Listed below are the Iowa Certified Crop Adviser board members. Please feel free to contact any of them with questions or comments.

Save the Date

for something new
Agribusiness Showcase & Conference
February 9-10, 2010
Varied Industries Building
Iowa State Fairgrounds
Des Moines, Iowa

The Agribusiness Association of Iowa (AAI) is reinvigorating its annual show by creating an educational opportunity for Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) while showcasing industry innovation and technology.

CCAs will participate in two days of Continuing Educational Units (CEU) opportunities. The first day of the 2010 Agribusiness Showcase and Conference will offer up to 10 hours of CEUs through a traditional seminar-based setting. The CEU speakers will be selected with the input and assistance of the Iowa Certified Crop Advisers. In addition, on the evening of the first day AAI will hold a banquet in honor of the CCAs recognizing “years of service” in the profession with many of their employers in attendance. The banquet will take place at Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Des Moines, Iowa.

The second day of the new 2010 Agribusiness Showcase and Conference will tentatively offer 5-6 CEU credit hours as part of an “indoor field-day.” This CEU event will allow CCAs to visit with vendors about emerging technologies, innovative applications, and cutting edge stewardship practices under the roof of the Iowa State Fairground’s 90,000+ square foot Varied Industries building, in the middle of Iowa’s winter.

The “indoor field-day” will require substantive conversations at vendor booths in exchange for CEU credit. An assessment will be completed by AAI staff after the event to determine what types of CEU credits individual CCAs will receive based on the vendor’s expertise (ex. water and soil) and the topic discussed.

The 2010 Showcase and Conference is February 9-10, 2010 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. Additional information and registration materials will soon be posted on the AAI website at: www.agribiz.org/showcase.

Integrated Crop Management Conference to be Held December 2-3, 2009

The 21st Annual Integrated Crop Management Conference (ICM) will be held December 2-3, 2009 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The conference will feature 34 different workshops covering crop production information.

CCAs can receive up to 14 CEUs throughout the conference, choosing from as many as five topics each hour.

For more information and registration go to: http://www.aep.iastate.edu/icm/homepage.html.

An Online Resource That Simplifies Access to Agronomic Information

The Plant Management Network (PMN), a nonprofit online publisher of agricultural and horticultural resources, has launched a new Yahoo!-like portal to help busy crop professionals search university extension resources, find journal abstracts, browse news and research, and visit certification sites all from one place.

This portal is especially useful for crop advisers, agronomists, consultants or producers that search for specific agronomic information.

A free webinar to learn how to use this resource is being held Thursday, November 12, at 12:00 pm. CCAs who attend the webinar will receive 1.0 CEUs in professional development.

Sign up for the webinar by following this link: http://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?recipient_id=69518665&message_id=852995&user_id=Soc_Agrnmy and clicking on the “Register Now” button.

Iowa CCA Partners with Commodity Update

In order to bring an added value to your Iowa Certified Crop Advisers membership, the Iowa CCA has partnered with Commodity Update. Commodity Update provides commodity market updates by cell phone text message to interested parties each business day, and they will provide this service free for one year to Iowa CCAs – this is a $120 value!

Commodity Update supplies market updates for any exchange-traded commodities, and any contracts of those commodities up to nine times per day (it’s also possible to get market quotes instantly by dialing a toll-free number). Subscribers in Iowa typically receive the opening, midday and closing reports for the nearby and new-crop contracts of corn, soybeans and wheat, but each subscriber can choose the contracts, commodities and delivery times he/she desires. Allowing you to get the latest reports wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, because the cell phone usually goes where you go.

Registering for this free service is simple; just follow the link to an electronic sign-up form: www.CommodityUpdate.com/CCA. Once you have registered for Commodity Update you will be immediately added to their service. If you do not want to continue receiving Commodity Update’s services you can change or cancel your service at any time – instructions are provide after you register.

If you have any questions about Commodity Update and its services, please contact Mike Bock at 952-905-3211 or at [email protected] .