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Nebraska Farmer
www.FarmProgress.com - October 2010
NewsWatch
Nebraska Digest
Staying on the corn board
Three directors on the Nebraska Corn
Board have been reappointed by Gov.
Dave Heineman. They are Bob Dickey
of Laurel, Dave Nielsen of Lincoln
and Tim Scheer of St. Paul. Dickey
represents District 4 in northeast
Nebraska, Nielsen District 1 in southeast Nebraska and Scheer District 5 in
central Nebraska.
Cooperative Council awards
7 scholarships
The Nebraska Cooperative Council’s
Education Foundation has awarded
seven scholarships, totaling $6,050, for
the 2010-11 academic year to students
at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
College of Agriculture Sciences and
Natural Resources, the Nebraska
College of Technical Agriculture in
Curtis and Chadron State College. Five
who earned $959 scholarships to UNL
are: Haylie Lechtenberg, Butte; Katrina
Hackel, Ord; Collin Sorensen, Phillips;
Shawn Hutsell, Hampton; and Kristin
Bloss, Pawnee City. Randii Endorf of
Daykin received a $650 scholarship to
NCTA, and Stacee Wright of Hamlet received a $650 scholarship to Chadron
State College.
Gold medalist for corn
CROP PROTECTION TEAM: Certified Crop Advisers like this team at Orchard Fertilizer Service Inc. at Orchard can be a
farmer’s first line of defense when it comes to crop protection. CCA members at Orchard include (from left) Don Williams, owner
and president; Brinkley Williams, assistant general manager/agronomy sales manager; Bob Ramsel, sales agronomist (weed
science); and Joe Liscano, sales agronomist (soil science).
Nebraska roots
By CURT ARENS
At a glance
I
■ Nebraska’s Certified Crop Adviser program
began in 1987.
■ Today, there are more than 600 CCA
members in the state.
■ CCA members provide consulting to
farmers in the latest crop techniques.
T all started in Nebraska. Don Williams, owner and president of Orchard Fertilizer Service Inc., recalls
when Nebraska’s Certified Crop Adviser
program got off the ground in 1987. The
current chairman of the Nebraska CCA
board of directors participated in the
first certification program. Twenty-three
years later, Nebraska’s CCA boasts well
over 600 members, and the program
that was founded in the state is now administered internationally by 37 state or
regional boards in the U.S. and Canada.
“The Nebraska program was developed out of the desire to bring credibility
and professionalism to the commercial
fertilizer and crop protection chemical
business,” Williams says.
At first, the group was known as the
Nebraska Certified Crop Production
Advisers, but in 1992, under the guid-
ance of Williams as chairman, a committee was formed to explore the idea
of national certification. That new group
was organized in cooperation with the
American Society of Agronomy, with the
first certification issued in 1993.
Today, the CCA program is a voluntary professional certification offered to
crop advisers by the American Society
of Agronomy, providing what CCA calls a
“base level or standard” through testing,
and raising that standard through continuing education.
“Being a CCA gives the professional
CCAs pass through rigorous program
F
ARMERS have the CCA program to thank for professional service, certification and education for their crop advisers. Exams required for certification in
the program cover areas of competency in nutrient management, soil and water
management, integrated pest management, and crop management, with follow-up
continuing education in those same four areas of expertise each year.
“A rigorous certification program initially ensures that only qualified people can
become crop advisers,” says Don Williams. “It also ensures that, through required
continuing education, the professional is keeping abreast of not only new technologies, but also the old basics of agricultural crop production.”
the confidence that they were able to
earn those credentials,” Williams says.
“The training and the experience that
are required to become a CCA allow
that professional to say, ‘Yes, I know my
stuff.’”
Williams works with three other
CCAs at Orchard Fertilizer Service, including his son, Brinkley. He says a keen
awareness of the environment and advancements in technology through GPS
and biotech crops are some of the dramatic changes that he has seen during
his time as a CCA. “A majority of today’s
producers are well-educated,” he says.
“Each individual group has its own
unique needs and presents an opportunity for businesses like ours.”
He sees the importance of the CCA
program growing as agriculture moves
forward. “Technical advances in machinery, marketing issues, government
programs, environmental concerns and
cropping systems are a few of the issues
that each producer must be keenly in
tune with,” says Williams. “The CCA,
as well as other professionals, will be a
valuable tool. I remain involved because
of the continuing changes in agriculture
and the positive changes CCA members
have contributed to our industry.”
For more information on Nebraska’s
CCAs, visit www.necca.org or call
Williams at Orchard Fertilizer Service at
402-893-3905.
Curt Tomasevicz, the Shelby native
who earned a U.S. gold medal in the
2010 Winter Olympics as part of the
four-man bobsled team, is helping the
Nebraska Corn Board promote the
crop. Tomasevicz will speak on the sustainability of corn production and the
various uses of corn at several events
across Nebraska. He lives and trains in
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Wheat board officers elected
Larry Flohr of Chappell has been
elected 2010-11 chairman of the
Nebraska Wheat Board, which administers the 1¹⁄₄-cent-per-bushel checkoff
levied on wheat marketed in Nebraska.
Von Johnson of Cambridge was
elected to serve as vice chairman.
Reserve champion named
Reagan Skow of Palisade had the
reserve grand champion carcass steer
at the 2010 National Junior Angus
Show in Denver. The contest had 46
entries.
Attend leadership training
Curt Friesen, Henderson, and Carl
Sousek, Prague, are part of the 2010
National Corn Growers Association
Leadership Academy, sponsored by
Syngenta. The first session was held
this summer in Greensboro, N.C., and
covered media training and public
speaking. A second session Jan. 23-25
in Washington, D.C., will cover public
policy, lobbying and parliamentary procedure.
Receives BIF recognition
Twig Marston, director of the University
of Nebraska’s Northeast Research and
Extension Center, is one of four individuals honored this summer in Columbia,
Mo., by the Beef Improvement Federation for contributions to leadership and
research in the industry.