COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Inspection and Consumer Services Division
Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners
8 CCR 1202-4
Part 2.	DEFINITIONS
2.1	The Official Publication of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, Inc. shall mean the 2017 Official Publication of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, Inc. (“AAPFCO”), effective January 1, 2017. This Rule incorporates by reference the AAPFCO standards and guidelines. The Rule does not adopt any later amendments to, or editions of, the AAPFCO standards and guidelines. A copy of the Official Publication of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, Inc. shall be kept In the Department of Agriculture, located at 305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield Colorado 80021, and shall be open to public inspection, and available for copying, during normal business hours. A copy of the official publication shall also be available online at: http://www.aapfco.org/. This, and any other material that is incorporated by reference, may be examined at any state publications depository library. 
2.2	These Rules incorporate the official terms and official fertilizer definitions as published in the 2017 Official Publication of the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials, Inc. (AAPFCO), , except as the Commissioner of Agriculture (“Commissioner”) designates otherwise in specific cases. 
2.3	“Index value” means the comparison of the sum of the actual values found for total nitrogen, available phosphate and soluble potash over the sum of the guaranteed values for the same, expressed as a percentage.
2.4	“Soil conditioner” means a substance intended to improve the chemical or physical characteristics of the soil for the purpose of growing plants. “Soil conditioner” is synonymous with “soil amendment.” It does not include commercial fertilizers, plant amendments, untreated manures, compost and treated manures that are distributed without soil conditioner labeling claims.
2.5	“Potting Soil” and “Planting Mix” means a material suitable for holding and growing plants. It may include small amounts of fertilizer or pesticide. 
2.6	“Beneficial Substances or Compounds” means any substance or compound, other than primary, secondary and mirco plant nutrients, that can be demonstrated by peer reviewed scientific research to be beneficial to one or more species or plants, when applied exogenously. 
2.7	“Ingredient Statement” means a collective and contiguous listing of the ingredients of which a soil conditioner or plant amendment is composed listed in descending order by their predominance by volume or weight as appropriate in non-quantitative terms. 
Part 6	Analytical and Sampling Methods
6.1	The methods of sampling for fertilizers, soil conditioners and plant amendments shall be those set forth in the 20th Edition of the Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) International, or such other methods adopted by the Commissioner from authoritative sources that the Commissioner deems reliable including but not limited to Colorado State University. This Rule incorporates by reference the AOAC methods of analysis, 20th edition. This Rule does not adopt any later amendments to, or editions of, the AOAC methods of analysis. A copy of the 20th edition of the AOAC shall be kept on file at the Department of Agriculture, located at 305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield Colorado 80021, and shall be open to public inspection, and available for copying, during normal business hours. A copy of the official publication shall also be kept at AOAC International, located at 2275 Research Blvd., suite 300, Rockville Maryland 20850 and is available online at: AOAC.org. This, and any other material that is incorporated by reference, may be examined at any state publications depository library. 
6.2 	The methods for sampling and analysis of compost shall be those specified in Test Methods for the Examination of Composting and Compost, U. S. Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (CCREF), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (TMECC, 2002) or such other methods adopted by the Commissioner from authoritative sources that the Commissioner deems reliable, including but not limited to Colorado State University. lThe Test Methods for the Examination of Composting and Compost, U,s. Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (CCREF), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (TMECC, 2002) is herein incorporated by reference. It does not include later amendments or editions of the publication. A copy of the 2002 edition of the TMECC shall be kept on file at the Department of Agriculture, located at 305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield Colorado 80021, and shall be open to public inspection, and available for copying, during normal business hours. A copy of the official publication shall also be kept with the U.S. Composting Council, located at 1053 East Whitaker Mill Road, suite 115, Raleigh North Carolina 27604, and is available online at: compostingcouncil.org. This, and any other material that is incorporated by reference, may be examined at any state publications depository library.
6.3	Investigational Allowances
6.3.1	A commercial fertilizer shall be deemed deficient if the analysis of any nutrient is below the guarantee percent by an amount exceeding the applicable value specified in the following schedule, or if the index value of the fertilizer is below 98%:

Guarantee percent	Nitrogen percent	Available Phosphate percent	Soluble Potash percent	
4 or less	0.49	0.67	0.41	
5	0.51	0.67	0.43	
6	0.52	0.67	0.47	
7	0.54	0.68	0.53	
8	0.55	0.68	0.60	
9	0.57	0.68	0.65	
10	0.58	0.69	0.70	
12	0.61	0.69	0.79	
14	0.63	0.70	0.87	
16	0.67	0.70	0.94	
18	0.70	0.71	1.01	
20	0.73	0.72	1.08	
22	0.75	0.72	1.15	
24	0.78	0.73	1.21	
26	0.81	0.73	1.27	
28	0.83	0.74	1.33	
30	0.86	0.75	1.39	
32 or more	0.88	0.76	1.44	
For guarantees not listed, calculate the appropriate value by Interpolation.
6.3.2		Other elements shall be deemed deficient if any element is below the guarantee by an amount exceeding the applicable value specified in the following schedule:

ELEMENT	GUARANTEE	ALLOWABLE DEFICIENCY	
Calcium and Sulfur	1% and up	0.2 units + 5% of guarantee	
Magnesium	0.5% and up	0.2 units + 5% of guarantee	
Boron	.02% to 5%	.003 units + 15% of guarantee	
 	5.0% and up	Potash Schedule 6.3 (a)	
Cobalt and Molybdenum	.0005% to 1.0%	.0001 units + 30% of guarantee	
 	1.0% to 4.0%	.2 units + 10% of guarantee	
 	4.1% and up	Potash Schedule 6.3 (a)	
Chlorine, Iron & Sodium	0.1% to 4.0%	.005 units + 10% of guarantee	
 	4.1% and up	Potash Schedule 6.3 (a)	
Copper, Manganese, & Zinc	.05% to 4.0%	.005 units + 10% of gaurantee	
 	4.1% and up	Potash Schedule 6.3 (a)	

6.3.3		The above tolerances listed in 6.3.1. and 6.3.2 are for single samples run in duplicate. 
Part 7.0	Adulteration
Part 9.	STATEMENTS OF BASIS, SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE
The Statements of Basis, Specific Statutory Authority and Purpose for rulemaking activity from 1971 to 1984 are no longer in the Department’s files.
9.8	Adopted October 14, 2020 – Effective December 15, 2020
Statutory Authority
The commissioner’s authority for the adoption of these permanent rule amendments is set forth in section 35-12-114, C.R.S. of the Colorado Commercial Fertilizer, Soil Conditioner, and Plant Amendment Act.
Purpose
The purpose of this rulemaking is to update the language required by §24-4-103(12.5), C.R.S., to properly incorporate the AAPFCO Official Publication, effective January 1, 2017, by reference.
Factual and Policy Issues
Section 24-4-103 (12.5), C.R.S., requires specific language to properly incorporate a publication by reference. This rulemaking ensures the rules meet those statutory requirements, and updates the current address for the Inspection and Consumer Services Division within the Department of Agriculture, which changed in October 2018.