AMES, Iowa -- Commercial manure applicators can attend three hours of annual training to meet commercial manure applicator certification requirements on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will conduct a Commercial Manure Applicator Satellite uplink from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. There is no fee for the workshop but applicators must register with the ISU Extension county office where they plan to attend.

Certified commercial manure applicators should receive a copy of the program registration brochure containing workshop locations in the mail in early December.  If you do not receive a copy, please contact your local ISU Extension county office or download a copy off the Web at:
http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/certification/SP278CommApplCert2008.pdf. In addition to the training offered on Jan. 7, ISU Extension will also offer five dry manure workshops for commercial manure applicators in February 2009.  Information regarding these workshops and locations is also contained in the link to the brochure listed above.

Commercial manure applicators wishing to recertify and those wanting to certify for the first time should attend.  The workshop will provide the required three hours of annual training and will cover applicator rules, recordkeeping requirements, hydrogen sulfide safety issues, road and equipment safety issues, economics of hauling manure and management practices for winter application of manure. 

All currently certified commercial manure applicator licenses will expire on March 1, 2009. Those wanting to renew must complete training requirements and submit forms and fees to the DNR prior to March 1, 2009, to avoid paying late fees.  If an applicator attended training for the first time in the fall of 2008, they should make plans to attend training again in January 2009 to meet the annual requirements.

Those unable to attend the program on Jan. 7, need to schedule time with their ISU Extension county office to watch the training videotape. Please note that training videotapes may not be available until mid February so applicators should make every effort to attend the satellite program on Jan. 7. Due to scheduling conflicts, many extension offices will no longer accept walk-in appointments to watch these tapes.  If attending the satellite program or watching the three-hour tape is not convenient, commercial applicators may contact their local DNR field office to schedule an appointment to take the certification exam to meet certification requirements.

Applicators who want to take the exam may wish to access a copy of the study guide manual to help prepare for the exam.  The study guide is available at the following Web address: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/store/ListItems.aspx?Keyword=PM%201778

If you have questions about the satellite downlink program, contact your ISU Extension county office or on the Web at: http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/immag/mac.html

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