By Scott Sturgul
An updated Nutrient Management Farmer Education Curriculum was released in early January 2017. This popular collection of nutrient management education tools is produced by the UW-Extension Nutrient Management Team with contributions from numerous programs and individuals. The curriculum contains training materials required for Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (WDATCP) certification of farmers writing their own nutrient management plans.
Revisions to the curriculum include:
- A module on the 2015 version of the USDA-NRCS 590 Nutrient Management Standard and associated Technical Note. Please note that the revised curriculum still retains a module on the 2005 590 USDA-NRCS Nutrient Management Standard and Technical Note as well.
- Information on the SnapPlus nutrient management planning software program. The SnapPlus module includes the December 2016 version of the SnapPlus training manual, SnapPlus “how to” videos, and information about the SnapMaps feature of SnapPlus.
- Links to useful nutrient management mobile applications.
- A collection of informative nutrient management videos.
- Updated information from WDATCP, WDNR and USDA-NRCS on their nutrient management programs.
The 2017 edition of the curriculum is contained on a USB flash drive. The flash drive contains multiple PowerPoint presentations for the farmer workshops. Also included are speaker notes, associated publications and worksheets, program evaluation materials, and a user’s manual.