Plant Biostimulant Act of 2025
This bill excludes certain plant biostimulants (i.e., substances, microorganisms, or mixtures thereof that support a plant's natural processes independently of the nutrient content) from regulation as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
Specifically, the bill excludes biological plant biostimulants (or those that are synthetic but structurally similar to substances of biological origin) from being classified as plant regulators, which are substances regulated as pesticides under FIFRA. Additionally, the bill excludes nutritional chemicals and plant biostimulants from being classified as nitrogen stabilizers, which are generally regulated as pesticides under FIFRA. The bill also establishes statutory definitions for plant biostimulants, nutritional chemicals, and vitamin hormone products.
The bill requires the Department of Agriculture to study and report on the types of plant biostimulants and practices of plant biostimulant use that best achieve certain results, such as increasing organic matter content.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1907 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1907
To amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to
provide for a consistent definition for plant biostimulants.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 22, 2025
Mr. Marshall (for himself and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to
provide for a consistent definition for plant biostimulants.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Plant Biostimulant Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. DEFINING PLANT BIOSTIMULANTS.
(a) In General.--Section 2 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (v) and inserting the following:
``(v) Plant Regulator.--
``(1) In general.--The term `plant regulator' means any
substance or mixture of substances intended, through
physiological action, for accelerating or retarding the rate of
growth or rate of maturation, or for otherwise altering the
behavior, of plants or the produce thereof.
``(2) Exclusions.--The term `plant regulator' does not
include--
``(A) substances to the extent that they are
intended as plant nutrients, trace elements,
nutritional chemicals, plant inoculants, soil
amendments, or vitamin hormone products; or
``(B) plant biostimulants that--
``(i) are of biological origin; or
``(ii) include chemical compounds that are
synthetically derived, but are structurally
similar and functionally identical to
substances of biological origin.'';
(2) in subsection (hh)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``substances.'' and inserting
``substances''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by inserting ``, or'' after
``volatilization''; and
(II) by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by inserting before the undesignated matter
following paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) a plant biostimulant; or
``(5) a nutritional chemical.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(pp) Plant Biostimulant.--The term `plant biostimulant' means a
substance, microorganism, or mixture thereof, that, when applied to
seeds, plants, the rhizosphere, soil, or other growth media, acts to
support a plant's natural processes independently of the nutrient
content of that substance, microorganism, or mixture thereof, and that
thereby improves--
``(1) nutrient availability, uptake, or use efficiency;
``(2) tolerance to abiotic stress; and
``(3) consequent growth, development, quality, or yield.
``(qq) Nutritional Chemical.--The term `nutritional chemical'--
``(1) means any substance or mixture of substances that
interacts with plant nutrients in a manner that improves
nutrient availability or aids the plant in acquiring or
utilizing plant nutrients; and
``(2) includes some plant biostimulants.
``(rr) Vitamin Hormone Product.--The term `vitamin hormone product'
means a product consisting of a mixture of plant hormones, plant
nutrients, inoculants, or soil amendments.''.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of Environmental Protection
Agency shall revise the regulations under subchapter E of chapter I of
title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of
enactment of this Act), to carry out the amendments made by subsection
(a).
SEC. 3. SOIL HEALTH STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary'') shall conduct a study to assess the types
of, and practices using, plant biostimulants (as defined in section 2
of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C.
136)) that best achieve the following:
(1) Increasing organic matter content.
(2) Reducing atmospheric volatilization.
(3) Promotion of nutrient management practices.
(4) Limiting or eliminating runoff or leaching of soil or
nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, into groundwater or
other water sources.
(5) Restoring beneficial bioactivity or healthy nutrients
to the soil.
(6) Aiding in carbon sequestration, nutrient use
efficiency, and other climate-related benefits.
(7) Supporting innovative approaches to improving
agricultural sustainability, including the adoption of
performance-based outcome standards and criteria.
(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which funds
are first made available to conduct the study under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall make publicly available, and submit to the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, a report that
describes the results of the study.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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