Providing Training and Education for Advanced and Beginner Certified Crop Advisors in the Northeast

Abstract

Each year, hundreds of prospective certified crop advisors (CCA’s) prepare for the certification exams across the country. This certification is required by many reputable independent crop consulting firms for their scouts and consultants to ensure that they hire only the best and most well-informed applicants. Each region of the country has its own certification exam, including the Northeast region. Preparation for the Northeast region certification involves a three day intensive training in Syracuse in November, followed by self-study with online tutorial videos, and finally two exams in February. Once certified, CCA’s must also earn annual continuing education credits to retain their certification and to stay current on relevant issues. One way to accomplish that is by attending the annual advanced training sessions. The NYS IPM field crops and livestock team has been an integral partner working with the CCA board toward developing and providing training materials for exam preparation and hosting annual advanced training sessions for continuing education credits.