How can the crop protection industry justify the creation of a new entity? The answer is simple. There will always be resources to do the right thing. The new American Agronomic Stewardship Alliance was launched in March to enhance product stewardship and increase efficiency for retailers by consolidating the multiple facility inspections previously conducted by manufacturers into a single inspection with a uniform checklist. The Stewardship Alliance will be working with agricultural retail facilities that store bulk, mini-bulk and packaged crop protection products.

During the next three years, the American Agronomic Stewardship Alliance will contact all retail locations in the United States to set up appointments to inspect their facilities. The program will cover some 6,100 sites, with 2,000 inspections scheduled for this first year. The goal is to have all facilities inspected by the year 2006 and then to begin accrediting facilities in recognition of their stewardship performance. Inspections will be conducted using a checklist developed and maintained by the Stewardship Alliance.

The Stewardship Alliance is guided by a board of directors, composed of representatives from crop protection manufacturers, ag retailers, distributors and state and regional agricultural chemical associations. The program provides a credible stewardship platform and a means to continuously improve ag retail facility stewardship performance. A 2003 pilot program at 201 randomly selected facilities led to finalizing and launching this program. We know it works for retailers.

Crop protection manufacturers will request Stewardship Alliance inspection data and use it in the same way they've used such data collected through company or third-party inspections of retail sites for the past 20 years. The program replaces these duplicative and time-consuming inspections and gives manufacturers a one-stop resource for stewardship data. Retailers benefit from a consolidated set of guidelines that are transparent and consistent, leading to more efficient and effective facility inspections.

Work undertaken by CropLife America and Agricultural Retailers Association during the past seven years paved the way for this program, which is open to all crop protection manufacturers and distributors. Our industry recognizes that despite the constant pressures on agriculture, we must continue to renew our stewardship commitment to our businesses and our communities. Product stewardship does not stop at the factory gate.

Through standard setting, inspections and information sharing, the American Agronomic Stewardship Alliance is dedicated to protecting communities, workers and the environment. The program's Web site, www.aginspect.org, will be launched this month. Check the site for the program's stewardship checklist and national inspection schedule.

Jay J. Vroom is president and CEO of CropLife America.

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