The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) recently recognized three ag retailers that have gone above and beyond the requirements of their state and federal laws to ensure good stewardship in their communities. MACA launched the Extra STEP award in 2006.

Retailers are nominated for the Extra STEP award by their state association, and their businesses must have stewardship initiatives that reflect at least one word from each letter of the word STEP. Possible words to select are:

S - Science, Spokesman, Stewards or Supporting

T - Teaching, Technology, Trailblazer or Transfer

E - Education, Environment, Envision or Example

P - Philosophy, Practices, Priority or Promote

MFA Agri-Services, Mexico, MO, was presented the Extra STEP award at the MO-AG winter convention and legislative conference held in January in Lake of the Ozarks.

MFA Agri-Services was recognized for being environmental “Stewards,” providing the latest “Technology” (such as lightbars to prevent overapplication of crop protection products and fertilizer) to customers, leading by “Example” in its community, and its “Philosophy” of environmental stewardship throughout its company culture.

MFA Agri-Services researched and designed a facility that includes a totally enclosed, secured, diked and heated rinse pad, blending area and chemical and fertilizer storage areas.

The Missouri retailer also is a community leader in precision agriculture, providing intensive soil sampling and variable-rate fertilizer application. This system enables trained personnel to use specialized software and equipment to recommend and apply nutrients only where (and in the amounts) required. MFA Agri-Services also uses GPS guidance systems, controllers, yield monitors and electrical conductivity technologies.

The Natural Resource Conservation Service recognizes MFA Agri-Services as a technical service provider (TSP). TSPs are certified to help producers apply conservation practices on their land.

Leading by example, the dealership maintains clean and orderly facilities. MFA Agri-Services' philosophy of being an environmental steward started in management and was quickly adopted by the company's employees and customers.

Tom Monke, president of Monke Bros. Fertilizer Company, with five locations near Omaha, NE, was nominated by the Nebraska Agri-Business Association (NeABA) and received MACA's Extra STEP award for being a longtime “Supporter” of the crop protection industry; a “Teacher” who sponsored a national safety training school for fellow ag retailers; an “Educator,” who educates the public as well as the Nebraska legislature about agricultural policies; and a “Promoter” of what he believes in.

Tom Monke's uncle and father established Monke Bros. Fertilizer in the late 1950s. Today Tom and his cousin David own the company, which is operated in conjunction with Fontanelle Hybrids in Nickerson, NE. “We share a number of employees, trucks, the same maintenance facility and the main office,” Monke says. Tom's two sons also are involved in the company's fertilizer business, which sells NH₃, liquid and dry blend fertilizers, and crop protection products to growers in a four-county area just northwest of Omaha.

Implementing an idea from the NeABA, Monke hosted a safety training school for fellow ag retailers at his operation a few years ago. “We felt we were able to put together a program that would benefit our industry as well as project a positive view of our industry for the general public,” he says. “With our proximity to a metropolitan area, as well as easy access for others to travel in, we were a logical choice.”

The safety program included a session in which the Nebraska State Patrol's Carrier Enforcement Division conducted an inspection of a semitrailer. The program also provided training in the containment of a spilled mini-bulk container, drills with fire extinguishers and a demonstration of how to properly get a rolled-over NH₃ trailer back on its wheels.

“While this was mainly a demonstration program, we make safety a priority at our locations,” Monke says. The Nebraska retailer conducts for its employees different types of training and drills, including forklift training, safe chemical handling, proper NH₃ handling procedures and repair procedures on NH₃ equipment.

Monke Bros. Fertilizer explains how its equipment and facilities are used to employees as well as local fire departments. Ongoing training serves as a refresher for the dealership's full-time employees and also helps seasonal workers.

Monke, who served on the NeABA's board of directors for six years (and one year as chairman), also takes time to testify before the Nebraska legislature on agricultural policies. “Periodically, a bill will come up in our state legislature that will have an effect on our industry. Taking the time to testify at committee hearings as well as lobbying state senators is one way of being proactive in regard to dealing with outside influences on our industry,” he says.

Issues that Monke has addressed on behalf of NeABA have included ag retailer liability in cases of NH₃ thieves, genetically modified seed issues and fertilizer tax issues.

Water issues are currently a big concern in Nebraska, partly as a result of a drought that has lasted seven years in the western part of the state. The state wants to tax entities for runoff, but Monke argues that agricultural retailers should not be taxed twice because they already have built containment structures.

Monke adds that the state is proposing to limit water use, which poses a problem to growers who have invested heavily in irrigation equipment and wells. A program to help pay for these irrigation systems should be considered, Monke says.

In addition to his government relations work, Monke has participated in Career Day for high school seniors and community college students at Nebraska's annual Ag Expo. Agronomists from Monke Bros. also have made presentations on various topics for local junior high school students.

Monke Bros. Fertilizer promotes best management practices, emphasizing the proper use of fertilizer and crop protection products. “Some of these include the use of N-Serve, nitrogen stabilization with ammonium thiosulfate and responsible rates on fertilizer and crop protection products,” Monke says. “We also encourage soil sampling and have begun to offer variable-rate fertilizer application.” The company also promotes no-till and reduced-till practices.

“The proper use of crop protection products and fertilizers is essential to providing fuel, food and fiber in our world today,” Monke says. “It is imperative that we work to maintain as well as improve our environment and optimize use of our resources. If we can do a good job of these things, the public will view us positively.”

Patty Taylor, a certified crop adviser (CCA) from Saint Jacob, IL, received the Extra STEP award at the 2007 Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) meeting held in January in Peoria.

Taylor, who sold the family-owned ag retail business, Bergmann-Taylor Inc., last November (primarily due to urban encroachment from nearby St. Louis, MO), was recognized by the IFCA and MACA for her years as an environmental “Steward,” “Trailblazer,” “Educator” and “Promoter.”

Taylor became one of the first people to take and pass the examination to become a CCA. Moreover, she served for nine years on the Illinois CCA board and was involved in providing leadership to help make the CCA program in Illinois one of the best and largest in the country.

“I've always believed in continuing education, and taking voluntary action is always much better than being mandated,” Taylor says. Part of her involvement with the Illinois CCA board was to help work on rules that were in the best interest of CCAs.

An environmental steward, Taylor worked with local growers to raise awareness of the implications of the lawsuit filed in Madison County, IL, with regard to atrazine in the Holiday Shores watershed. Taylor held meetings with growers on atrazine stewardship and implemented strategies to protect the product's viability.

“Atrazine is a cheap and effective product, and we don't want to see it abused,” Taylor says. The meetings with growers addressed rules about applying atrazine away from sources of water, and Taylor used maps from local government agencies to help growers better recognize intermediate streams and proper setbacks.

Moreover, when it came time for atrazine to be reregistered with the EPA, Taylor coordinated a meeting with about 40 to 50 growers in attendance. During that meeting, 90% of them wrote letters to the EPA telling the agency how important atrazine is to their farming operations.

Taylor also has worked with her local soil and water district to promote no-till practices. At Bergmann-Taylor, she and her colleagues regularly hosted field days featuring no-till performance results on farm fields.

In addition, Taylor worked with local law enforcement officials on issues related to the theft of anhydrous ammonia for the production of methamphetamine. Her company also invited the local fire department to walk through the facility at least two or three times a year to acquaint them with their anhydrous ammonia tanks and how to handle emergencies.

An educator, Taylor spoke many times to law enforcement and local civic groups about the crop protection industry and the safety and stewardship measures that the industry takes.

“Education of non-agricultural people is one of the crop protection industry's biggest challenges,” Taylor says. Communication is important because people are often misled by media reports that focus more on dramatic events rather than commonly used, safe practices.

The Illinois Extra STEP award recipient says it would be good for dealers to provide more education to the general public but acknowledges that it is a big job, requiring a lot of time. That is why programs like Ag in the Classroom are helpful, she says.

Taylor “is willing to work with others to find solutions and develop programs which will provide better information for the industry,” says Bonnie McCarvel, MACA's executive director, adding that Taylor “recognizes the need for the extra time.”

IN ADDITION to the Extra STEP award, the Mid America CropLife Association sponsors the Water Guardian Award to recognize businesses or individuals who promote environmental stewardship and show concern about the quality of the country's water supply.

This year Ray Ward, president of Ward Laboratories Inc., Kearney, NE, was named Nebraska's Water Guardian Award winner. Ward Labs provides soil and manure testing to make proper fertilizer recommendations and offers plant analysis to evaluate plant nutrition. It also tests the protein and mineral content of animal feeds. The lab is set up to test water for nitrates and for irrigation water quality.

Before forming Ward Labs in 1983, Ward was an extension soils specialist and associate professor at Oklahoma State University and manager of Servi-Tech's crop-testing division. He has been a certified crop advisor since 1995 and has served on the Agronomy and Education Committees of the Nebraska Agri-Business Association (NeABA).

“Dr. Ward has demonstrated exemplary stewardship for environmentally sound science and research for the industry for many years,” said Alice Licht, vice president, NeABA.

Ward has spoken on a variety of subjects related to fertilizer application, including proper application rates depending on soil quality and crop rotations as well as application for no-till operations. He gives about 50 presentations a year and in the summer provides tours of no-till fields, examining root depth and nutrient uptake.

In addition to his speaking schedule, Ward teaches an introductory agronomy course to biology and agribusiness students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

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