(a) It is the duty of the commissioner or the commissioner’s agent to sample, inspect, make analysis of, and test commercial fertilizer distributed within this state, and the commissioner or agent is authorized to enter upon any public or private premises or carriers at a time and place and to such extent as the commissioner or agent may deem necessary to determine whether their commercial fertilizers are in compliance with this part.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 43-11-108

  • Commercial fertilizer: means any substance containing one (1) or more recognized plant nutrients that is used for its plant nutrient content and that is designed for use or claimed to have value in promoting plant growth, except unmanipulated animal and vegetable manures, marl, lime, limestone, wood ashes and gypsum. See Tennessee Code 43-11-103
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture. See Tennessee Code 43-11-103
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Official sample: means any sample of commercial fertilizer taken by the commissioner or the commissioner's agent and designated as "official" by the commissioner. See Tennessee Code 43-11-103
  • Registrant: means the person who registers commercial fertilizer under this part. See Tennessee Code 43-11-103
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The methods of analysis and sampling shall be those adopted by the official from sources such as the Association of Official Analytical Chemists Journal.
(c) The commissioner, in determining for administrative purposes whether any commercial fertilizer is deficient in plant food, shall be guided solely by the official sample as defined in § 43-11-103, and obtained and analyzed as provided for in subsection (b).
(d) The results of official analysis of any commercial fertilizer that has been found to be subject to penalty or other legal action shall be forwarded by the commissioner to the registrant at least ten (10) days before the report is submitted to the purchaser. If during that period no adequate evidence to the contrary is made available to the commissioner, the report shall become official. Upon request, the commissioner shall furnish to the registrant a portion of any sample found subject to penalty or other legal action.
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