The 27th annual
Environmental Respect Awards contest is underway. Interested aerial applicators have until March 13 to make a compelling case for their operation’s environmental stewardship program. The Environmental Respect Awards program is open to retail farm supply businesses that store, handle, sell, and/or apply crop nutrient and crop protection products.
Over the years, a number of NAAA members have been recognized for the
environmental respect on display at their operations. Last year, for
example, Glenn and Scott Heinen of Heinen Brothers Agra Services in
Seneca, Kan., won the Environmental Respect Award for the state of
Kansas.
To compete for an Environmental Respect Award, you must submit a self-audit entry at
environmentalrespect.com. Creating a self-audit entry has never been easier, thanks to the Environmental Respect Awards’ save-as-you-go entry process. Aerial applicators can save their entries and update them at a later time by logging in with their username and password.
The Environmental Respect Awards are sponsored by DuPont Crop Protection and presented by CropLife magazine and AgriBusiness Global. One business in each state and a sub-regional winner from each of three U.S regions (East, Central, West) plus Canada will be recognized as the best business in their respective areas. The top regional award recipient among the sub-regional winners will be crowned as the “Ambassador of Respect North America” for 2017.
Other NAAA members that have been past ERA winners include NAAA member Tim Tyree of Tyree Ag Inc. in Kinsley, Kan. Tyree received a Kansas state Environmental Respect Award in 2009 and was named a 2011 Environmental Respect Award regional winner. A decade earlier, NAAA member Darrel Mertens of Aero Applicators Inc., Sterling, Colo., received state honors in 2001 and a regional Environmental Respect Award in 2002.
Contest Tips
Want to get a leg up on the competition? Here are some tips from past judges to make your self-audit entry stand out:
- Supply photos, such as pictures that pertain to your security, mixing and loading, storage and safety procedures. Pictures will bolster the claims you report in your self-audit booklet.
- Supply supporting materials. Consider newspaper and magazine articles about your business, community letters, marketing materials, copies of written emergency plans, facility maps, press materials, etc. The more information, the better.
- Include comments and explanations. Several areas throughout the self-audit online application request comments or explanations. Use those areas to explain your business procedures, provide background information and communicate your company policies. The selection panel refers to the comment sections to help make final decisions about winning entries.
- Make sure every question is answered in the self-audit. All unanswered questions count as a “No” response and can significantly affect your entry score.
