Certified Crop Advisor Training
Jim Fawcett, crops field specialist
Situation
There are now hundreds of certified crop advisors (CCAs) in the state who need
education to excel in their profession and to receive credits to maintain their
certification status. Every certified crop advisor must receive five hours of
credit in each of the four subject areas over a 2-year period to remain certified.
It has been difficult for some CCAs to obtain the necessary hours of credit
is in the area of soil and water management. It is important that CCAs be kept
up to date on soil and water conservation. Revenue generation has become more
important with the current budget problems and certified crop advisors are often
willing to pay fees to obtain their credits.
Response
A special morning session for certified crop advisors was added to the already
scheduled spring field day at the SE Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm near
Crawfordsville. The morning session and afternoon tour emphasized soil &
water management. Because of the location of the training, demonstrations in
the field could be conducted, increasing the participation of the group. Mahdi
Al-Kaisi demonstrated soil bulk density and water infiltration rates with different
tillage systems. Other topics included: tile effects on water quality and carbon
sequestration.
A mailing list of CCAs in eastern Iowa was compiled from attendance at previous
CCA events, which was used for sending out a mailing on the event. In addition,
an article in the ICM Newsletter helped to promote the event.
Impact
Twenty-nine certified crop advisors attended the morning session, and most stayed
for the afternoon spring field day tour at Crawfordsville. Each participant
paid $50, which helped with revenue generation. Being able to walk in the field
and look at demonstrations and research projects helped to increase the interest
and discussion by the group.
Page maintained by Linda Schultz, lschultz@iastate.edu
