What is an EMS?

An Environmental Management System or EMS is a voluntary, flexible business management system that helps farmers and managers to develop their own strategies for integrating environmental considerations into the daily operations of a farm. It relies on one's own knowledge and sense of how to best manage an operation.

The EMS starts with what is already in place and helps organize multiple management approaches. Do you have plans for managing manure, pests and nutrients? Do you have records on soil testing, chemical applications, feeding requirements, or pest management? The EMS provides a way to better organize plans for everything from worker training and emergency response to managing manure, pests and nutrients. It provides a concrete and useful plan for all your environmental efforts and provides a record of your objectives and efforts toward environmental stewardship.

How does an EMS relate to other environmental farm programs, permits, practices and regulations? An EMS provides an umbrella for continually improving management of all the plans and practices currently in place on farms. It does not replace or discount current practices. An EMS builds on the environmental stewardship already in place by providing a systematic means to assess, review and improve environmental performance and business efficiency.

How it works:  The EMS elements of "plan, implement, check and improve," offer a common-sense approach to improved farm management.  Managers use an EMS to assess the environmental performance of a particular piece, or their whole operation.  This assessment, along with an environmental "policy" --  a mission statement about environmental and quality goals -- is used to design a plan of action.  The plan is implemented and continuously checked and corrected enabling you to continually improve your operation.

The disciplined assessment of environmental impacts is central to the EMS process. A number of existing tools can be used to evaluate certain aspects of environmental management including Farm*A*Syst, On Farm Assessment and Environmental Review (OFAER), and the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship curriculum to identify environmental impacts and to develop plans to mitigate risks. For other assessment tools, please see our EMS links section.

Central to this effort is communication, both internally with co-workers and family, and also externally with neighbors, contractors and government agency representatives. An EMS supports you in clarifying and communicating for yourself and others about how the environment is being taken into consideration and being cared for as part of every day business.

An EMS can also provide a competitive advantage by reducing the costs for pesticides, fertilizers and other inputs as farmers who systematically evaluate their operations waste less and identify more efficient uses of inputs. Farmers who can demonstrate that their operations pose reduced risks can face fewer legal actions, loan denials, and encumbrances on the sale of real estate. Some have qualified for lower loan rates and insurance discounts.

Learn more about the EMS, in our Agricultural EMS booklet. Copies of this booklet, our EMS brochure and instructions for ordering an EMS video are all available in the Resources section. Also, visit the pilot state webpages on our Partnerships in Livestock EMS website for state and industry specific materials.

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