Tim McArdle is working as the ResponsibleAg Industry Ambassador. He highlights how ResponsbileAg is an industry program for the industry that “lights the way for you to be in compliance.”
As he shares, “we are a heavily regulated industry and everybody in our industry knows that.”
From the heavy equipment used to the materials handled and sold, ag retailers are subject to regulations from EPA, DOT, OSHA, DHS and more. ResponsibleAg provides a way to ensure not only compliance but instill confidence in the way business is done.
McArdle says from 1,000+ location businesses to those with one or two locations, ResponsibleAg is for them.
“ResponsibleAg is a certification program, not an environmental health and safety program in itself,” he says. “The goal of ResponsibleAg is to verify and validate the value of EHS programs. ResponsibleAg comes in covers all the federal regulations in the Assessment Checklist. So at the end of this you still have to do the work, but ResponsibleAg lights the way for you to be in compliance.”
The Assessment Checklist has 467 questions which are gone through by the RespsonsibleAg auditors.
McArdle says there are obvious benefits to being part of ResponsibleAg, and there are some not so obvious benefits.
“The little hidden gem that’s available through ResponsibleAg is what we call the compliance assistance library, and it’s available on the website,” he says. “So let’s just say that you are not in compliance with something that you need to get in compliance. It’s very searchable. You can find it very easily and then it also gives you solutions and ideas for how you can comply with this regulation.”
And he shares how being a member of ResponsibleAg can improve an ag retailer’s bottom line.
“You’re going to have better success with inspections, so you won’t get as many fines. You’re going minimize incidents, which is very important,” he says. “But the not so obvious is when we overcome barriers, and we find ways of being in compliance, we instill confidence in our employees, we improve performance, and we therefore improve the bottom line.”
While ResponsibleAg was started with ag input suppliers in mind, it’s open and beneficial for a broader audience.
“In 2014, when ResponsibleAg was started by the ARA and TFI as an industry coalition, it was for that alliance to help people but it’s also open to distributors, wholesalers, farmers and manufacturers. Really, we encourage anybody who is in our business, handling these things to join ResponsibleAg because it’s for you.”
Externally there are benefits as well.
“It shows your customers and your potential customers that you’re the kind of business they want to do business with because you’ve taken seriously that you’re going to be safe, and you’re compliant,” he says.
Three things McArdle wants every ag retail to know about ResponsibleAg are:
- This is an industry program—there is no regulation action involved. This is confidential, and the information about your facilities is only shared with you.
- The cost is low. It’s $150 per location. “The cost was designed to encourage people to participate and only covers our administration costs,” he says.
- Being proactive is key. He shares the example of Process Safety Management (PSM) and how ARA’s take action to get ag retailers exempt, which was a major regulatory win for the industry and was centered on the industry’s responsible actions around safety.
