Continuing Education Units

• CEU Application Form for meeting planners
• Requirements - number and renewal period for CEUs
• Reporting - how to report CEUs for a meeting
• Meetings - calendar of meetings offering CEUs
• Out of State - explanation of reciprocity for out of state meetings
• Self Reported - (formerly "Self Directed") CEUs info
• Self Study - link to Ag Professional self study resources

Keep in CEU Compliance - CEUs take up just 1 percent of your time!

by Dave Mowers, Illinois CCA Past State Board Chairman

The Illinois CCA Board has been very lenient on taking away certifications because of lack of total number of CEUs or lack of CEUs in a certain area. We have given time extension for those who have requested it and are now being cautioned about how far we take this leniency.

ARCPACS will soon step in and be iron-fisted to require that we become very stringent on certifications and continuing education. The board urges you to get CEUs completed early in your cycle. Then you don't have to scramble to get your CEUs before your cycle expires.

How do you justify maintaining CEUs? Look at it this way – your requirements are 40 hours every two years. Assuming you work 2000 hours per year, you are working 4000 hours every two years. Your CEUs are only 1 % of your working time. If you can't give 1% of your time to improve your professionalism, I wonder if you are in the correct vocation.

And don't give us the excuse that enough CEUs are not being offered. Lisa reports that over 1700 hours of CEUs were offered in 1998. Just make time to do it!

Certified Crop Adviser Continuing Education Units, better known as CEUs can be earned at many meetings throughout the year in Illinois. As the program has grown, so have the number of meeting providers requesting CCA approval for meetings.

Probably the best known area of education are programs sponsored by the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service. Your local County Agronomy Day is generally a good source of credit as is the Illinois Agricultural Pesticide Conference (January), the Crop Protection Workshop (February-March), the Field Crop Pest Management Short Course (March), Fertilizer Clinics (November-December) Soil Fertility and Crop Production Workshops and Agronomy Day (August).

The Southern Illinois University Farmers Field Day (July) and the Southern Illinois Fertilizer and Pesticide Conference (November) are also good sources.

Natural Resources Conservation Service offices and your local Soil & Water Conservation Districts sometimes offer meetings and your local chemical or seed corn companies have many field days and special events offering CCA credit.

Credits are offered at the IFCA annual meeting (January) and by many other independent groups.

administered by
Lisa Muirheid Martin, 1402 N. Ann St., Pontiac, IL 61764
(815) 844-6677

Last Updated:05/02/05