Now in its 29th year, the Environmental Respect Awardsis 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 7 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.
New in 2019, the Environmental Respect Awards have broadened
the awards to include not only crop protection and seed
retailers/agents/agencies, but also service providers, integrated producers and
public agencies.
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. 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, Darrel Mertens, 2018 NAAA
vice president 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 that will take place in October 2019. A top regional award – named
as “Ambassador of Respect” – is revealed
only at the grand finale of the gala celebration.
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.
Visit environmentalrespect.com
for more information and to get started.
