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Our Mission: “MCPR exists to promote the proper use, storage and application of crop production inputs in an environmentally safe and agronomically sound manner; and to support regulatory and legislative initiatives which benefit retailers, manufacturers, distributors and custom applicators of crop production inputs.”
Pesticide Dealer License and Fee Changes Takes Effect January 1, 2010.
The Department of Agricultural letter that was sent to pesticide dealers in Minnesota last week explaining some of the legislative changes affecting persons and companies selling agricultural pesticides in or into Minnesota. Agricultural pesticides are defined in the statutes as products with an Agricultural Use Requirements box on the labeling and not classified as restricted use pesticides. Dealers already licensed to sell bulk pesticide or restricted use pesticides do not need any additional licensing to sell agricultural pesticides, but persons and companies not already licensed and selling agricultural pesticides in or into Minnesota must obtain a Agricultural Pesticide Dealer License from MDA.
Also new, is that the responsibility to collect and pay the annual gross registration sales fee of 0.55% now rests with the licensed person and company selling agricultural pesticide, rather than with the product registrant. The fees are due by January 31 for sales made in the preceding year. MDA is working with MCPR to develop an electronic reporting format. Stay tuned on the details, MCPR members.
These and other changes impacting pesticide dealers are explained in the attached letter. MDA is conducting outreach to stakeholders and interested parties to make these new dealer requirements known. We believe this information is of interest to members of your organization and ask for your assistance distributing it. If it would be helpful, the information could be reformatted for distribution in a newsletter.
The Minnesota Pesticide Control Law (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 18B) requires a pesticide to be registered with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) before distribution within the state. The MDA considers the time of sale, or distribution, to be that time at which the pesticide is delivered to the purchaser/end user. The MDA pesticide registration process includes both a registration fee and a percent of annual gross sales fee which until now, have been paid by the pesticide manufacturer. Legislation passed in 2009 has resulted in the following changes:
- Any pesticide with labeling containing a section entitled “Agricultural Use Requirements” is defined as an Agricultural Pesticide. This language details worker protection use requirements. Many of these pesticides are sold for use on farms, greenhouses, nurseries, rights-of-way, and forestry sites. Dual use products, pesticide products with a label including both the Agricultural Use Requirements box and a Non-agricultural Use Requirements box, will be considered agricultural pesticides.
- An Agricultural Pesticide Dealer is defined as a person who sells to an end user, commonly described as a retail sale. A person may not distribute or sell an Agricultural Pesticide in the state, or into the state, without first obtaining an Agricultural Pesticide Dealer License. The license is valid for one year and each location or place of business, from which an agricultural pesticide is distributed or sold, must have a separate agricultural pesticide dealer license. A dealer licensed to sell restricted-use or bulk pesticides is not required to obtain the additional Agricultural Pesticide Dealer License.
- A person required to have an Agricultural Pesticide Dealer License and who operates from a location outside the state and who distributes or sells an agricultural pesticide into the state, must maintain both a registered office and a registered agent in this state.
- A person licensed as an Agricultural Pesticide Dealer must maintain records of purchases, sales, and distribution of agricultural pesticides in and into this state for five years. The records shall be made available for audit. Sales invoices must show the percent of gross sales fee rate assessed.
- A person licensed as an Agricultural Pesticide Dealer shall report and pay applicable fees on annual gross sales of agricultural pesticides no later than January 31 of each year. The fee is 0.55% of annual gross sales.
You are being notified at this time so that you can make any process modifications necessary prior to the period that this change in fee collection occurs. For products distributed, e.g. delivered to end users January 1, 2010, and thereafter, the gross sales fees will be collected from the licensee as described above and reported and paid to the MDA.
In another change, the Commissioner has reduced the Agricultural Chemical Response and Reimbursement Account (ACRRA) surcharge. Beginning in 2010, the amount collected at the retail level has been reduced to 0.10 percent of the annual gross sales. The total surcharges (annual sales plus ACRRA) on pesticides in 2010 will be 0.65 percent.
Questions regarding this new license type and the dealer gross sales fee payment requirements can be directed to Joe Spitzmueller, Supervisor, Licensing & Certification at joseph.spitzmueller@state.mn.us or 651-201-6546 , or Gregg Regimbal, Supervisor, Pesticide Management Unit, gregg.regimbal@state.mn.us or 651-201-6671.
Download the safety advisory letter from PHMSA.Agricultural Chemicals Security Credit UpdateThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finalized Form 8931, the Agricultural Chemicals Security Credit (ACSC), recently. The form will allow eligible agricultural businesses to claim a new general business credit, and is available both to businesses that sell retail agricultural products (predominantly to farmers and ranchers), and to manufacturers, formulators, distributors, and applicators of specified agricultural chemicals that have made certain security investments. MCPR worked with other Ag coalition members to get passage of the Ag Security Tax Credit as part of the '08 Farm Bill. Click here to read the story.Ag Chem Security Credit Tax Form2010 MSDS BookThere are many good sources of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for pesticides, however the unusual or hard-to-get items such oxygen, acetylene, fuels, fertilizers, welding rods, micronutrients, paints, grain treatments, spray additives and cleaning supplies typically make maintaining a current MSDS File a real chore.
The 2010 MSDS Manual, published by the Asmark Institute, is designed especially for agricultural retailers and contains, 1,880 pages of information for more than 1,000 products. OSHA requires each employer to maintain a current file for the MSDS for the hazardous substances used or handled in the workplace. This manual is the best solution to help with this requirement.
The 2010 MSDS Manual makes compliance easier and at less than $45, more economical than trying to update your file yourself.CLICK HERE to order!2010 Applicator Manual EPA requires a label accompany every pesticide to the end user. For retailers providing custom application, this can be very difficult, especially when pulling from minibulk and bulk tanks. The 2010 Applicator Manual is designed to be placed in each piece of application equipment, and nurse or tender equipment, to provide operators and handlers access to label information.Just as each container of pesticide has a specimen label affixed to it, these handy little manuals with over 125 of the most common custom applied products, is an economical substitute for providing your applicators and other handlers with the label information. With 1,880 pages of information, the manuals sure beat making copies on a copy machine!The 2010 Applicator Manual makes compliance easier and at $18.40 each, more economical than any other alternative available.CLICK HERE to order!
