Courses

The principles of 4R nutrient stewardship apply to every plant nutrient. Magnesium (Mg), traditionally considered a secondary macronutrient, is often overlooked. This article reviews the options available for managing magnesium and the benefits you might expect.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Late-maturity alpha-amylase or LMA is a weather-related event that lowers the quality of affected grain, resulting in sticky breads, cakes, and noodles with unattractive and undesirable textures. Grain that has been affected by LMA, or that is susceptible to LMA, cannot be identified by sight alone due to varietal- and environmental-induced differences in appearance and differences in rates of development. Techniques that allow for rapid identification of the LMA susceptibility window in wheat and knowledge of the weather events that lead to LMA can empower growers to manage and mitigate LMA-induced profit loss.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

In general, winter wheat yields are maximized when planted in October in Kentucky. However, it is common for wheat planting to be delayed until November due to limited resources, equipment problems, and/or weather conditions. Two agronomic strategies were investigated to determine whether either could mitigate yield reductions following delayed wheat planting: increased seeding rate and in-furrow phosphorus.

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

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

This course is included with the classroom subscription

The following article is the last in a six-part series on assessing soil health. It synthesizes measurement information and provides an example of how a minimal set of soil health measurements can reflect multiple aspects of soil functioning. 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:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 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:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Semiarid regions in southern Idaho receive a small amount of annual precipitation (e.g., 9–12 inches), and crop options are very limited in dryland farming without supplemental irrigation. To diversify cropping systems, growers can incorporate crops with lower water requirements through rotations and intercropping. Field trials were conducted to evaluate crop yield and soil health in barley–pulse intercrops under full and deficit irrigation with no supplemental N fertilizers.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

This article is the second in a three-part series on beneficial arthropods. It will focus on the predator 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:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

This article is the first in a three-part series on beneficial arthropods. It will highlight some beneficial insects that kill crop pests and are largely unnoticed in the Corn Belt and Great Plains. The focus will be on two groups of insects that survive by eating insect pests of crops: predators and parasitoids. Information for this article comes from the University of Illinois, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Texas A&M University, and Utah State University.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 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:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

A great deal of attention and financial resources are devoted to incentivizing farmers to adopt practices known to protect soil, water, air, and biodiversity. Many commodity groups, including those representing cotton, corn, soybeans, and rice, have set goals and made climate commitments that rely on the uptake and longevity of conservation practices by U.S. producers. Despite these efforts, adoption of two primary practices, cover crops and conservation tillage, remains low. In order for these goals to be met, change is going to have to happen much faster than the current pace.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 0.5 Sustainability
CPSS/CPSC: 0.5 Self Directed

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

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Big data and machine learning have the potential to transform agriculture and 4R nutrient management practices. The integration of these technologies empowers farmers to adapt to variable conditions, optimize applications, and minimize environmental impact. While challenges such as data quality must be addressed, the future prospects are promising.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Black oat is a cool-season annual grass with Mediterranean origin. In contrast to other cool-season grasses, black oat is more heat tolerant and disease resistant, making it an attractive option for the US upper Midwest, since it can be utilized during summer, when there is decreased productivity of cool-season forages due to photorespiration. The objective was to evaluate 10 black oat breeding lines for herbage accumulation, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and in vitro digestible organic matter (IVDOM) concentrations.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Can we reduce phosphorus (P) rates and loss to the environment by banding? The thinking goes that any system that places P fertilizer below the surface without significantly increasing soil erosion will reduce P losses to the environment. Can application rates be reduced? The short answer is “it depends.” Decades of related research have conflicting conclusions. It’s of particular interest due to fertilizer prices and because agriculture is in the hot seat to cut P and nitrogen (N) losses to water bodies. Efficiencies from banding phosphorus (P) do exist in corn at very low soil-test P levels, where cool or wet conditions limit root growth and nutrient uptake, and in soils that make applied P less available.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Many crop advisers in Canada have noticed the recent growth in the cannabis market and are wondering what the future may hold for the crop. What are the challenges to growing this crop efficiently? How is the industry evolving?

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Cereal rye, as a fall-planted and winter-grown cover crop, offers many benefits. It tolerates both frigid winter temperatures and warm springs. It also tolerates both the wet conditions and drought. It reduces soil erosion, enhances soil organic matter, improves soil water retention, and reduces nutrient leaching. But, it’s not a panacea, of course. This article will discuss some of the benefits, challenges, and considerations of using cereal rye as a cover crop.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Some questions most often asked by producers are, “What is changing in my soil when I adopt a management practice? How can I detect that change? and What does it mean for my yields?” These questions reveal our uncertainty in how we quantify changes in the soil and how we view the soil. More importantly, they give insight into what is important to producers for their operations. The current attention on soil health has revealed that we don’t completely understand how soil changes and what is required to determine what is changed in our soils. The focus of this article will be on what actually happens in the soil along the journey of change in corn and soybean systems in the upper Midwest.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

The micronutrient chloride (Cl–) is one of 17 essential nutrients for plant survival. Chloride deficiency can be an issue in wheat, barley, oat, corn, and grain sorghum. In other species, like soybeans and rice, too much chloride can hurt yields. This article will cover deficiency symptoms, fertilizer tips and reported yield responses, and chloride toxicity.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Cover crops can provide numerous benefits such as protection from the vagaries of extreme weather, improved water filtration, improved soil organic matter and nutrient retention, and reduction of weeds. They’re common in row crops but not as much in citrus. Some researchers think they should be. This article will highlight some of the benefits and challenges of cover crops in citrus and how to use them.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Climate-smart fertilizers will play an increasingly important role. They fit well into the 4R Nutrient Stewardship concept, which provides an excellent framework for recognizing and rewarding the farmers that adopt their use. Programs, protocols, and policies aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture need to recognize climate-smart fertilizer use in a 4R framework.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Farmers, ranchers, and foresters are facing increasing challenges related to changing climate and weather, manifested in rising average temperatures, more frequent extreme rainfall events, extended drought, and heat waves. These changes are also impacting pest abundance and distribution, creating new pest problems and straining current pest management options and decision-making. Key factors for U.S. agriculture and producer resilience in tackling new environmental and pest challenges lie in the ability of producers to apply effective, economical integrated pest management (IPM) approaches and in support for research and development of new and renewed IPM tactics and systems to meet 21st century needs. 

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Research has shown the benefits of diversifying crop rotations, yet many Prairie farmers keep their rotations short and simple with cereals and oilseeds or cereals and pulses being intensively grown in two-year rotations. As western Canadian farms are pressed to increase yields while reducing inputs and the environmental impact of food production, growers need help to determine what crop rotations can help them achieve these goals and remain economically viable. This article reports on research evaluating yield and yield stability, nitrogen use efficiency, and net economic returns of six crop rotations in the Southern Prairies, Northern Prairies, and Red River Valley ecozones of western Canada.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

As the cost of soybean seed increases, farmers are interested in reducing seeding rates. Variable-rate seeding (VRS) allows farmers to adjust seeding rates within a field by management zone, and many farmers practice VRS in soybean. However, without field validation, the accuracy of existing VRS practices is unknown. The objectives of this study were to: (a) determine the agronomic optimum seeding rate (AOSR) of soybean in predetermined management zones and (b) compare the AOSR to each farmer's standard VRS practice.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

There is an incredible amount of interest in soil carbon (C) markets, but are there ways for CCAs to engage in them? How can we make sense of the bewildering number of opportunities? The goal of this article is to clarify components of soil C markets and soil C accounting and to outline practical avenues that CCAs interested in getting involved may consider. 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: 1.0 Soil and Water Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 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:
$55.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$80.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Obtaining an adequate plant stand is an important first step towards realizing the yield potential of cotton. The stand establishment phase of crop development involves a number of different processes and can be influenced by multiple factors, some that are within the grower’s control and some that are not. The current article starts with an overview of the germination and emergence phase of cotton development with an emphasis on key developmental events. Thereafter, it focuses on recent research conducted in Georgia that addresses the effects of seed characteristics, temperature conditions, and planter settings on stand establishment.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Cover crops are promoted for reducing the negative environmental effects of high-input row-crop production; however, cover crop adoption in the mid-southern United States is low, partly because of a perceived increase in risk. The objective of this research was to determine if cover crops cost-effectively improved the productivity and water use of corn in raised stale seedbed systems.

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

Price:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Farmers are using cover crop mixtures, hoping the power of biodiversity will transform their soils, improve yields, and regenerate their agroecosystems. Is this hope warranted? This article examines the ecological basis for mixtures, the results of cover crop mixture research, and the mechanisms that might cause mixtures to outperform monocultures.

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

New research in Agronomy Journal underscores the importance of residual herbicides in controlling Palmer amaranth in soybeans. The study documented that residuals delayed the critical time of Palmer amaranth removal during seasons that were both wetter and drier than usual. This showed pre-emergence soil-applied residuals can buy producers significant time before post-emergence products may be needed to control weed populations, potentially yielding long-term benefits for herbicide resistance management.

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

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

This course is included with the classroom subscription

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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Onion production in the United States is massive in scale: 3.5 million tons of onions were produced on 130,000 acres and valued at approximately $1 billion, on average, each year from 2018 to 2022. Unfortunately, this highly valuable crop can be threatened by plant pathogenic bacteria that cause a variety of bacterial leaf blights and bulb rots, diseases for which there is no cure. An integrated approach is needed that emphasizes multiple preventative cultural management strategies to reduce the risk posed by onion bacterial diseases.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Managing flea beetle damage constantly challenges Canada’s canola growers. High populations have many producers speculating whether flea beetles have evolved resistance to common insecticidal seed treatments. Here’s a summary of the situation with insecticides and canola’s worst enemy on Canada’s prairies.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Cover crop management depends on building and estimating biomass amounts, which can vary across field and management settings. This study used multi-flight drone imagery and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to map cover crop growth over three different winter seasons and compare it with spring biomass accumulation. Drone imagery can be used to enhance our understanding of winter crop growth, providing additional data to explain the resulting biomass across variable conditions.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

For the 2021 growing season, we had limited stored soil water and much below-average rainfall across the Northern Great Plains. As a result, crop yields were disastrously lower than normal, and the regional median residual soil nitrate-nitrogen after wheat was two to three times higher than the running average. This drought brings new light (and old memories) to soil testing for nitrogen along with new challenges and opportunities.

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

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 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:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

While a comprehensive economic analysis of cover crops accounting for all soil ecosystem services from cover crops is lacking, the available studies indicate that cover crops have potential to provide positive net returns if biomass production is sufficient. Among the opportunities to generate positive economic outcomes from cover crops include grazing and harvesting cover crops, savings on herbicides and fertilizers, carbon credits, and monetization of soil ecosystem services.

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

Price:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Data from 100 farmers indicate increased net farm income as a result of adopting soil health practices. Soil health practices are marginal changes from conventional production methods with most seasonal activities and inputs remaining unchanged. Changes in management do require considerations for local soil and climate. Transitioning to soil health systems can be a gradual process, and it may take many years to achieve full benefits of reduced inputs and increased productivity. 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Tobacco thrips and tomato spotted wilt (TSW) orthotospovirus can reduce peanut yield. Systemic insecticides are applied in the seed furrow at planting and to peanut foliage to reduce injury from tobacco thrips and decrease incidence of TSW. Research was conducted in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia to compare the effect of the following treatments on tobacco thrips feeding injury and expression of TSW in peanut: thiamethoxam seed treatment, thiamethoxam seed treatment followed by acephate three weeks after planting, phorate applied in the seed furrow at planting, and a nontreated check.

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

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 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

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$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Spring establishment of cool-season annual grasses into poorly producing orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) (OG) swards may improve forage production and nutritive value in the southeastern United States following a fall drought. A randomized complete block experiment was conducted where annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) (AR) or forage oat (Avena sativa L.) (FO) was interseeded into an existing OG stand over three seeding dates with (+) or without (–) a burndown herbicide (BD) treatment and compared with an OG monoculture (control).

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

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$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

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This article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership among 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. This article is an excerpt from Field to Market’s Fourth National Indicators Report, released in December 2021. Access the entire report at www.fieldtomarket.org/report. Sections covering soil carbon, biodiversity, and water quality will be included in future issues of Crops & Soils magazine. This is Part 1: Land Use, Soil Erosion, Irrigation Water Use, Energy Use, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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. This is Part 2: Biodiversity.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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. This is Part 3: Soil Carbon.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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. This is Part 4: Water Quality.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Ergot is a floral disease of grasses and a persistent problem in many cool-season grass seed production systems. The disease is particularly important and challenging in irrigated perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass seed production systems in Oregon and Washington. This article will discuss ergot biology, epidemiology, and management in grass seed crops as well as current and future research efforts.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$55.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$80.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Nutrients are essential for plant and animal agriculture and comprise a large portion of its outputs. The starting point for assuring beneficial impacts is the adaptive management built into 4R Nutrient Stewardship. To manage adaptively means to evaluate impacts in your decision cycle. The metrics you evaluate need to reflect impacts important to your local farming system. Farther-reaching impacts of crop nutrition include water quality, air quality, carbon footprint, biodiversity, food security, human nutrition, farm livelihoods, and circularity. By better documenting the decision cycle, our current and past practices, and their relation to impacts, the industry has the opportunity to build public trust.

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

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

This course is included with the classroom subscription

In many areas where center-pivot irrigation methods are used, the most common sprinkler package is called mid-elevation sprinkler application, known as MESA. Two alternative sprinkler packages designed for better water use efficiency are called low-energy precision application, or LEPA, and mobile drip irrigation, called MDI. A recent study evaluated how MDI and LEPA—at full and reduced irrigation rates—impact alfalfa and silage corn yield and quality in trials on two farms in Utah.

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

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$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Alfalfa is an important crop for the low desert region of southwestern United States. A field study was conducted to evaluate tolerance of established nondormant conventional alfalfa to saflufenacil applied during the summer slump.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

The recovery of fertilizer nitrogen by crops in the year of application is usually cited as being about 50%, despite considerable efforts to improve nitrogen efficiencies in agricultural systems. The use of fertilizer additives containing urease and/or nitrification inhibitors may improve fertilizer N efficiency. This was evaluated in four experiments conducted at multiple locations across the Canadian Prairies.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Faced with the daunting task of herbicide resistance management, Australian farmers developed various systems to target weed seeds during crop harvest. These systems are collectively called harvest weed seed control (HWSC). Despite being relatively unheard of in the U.S., currently more than 80% of Australian farmers practice HWSC. This article provides an overview of the six HWSC systems and the research conducted to date in U.S. cropping systems. This article also includes information for implementing HWSC, what weeds to target, potential costs, and where to find equipment.

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

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Weeds have evolved quicker than our ways to eradicate them with 264 species of weeds worldwide developing resistance to herbicides. Genetic weed control is one option being looked at by researchers. There are a number of hurdles to overcome before this approach could be used, including ethical, regulatory, and ecological challenges, but it is an area of research that may be worth pursuing.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Nutrient management, particularly for nitrogen, plays an important role in improving the carbon footprint of crop production. Many programs have recently expanded their offerings or funding levels of incentives to farmers to adopt more climate-smart nutrient management practices. These programs provide opportunities for crop advisers to accelerate adoption among their clients of 4R practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support soil carbon sequestration. The intent of this article is to provide a broad description of the programs available and the practices most likely to be effective.

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

Price:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Hard red winter wheat may be ready for its big break in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. After more than two decades of research and development behind the scenes, new varieties and market interest make it poised to become a viable niche crop. While it may not be grown in the same quantities as soft wheat in this region, hard wheat can provide diversity and be a market advantage for growers.

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

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$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Stockpiling limpograss [Hemarthria altissima (Poir.) Stapf & C.E. Hubb.] may be an option to extend the grazing season and decrease the needs for conserved forage in Florida. This 2-yr study evaluated herbage accumulation (HA), in vitro digestible organic matter (IVDOM), and crude protein (CP) concentrations of four limpograss entries (‘Floralta’, ‘Gibtuck’, ‘Kenhy’, and Entry 1) and ‘Tifton 85′ bermudagrass [Cynodon spp.] during the growth (May–August) and stockpiling (September–January) periods.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 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:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 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:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Drought causes tremendous losses to agriculture and impacts water supply, energy production, and public health. This year’s drought in Idaho is extreme due to a very dry spring followed by an extreme, prolonged summer heat wave. This article will provide an overview of the current drought in the Pacific Northwest, how crops have been impacted, and look at ways farmers can adapt.

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

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$50.00 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:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

The bermudagrass stem maggot (BSM) severely damages bermudagrass pastures and hayfields throughout the southeastern United States every summer. This management guide can help forage managers and consultants identify BSM damage and the pest. Pyrethroid insecticides can reduce adult BSM populations and yield loss when applied correctly. More research is needed to develop integrated pest management plans that include multiple suppression efforts. Fine stem lines are more susceptible to BSM damage than lines with thicker stem. Long-term solutions require new BSM-tolerant lines to reduce the demand that producers currently place on pesticides.

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

Price:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Global market demands for barley are less than cereals such as corn, rice, and wheat, but barley plays a particularly important role in cropping systems in areas of high elevation and/or latitude with short growing seasons. Estimation of residue nutrient uptake requires both a knowledge of the biomass produced, as well as the concentration of individual nutrients. These factors were evaluated in 2018 and 2019 from trials of four barley classes at five locations in southern Idaho.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

The amount of damage to both plants and potential yield after a hard freeze depends on a lot of different weather factors, plus the life stage of the plant, topography, varietal hardiness, and what happens after the freeze, among other factors.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

While we know herbicide resistance is an inevitable fate in a system that relies heavily on herbicides, we can work together to focus on long-term strategies to delay its development and spread. Managing for a single year is a key reason why we are in the situation we are in today. A review of how herbicide resistance issues developed over time provides some insight into this and also some guidance into how we can more effectively deal with the problems we face now and into the future. Farmers rely heavily on their advisers to provide sound agronomic recommendations, and we, as advisers, need to take that role seriously to broach the subject of long-term weed management beyond individual-year herbicide recommendations.

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

Price:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Well-managed cover crops bring producers a host of soil health benefits but require extra planning and yearly reseeding and termination. Living mulch—a perennial plant covering the soil year-round, even during crop production—could bring the benefits of cover crops without some of the drawbacks. Research published in Agronomy Journal demonstrates how producers in both the Midwest and the Southeast United States could use clover living mulch in their corn crops.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

In Washington State, east of the Cascade Mountains, alfalfa is grown for seed and forage. Alfalfa weevils are the primary defoliators of alfalfa grown for forage and seed, and Lygus bugs are the key direct pest in alfalfa seed production in the Pacific Northwest. Both alfalfa weevil and Lygus bugs are controlled by insecticide applications. Some levels of insecticide resistance have been observed in recent years. This article reports on a series of experiments that were conducted to quantify the resistance status of Lygus bugs and alfalfa weevils to several insecticides in Washington State.

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

Price:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Droughts in the western United States have led to an increased and pressing need to consider how to manage crops with less water for the future sustainability of production in the region. Fertilizer nitrogen (N) recommendations in the western United States have often been determined where irrigation was a non-limiting factor. However, when irrigation is a limiting factor, it is critical to consider the interrelationship with irrigation amounts and N applications rates as crop yield and quality can be heavily influenced in both positive and negative ways. An irrigation termination and N fertilizer rate study was conducted to investigate malt barley yield and quality response in Kimberly, ID.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

For western producers and crop consultants, stem nematode is one of the top pests in terms of potential alfalfa yield, quality, and stand reductions. With no economically viable or registered nematicides, management hinges on resistant varieties, planting certified seed, crop rotation, equipment sanitation, and where possible, reducing water runoff from potentially infested fields.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Farmers are facing more frequent and severe droughts than they have in generations, including over this last year. By late summer 2022, nearly 40% of farmers in the U.S. had already plowed under or killed their crops. That’s because those crops stood no chance of reaching maturity and harvest due to ongoing drought. Yields in Texas, for example, were proving almost 70% below normal as severe drought gripped the region. Some 60% of the West, South, and Central Plains were experiencing severe or worse drought. It’s now the offseason for some crops and early season for others. It’s a good time to advise farmers what changes they might undertake to make their farms more resilient.

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

Price:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Several plant-parasitic nematode species are found in Pacific Northwest potato fields, and they can potentially cause agronomic damage alone or, in some cases, in conjunction with diseases. Because of interactions with other host crops and pathogens, not to mention fumigant costs, managing the soil-borne pests requires a combination that may include soil sampling, crop rotation, nematicides, fumigation, and biofumigation.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

It can be hard to convince people of something when they think their lived experience suggests otherwise. That’s the challenge facing scientists trying to convince organic farmers that soil balancing—specifically through the base cation saturation ratio method—doesn’t actually improve crop yield. New research echoes previous work showing crop yields are affected by pH but not the calcium-magnesium ratio soil balancing.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

This is the third article in our series on soil health and greenhouse gas emissions on U.S. dairies associated with crop production. This article will focus on innovative technologies to advance in-the-field research.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

A two-year winter wheat–fallow system in the Pacific Northwest is practiced in areas with annual precipitation <16 inches. Wheat is planted in the fall and harvested in the summer, followed by 13 to 14 months of fallow. The summer fallowing often involves different types of tillage practices to facilitate water storage and weed control, which can influence vertical distribution of soil acidity and nutrients in the profile, possibly affecting crop yields. Long-term studies could help us understand soil nutrients and yield responses across different tillage and N rate applications.

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

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

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Georgia has been historically dominated by two perennial forage grass production systems: tall fescue in the north and bermudagrass in the south. Climatologists have documented notable changes in temperature and precipitation patterns in the state that have contributed to an invasion of warm-season species in the northern portion of the state. This article documents the expansion of warm-season bermudagrass into northern Georgia, explores the climatic factors driving this transition, and highlights previous and ongoing research.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

A comprehensive survey of Nebraska’s irrigation wells in 2020 yielded extensive georeferenced water quality data, including essential nutrient supplies and liming effects. These data show irrigation well water properties may vary greatly, even between nearby wells, indicating that occasional sampling of individual irrigation wells can help producers optimize soil management and crop input decisions.

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

Price:
$35.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$40.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Nutrient management, and more specifically nitrogen management, is important for the bottom line and is an integral part of soil health. Conducting a post-harvest assessment of yield, grain protein levels, and nutrient uptake efficiency is a vital part of an effective nutrient management plan. This article demonstrates the use of a tool to do this.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

It’s been 10 years since the 4R Plant Nutrition manual was published, setting out principles for the stewardship of plant nutrients agreed to by soil fertility scientists and crop nutrition practitioners. Since then, the industry has done a lot to implement the concept, both globally and in North America. What has been learned and accomplished in the process? What needs to be done to take 4R further? 

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Agriculture is a major factor in the Biden Administration’s plan to greatly reduce greenhouse gases, but how can we create a system that works for both producers and the many other entities interested in carbon sequestration? Carbon sequestration is tied to soil health, and soil health is incentivized differently based on relationships among producers, government programs, nonprofits, and third-party organizations. Here, we’ll take a look at the landscape of soil health incentives, from government conservation programs to non-profits, inset practices, and carbon market offsets.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.5 Sustainability
CPSS/CPSC: 1.5 Self Directed

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Flax is an important oilseed crop of temperate regions, and Canada been the world’s top exporter of the crop since 1994. Increasing crop yields either through breeding or better agronomy can substantially benefit the flax industry in Canada. A multi-location study was carried out in western Canada to determine the optimum combination of several agronomic practices to obtain high and stable flax yields.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Palmer amaranth is one of the most troublesome pigweeds in crop production systems in the United States. It only recently started to appear in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). A coordinated extension and outreach effort among land grant universities (University of Idaho, Oregon State University, and Washington State University), Amalgamated Sugar, other commodity commissions, and industry was launched to track Palmer amaranth in the PNW. In 2023, tissue samples were collected from pigweeds suspected to be Palmer amaranth with tests providing confirmation. Palmer amaranth was detected in several crops as well as right-of-way and private property. Most of the Palmer amaranth populations were confirmed to be resistant to glyphosate. Additional surveys and resistance screening efforts are underway to map the distribution of Palmer amaranth and assess the level of herbicide resistance across the region.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

To improve profitability, farmers are interested in relay intercrop (planting a second crop prior to harvest of the first crop) and double crop (planting a second crop after harvest of the first crop) systems. Economic comparisons can be challenging due to fluctuations in expenses and crop prices. To compare production systems, an Excel-based partial return calculator was developed. The calculator includes default values for crop yields, expenses, and prices using current information. Additionally, practitioners have the option to enter and use their own values.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Pecan production in the U.S. is primarily divided in two production regions: the southwestern region and the southeastern region. One insect pest complex is common to both production region—pecan aphids. Growers regularly make insecticide applications to management these aphids every year. The pecan aphid complex is represented by three aphid species: yellow pecan aphid, the blackmargined aphid, and the black pecan aphid. This article will discuss some of the important aspects of pecan aphids in relations to their management in commercial pecan orchards.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Pesticide resistance presents serious agronomic, environmental, and socio-economic threats that continue to grow despite significant research and outreach initiatives. Existing research on producers’ pest management decisions and behaviors suggests that they face a variety of barriers and limitations to best management practices. While we know an increasing amount about producers’ perspectives on, and management of, pesticide resistance, there is limited understanding of how their advisers think about and deal with the issue. A recent survey sent to U.S.-based CCAs provides some insight into these questions.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Phosphorus (P) loss pathways should be considered in the context of how management strategies interact with soil and field characteristics. Investigations of P use, soil test P, and P use efficiency have provided some help in navigating through the plight of reducing P losses while maintaining profitable yield levels. The extent to which tillage practices and cover crops are utilized should inform P management strategies and how agronomic, economic, and environmental success are attained.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

This article will discuss some of the ways precision agriculture can be used to enhance soil health. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of precision agriculture tools but rather an introduction for CCAs into some of the ways precision agriculture can be used to improve soil health. We will briefly introduce some important concepts in precision agriculture and then demonstrate some of the ways these tools can be integrated into a consulting strategy for soil health through measurement and monitoring of soil health and soil health management systems. The aim is to provide a high-level overview of how precision agriculture can complement soil health and thereby give CCAs some ideas of how they could modify existing precision agriculture tools to provide soil-health-specific service.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

The use of pre-emergence (PRE) herbicides is resurging as a standard practice for weed management in corn and soybean in the U.S. north-central region. The increased use of PRE herbicides warrants investigation on the impact of spray carrier volume on weed control. Field experiments were established at Arlington, WI and Janesville, WI to evaluate the influence of carrier volume on weed control of PRE herbicides in conventional tilled corn and soybean.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Fire is essential to the survival of the tallgrass prairies of Kansas and Oklahoma. To maintain the treeless prairie ecosystem, ranchers have historically burned pastures each spring from April to May. But when more than 500,000 acres are burned in a short period with slow winds and dense cloud, stagnant smoke can lead to unhealthy air quality in neighboring communities. The spring burning of rangeland coincides with weather patterns that create air quality issues (temperature inversions stemming from moderately warm days followed by cool nights). The solution to air quality issues is for ranchers to reschedule prescribed burnings for late summer or early fall when temperature inversions are less likely to occur.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

What can we learn from soybean yield contest winners? Larry Purcell, University of Arkansas, has some answers based on three years of documenting how Kip Cullers, Stark City, MO, grew 160.6-bu/ac soybeans in 2010 and 139 bu/ac previously. This article addresses the controversy of adding nitrogen (N) fertilizers to soybeans, as some yield contest winners are assumed to have done, and identifies some of Cullers’ important practices to increase yields and profits for more mainstream soybean growers. In addition, we examine the profitability of yield-increasing practices as verified by 60 site-years of data.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

Tall cotton plants do not necessarily produce maximum yields or quality. Growth-promoting field conditions in the absence of chemical growth control can produce cotton plants that are extremely tall but exhibit excessive vegetative growth at the expense of reproductive growth. Cotton producers must often consider incorporating plant growth regulators (PGRs) as a part of their management decisions during the growing season. The focus of article is on the use of the PGR mepiquat chloride and the role of production environment, cultivar, and other management considerations.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription.

The popularity of vertical and hybrid tillage tools continues to grow east of the Mississippi. Pinpointing what producers mean when they say “vertical tillage” can be difficult. Today, it is often used as a more generic term for shallow soil tillage. This article provides some things to keep in mind with vertical tillage, including soil conditions, machine setup, fuel economy, timing, and more.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Tall fescue is among the most popular cool-season pasture grasses in the United States and is widely grown in other countries with temperate climates. In the United States, nearly all tall fescue pastures planted before 1980 are infected with Epichloë coenophialum, a microscopic fungus. The common strain of this fungus produces toxins called “ergot alkaloids,” such as ergovaline. These ergot alkaloids cause fescue toxicosis, a severe livestock disorder that costs U.S. livestock producers at least $1 billion each year. At present, there is no medical cure for fescue toxicosis. There are, however, proven management strategies that lessen the effect of toxicosis. One is the replacement of toxic tall fescue with varieties that are endophyte-free or contain novel endophytes.

CEUs:
CCA/CPAg: 1.0 Integrated Pest Management
CPSS/CPSC: 1.0 Self Directed

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Livestock and forage researchers are rethinking the science behind prussic acid, or hydrogen cyanide (HCN), in livestock feed. The advice that always has been promoted to crop and livestock producers for managing HCN toxicity risk in forages may not be supported by sound science.

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

Price:
$40.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$60.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

National, state, and regional corn and soybean yields continue to set new production records, and with and these higher yields come a larger nutrient requirement per land area. Improvements in fertilize use efficiency are needed to sustain high yields while mitigating off-target nutrient movement. Are biologicals the key? There has been a surge of biological products coming to market with claims to enhance soil nutrient supply and/or improve fertilizer use efficiency. However, not all products are created equal, and each performs in a unique way, resulting in questions of which product types work, where and how they work, and most importantly, what other management practices help realize the full economic benefit of these biological products.

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

Price:
$45.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$65.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription

The following article kicks off a new five-part series on assessing soil health. It seeks to provide a brief and practical review about measuring soil organic carbon (SOC), especially SOC stock. Measuring SOC stock is a more expensive endeavor than measuring soil fertility levels, so carefully thinking through the components of the measurement is useful to your economic bottom line. In this article, we define the FAO calculation of SOC stock, review the physical sampling technique, and discuss the effect of spatial variability on the outcome of a stock estimate.

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

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

This course is included with the classroom subscription

Basic management practices, including ideal seeding rates, are still lacking for black oat in the southeastern United States. This study evaluated the performance of five seeding rates (15, 30, 60, 120, and 240 lb acre−1) on ‘Legend 567’ oat and ‘UF-10’ black oat at three harvest dates (early, mid-season, and late) per year.

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

Price:
$50.00 Members/Certified Professionals
$70.00 Non-members

This course is included with the classroom subscription