Now in its 28th year, the Environmental Respect Awards is the agricultural industry’s premier stewardship program honoring outstanding work in preserving the environment through safe, responsible business practices. Interested aerial applicators have until June 20 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. In 2016, for example, Glenn and Scott Heinen of Heinen Brothers Agra Services in Seneca, Kan., won the Environmental Respect Award for the state of Kansas. Darrel Mertens, current NAAA vice president and owner/operator of Aero Applications in Sterling, Colo., has been a national finalist.

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 Corteva Agriscience, the new agriculture division of DowDupont, 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. Regional Winners from each of three U.S. regions plus Canada are invited to Washington DC for a gala celebration October 1–4, 2018. A top regional award—named as “Ambassador of Respect”—is revealed only at the grand finale of the gala celebration.

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, Mertens’ operation, Aero Applicators Inc., received state honors in Colorado 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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Include comments and explanations. Several areas throughout the self-audit online application request comments or explanations. Use those areas to explain your business procedures,

4.  Provide background information and communicate your company policies. The selection panel refers to the comment sections to help make final decisions about winning entries.

5. 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.