ResponsibleAg is an industry-led certification program committed to helping agribusinesses properly store and handle farm input supplies. Participation underscores commitment to environmental, health, safety, and security regulations. Additionally, ResponsibleAg provides businesses of all sizes with education and a systematic approach to continuous improvement, helping participants identify potential compliance issues and correct them before the next government agency audit. ResponsibleAg is jointly operated by the Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute.
There are five straightforward steps to earning ResponsibleAg certification. They are:
Yes. ResponsibleAg offers participants unlimited access to valuable resources, including the Compliance Assistance Library, which provides quick and easy information on common federal compliance citations. Another popular resource is ResponsibleAg’s Assessment Checklist of all federal regulatory requirements, which is updated annually by a team of experts.
More than 2,500 agricultural businesses around the United States participate in ResponsibleAg and are working to improve the industry’s compliance and image.
The fertilizer and agricultural input industry is underscoring its corporate social responsibility by promoting safe storage and handling practices and supporting federal regulatory compliance by all retailers. Our goal: Improving safety and security associated with storage and handling of fertilizer products, supporting compliance with federal regulations, demonstrating accountability and transparency, and providing for the safety of employees, customers, and communities – while continuing to serve the vital need of the agricultural community.
ResponsibleAg compiles a checklist of federal regulatory requirements applicable to the storage and handling of fertilizer and agricultural input supplies. The checklist, developed by a technical committee comprised of industry regulatory professionals, contains more than 500 questions. Auditors credentialed under the ResponsibleAg Certification Program use this checklist to assess compliance with federal regulations at participating facilities.
The ResponsibleAg assessment includes the following areas:
Any business that stores or handles fertilizer or other agricultural input products may participate.
Participating facilities receive an assessment by a credentialed ResponsibleAg auditor once every three years. Upon completion, the auditor enters their findings into the ResponsibleAg website within 24 hours of completing the assessment. After the findings are entered, the facility receives a corrective action plan listing any issues that were discovered by the auditor.
The public can view only the list of participating ResponsibleAg facilities on the website.
Contact the ResponsibleAg Helpdesk for instructions on how to register multiple facilities.
Only facilities certified by ResponsibleAg can use the ResponsibleAg logo on signage, printed material, employee clothing, and other materials.
The ResponsibleAg audits, coupled with the transparency of the program, help confirm that the company is consistently doing the right thing.
