A two-part nutrient management training school will be held in June and July at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton. The three-day training June 28-30 is a hands-on school in which students write a plan using real farm information. The two-day training July 13-14 is a lecture series by Virginia Tech professors that covers soil science, soil fertility and crop production information.
Conducted by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, this training is open to anyone interested in learning more about nutrient management plan writing or becoming a certified planner. Register before June 13 to assure a reservation.
More details of the training schools and the nutrient management certification process and can be found at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/nmtrain.
Nutrient management continues to be an important component in a farmer’s decision-making process when considering application of materials to supply nutrients to crops. Application rates are determined by a process using actual yield records or soil productivity when yield records are not available. By this process, nutrient loss to the environment is minimized, and a high efficiency of nutrient use is achieved.
“Generally it would appear this type of training may be of interest mainly to consultants, sales people or agency people working with nutrient management and crop production,” said David Kindig, DCR’s nutrient management certification and training coordinator. “However, farmers and farm operators do attend the schools for educational benefit, and some choose to become certified planners themselves. The training gives them a better understanding of how plans are developed.”
Presentations and hands-on exercises deal with nutrient application and plan implementation at the field level from practical, real-life scenarios. People with agricultural experience will find the classes interesting and practical.
“The more informed farmers are about the plan development process the more they can be a part of it,” Kindig added. “The more they are a part of this process, the more tailored the plan will be to their operation. The more tailored the plan to their operation, the easier the plan will be to implement. And for those farmers for which a plan is part of a permit to operate their farm, the easier it is to comply with the plan and ultimately the permit.”
The training schools run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. Registration for each school is $130 by June 13 or $150 after June 13.
To register, contact Susan Jones at (804) 443-3803 or susan.jones@dcr.virginia.gov.
For more information, contact David Kindig at (804) 371-8095 or david.kindig@dcr.virginia.gov.
