At its first meeting held at the offices of the Asmark Institute in Owensboro, Ky., the ResponsibleAg board of directors last week elected Billy Pirkle, senior director of Environmental Health and Safety for Crop Production Services (CPS), as chairman of the board. Other officers elected were Pete Mutschler of CHS Inc. as secretary, and Scott Rawlins of Wilbur-Ellis as treasurer.
The board will now select a contractor to manage the ResponsibleAg program. A position description for the role was approved and will be circulated by ARA and TFI, with a submission deadline of May 31. A subcommittee of the board will screen the applicants and conduct in-person interviews with the finalists.
The board is also forming a technical committee to oversee the development of specific content of assessment questionnaires, pre-qualification requirements for prospective auditors, and other technical issues. This committee is expected to be named by May 16 and will hold its first meeting in early June. The next board meeting is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2014.