American Society of Agronomy International Certified Crop Adviser Program

House Keeping

• Lunch about noon to 1:30• Turn off cell phones• Reception from 6:00 to 7:00 in the bar– Dinner on your own– Breakfast on your own Tuesday morning

• Thank you for being here and participating

India CCA Program

Certification

• “A voluntary process, by which an organization grants recognition to an individual who has met certain predetermined qualifications or standards.” – (The business of certification, Knapp, Knapp)

Voluntary … Standards

• Best you can be!

• Standards:– Exams– Education– Experience– Ethics

Organization

• American Society of Agronomy (ASA)– 100 years of history– Science based– The “profession” of Agronomy– Connecting • “field through plate”

Driving Demand for Certification

• Technology innovation• Exponential increases in knowledge• Short “shelf life” of academic degrees– Degrees – acquired knowledge– Certification – experience - applied

• Public demand for standards• Desire to avoid regulations

Continuing Education

• 2 year cycle – 40 total CEUs– CEU = contact time, 60 min. = 1 CEU

• Processed in 2008– 8,541 CCA CEU applications approved (+4%)– Representing 23,161 CEUs (+7%)

• 260,000 hours annually, on average

ASA Education

• Fundamentals in Applied Agronomy (new)• Monthly webinars• November 3, Live from Pittsburgh– ASA/CSSA/SSSA annual meeting– 2 hour webinar – Agronomic and Economic

optimum Fertilizer Rates in an Era of Volatile Fertilizer and Commodity Prices

Value• More job opportunities• Better advancement potential• Bonuses, higher pay• USDA, RMA, EPA recognized• Continuing education program• Networked with peers• Hiring tool for employers and farmers• Increased confidence yields increased

performance• Farmers/clients appreciate it … if they know!

International Certified Crop Adviser Program (ICCA)

• 13,000 + (CCAs) certified in the USA and Canada

• CCA Mission: The Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Program validates the credentials of professional crop advisers by establishing standards for knowledge, experience, ethics and continuing education.

• CCA Vision: To be the most valuable certification a professional crop adviser can hold by establishing Certified Crop Advisers’ (CCA) essential role in agricultural production, food safety and environmental stewardship.

Thank You

• There are over 400 volunteers involved with the ICCA program:– Boards– Committees

• We could not do it without your commitment and involvement!

Thank You

• Luther Smith, CAEDirector of Certification and Licensing608-268-4977lsmith@agronomy.org

• Madison Staff– Laurie Karr, 4954, lkarr@agronomy.org– Michele Lovejoy, 4953, mlovejoy@agronomy.org– Marta Krist (starts on November 10)