ResponsibleAg, Owensboro, Ky., alerted the industry on Nov. 25 that registration for 2015 audits will begin on Dec. 1. “Registration is voluntary and is open to any business that stores or handles fertilizer products,” the organization said. “The focus of the program for the first three years will be on companies that store and handle ammonium nitrate fertilizer and/or anhydrous ammonia fertilizer.”
ResponsibleAg has also announced the credentialing of its first class of retail facility auditors. The group will provide businesses participating in ResponsibleAg with thorough federal regulatory compliance audits related to the safe storage and handling of fertilizers.
The newly trained auditors include Andy Easley, Germantown, Tenn.; Roger Waller of Agri-AFC LLC, Brewton, Ala.; Marie Cook of Alabama Farmers Co-op, Decatur, Ala.; Allen Summers, Dustin Warder, Ewa Oller, and Randy Lawrence of the Asmark Institute, Owensboro; Pete Mutschler of CHS Inc., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; Dennis Doonan of Crop Production Services (CPS), Aledo, Ill.; Dave Jenkins of CPS Bennington, Neb.; Greg Groves of CPS Loveland, Colo.; Sam Murphy of CPS Owensboro; Kevin Frye of Growmark, Bloomington, Ill.; Paul Derig of J.R. Simplot Co., Boise, Idaho; David Klahr and Scott Morris of KFSA, Hutchinson, Kan.; Alan Mahoney of MFA Inc., Columbia, Mo.; Jane Boerboom of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Saint Paul, Minn.; Greg Turner of SafEnvirons Inc., Americus, Ga.; Dan Ray of Safety Consulting Services LLC, Springfield, Ill.; Randy Crowell of Tennessee Farmers Co-op, La Vergne, Tenn.; and Clark Capwell and Jim Lemon of The McGregor Company, Colfax, Wash.
The auditors completed a rigorous four-day training course at the Ford B. West Center for Responsible Agriculture in Owensboro. Pre-requisites for participation in the course include a minimum of five years’ experience working in the agricultural inputs industry; a minimum of five years’ experience working with environmental, health, safety, security, or loss control issues; and a working knowledge of Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulatory requirements for fertilizer retailers. The next training sessions are scheduled for Dec. 2-5, with an additional nine sessions scheduled for 2015.