Agriculture Laboratory Consortium Welcomes the State of Florida Feed, Seed and Fertilizer Labs to the LABWORKS Community – 03/30/2007

The Florida Division of Agricultural Environmental Services administers various state and federal regulatory programs concerning environmental and consumer protection issues. These include state mosquito control program coordination; agricultural pesticide registration, testing and regulation; pest control regulation; and feed, seed and fertilizer production inspection and testing.
Weldon Collier is the Chief of the Bureau of Feed, Seed and Fertilizer Laboratories, which are charged with ensuring that feed, seed and fertilizer products are safe and conform to label guarantees. Mr. Collier sites the total success of the current LABWORKS LIMS implementation in the Florida Pesticide Laboratory as one of the main considerations in the State’s decision to deploy LABWORKS LIMS in his laboratories.

Feed Program
Animal feeds, including pet foods, are regulated through the inspection of production and distribution establishments and laboratory analysis of samples. Registrants, including ingredient suppliers, are required to submit samples of their products to Department certified laboratories for testing. Results from these sample analyses are reported to the State Feed Laboratory where appropriate regulatory action is taken.

Seed Laboratory
Samples of agricultural, vegetable and flower seed are analyzed for purity, germination and the presence of noxious weeds to ensure seed for sale in Florida conforms to label guarantees and standards set forth in Chapter 578, Florida Statutes.

Fertilizer Laboratory
Historically, the fertilizer laboratory performs approximately 170,000 analytical determinations annually on official samples of commercial fertilizer and agricultural liming materials to ensure that they meet the standards set forth in Chapter 576, Florida Statutes. As the oldest state laboratory, the fertilizer laboratory has kept pace with the evolving needs of our consumers and stakeholders by constantly researching and implementing new methodologies and technologies. Analyses such as nutrient availability in controlled release fertilizers, micro-nutrient solubility, and analyses for heavy metals are just a few of our present areas of focus. Currently, the laboratory is capable of performing over 40 types of analyses on fertilizer products.

Pesticide Laboratory
The Bureau of Pesticides’ mission is to provide comprehensive pesticide regulatory programs that respond to state needs by ensuring the protection of public health and the environment. The Bureau is responsible for registering pesticide products sold and distributed in Florida. The Bureau also conducts scientific reviews to determine whether human health and the environment may be adversely affected when pesticides are used under Florida conditions and in accordance with label directions and applicable regulations. The Bureau also includes a modern chemical laboratory capable of analyzing environmental samples and pesticide formulations to support scientific and compliance-based investigations. Bureau employees include registration specialists, scientists, chemists and support staff.

“I am very pleased to welcome a second Florida Laboratory Division to our growing consortium of state and federal agriculture laboratories” said Robert Hudson, Global Director for Enterprise Software Solutions at PerkinElmer. “The focus on safety in our food supply chain, and the need for assurance of truth in labeling throughout the agricultural process is growing at a remarkable pace. The opportunity to partner with two of the most significant state agricultural entities in the U.S. allows us to apply our team’s knowledge and experience to deliver to their needs. At the same time, the diversity of services that these labs provide will enable us to continue to improve upon our breadth of knowledge. In turn, we will be better positioned to serve the evolving needs of all of our agricultural stakeholders over the long term.”