New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII, Issue 12 / June 23, 2026

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA), proposes to repeal and replace 21.18.3 NMAC, Commercial Feeds.

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED RULES:

Primary proposed amendments to 21.18.3 NMAC, Commercial Feeds, modernize the state's commercial feed regulations and align them more closely with current industry practices, contemporary nutritional science, and updated model regulations developed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The proposed amendments update definitions, labeling requirements, nutritional standards, ingredient declarations, and feeding directions for commercial feed, pet food, and specialty pet food products. The amendments also establish updated pet food labeling requirements, including nutrition information disclosures, and add labeling, handling, and warning requirements for certain products. The proposed changes are intended to improve regulatory clarity, consumer transparency, and consistency with current national standards.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Granted to the Board of Regents of New Mexico State University under the New Mexico Commercial Feed Act, Chapter 76, Article 19A, Sections 1 through 17, NMSA 1978 Compilation.

Copies of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and the proposed rules (including any technical information) are available by electronic download from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture website (https://www.nmdeptag.nmsu.edu) and are also available at the department’s office, located at 1050 Stewart Street, Las Cruces, NM.

Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., NMDA will host a public hearing that may be attended in person, by video conference, or by telephone. The hearing will take place at the Gerald Thomas Hall Auditorium (Room 194) on the campus of New Mexico State University, located at 940 College Drive, Las Cruces, NM.

Join the hearing via video conference Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.:

Meeting URL: https://nmsu.zoom.us/j/83963736435

Meeting ID: 839 6373 6435

Or

Join the hearing via phone Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.:

Phone: 16694449171 or 16699006833

Meeting ID: 839 6373 6435

Thursday, August 6, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., NMDA will host a public, in-person hearing at the CNM workforce Training Center, located at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM.

Oral comments will be accepted at the hearings from members of the public and any interested parties. Written comments will be accepted until August 6, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Comments may be submitted via email to comments@nmda.nmsu.edu or may be filed by sending original copies to:

New Mexico Department of Agriculture, Office of Director

MSC 3189, P.O. Box 30005, 1050 Stewart Street, Las Cruces, NM 88003-8005

SPECIAL NEEDS: If you are an individual with a disability who needs a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or meeting, please contact NMDA at (575) 646-3702 at least one week prior to the meeting or as soon as possible.

The Director/Secretary will consider all oral comments and will review all timely submitted written comments and responses.