Courses

In 2013, the fertilizer industry in North America launched the 4R Research Fund. Members of the fertilizer industry pledged annual commitments of financial support to research connecting 4R practices to impacts. This article briefly summarizes findings and benefits to the industry that have resulted from the financial support directed towards research.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Nutrient Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Canola and pea intercropping (peaola) promises a number of benefits that could improve the efficiency and resilience of dryland agricultural systems. Using the correct methods for assessing these intercropping systems is important for determining whether or not an intercropping method is suitable in a particular instance. This article describes methods to assess two of the most common resource use efficiencies: land and nutrients.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Ag drones don’t currently replace ground sprayers, but they can serve as an additional tool. There are many thousands of acres where drones fit right now in Canada, and even though we’re still perfecting our knowledge about drone application and awaiting regulatory clearance, drones are a good answer to many growers’ needs.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.5 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.5 Self Directed

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$55.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

New high-yielding spring wheat cultivars are being grown widely across the Canadian Prairies. As yields rise, grain protein levels can only be maintained by increasing the N availability to crop, often reducing fertilizer use efficiency. An additional concern when increasing the amount of N fertilizer being applied to the crop is the increased risk of lodging, reducing the crop’s yield, quality, and harvestability. This article reports on research evaluating the effect of agronomic management practices on spring wheat lodging risk, grain yield, and protein content in the eastern Canadian Prairies.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

The following article is the second in a five-part series on assessing soil health. It focuses on soil carbon cycling and storage. It is part of a larger Soil Science Society of America webinar series produced in partnership with The Soil Health Institute and sponsored by The Walton Family Foundation.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Potassium (K) is an essential element for crop growth, playing a key role in photosynthesis, protein synthesis, and many other essential functions in the plant. In 2020, 44% of the soils sampled across North America tested below critical in K (meaning applying K fertilizer would result in a crop response). Assessing soils for nutrient availability is an important principle of 4R Nutrient Stewardship. The goal of this article is to provide information on the behavior of K in soils and how it influences the assessment of crop K needs.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Nutrient Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

This article is the third in a three-part series on beneficial arthropods. It will focus on the parasitoid category of beneficial insects in cotton cropping systems. This article is based upon expertise from Auburn University, Louisiana State University, Texas A&M, and the Universities of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Tennessee.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.5 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.5 Self Directed

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$55.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Across the U.S., we are withdrawing water far faster than our aquifers are naturally replenished. One of the challenges of determining how much water is left in aquifers is that decline rates are extremely variable over space and time and regulations governing groundwater withdrawal are highly localized. Over the long term, pumping water out of the ground faster than it’s replenished is like deficit spending; it will catch up with you.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Controlling future phosphorus (P) loss will not be simple. The main nutrient “culprit” in freshwater contamination, P, becomes available only in its dissolved inorganic form in solution; and that solubility is also what can contaminate the environment if the P ends up in the wrong place. This article examines future P loss measures for agricultural systems. Beyond continued vigilance with regards to best management practices (BMPs), future mitigation tools include physical filters of P loss from crop fields, updating P soil-test calibrations, stream buffers, cover crops, biologic products that may alter P availability, enzyme additives, and potential P recycling and trading markets.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.5 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.5 Self Directed

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$55.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Abnormal ear development in corn has been reported for more than 100 years. More recently, in 2016, widespread abnormal multiple ears per stalk node (herein termed as multi-ears), barbell ears, and short husks were reported in cornfields located in the western and central Corn Belt (Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas), Eastern Colorado, and the Texas Panhandle region in the United States. Little was known about the underlying causes of these abnormalities. A literature review examining conditions potentially affecting corn ear formation, yield, and abnormal ears was conducted.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 2.0 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 2.0 Self Directed

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Sugarbeet growers are paid for sugarbeet tons delivered to the factory and for the extractable sugar content found in those beets. The focus of this article will be on agronomic principles that lead to higher extractable sugar. There are several factors that influence sugar development in sugarbeets. Among the most important factors are variety selection, nutrition, and harvest management. Weather, environmental conditions, soil chemical properties, and pest management also influence sugar development. What can we as crop advisers do to ensure the best possible outcome for sugar accumulation in the sugarbeet crop?

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Understanding the sulfur (S) value of biosolids produced by various processing methods is important for growers who routinely apply biosolids to crop production fields and rely on the S to support optimal plant growth and crop yields. It can be challenging to determine though since S is typically bound in organic and mineral compounds that are either mineralized or dissolved over a period of several months or longer after coming in contact with the soil. The goal of the research described in this article was to determine how processing method and biosolid properties influence S availability and fertilizer value through lab incubation.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Nutrient Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Declining sulfur depositions from the atmosphere have caused sulfur shortages in soils across the Midwest for more than a decade. Fortunately for growers in regions with noticeable declines in depositions, fixing the problem typically requires minimal amounts of sulfur fertilizer.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Nutrient Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Tile drainage can prevent fields from being too wet but can also help when fields are too dry. With “controlled tile drainage,” you capture water when there’s too much of it and store it for later use when there’s too little. This article provides a brief primer on tile drainage, what to think about when designing a system, and how to evaluate whether its right for you and the producers you advise.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

This publication presents how cover crop species selection and management affect soil organic matter (SOM) and nitrogen (N). Our focus is on cover crops planted as summer fallow or partial-summer fallow replacement in dryland systems.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This publication presents how cover crop management affects soil health including biological, chemical, and physical parameters. 

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

Irrigation has the potential to increase crop yield and financial return on coarse-textured, coastal plain soils in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Although the majority of irrigation is delivered through overhead sprinkler irrigation, subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) has been shown to be a reasonable alternative to sprinkler irrigation because of its efficiency on small, irregularly shaped fields. The objective of this paper was to compare the yield and financial return of SDI with those of dryland production over the life of the SDI system (2001–2013).

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Fruit orchards require site-specific or even individual-tree-specific management throughout the growing season. Remote sensing via drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), is becoming more common among growers and is useful for real-time crop monitoring, weed detection, tree classification, water stress assessment, disease detection, yield and fruit quality estimation, and various pest and nutrient management strategies.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Certified organic food and fiber production is an increasing portion of the U.S. agricultural sector. Expanding production reflects growing consumer demand for these products based on perceived food quality benefits rather than purchases on a unit price basis. While the majority of certified organic products consist of fruits, vegetables, and grains, there is also a demand for organic forage to produce organic meats and dairy products. This article seeks to determine the cost of transitioning from conventional to organic production using perennial and annual forage systems.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.5 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.5 Self Directed

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$55.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

The purpose of this article to provide detailed economic evidence of how soil health management practices can be profitable across cropping systems and geographies of the United States. We do this by providing more details of six farms that come from four larger studies developed and implemented at the Soil Health Institute to evaluate economic benefits of farmers adopting soil health management systems. The Assessing Soil Health Series is part of a larger Soil Science Society of America webinar series produced in partnership with The Soil Health Institute and sponsored by The Walton Family Foundation.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Elemental sulfur (S) is produced in large quantities in both the U.S. and Canada as a by-product of fossil fuel production. However, this form of S must be oxidized to sulfate (SO42–) by soil microorganisms before crops can utilize it and therefore may not meet crop S requirements in the year of application. Rapid oxidation can be obtained if elemental sulfur particles are less than 20 μm in size and effectively dispersed in soil under favorable moisture and temperature conditions.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Nutrient Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

This article is an excerpt from Field to Market’s Fourth National Indicators Report, released in December 2021, and focuses on biodiversity. Access the entire report at www.fieldtomarket.org/report. The article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership between the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six-module series on sustainability at  www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Sustainability
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Soils are the largest organic carbon pool on the land surface, and agricultural soils that have been disturbed by tillage and other practices for many years have lost carbon to the atmosphere. This historical loss, however, means that there is substantial opportunity to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils by adopting practices that reduce soil disturbance and increase carbon from organic matter. This article is an excerpt from Field to Market’s 4th National Indicator Report, released in December 2021.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Sustainability
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Agricultural lands play a critical role in ensuring clean water for society and ecosystems throughout the country. Complex weather factors, and the complexity of the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and the fate and transport of chemicals in the soil, make it particularly challenging to quantify water quality and to attribute changes to any specific cause. Therefore, tracking water quality change is a long-term endeavor. Fortunately, there is ample evidence from research at field and watershed scales that certain agricultural practices retain nutrients and soil in the field and thereby reduce the risk of losing nutrients and chemicals to waterways.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Sustainability
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Field research evaluated peanut tolerance and weed control with preemergence (PRE) followed by early postemergence (EPOST) herbicide programs: PRE pyroxasulfone, S-metolachlor, flumioxazin, pendimethalin, ethalfluralin, diclosulam, or dimethenamid-P, followed by EPOST application of paraquat + acetochlor + bentazon at 4 wk after PRE (WA-PRE).

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 2.0 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 2.0 Self Directed

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

For thousands of years, farmers have reaped the benefits of perennial crops, from fruit trees to alfalfa to grapes. Today, farmers and researchers are looking for other perennial crops that require less water and nutrient input than annuals and provide a reliable and economically sustainable food source for their farming enterprises. Recent studies have begun to explore the potential of perennial grains to support new agricultural systems that can meet global caloric requirements on the current footprint of cultivated agricultural land.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

In 2021, in the Corn Belt, rising corn prices fueled producer willingness to make “insurance” fungicide applications to hedge against possible yield losses from foliar disease. Newer disease risks—especially tar spot—also spurred some producers toward a more aggressive spray program. Market realities mean that “insurance” fungicide applications are likely to continue in 2022. But crop costs and returns will change, and CCAs should help their producers keep in mind corn fungicide fundamentals—even when sky-high prices may impact decision-making more than disease management fundamentals.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Washington State University researchers have been exploring the feasibility of growing quinoa in the Pacific Northwest. In their effort to develop new varieties adapted to Washington State, they focused on key traits for improvement and are close to releasing their first varieties that address and improve upon one or more of these characteristics. A new crop to most farmers in Washington, quinoa presents significant production challenges, particularly with susceptibility to heat in the central and eastern parts of the state, susceptibility to pre-harvest sprouting due to early rains in western Washington, and susceptibility to weed pressure almost everywhere.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Crop Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico is an environmental issue connected to agricultural crop management in the Mississippi River watershed. Programs to improve nutrient stewardship in this watershed aim to improve nutrient use efficiency and reduce losses of nitrogen and phosphorus. Trends since the 1980s show increases in both crop production and the size of the hypoxic zone while the trends in nitrogen surplus have neither increased nor decreased. Provisional flow-normalized river loads of nitrogen are decreasing. While improvements in adoption of 4R management of applied fertilizers and manures have been noted, opportunities for improvement also remain. While 4R practices will not solve the issue on their own, they can make an important contribution when integrated with soil conservation practices and changes to whole farming systems.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Nutrient Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

To produce more apples out of our apple orchards, we need to know how healthy the soil is. Apple tree rootstocks and cultivars have the potential to alter soil health. This article investigates the interactive effect of two commercially successful apple cultivars (Honeycrisp and Zestar) and two rootstock sizes (semidwarf and dwarf) on soil health in a southern Minnesota apple orchard.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Flue-cured tobacco is the most valuable crop produced in North Carolina. It is susceptible to glufosinate, yet it is commonly grown in close proximity to crops that are tolerant to the herbicide. Although field trials found simulated glufosinate drift onto flue-cured tobacco significantly reduced per-acre yields, it did not affect the crop’s per-acre value. Nevertheless, growers and applicators should strive to minimize drift, which starts with reading, understanding, and following product labels.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

Price:
$25.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

More and more farmers these days are putting regenerative practices into place on the land they own for the long-term sustainability of their operations. But what happens farmland that is rented out? Many of the practices behind regenerative agriculture like building soil health and biodiversity and limiting the need for external inputs, provide benefits that are seen over time and not necessarily year to year. Renters often lack the leverage with the landowner to put regenerative practices into action.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Sustainability
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription