Extension reaches millions of Ohio cropland acres through Certified Crop Advisers training

OSU Extension educates CCAs, maximizing the university's impact on millions of acres of farmland statewide. (pictured: Tina Lust and Harrold Watters)

OSU Extension educates CCAs, maximizing the university’s impact on millions of acres of farmland statewide. (pictured: Tina Lust and Harold Watters)

As part of her job to advise producers statewide on farming issues, Tina Lust regularly reads the Crop Observation and Recommendation Network (CORN) newsletter, written weekly by Ohio State University Extension specialists.

The publication offers information on Ohio agronomic crops, and it is just one of the ways OSU Extension works year-round to continually educate Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) through agronomic workshops, presentations, schools and conferences — providing them the most up-to-date information needed to help producers increase yields, increase financial bottom lines, reduce environmental impact and boost the state’s overall economy.

CORN newsletter is part of Extension’s efforts to reach Ohio farmers one crop adviser at a time. Working to educate CCAs helps to extend and maximize The Ohio State University’s impact on Ohio crops to millions of acres of farmland statewide, said Harold Watters, an OSU Extension agronomy field specialist and coordinator of the university’s Agronomic Crops Team.

Essentials

  • OSU Extension provides training year-round, offering the continuing education credits needed by Ohio’s 540 Certified Crop Advisers to retain their certification.
  • CCAs each consult on an average of 40,000 to 50,000 acres of Ohio farmland.
  • The economic impact that CCAs have on farmers can be easily $100 per acre, according to industry efforts.
  • CCAs need to earn 40 hours biannually in the following training categories, all of which OSU Extension offers either for free or at a nominal charge: nutrient management, pest management, soil and water management, and crop management.
  • CCA training is offered by 40 members of OSU Extension’s Agronomic Crops Team, Extension’s county educators and, specifically, 65 agriculture educators throughout Ohio’s 88 counties.
  • CORN newsletter has some 3,800 subscribers, including farmers, producers, CCAs and agriculture professionals in Ohio and surrounding states.

“Extension professionals offer unbiased, research-based information that CCAs can provide to farmers,” said Tina Lust, past chair, Ohio CCA Board, which works closely with the Ohio AgriBusiness Association. “Agriculture is our No. 1 industry, and farmers need that information to keep on top of new research, technology and innovations in order to farm economically and efficiently, and to stay in business.”

For more information: corn.osu.edu.