You already know the drill: run the checklist, fix what you find, move on. The real test isn’t your own audit. It’s the next government inspection, and whether it finds what you missed. That’s why CHS added ResponsibleAg certification to its safety program.
That’s the gap Mike Stucke, Senior Safety Specialist at CHS, has spent this year closing. With one ResponsibleAg certification at a time, Stucke has a goal of 20 site audits, the last of which was wrapping up this fall. CHS already has three certified sites.
About CHS
CHS is the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States and a leading global agribusiness, serving customers in 65 countries. Its diversified agronomy, grains, foods, and energy businesses provide the crop and livestock inputs, market access, and risk management
What CHS Gets from ResponsibleAg Certification: The Why
CHS already runs its own internal audit teams and an annual checklist. So why add a third-party certification on top of that? For Stucke, the answer comes down to one thing: ResponsibleAg shows its work.
“What I like about the ResponsibleAg side, since it’s a third-party outside audit, is consistency,” Stucke said. “It’s looking at a different set of things we don’t always focus on as much.”
Another real value, he says, is in how each requirement is explained. ResponsibleAg cites the exact regulation behind every finding. When people ask “why” regarding a regulation, Stucke can show them exactly where each requirement comes from.
With this additional information, staff feel they can trust the ResponsibleAg audits. It’s not simply a list of violations, but a documented list with citations to where a rule comes from, one Stucke can pull up on the spot.
From Apprehension to Buy-In
Location staff weren’t thrilled when they first heard about the audits, Stucke admitted. But the tone changed once site staff understood the goal.
“They were apprehensive at first,” he said. “I try to make it clear: I’m not here to pick apart what you’re doing, this is to help us comply. We’re not pointing fingers; we’re identifying things and turning it into a learning experience.”
Because Stucke works inside CHS rather than as an outside auditor, he can also follow up after action items go out. “I keep my own document and follow up with locations, so we actually get sites certified instead of it falling by the wayside,” he said.
ResponsibleAg Certification Fits CHS’s Co-op Structure
“You can apply ResponsibleAg to any part of the ag world, co-op or not,” Stucke says. “You build the programs at the corporate level and implement them at the location level. There’s been no roadblocks.”
That’s a direct answer to a question CHS gets asked often, because the company is itself a cooperative built from several acquired co-ops. Registering those unique entities takes a little extra thought, Stucke says, but the certification process itself works the same way everywhere.
He also praises the support behind the program itself, including from the ResponsibleAg Help Desk and information listed for participants on the ResponsibleAg website.
Built by People Who’ve Done the Work
Stucke earned his own ResponsibleAg auditor certification in June 2025 at a training in Owensboro, Kentucky, led by longtime instructor Peter Mutschler, who used to work at CHS himself.
“It was very hands-on,” Stucke said. “You get the classroom side, then you do mock audits on a full site, working as a team to find things. It was awesome. They really focus on consistency and making sure that as auditors, we’re all looking for the same stuff.”
Twenty years into an EHS career, Stucke didn’t expect much from another certification course. He came away impressed anyway. “It wasn’t just classroom work. [The ResponsibleAg Auditor Course] kept your attention the whole time, and it was well put together.”
Worth It, By His Own Account
Stucke has a direct message for safety leaders who’ve considered ResponsibleAg but haven’t pulled the trigger.
“You just have to do it. A lot of people are on the fence because they think their internal audits are enough, but you’re biased with your own stuff. It’s nice to have another set of eyes.”
[Find out more about registering with ResponsibleAg.]
Stucke calls CHS’s ResponsibleAg certification “a badge of honor that shows real commitment to EHS.”
