Three Town & Country Co-op Facilities Certified In 4R Nutrient Stewardship

Town & Country Co-op Smithville, OH 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certified

Town & Country Co-op’s Smithville, OH, facility was one of three locations that received 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification. From left to right: John Calame, Dave Stahl, Chuck Hartzler, Kirk Gasser, John Kauf, Zane Dilyard, Brian Lance, David Bowers, Nate Wellert, Jordan Boreman, Brandon Eicher and Ed Geitgey.

The 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program has announced that Town & Country Co-op’s facilities located in Loudonville, Smithville, and Sullivan, OH, have been added to its growing list of nutrient service providers to achieve certified status.

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The voluntary certification program is a concentrated effort by the agriculture industry to significantly reduce and prevent applied nutrients from running off fields, which has contributed to harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, such as the one responsible for the shutdown of Toledo’s water supply in early August 2014.

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Town & Country Co-op, located in north central Ohio, has approximately 1,000 active farming member-owners who depend upon the company for its effective agronomy, feed and grain solutions. It values results that come from its focus on customers’ needs and employees’ passion and integrity.

“As good stewards of the land and good business managers, farmers want their fertilizers to remain in place on their fields and not in the watershed,” said Town & Country Co-op CEO Al Holdren. “Our employees constantly explore new products and application methods that supports farmers’ desires to be good stewards.”

The 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program certifies that entities in the tri-state area that sell, apply or make recommendations on how fertilizers should be applied to crops are doing so in accordance with 4R Nutrient Stewardship principles – which refers to using the Right Source of Nutrients at the Right Rate and Right Time in the Right Place. Applicants must go through an audit and demonstrate they not only understand 4R principles, but also follow them.

“I’m proud of our agronomists’ and branch operations’ commitment to recommending and applying only the products that are effective and minimize environmental impact,” said Town and Country Sales Manager Don Daniels.

More than 1.1 million acres and 3,040 farm clients are serviced by those who have received 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification.

“Town & Country’s employees worked very hard to ensure that its operations were following the 4R’s, and we congratulate them for their stewardship practices and success,” said Andrew Allman, executive director of the Nutrient Stewardship Council.

“By becoming 4R Certified, Town & Country has proven its dedication to the long-term improvement of Lake Erie’s water quality,” said Carrie-Vollmer Sanders, Nutrient Stewardship Council chairwoman. “We are proud of all nutrient service providers that have begun the process of becoming 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certified.

The 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program is governed and guided by the Nutrient Stewardship Council, a diverse set of stakeholders from business, government, university and non-governmental sectors with a common goal of maintaining agricultural productivity while also improving the quality of Lake Erie and its contributing watersheds. The program is administered by the Ohio AgriBusiness Association. For more information, visit 4Rcertified.org, e-mail [email protected] or call 614-326-7520 ext. 1.

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