More Than a Checklist: How ResponsibleAg Is Protecting People, Not Just Paperwork
Editor’s Note: As we mark the first 25 years of the 21st century, CropLife reflects on the innovations, challenges, and transformations that have shaped ag retail — honoring our past while looking ahead to agriculture’s promising future. In this article, ResponsibleAg Ambassador Tim McArdle reflects on the evolution of ag retail and highlights how safety and compliance are foundational to protecting the people and communities it serves.
I have served as the industry ambassador for ResponsibleAg for three years. But prior to that, I spent decades in the Retail Agronomy Business in Illinois. I represent ResponsibleAg because, like many of you, the retail agronomy business is close to my heart. Also, I have seen the need for safety and compliance monitoring. A common question is “Am I in compliance?” ResponsibleAg has the answer to that question.
ResponsibleAg was created in 2014 by a group of retail leaders under the guidance of the Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute. Considering some incidents that had occurred, we agreed that our industry could use a way to certify compliance with the myriad federal regulations to which we were subject. These businesses could already hire someone to audit and certify the books, insurance coverage, or grain in storage, but no such service existed for safety and regulatory compliance.
ResponsibleAg was rolled out as a non-profit, governed by a board elected from its own membership to offer low-cost confidential audits of retail agronomy locations, warehouses, and terminals. We start with the premise (a good one) that each location is doing a good job of compliance. Then you send in a trained ResponsibleAg auditor to inspect and validate this compliance. If you find any non-compliance, it is confidentially communicated so you can correct it. Then you become ResponsibleAg-certified, which is valid for three years. It’s a good business decision and it eliminates risks.
But remember: I said I spent decades in the retail business? Technology has changed the business tremendously over all those years. In 2000, we were adding aftermarket guidance systems to tractors and putting laptops in cabs to record planting data.
We’ve come a long way.
However, a retail agronomy location is a community business and that has not changed. Our radius of service has increased due to technology and efficiency, but we still serve a community of growers. Often, we are adjacent or surrounded by the community and most of our employees live in that community.
This whole concept was high-lighted for me recently when I attended a birthday party at one of my prior retail locations. We enjoyed seeing and catching up with employees and customers we had not seen in a while. It was just like old times with a warm and fuzzy feeling!
Later it occurred to me that the value of ResponsibleAg is much more than checkmarks on the audit questionnaire. It’s about taking care of the people. These are the same folks we go to church with, our kids go to school together, in short, they are our friends and neighbors.
Framing ResponsibleAg against this backdrop makes mundane issues like compliance with Confined Space, Logout Tagout, and containment take on a deeper meaning. It also elevates the value of ResponsibleAg and makes the decision to participate easy.
The retail agronomy business of 2025 operates at a faster pace than ever. Be ready to go into the future with confidence by verifying your compliance with a ResponsibleAg Audit. Protect your business, employees, and community.
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