Commercial manure applicator training scheduled for Calhoun County

According to a Jan. 4 news release, commercial manure applicators should plan to attend the Commercial Manure Applicator training program scheduled for Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, will conduct the required three-hour training workshop at that time. There is no fee to attend the workshop.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, pre-registration is required. No walk-ins are allowed. Please contact the ISU Extension Calhoun County office at (712) 297-8611.

Commercial manure applicators needing to recertify and those wanting to certify for the first time should attend. The workshop will provide the required three hours of annual training and will cover rules for applicators as well as land-application requirements, water sources, manure available nitrogen and application rates, MRTN and Yield goals comparisons, and fertility management.

All currently certified commercial manure applicator licenses will expire on March 1.  Commercial applicators can attend training throughout the year, but if they were previously certified, they should plan to attend training and submit the forms and fees to DNR prior to March 1, to avoid paying the late fees. 

Certification fees for commercial manure applicators have not changed for 2021.

If attending commercial manure applicator program on Thursday or watching the three-hour video is not convenient, commercial applicators may contact their local DNR field office to schedule an appointment to take the certification exam. In addition to needing an appointment to take the exam, applicators must bring a pencil and photo ID, and should plan to bring a calculator.

Applicators have another option, online certification, where an applicator can complete their training on-line at DNR MAC eLearning site at https://elearning-dnr.iowa.gov. The applicator will first need to sign-in and get an A&A account.

Commercial manure applicators handling, storing, hauling or land-applying primarily dry or solid manure are encouraged to attend the Dry Manure Applicator Workshops. You can contact the Calhoun County Extension office to schedule a time.

For more information about the commercial applicator program, contact the ISU Extension Calhoun County office or access a list of the training locations at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/immag/commercial-manure-applicators.