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By Alice McFarlane

Testing for Non-Fertilizer Supplements

Calls for reinstatement of efficacy testing for non-fertilizer supplements

Oct 23, 2024 | 10:03 AM

Non-fertilizer supplements include a range of biological and other products that farmers can add to their soils or put on their seeds that can build soil health, aid plant growth, or boost yields.

Non-fertilizer supplements can include a diverse array of products such as microbial inoculants, seaweed extracts, biochar and even compost tea.

Until 2013, Canada had a testing program for non-fertilizer supplements. At the top of farmers’ minds is whether non-fertilizer supplements operate as they claim to.

National Farmers Union released a new report: Tried and True: The Case for Reinstituting Efficacy Testing for Non-Fertilizer Supplements which makes the case for reinstituting Canada’s former efficacy testing regulations for the purpose of testing and verifying the benefits of non-fertilizer supplements.

In the past governments required supplement makers to conduct multi-year, multi-site tests and submit those tests to governments for scrutiny and independent verification and certification of claims on labels, websites, or marketing materials.

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James Hannay, NFU Policy Analyst, said, currently, this isn’t happening.

“The existing knowledge at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the former testing system is the most efficient solution for efficacy testing in Canada,” Hannay said. “Farmer buy-and-try’ should no longer be the norm for non-fertilizer supplements. Farmers should not bear the costs of testing non-fertilizer supplements, nor can farmers deliver statistically significant results to prove that they work.”

NFU will look to build a coalition of agricultural groups to advocate for the reinstatement of the efficacy testing program and communicate with policymakers and elected officials to have the efficacy testing program included in the 2025 budget.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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