While anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate are useful tools of the farming trade, did you know these substances and hundreds of others, including fumigants and even propane, can become tools of terror in the wrong hands? That’s why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security established the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program in 2006. Agricultural retailers, fertilizer manufacturers and distributors of these types of chemicals are among the communities within the CFATS program.

Dave Wulf, past associate director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which oversees the CFATS program, says the very real risk that certain hazardous chemicals could be weaponized by terrorists is one reason he supports the ResponsibleAg Certification Program. “I think programs like ResponsibleAg are really important in that they educate not only on safety protocols but also on the array of regulatory requirements that might apply in the security arena.”

To know more about how CISA works with ag retailers and others, read the latest Faces of ResponsibleAg.