FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Richardson Paul H 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 06/24/2005 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol BALCHEM CORP [BCP] (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O BALCHEM CORPORATION, PO BOX 600 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) V.P. Research and Development 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) NEW HAMPTON, NY 10958 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Incentive Stock Option (1)	10/25/2002(2)	10/24/2011	Common Stock	1,500	$ 14.1	D	Â
Incentive Stock Option (1)	09/12/2003(2)	09/11/2012	Common Stock	1,950	$ 15.37	D	Â
Incentive Stock Option (1)	12/12/2004(2)	12/11/2013	Common Stock	6,000	$ 15.23	D	Â
Incentive Stock Option (1)	09/16/2005(2)	09/15/2014	Common Stock	15,000	$ 19.73	D	Â
Incentive Stock Option (1)	06/24/2006(2)	06/23/2015	Common Stock	10,000	$ 29.67	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Richardson Paul H C/O BALCHEM CORPORATION PO BOX 600 NEW HAMPTON, NY 10958	Â	Â	  V.P. Research and Development	Â

Signatures

/s/ Paul H. Richardson, PhD		07/05/2005
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	The options constitute sign-on grant upon the reporting person's commencement of employment and other merit award grants.
(2)	20% of the options granted become exercisable on the indicated date (which is the first anniversary of the date of grant). An additional 40% of the options granted become exercisable on the second anniversary of the date of grant, and an additional 40% of the options granted become exercisable on the third anniversary of the date of grant.

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