Florida Retail Federation supports fertilizer legislation
The Florida Retail Federation is supportive of HB 457 that would amend the present fertilizer management statutes in Florida. Presently, in some areas of our state, consumers and retailers face a complicated patchwork of local fertilizer ordinances that vary from county to county, and in some cases, city to city. Continuing down this path of inconsistent regulations would be potentially very costly to retailers and this legislation, filed today by Rep. Clay Ingram (R-Pensacola), would work to remedy this flawed process.
With varying rules and regulations dictating where and when fertilizer can be sold in the state, the productivity of Florida commerce is constrained. It is very difficult for a retailer to continuously be confronted with changing, localized rules throughout Florida’s 67 counties and more than 400 cities. Most retailers operate on a statewide basis and must considerably re-examine the way they distribute and implement the sales of fertilizer. For the local, independent retailers, this causes an even larger problem as they are competing with businesses in neighboring counties who allow for fertilizer sales year-round. A consistent model would level the playing field and make all Florida retailers more able to distribute fertilizer for homeowner use and implement the statutory requirements that would allow for immediate water quality improvements.
The fertilizer industry and the retail chains that carry the products are important to Florida’s fiscal growth as they provide jobs and revenue for our state. As Floridians concerned about fiscal responsibility, we should also recognize that turf grass is our number one agricultural crop, exceeding citrus or vegetable crops in annual revenues. The creation and long term maintenance of urban open space provides jobs, as well as increases tourism dollars from visitors exploring parks, gardens and civic areas.
The experts at the Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services (DACS) should control fertilizer management laws in order to create a uniform, scientifically-based method of regulation. Protecting Florida’s natural resources is not only good for the environment, its good economics.”
