Newsletter:
              2010  7th Annual ND CCA Meeting
             January 19 at the Ramada Plaza Suites
           The 2009 ND Certified Crop Adviser of the Year was recognized during the Annual Meeting of the ND CCA's at the Ramada Plaza Suites, Fargo.   Matt Olson, Chairman, presented the award to Larry Lunder, Alliance Ag Coop, Bismarck, ND.  This highly prestigious award is awarded to an outstanding CCA who has been nominated by either the ND Board or a peer.  Larry graduated from NDSU with a  Bachelors Degree in Crop and Weed Science.  He became a CCA in February of 1997 and presently has around 150 customers, and consults for approximately 100,000 acres.
Congratulations to Larry for his outstanding service to his customers, and promotion of the CCA Program. 
Anyone interested in nominating a CCA for this award, please contact any Board member or the ND CCA office at 701-277-3027.
Greg Krieger, President of the ND Grape Growers, presented a very informative talk on  "Grape  Production in North Dakota".                                         Pictured L-R: Larry Lunder, Alliance Ag Coop and Matt Olson, Chair of CCA Board                            
 
Also recognized at the Meeting were outgoing Board Members Sherry Koch, Monsanto and Paul Thompson, NRCS, for their service and commitment to the CCA Program.
Sherry served as Chair of the Finance Committee and Paul has served as Chair of the Exam and Continuing Ed Committee.  We thank them for their service.

Thank you to our meeting Sponsors:
BASF Corporation, Bayer CropScience, Pioneer Hi-bred, Monsanto,
Winfield Solutions LLC, Valent USA,
Arysta LifeScience, Centrol Crop Consulting,
Peterson Farms Seed, & the ND Ag Association

 Continuing Education Units-

How to earn and report CEUs

One of the benefits of being a Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) is that your customers can be assured that you are keeping up to date on current industry information.  This is done through earning the 40 Continuing Education Units (CEU) required every two years to maintain your CCA status.  CEUs are obtained by attending educational workshops or by completing other self study material. 

There are three main ways that a CCA can earn CEUs.  They are Board Approved CEUs, Self Reported CEUs and Self Directed CEUs. 

Board Approved CEUs are obtained when you attend a class or workshop where the presenter has obtained a certain number of board approved CEUs for the session.  The presenter does this by providing the session information to the North Dakota state CCA Board for review.  The board reviews the information proposed to be presented and if it meets the Boards criteria, it agrees to allow a certain number of CEUs for the session.  This information is then provided back to the presenter who can then offer the CEUs for that session.  This is the most common way that many CCA obtain their needed CEUs.
 

Self Reported CEUs are obtained by attending a class or workshop that has not been previously approved by the North Dakota CCA Board, and then completing an online CEU SELF REPORTING FORM.  The web site to find this form is at: www.certifiedcropadviser.org  After attending a class or workshop, go to the above web site and follow the instructions for submitting this information.  One CEU is equivalent to a 1 hour session.  The self reported CEUs submitted are subject to audit by the North Dakota CCA Board.  If you are audited you will be requested to provide documentation of your attendance. Registrants should keep on file documentation such as meeting agendas, to demonstrate that you attended the meetings.  A CCA can earn a maximum of 20 credits per two year cycle as Self Reported CEUs.

 
Self Directed CEUs are credits earned by reviewing Self Directed or Self Study materials.  These can be found in the Agronomy Magazine, through the web at www.certifiedcropadviser.org or are available from other places such as the Crop Advisor Institute at Iowa State University www.cai.iastate.edu/ .  This material has a lesson or information to review and study, then a test that must be taken and submitted.  If the test is passed successfully the CEUs will be awarded to you.  There is a charge for each of these tests.  A CCA can earn a maximum of 20 credits per two year cycle as Self Directed CEUs.

Keeping up to date with industry information is a valuable tool for any industry, including crop advising/consulting.  The International CCA Board puts a great deal of emphasis on tracking CEUs and ensuring that a CCA has met these continuing education requirements.  This gives customers confidence that a Certified Crop Advisor is knowledgeable and professional in his field. 

If you have questions on your current CEU's, you can check them at www.certifiedcropadviser.org.  If you have questions on the different ways that you can obtain CEUs, you can contact Gary Haberstroh, Chair of the Standards and Ethics Committee for the North Dakota Certified Crop Advisory Board at 701.277.3027.