Plant Industries

Serving the citizens of Arkansas and the agricultural and business communities by providing information and unbiased enforcement of laws and regulations set by the Arkansas State Plant Board

Frequently Asked Questions

Agricultural Consultants License

Q: What must I do to get an agricultural consultant’s license.
 A:
  Fill out a pre-application form and return it to the Plant Board with a copy of your college transcript. If the Director approves your pre-application you will be required to pass a test. If you pass the test you will need to fill out an application and submit it with a check for the $100.00 fee.

Q: Do I need any continuing education meetings before I can get my license renewed?
 A: 
 After checking the computer for this individual’s records he will be told if he needs any classes.

Feed

Q: How do I register a feed?
 A: 
 We no longer require each feed to be registered individually. You need to acquire a feed facility license which covers all registrations for that calendar year.

Q: How much is the tonnage fee and when is it due?
 A:
 A minimum inspection fee of $10.00 shall be paid on quarterly sales of 0 to 33.34 tons. Any amount above 33.34 tons requires a fee of $.30 per ton.

Q: When is the tonnage fee due?
 A:
  Tonnage reports and fees must be sent not later than 15 days after the last day of Jan., April, July and Oct. as evidenced by the postmark date.

Q: How much is the penalty for a late payment?
 A:
  For a late report the fee is fifteen percent (15%) or twenty-five dollars ($25.00) whichever is higher added to the amount due.

Lime

Q: Who needs a lime vendor’s license?
 A:
  Any person or firm who wishes to spread liming materials on properties belonging to others.

Q: How do I get a license?
 A:
  You need to submit an application on a form sent to you by the Plant Board and accompany it with a fee of $15.00 for the license plus a fee of three dollars ($3.00) for each spreader truck or similar vehicle.

Q: How do I register a liming material?
 A:
  You must register it on a form supplied by the Arkansas State Plant Board and submit it with the required fee of $15.00 for each liming material.

Fertilizer

Q: What is the difference between a fertilizer registration and a fertilizer facility license?
A. A fertilizer registration is required of all manufacturers and manipulators (in or out of state) of fertilizer and/or fertilizer materials who want to sell or offer for sale in Arkansas.

 A fertilizer facility license is required for each fertilizer blending and/or bulk storage facility located in Arkansas.

Q: What are the requirements to register a fertilizer product?
 A:
  Completion of an application for registration of fertilizer including a $25.00 registration fee per brand. The name of any commerical fertilizer or fertilizer material is considered as a distinct and separate brand when different in any aspect other than the grade or common name.

Q: What is a specialty fertilizer?
 A:
  A specialty fertilizer is any fertilizer distributed primarily for non-farm use, such as home gardens, lawns, shrubs, flowers, golf courses, municipal parks, cemeteries, greenhouses and nurseries. It may include fertilizers used for research or experimental purposes.

Q: How much is the tonnage fee and when is it due?
 A:
  The tonnage must be reported each month by the 20th of the following month which is being reported. A tonnage fee of $2.40 per ton is required for each ton or fractional ton. Sixty-two cents ($1.78) is remitted to the University of Arkansas for research and maintaining the soil testing laboratory.

Q: What is the penalty for a late fee?
 A:
  The tonnage reports are to be filed on or before the 20th of each month (Example: A March report is due on April 20th). 

  • For a tonnage report received 1-14 days late, the reporting fee is increased by 10%. 
  • For a tonnage report received 15-30 days late, the reporting fee is increased by 20%. 
  • For a tonnage report received 31 days or more late, the fee is doubled. 

Grain Warehouse

Q: Who is required to have a grain warehouse license under the Grain Warehouse Law.
 A:
 Anyone who is receiving grain for consideration without the grain being paid for, upon receipt of that grain, must be licensed.

Q: Who do I contact to answer my questions b the Public Grain Warehouse Law?
 A:
  Call the Arkansas State Plant Board at: 501-225-1598, and ask for the Grain Warehouse and Catfish Processor Section

Q: Can I be state licensed and issue warehouse receipts for USDA?
 A:
  Yes. To issue warehouse receipts under your state License you then must obtain a coop agreement from the USDA. With this agreement you will be given a license code number to be placed on our warehouse receipts so that you can issue warehouse receipts that will be accepted y your local FSA office.

Q: How many times per year will I be audited by the State Plant Board?
 A: 
 The Grain Warehouse Law requires each licensed grain warehouse to be audited at least once every year, but we usually audit each facility 2 or 3 times each year.

Q: How much will my license cost?
 A:
  A new applicant will be charged $150.00 for the first time licensing fee. All years there after will be based on the amount of your storage capacity. See CHAPTER IV, Section IV of the Law on Fees for more detail. 

Q: What other costs may we incur in the licensing process? 

  • A: Fees for a Surety (Bond, CD or Letter of Credit) 
  • A Financial Statement must be prepared by a CPA or RPA. 
  • Insurance at Fair Market Value to cover grain stored at your facility. 
  • Printing Cost - Example: pre-numbered scale tickets, pre-numbered contracts, and any other documents as required. 

Q: How is my surety (Bond, Letter of Credit, or CD) calculated.
 A:
  The surety for your company will be based upon the total mount of storage capacity of your facility. The minimum amount of surety is $20,000.00 for storage up to 100,000 bushels of grain. After 100,000 bushels, Surety is based on 20 cents X your total storage capacity for the first million bushels and 15 cents for the second million bushels and 10 cents per bushel for any capacity exceeding 2 million bushels.

Grain Dealer

Q: Who is required to have a grain dealer license under the Grain Dealer Law?

A: Anyone who is buying grain in Arkansas and is not a licensed state Grain Warehouse, a licensed federal Grain Warehouse or end user of grain.

Q: Who do I contact to answer my questions about the Grain Dealer Law?

A: Call the Arkansas State Plant Board at: 501-225-1598, and ask for the Grain Warehouse and Catfish Processor Section.

Q: Will this license require a financial statement to accompany my application?

A: Yes, and it must be prepared by a CPA or RPA. See Section III of the Grain Dealer Regulations for more details on financial statements.

Q: How many times per year will I be audited by the State Plant Board?

A: The Grain Dealer Law requires each licensed grain dealer to be audited at least once every year, but we try to audit each facility 2 or 3 times each year.

Q: How much will my license cost?

A: A new applicant will be charged $150.00 for the first time licensing fee. An existing Grain Dealer merchandizer’s first time license fee is $250.00. All years thereafter will be based on the amount of your storage capacity. See Section IV of the Grain Dealer Regulations on Fees for more detail.

Q: What other costs may we incur in the licensing process?

A: a. Fees for a Surety (Bond, CD or Letter of Credit)

b. A Financial Statement must be prepared by a CPA or RPA.

c. Printing Cost - Example: pre-numbered delivery tickets, pre-numbered contracts, and any other documents as required.

Q: How is my surety (Bond, Letter of Credit, or CD) calculated?

A: Surety is based on the dollar amount of grain purchases in Arkansas, the grain dealer purchases each fiscal year. See Section III of the Grain Dealer Regulations for more details.

Catfish Processors

Q: Who is required to have an Arkansas Catfish Registration.
 A:
  All "persons" as defined by law engaged in the handling, storing, preparing, manufacturing, packaging, or holding of catfish products shall register with the State Plant Board.

Q: Who do I contact to answer my questions about a catfish registration in Arkansas?
 A:
  Call the Arkansas State Plant Board at: 501-225-1598, and ask for the Grain Warehouse and Catfish Processor Section

Q: How many times per year will I be audited by the State Plant Board?
 A:
  The Regulations on Catfish Processors in Arkansas requires each Registered Catfish Processor to be audited at least once every year, but we usually audit each facility 2 or 3 times each year.

Q: How much will my Registration fee be?
 A:
  Any processor whose average annual purchases from catfish producers exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) shall be charged $150.00 annually.

Q: What other costs may we incur in the registration process?

  • A:  Fees for a Surety (Bond, CD or Letter of CreditA Financial Statement must be prepared by a CPA or RPA. 
  • Printing cost of pre-numbered weigh tickets 

Q: How is my surety (Bond, Letter of Credit, or CD) calculated.
A:  The minimum security shall be set at $20,000 for up to 100,000 pounds of catfish. After 100,000 pounds. All securities shall be set at a rate of .20 per pound of catfish purchased per month by the processor.

Q: What Scale regulations are required?
 A:
  All scales used for the weighing of catfish by a processor shall be calibrated, tested and officially approved annually by the Arkansas Bureau of Standards. If the scale is not approved, the processor shall not engage in the business of buying catfish from producers.