Newsletter:
              

Ethics, who cares? by Luther Smith, Executive Director

North Dakota ‘s  5^th  Annual CCA  Meeting
The 5th Annual NDCCA Meeting was held January 15, 2008
at the Crystal III, Ramada Plaza Suites, Fargo, ND, 4:45  pm            (following “Wild World of Weeds Workshop”).

Thank you to the following companies that generously sponsored  our 4th  annual meeting:
BASF     
Pioneer hybrid int'l
winfield solutions
nd ag association
monsanto      
 

2007-08  nd cca board:

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 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.