and describes what is misbranding and
adulteration.
2. Establishes an assessment level not to exceed two mills
($0.002) per dollar of sales of fertilizer materials to
fund the program and it permits an assessment not to exceed
one mill ($0.001) per dollar of sales of fertilizer
materials, to provide funding for research and education
regarding the use and handling of fertilizing material,
including, but not limited to, any environmental effects.
The secretary may, based on the findings and
recommendations of the board, reduce the assessment to a
lower rate.
This bill:
1. Identifies the University of California Cooperative
Extension (UCCE), the California resource conservation
districts (CRCD), other institutions of higher education or
other qualified entities to develop programs in the
following areas:
a) Technical education for users of fertilizer
materials in the development and implementation of
nutrient management projects that result in more
agronomically sound uses of fertilizer materials and
minimize environmental impacts of fertilizer use,
including but not limited to, nitrates in groundwater and
emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from fertilizer
use;
b) Research to improve nutrient management practices
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resulting in more agronomically sound use of fertilizer
materials and to minimize environmental impacts of
fertilizer use, including but not limited to, nitrates in
groundwater and emissions of greenhouse gases resulting
from fertilizer use; and,
c) Education to increase awareness of more
agronomically sound use of fertilizer products to reduce
the environmental impacts resulting from the overuse or
inefficient use of fertilizing materials.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of Bill: According to the author, state funding for
technical assistance programs has been significantly curtailed
in recent years. This bill would provide access to
approximately $1 million of existing, underutilized funds
collected under the Fertilizer Research and Education Program
(FREP) to specifically support research and technical
education programs developed at California research
institutions, or other qualified entities, that result in more
agronomically sound use of fertilizer products. These
programs could result in cost savings through a likely
reduction of fertilizer use, and reduce contamination of the
state's watersheds that threaten the safety of drinking water.
2.Background: According to a 2012 report to the Legislature by
the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed
Sciences, the primary (96%) man-made source of nitrate
contamination is cropland treated with synthetic fertilizer or
animal manure, where nitrogen not removed by harvest, air
emission, or runoff, may leach from the root zone into
groundwater below.
This information is not new. In 1988, the director of CDFA
appointed a Nitrate Working Group comprised of scientists from
the University of California, state agencies and industry with
the goal of studying the nitrate problem relating to
agriculture in California. Their 1989 report, "Nitrate and
Agriculture in California," identified locations where nitrate
groundwater levels were elevated, analyzed the mechanisms of
nitrate movement through the soil, reviewed the potential of
fertilizer best management practices, and examined the problem
of animal production in relation to nitrate pollution.
The CDFA Nitrate Working Group report concluded with five
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recommendations; the fifth recommendation was to "establish a
research and demonstration project on nitrate control through
irrigation, fertilizer and manure management."
In response to these findings, the Fertilizer Research and
Education Program (FREP) was established in 1990 to provide
funding for research and education regarding the use and
handling of fertilizing material, including but not limited
to, any environmental effects.
FREP is funded through a mill fee on the sale of fertilizer
materials, currently set at mill ($0.0005), which equates to
approximately one million dollars annually. The mill fee can
be adjusted at the discretion of the secretary of CDFA not to
exceed 1 mill ($0.001) per dollar of sales.
According to CDFA's FREP website, in the past 20 years the $12
million assessment has funded 160 technical, research, and
education projects focused on agronomic efficiency in the
management of nutrients, precision irrigation and
fertilization through irrigation practices, and soil and
fertilization interaction. During this time, FREP's focus has
expanded to include research on many of California's important
and environmentally sensitive cropping systems including
almonds, tomatoes, cotton, citrus, wine grapes, horticulture,
lettuce, and other cool-season vegetables.
2012 priorities include:
Comparisons of economically viable and commercially
ready, integrated fertility-water-soil management
approaches that preserve soil and water quality.
Nutrient requirements for high-value specialty crops
or emerging new crops in highly environmentally sensitive
areas.
Devising innovative techniques to improve fertilizer
use efficiency.
According to the CDFA Nitrate Working Group's 1989 report, due
to the complexity and diversity of the factors that affect
nitrate contamination from agriculture, there is no simple
solution that can be applied throughout the state. Continued
research and technical education is needed to advance the
knowledge and understanding of agronomically sound use of
fertilizer materials in order to establish local nitrate best
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management practices and ensure the safety of drinking water.
1.Committee Referrals: The Senate Rules Committee has double
referred this bill to the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee as the second committee of referral. Therefore, if
this measure is approved by this committee, the motion should
include an action to re-refer the bill to the Senate Committee
on Environmental Quality.
RELATED LEGISLATION:
AB 856 (Caballero), Chapter 257, Statutes of 2009. This bill
expanded the definitions pertaining to organic fertilizer
materials, added new requirements, fees and penalties.
PRIOR ACTIONS:
Assembly Floor 77-0
Assembly Appropriations17-0
Assembly Agriculture 7-0
SUPPORT:
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (Sponsor)
California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers
California Climate and Agricultural Network
California Farm Bureau Federation
California FarmLink
California Grain and Feed Association
California Grape and Tree Fruit League
California Pear Growers Association
California Rice Industry Association
California Seed Association
Clean Water Action
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Community Water Center
Dixon Ridge Farms
The Ecological Farming Association
Full Belly Farm
Hedgerow Farms
Lundberg Family Farms
Swanton Berry Farm
Western Growers Association
Wm. Bolthouse Farms, Inc.
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OPPOSITION:
None received