For safety professionals managing multiple agricultural locations, consistency can be one of the biggest challenges. Lisa Hanson, Safety Director at Ag Plus in South Whitley, Indiana, discovered the solution in ResponsibleAg certification—a program that has fundamentally transformed how the company approaches safety across its diverse operations.
Ag Plus operates 16 locations spanning agronomy centers, grain storage, feed mills, fuel operations, and transportation services. With such a varied portfolio, Hanson needed a comprehensive system that could deliver consistent safety standards across all facilities while streamlining regulatory compliance.
“That’s the thing I like about ResponsibleAg audits. It’s consistency,” Hanson explains. “All my locations get the exact same questions asked, so they don’t have to worry that I’m picking on just that location. They all know they’re getting audited the same way.”
Ag Plus has been participating in ResponsibleAg since 2018, currently maintaining certification at six agronomy centers with plans to add a seventh location in 2025. What began as a trial of the audit tools has evolved into a cornerstone of Ag Plus’s safety program.
A Resource That Saves Time and Improves Compliance
Before ResponsibleAg, Hanson faced the daunting task of developing comprehensive audit procedures from scratch. ResponsibleAg’s 42-page framework eliminated that burden entirely. “You don’t have to recreate the wheel. It’s already done for you,” she says. “ResponsibleAg has already done it.”
The program’s thoroughness has revealed compliance gaps that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. A prime example was fire prevention planning. While Ag Plus had emergency action plans and fire extinguisher maintenance programs, ResponsibleAg audits identified the need for comprehensive fire prevention plans—a critical safety component the company had overlooked.
“I didn’t have a fire prevention plan,” Hanson admits. “We had our fire extinguishers that we checked and did training on, but not the actual fire prevention plan.”
Building Accountability and Trust
One unique aspect of ResponsibleAg that Hanson particularly values is its built-in accountability system. As a certified auditor herself, she’s subject to third-party audits, which maintain the program’s integrity. “I can’t just let them skimp by because I’m an auditor,” she tells her team. “I can also get audited, and I like that — it keeps the whole program honest.”
This transparency has helped build trust with employees across Ag Plus locations. While nobody enjoys being audited, employees appreciate the fair, standardized approach. The program also empowers them to take ownership of compliance issues. Each audit question links directly to relevant regulations, enabling staff to research and resolve problems independently.
Immediate Access to Critical Information
ResponsibleAg’s resource library has become Hanson’s go-to reference for regulatory questions. When employees question safety requirements, she can quickly access the specific regulations. “My guys sometimes will ask me, ‘Lisa, are you making this up?’ I can answer, ‘No, right here’s the reg. Let’s look at it together.’”
This immediate access to regulatory information has proven invaluable for specialized agricultural operations like anhydrous ammonia handling, where ResponsibleAg provides comprehensive risk management process resources and compliance tools.
Long-Term Value and Industry Leadership
After seven years with ResponsibleAg, the return on investment is clear. The program has not only streamlined Ag Plus’s safety operations but positioned the company as an industry leader. The company now serves as a test pilot for new audit procedures, and leadership contributes grain industry expertise to ResponsibleAg’s board of directors.
“If somebody asked me about ResponsibleAg, I say do it in a heartbeat,” Hanson concludes. “It’s not hard to follow. The questions are very easy, and with the resources right there to find what the rest of the regulation says.”
For Ag Plus, ResponsibleAg certification represents more than regulatory compliance—it’s a comprehensive system that ensures every employee goes home safely while providing the confidence that comes from knowing best practices are being followed consistently across all operations.
ResponsibleAg is an industry-led certification program committed to helping agribusinesses properly store and handle farm input supplies. For more information, visit ResponsibleAg.org.
The ResponsibleAg Board of Directors has officially approved the 2026 ResponsibleAg Assessment Checklist — the most comprehensive update since ResponsibleAg launched in 2014.
This new checklist ensures facility assessments reflect the latest Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of Transportation requirements, enabling participants to stay confident in compliance and ahead of regulatory changes.
What’s New
Behind the Work
Updating the checklist was no small task. The ResponsibleAg Technical Committee (RTC) conducted nine meetings in 2024 and seven in 2025 to review more than 500 audit questions. Their goal: make sure your ResponsibleAg audit remains rigorous, relevant, and practical.
Looking Ahead
Implementation of the new checklist begins in 2026. Now is the perfect time to plan your audit for 2026!
“This comprehensive update ensures ResponsibleAg continues to serve as a trusted roadmap for compliance and operational excellence,” says ResponsibleAg Technical Committee Chair Joshua Bossard, senior director of safety & health, retail for Nutrien Ag Solutions. “The Technical Committee’s thorough review process has resulted in a checklist that’s more aligned with today’s regulatory landscape while being clearer for both auditors and participants.”
ResponsibleAg is proud to congratulate the following individuals who recently earned their ResponsibleAg Auditor credential:
“By becoming credentialed, these professionals have demonstrated their commitment to supporting continuous improvement and a strong culture of safety within their organizations and the broader industry,” says Daren Coppock, Agricultural Retailers Association President & CEO.
ResponsibleAg auditors assess up to 17 critical areas of a facility to ensure compliance with key federal environmental, health, safety, and security regulations. Using the secure ResponsibleAg portal and supported by a suite of tools, auditors conduct efficient, consistent, and credible audits.
“ResponsibleAg auditors play a crucial role in helping facilities identify and address potential risks before they become problems,” says Corey Rosenbusch, President and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute.
Learn more about ResponsibleAg and becoming a ResponsibleAg Auditor at https://www.responsibleag.org/become-an-auditor/.
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. ResponsibleAg is jointly operated by the Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute.
For over a decade, ResponsibleAg has helped ag retailers across the country maintain compliance with regulated safety standards—supporting safer operations and stronger communities.
Hear directly from the experts in a new podcast from The Scoop featuring ResponsibleAg’s Industry Ambassador Tim McArdle and ARA CEO Daren Coppock. They dive into powerful case studies, highlighting how ResponsibleAg isn’t just a checklist—it’s a business asset that drives everyday success.
Whether you’re an ag professional, safety manager, or just curious about industry best practices, this podcast will deliver insights you won’t want to miss.
Listen now and explore how ResponsibleAg supports safety, compliance, and confidence.
ResponsibleAg certification is not just an investment—it’s an invaluable resource that significantly enhances safety and environmental compliance within an organization. This comprehensive program has proven to be a game-changer for the Buttonwillow Warehouse Company, which has retail fertilizer and crop protection locations across California.
Several years ago, the company signed on to ResponsibleAg and had an audit conducted at one of its largest facilities. “The experience was truly eye-opening,” says Tim Hayes, safety manager for Buttonwillow. The initial audit revealed areas in need of improvement that had previously gone unnoticed. The Buttonwillow team worked through the ResponsibleAg checklist with the help of the program’s resources, and it earned ResponsibleAg certification at that first warehouse.
“ResponsibleAg’s extensive resources led to a streamlined process for certifying our other locations — making subsequent audits faster and more efficient,” Hayes says. Buttonwillow now boasts 10 ResponsibleAg certified locations, with the 11th undergoing its first audit in the coming months.
One of the key benefits of ResponsibleAg is how it augments existing health and safety programs. While most companies already have safety protocols in place, Hayes says, ResponsibleAg helps “tighten everything up.” He adds that for companies operating in California, which is known for its stringent environmental, health, and safety regulations, ResponsibleAg is particularly valuable.
Getting Employees on Board
At Buttonwillow, employees were initially wary of what they perceived as the added workload related to ResponsibleAg certification. Now, Hayes says, employees welcome the program. With ResponsibleAg, employees can identify areas of improvement and get compliance support – before the audit. “At Buttonwillow Warehouse Company, ResponsibleAg has fostered a culture of readiness and pride,” Hayes says. To underscore that commitment to safety, the company has a minimum score expectation of 95% for its safety audits, and many locations consistently achieve perfect or near-perfect results.
Finally, ResponsibleAg provides peace of mind to Buttonwillow’s leaders. By removing doubts and confirming that best practices are being followed, the program enables them to focus on running their businesses with confidence.
“I would highly recommend ResponsibleAg to anyone who is on the fence,” Hayes says. “It is a worthwhile investment.”
Brian Miller has spent his entire career immersed in the world of agriculture, from working on his family’s farm to managing an ag retail location and eventually becoming a leader in environmental health and safety (EHS). Now retired as lead instructor for the ResponsibleAg Auditor Training Course and ResponsibleAg verification auditor, Brian reflects on his decades of experience with a deep sense of purpose — to prevent accidents and save lives.
While earning his degree from Purdue University, Miller worked summers at an agriculture retailer, gaining valuable hands-on experience that would shape his future. After graduating, Miller joined a retailer full-time, starting in sales and rising to manage a location. Eventually, he shifted into supporting retail facilities and their EHS programs.
“The greatest successes in EHS are the things that never happen,” Miller says.
His knack for identifying and mitigating risks soon had him supervising a team of seven field staff. In 2007, he moved to the wholesale side of the business, supporting distribution terminals on EHS. By 2012, Miller had become a full-time auditor, evaluating fertilizer manufacturing plants and distribution terminals.
It was during this time that Miller became involved with Responsible Ag, an industry-led initiative that helps participants ensure compliance with environmental, health, safety, and security regulations. When he began teaching courses in 2016, he retired from his company and started his own consulting business.
Miller’s proudest accomplishments stem not from the awards or accolades, but from the accidents avoided. “How many things did you do or tell people that may have prevented somebody from getting hurt seriously or even potentially killed?”
Through his work with Responsible Ag, Miller estimates the program has identified nearly 100,000 potential hazards that could have led to serious injuries or fatalities. “That’s what excited me to be involved from the very beginning,” he explains. “It’s about prevention.”
Developing a strong safety culture — from the CEO to the part-time seasonal worker — is crucial in Miller’s view. “If you can’t relate it to people, you’re not going to make a difference,” he tells his students.
Now in retirement, Miller continues to work on his family’s farm and pursue personal interests, such as running a marathon and learning to play the piano. But his passion for preventing accidents remains undiminished. “Experience is something they can never take away from you,” he says. “I have had the opportunity to see a lot of different places and deal with a lot of different people, and that has been very positive.”
As the agriculture industry continues to evolve, Miller’s legacy of safety and stewardship will undoubtedly live on through ResponsibleAg, the countless lives he has touched, and the accidents he has helped prevent.
ARLINGTON, VA (Nov. 7, 2024) — ResponsibleAg is proud to announce that its newly redesigned website, www.responsibleag.org, has won an Associations Standard of Excellence
2024 award. The award is presented by the Web Marketing Association.
“The redesigned ResponsibleAg website does an excellent job of highlighting this important industry initiative, which helps agribusinesses achieve and maintain compliance with existing federal laws and regulations” says Daren Coppock, president and CEO of the Agricultural Retailers Association.
Since 1997, the Web Marketing Association’s annual WebAward Competition has been setting the standard of excellence for website development. Independent expert judges from around the world review sites in 86 industries. Only the best sites are recognized with a WebAward.
“While we are proud the Web Marketing Association has acknowledged our achievement with the ResponsibleAg website, we ultimately succeeded in making the website better looking and easier to use for ResponsibleAg’s participants and potential participants,” said Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute.