In-service training offered for Certified Crop Advisors

Graduate students Rebecca Champagne (Chili Peppers Shirt) and Jordan Parks (glasses) take their assistants Ruthie Clements (recent UMaine Masters graduate – grey hoodie), Sonora Ort (orange) and Emma Gibbons (undergraduate – green shirt) out into the Rogers Farm fields. Jordan is conducting research around his beet crop into weed management practices implementing various techniques like raking, avoiding the use of pesticides. Rebecca begins plotting out her field for the following days planting carrots where she’ll be conducting her soil research. Professor of Weed Ecology and Management, Eric Gallandt (UMaine Baseball Hat) stops by to check on their progress.

STATE — A two-day training for agriculture service providers in the Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) program will be held Jan. 25–26 at the Holiday Inn in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Presentations will be made by experts from schools and businesses across New England, including the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association, Northern Tilth, University of New Hampshire Extension, American Farmland Trust, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts and the University of Vermont.

The program will focus on crop and forage production, soil quality, precision agriculture, pest management, and more. Visit the event website for a full agenda: https://extension.umaine.edu/agriculture/in-service-training-cca/. Continuing Education Units and Pesticide Applicator Recertification credits have been requested.

Registration cost for the two days is $300; $150 for one day. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact John Jemison, 207.581.3241; [email protected].