Illinois CCA News - October 2018 - Conference and Exams Updates

Sep 26, 2026

Illinois CCA News (October 2018) announces the upcoming CCA Conference and Ag Masters on Dec. 12–13 in Springfield, and highlights that exam registration for the Feb. 1, 2019 CCA exam is open through Dec. 14. It introduces a sustainability exam registration incentive tied to the SPARC survey program, offers guidance on earning CEUs, and promotes an Oct. 19 nitrogen management webinar with CEU credit. The newsletter also shares fall nitrogen guideline priorities using 4R concepts, soil temperature thresholds, safety reminders, and links to IFCA resources.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Reading Time8 min

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CCA Conference and Ag Masters

CCA Exam Registration Open

Sustainability Exam Registration Incentive

CEUs Update

October 19 Nitrogen Webinar

Fall Nitrogen Guidelines from IFCA

Illinois CCA News-October 2018 CCA Conference and Ag Masters CCA Conference and Ag Masters will be held Dec. 12-13 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Mark the dates on your calendars and watch your email for the online registration and a link to the updated Illinois CCA website soon! CCA Exam Registration Open Exam registration for the February 1, 2019 exam date is open now through December 14th. Please forward the link below to anyone you know interesting in becoming CCA certified or follow it if you are considering obtaining one of the specialty certifications (4R Nutrient Management Specialty, Resistance Management Specialist, Sustainability Specialty, and new in 2019 is the Precision Agriculture Specialty) . Find Performance Objectives, registration, and other materials on the CCA Exam website. NEW--Sustainability Exam Registration Incentive! Earn $10/completed survey towards the exam registration fee up to a total of $60.00. The American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Defense Fund have partnered to create educational resources to help CCAs and ag retailers provide sustainability insights, products and services to their farmer-clientele. To improve these resources, weare offering you a $10.00 gift certificate towards the CCA Sustainability Exam registration for each survey that is completed up to six. This gives you a preview and us your feedback to help enhance the educational modules. Your feedback on the value and appropriateness of the content is very important. To learn more about this program, called Sustainability Programming for Ag Retailers and CCAs (SPARC) please [visit www.fieldtomarket.org/sparc](visit www.fieldtomarket.org/sparc). Still need CEUs? If you still need CEUs, updates are being sent out by the staff in Madison. Watch for them so you know how many credits you need to complete your 2017-2018 cycle. Register for October 19 Nitrogen Webinar On Friday, October 19 at 8:30 am Central Time, Dr. Emerson Nafziger will have a one hour webinar focused on nitrogen management for the 2019 season. The title of the webinar is "Managing Nitrogen After Another Great Year" and he will share results of the 2018 nitrogen rate trials performed throughout the state. IFCA's Dan Schaefer, Jason Solberg and John Pike worked with Dr. Nafziger to implement nearly 50 trials in 2018. The results are interesting and in many ways different from last year, so tune in. We will offer 1 CEU in Nutrient Management. The webinar will also be recorded and posted at [www.ifca.com](www.ifca.com) if you can't make it but want to listen later. IFCA would like to thank GROWMARK for helping to host the webinar. To register for the October 19 Webinar click here. Fall Nitrogen Guidelines from IFCA When stepping outside today, the first reaction is "brrr!" As temperatures have plummeted from 80 degrees last week to highs of 50 degrees this week in much of Illinois, the next thing to think about is the 4Rs of fall fertilizer application--specifically fall ammonia applications. Each morning, IFCA will post a map of the State Water Survey's WARM site, which has indicators of the maximum daily soil temperature in bare soil at the 4-inch depth. With regard to applying anhydrous ammonia in the fall, we continue to urge patience until soil temperatures fall to 50 degrees and the soil temps are not likely to rebound from those levels in any kind of significant way. Normally the calendar date for this to occur, on average, is around November 1. Last year it was after November 1 before soil temps fell to 50 degrees and this year it is looking to occur much earlier. We know that our members are keenly aware of the stewardship objectives of the fertilizer industry, so we know over the next week everyone will be looking at what everyone else is doing. IFCA's advice is to use your best professional judgement--we all know what

FAQs

When and where will the CCA Conference and Ag Masters be held?

It will be held Dec. 12–13 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Register online and watch for updates on the Illinois CCA website.

What is the deadline to register for the February 1, 2019 CCA exam?

Exam registration is open through December 14th.

What soil-temperature conditions does IFCA recommend for fall anhydrous ammonia applications?

IFCA urges patience until soil temperatures fall to 50 degrees and are unlikely to rebound significantly, with an average calendar timing around November 1. The daily maximum 4-inch soil temperature should guide decisions, and a labeled nitrification inhibitor should be used at the manufacturer’s recommended rate.

Sep 26, 2026

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