Indiana CCA News
Indiana CCA Newsletter Spring, 2003
…From Your New Chairman, Lance Murrell.
Welcome to 2003! This year promises to be an exciting time for Indiana CCAs. The agricultural industry and the government are finally recognizing the value of professionals and are saying so. The CCA has become a standard of employment with several companies and your Indiana board does not see that changing in the near future. Making the CCA an employment standard is not the intent of the program, but industry has become aware of the qualifications and standards set forth by the program and have accepted those standards as ones to adopt. Professionals in any area of endeavor are always sought out by reputable companies.
I'm Lance Murrell and your new chair of the Indiana CCA board. I want to thank Dr. Chris Voglewede for his dedication and untiring effort in leading this organization for the last two years. Already I'm finding out that you can't be gainfully employed, be CCA board chair, and work just a meager ten hours per day. Thanks, again, Chris for a job well done. By the way, Chris is still on the board with a full plate of duties, one of which is advising Lance until he gets his feet on the ground. I also want to thank the board, both past and future, for their dedication to make the Indiana CCA program the best in the nation.
All of you, by now, are aware of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the international CCA group (ICCA) and the USDA regarding the Technical-Service Provider (TSP) position. Technical-Service Providers are being looked upon to provide the expertise in formulating comprehensive nutrient management plans, nutrient management plans, and pest management plans for the NRCS. Accompanying this newsletter is a message from Tony Bailey, NRCS, with further information regarding Technical-Service Providers and the necessary steps needed to become one. Please read that letter carefully. If you have further questions, call upon Tony or any of your Indiana CCA Board members.
The International CCA board voted to increase its effort to help others in agriculture become more aware of Certified Crop Advisors. Each state has accepted that challenge and you will be seeing more farm and industry articles written by CCAs along with other activities to spread the word about us. The ICCA board has retained a public relations firm to guide us with this task. The goal is a four-pronged approach. We will try to get our message out to farmers, our employers, federal agencies, and us. Yes, us! If we don't feel good about ourselves and recognize that we are professionals, it will be difficult to convince others of our worth. Our first offering will be in the Farm Progress Publications. CCAs will be writing articles each month on various topics and have their pictures accompany the articles. This activity is not confined to board members! Many of you during the year will be asked to submit articles in your area of expertise so that farmers will know who CCAs are, what they do, and should be looked on as their source of information. Some of those articles will appear in industry publications so our employers will see the value of having CCAs on staff. When you are asked to submit an article, our hope is that you will accept the assignment, meet the deadline, and provide the best information presented in a professional manner. As time goes on, other means of communicating our message of professionalism will be employed.
The Indiana CCA board is here to serve you. Let us know how we can. It is up to each of us to tell our story to those around us. Our hope is that this year is a successful one.
***************************************************************************
Another Successful Convention!
Feedback from those that attended the Convention was overwhelmingly positive! Kudo's to Kim Polizotto and his convention committee for another great convention. Watch for more information on the 2003 Convention which will be expanded as we combine with the Indiana Plant Food and Purdue to bring you another convention where you can earn CEUs and network with your peers.
Check Your CEUs On The Internet.
You can check your CEU status on the Internet at www.agronomy.org/cca/search_ceu/search_ceu.html. Remember that it takes some time to have your CEU credits entered into the system.
CCA of the Year Award
The recipient of the 2002 Indiana CCA of the Year award went to Elizabeth "Betsy" Smith of Growers CoOp, Terre Haute. Congratulations Betsy! It's CCAs like you who really help promote the value and professionalism of the Certified Crop Advisers.
NRCS Certification Requirements - What, When and How?
Many questions have been asked about certification requirements to become Technical Service Providers (TSPs) to provide technical assistance for nutrient management plans, pest management plans and comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs). ASA-CCA and USDA-NRCS signed a National Memorandum of Understanding on February 6, 2003 and the certification process has since been finalized.
To become certified, follow the instructions that have been sent out by ASA. These instructions include registering for your eGov user ID and password and instructions for on-line application to register and to become certified as a TSP.
- The AD-2016 Form to start the process can be found at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ by clicking on "electronic government" and then clicking on "register." The notarized form can be faxed, mailed or delivered to your USDA Service Center. After receiving your eGov user ID and password, you are now ready for on-line registration and certification.
- To register and certify, go to the NRCS TechReg webpage http://techreg.usda.gov/ Applications can be done on-line through this website or your certifying organization. Complete and submit your application as instructed. This process allows selection of services you will provide and counties and states that those services will be provided. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) "Obtaining an eGovernment Account" and "Registering as a TSP" will answer many questions.
Specific certification requirements can be found at "Technical Service Categories and Criteria Options for Certification" on the TechReg webpage under the section titled "Who are Technical Service Providers and what can they do?" These certification requirements differ from earlier proposed Indiana NRCS requirements that included attendance at various training sessions, completion of on-line courses and submission of sample plans. Please read for details.
Although attendance at training is no longer required before certification, CCA is working with NRCS and Purdue to hold various training sessions. Specifically, training on "How to Write" the various plans is needed. The earliest any training session will be held is sometime over the summer. Attempts will be made to hold training during less busy times of the year. Attendance at training sessions can be reported in the resume section of the application.
This process is very new to everyone involved. Please be patient. If you have additional questions, please contact your NRCS field office or Tony Bailey, NRCS, at 317-290-3200 X345 or tony.bailey@in.usda.gov
****************** *************** ******************
INDIANA CCA BOARD
Lance Murrell, Chm.
(574) 943-3317
murrell@ffni.com
Chris Voglewede, Past Chm.
Dow AgroSciences
(317) 337-5384
cjvoglewede@dow.com
Kim Polizotto
Convention Chairman
PCS Sales
(317) 462-2485
krpolizotto@potashcorp.com
Tony Bailey
NRCS
(765) 474-9992
tony.bailey@in.usda.gov
David Bechman
Farmcraft Service, Inc.
(765) 385-2266
dave@farmcraft.com
Dan Childs
Monsanto
(765) 464-1300
dan.j.childs@monsanto.com
Larry Clemens
Fish Creek Project Office
(260) 665-9141
lclemens@tnc.org
Darrel Daniels
BASF Corporation
(317) 501-1391
danieldd@basf.com
John Freeland
Senesac, Inc.
(765) 583-4458
jfseni@localline.com
Mike Hancock
Office of IN State Chemist
(765) 494-1547
hancockmr@purdue.edu
Melissa Lehman
Edd's Supplies, Inc.
(260) 768-4513
supplyed@kuntrynet.com
Jeff Nagel
Agriliance
(765) 583-2329
jnagel@westlandcoop.com
John Obermeyer
Purdue University
(765) 494-4563
obe@purdue.edu
Mark Schutz
Grower Coop, Inc.
(812) 745-4621
grooak@ticz.com
Kristin Whittington
(317) 232-8587
kawhitti@dem.state.in.us
Steve Dlugosz, Int'l Rep.
Agriliance
(317) 432-5562
steved@conmcast.net
Indiana CCA Program
PO Box 248
St. Anne, IL 60964
