Agricultural Regulatory Compliance Checklist

Pull each applicator's private or commercial certification card and verify the expiration date with the state lead agency. Lapsed RUP certification voids legal authority to apply restricted-use products and is a common state-inspection finding.

Refresh the EPA-required pesticide safety information, application list (product, EPA reg number, REI, location), and emergency contact poster at the central posting site. Workers must be able to view this without entering treated areas.

For each field where you plan applications in the next 6 months, run the address through Bulletins Live! Two and print or save any active endangered-species pesticide-use limitations. Bulletins are valid for the calendar month issued.

Review the planned spray program against the EPA RUP list — atrazine, paraquat, dicamba (over-the-top formulations), chlorpyrifos products, and others. RUP use triggers stricter recordkeeping and dealer-purchase reporting.

Count animal units against the EPA CAFO size thresholds (e.g., 1,000+ beef = Large; 700+ mature dairy = Large). Medium CAFOs need a permit only on discharge or pollutant-conveyance findings; Large CAFOs need an NPDES permit regardless.

Confirm the NPDES CAFO permit is current with the state regulator and the comprehensive NMP reflects current herd size, manure volumes, and crop rotations. NMPs that haven't been updated against actual herd numbers are a frequent permit-violation source.

Measure freeboard in lagoons and slurry pits and compare against the 25-year/24-hour storm capacity required by the NMP. Discharges during a design storm are reportable and trigger NRCS engineering review.

Run the three-year average produce sales against the FSMA $25K/$500K thresholds and review the rarely-consumed-raw and commercial-processing exemptions. Coverage status determines water-testing frequency, training requirements, and FDA inspection priority.

Book generic E. coli sampling at each pre-harvest water source on the survey-based MWQP cadence. Surface-water sources need more frequent sampling than wells; missing a sampling window is the top GAP-audit non-conformance.

Walk every tractor in service: ROPS installed and seatbelt functional, master PTO shield and implement input-shaft shield in place. Tractor rollovers and PTO entanglement remain the top two sources of farm fatalities under 29 CFR 1928.

Each handler needs annual EPA-approved training before they touch product, with the trainer's QR or commercial credentials recorded and the worker signature retained for two years. Worker training is annual as well; the two are separate records.

Check the season's labor plan against the DOL ETA-790 application timeline. H-2A obligations cascade into housing inspections, AEWR wage compliance, transportation safety, and three-quarters guarantee tracking.

State workforce agency or DOL inspector signs off on bunkhouse capacity, sanitation, fire egress, and cooking facilities under 29 CFR 1910.142. Schedule the inspection at least two weeks before worker arrival; a failed inspection delays the entire season's labor.

VFDs covering medically-important antimicrobials in feed expire at six months and must be renewed by the veterinarian of record before the next mill order. Feeding under an expired VFD is an FDA violation and a frequent feed-mill audit finding.

Confirm Certificates of Veterinary Inspection for any interstate sale, fair, or auction in the next 30 days. CVIs typically expire 30 days after issue and are checked at scales, sale barns, and state ports of entry.

Submit form FSA-578 with planted, prevented-planted, and failed acreage by the state-specific deadline (commonly July 15 for spring crops). Late filings forfeit ARC/PLC, MPCI claims, and NAP eligibility — there is no second chance.

Assemble pesticide application records, WPS training rosters, NMP and manure-application logs, water test results, VFD copies, and CVIs into one binder. State ag-department inspectors arrive unannounced; having one binder ready beats hunting through filing cabinets.