Certified Crop Adviser Exam Prep Course Offered by OSU Extension Agronomics Team

SIDNEY, Ohio – Studying for the Certified Crop Adviser Exam may soon be a little easier thanks to a prep course offered by agronomists with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The study session is designed to prepare people who plan to take the Certified Crop Adviser exam by providing a two-day course that will touch on many of the topics that will be addressed in the exam, said Harold Watters, an Ohio State University Extension agronomy field specialist and coordinator of the university’s Agronomic Crops Team. 

OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the college.

Taught by members of the university’s agronomics crops team, this is not a “crash course” that covers all of the information that will be on the CCA exam, Watters said.

“Instead, the session can help participants gain confidence and tips to help better understand the principles necessary to become a certified crop adviser and to assist in preparation for the local and international CCA exams,” he said. “The class will cover some of the performance objectives and will help participants’ direction for independent study for the exam.

“Think of it as a last minute reminder of some of the key issues that CCAs deal with.”

The exam prep session is just one way that CFAES faculty work year-round to train crop advisers. Other ways include offering agronomic workshops, presentations, schools and conferences that are designed to provide the most up-to-date information that farmers need to increase yields, increase their financial bottom lines, and boost the state’s overall economy.

The exam prep session will be offered Jan. 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, at the Shelby County office of OSU Extension, 810 Fair Road, in Sidney.

All sessions will be taught by CCAs who are OSU Extension educators and a former Ohio State specialist and will include the following topics:

• Crop management, with an emphasis on crop production, photosynthesis, crop physiology and variety selection, taught by Watters.
• Soil and water management, with an emphasis on soil properties, soil water, surface and ground water, and soil and wind erosion, taught by Bruce Clevenger.
• Pest management, with an emphasis on weeds, insects, diseases, fertilizer and pesticides, taught by Greg LaBarge.
• Primary nutrients, secondary nutrients, nutrient deficiencies and micronutrients, taught by Robert Mullen, a former OSU agronomics team member who now works with industry.

Participants will also receive the Ohio Agronomy Guide; Ohio and Indiana Weed Control Guide; Corn, Soybean, Wheat and Alfalfa Field Guide, the Tri-State Fertility Guide and the book Modern Corn and Soybean Production.

Registration for the event is $225 per person and includes the preparation sessions, lunches and handouts. The deadline to register for the two-day event is Jan. 8.

Registration can be made online at. https://www.regonline.com/CCAPrep2015.

For more information on taking the CCA Exam, contact the North American CCA Board office at: https://www.certifiedcropadviser.org/exams/registration. The deadline to register for the exam is December 5.