Inspection Services Blog

Online-Based Continuing Education for Growers

The California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board requires growers to prepare Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Plans (INMP) for land enrolled in the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. For land in areas designated as a high-vulnerability groundwater area, INMPs must be certified by a specialist or by a grower who has attended a California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) self-certification training. Once a grower has completed the self-certification training, they are required to complete three hours of continuing education over a three-year period to maintain their eligibility to self-certify.  

Through a collaborative effort between CDFA’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program, the Coalition for Urban and Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES) and the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR), applications are now being accepted from content providers who wish to offer online-based continuing education for growers 

Due to the current restrictions for holding in-person events, this opportunity will provide growers with new options to meet their continuing education requirements. The new options will include self-study materials and live webinars.  

Self-Study  

The self-study option will consist of materials or programs that can be completed at the grower’s leisure. These include videos, recorded webinars, podcasts and reading materials/resources.

Books, camera, projector screen, and microphone

Self-study courses will require a post-study quiz to verify completion. For every hour of education, there will be 10 corresponding multiple-choice questions. The grower will be required to pass the quiz with a 70% grade or higher to receive their continuing education certificate.  

Live Webinars 

Live webinars are a great alternative to in-person meetings. Live webinars must be a minimum of 30 minutes and should be hosted on a platform that can track attendee participation.  

Apply Now 

We would like to encourage organizations who have postponed or cancelled continuing education events due to the COVID-19 restrictions to consider an online-based option. For more information on how content providers can apply for continuing education credits, please visit: https://www.curesworks.org/continuing-education/


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