COLLEGE STATION – Two Texas Nutrient Management Certification Short Courses will be held in August and hosted by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, according to Dr. Sam Feagley, AgriLife Extension state soil environmental specialist and program coordinator.
The first conference will be Aug. 14-17 in the MCM Elegante Suites, 4250 Ridgemont Drive, Abilene. The second will be Aug. 21-24 in the College Station Conference Center, 1300 George Bush Drive, College Station.
Registration information is available at http://nmp.tamu.edu and by clicking on “Get Certified.” Registration deadline is one week in advance of the course and the cost will depend on who is taking the course and whether testing will be included, Feagley said. Registration costs are outlined on the website.
He said the course is geared mainly for people developing or approving nutrient management plans for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board or plans associated with concentrated animal feeding operations submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Each short course consists of two and a half days of training and an exam. Then participants are given information to develop a nutrient management plan and have one month to develop that plan and return it to Feagley for certification. In order to be certified, participants must pass the exam and develop a nutrient-management plan that meets Natural Resources Conservation Service requirements.
“But we also have people working with golf courses and others working with producers who use nutrient-management plans to save money,” he said. “We expect between 30 to 40 people at each short course, and they will come from across the state, as well as neighboring states.”
Each short course offers 20 certified crop adviser continuing education units in the areas of water quality and nutrient management, Feagley said.
Completion of the course will provide a lifetime certification and five continuing education units will be required annually to maintain that certification, he said.
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