June 16, 2011, West
Lafayette, IN – Purdue Extension is teaming up with the Office of Indiana State
Chemist and Indiana Farm Bureau to help farmers beat the Jan. 1, 2012, deadline
for complying with a state fertilizer regulation.
June 16, 2011, West
Lafayette, IN – Purdue Extension is teaming up with the Office of Indiana State
Chemist and Indiana Farm Bureau to help farmers beat the Jan. 1, 2012, deadline
for complying with a state fertilizer regulation.
Extension specialists and
educators will conduct training sessions about, and OISC representatives will
administer certification exams for, Category 14 fertilizer material applicators
and distributors at locations throughout Indiana this summer, said Fred
Whitford, coordinator of Purdue Pesticide Programs and a training instructor.
“We’re going out into the
state to provide these training and exam opportunities for growers to make it
easier for them to come into compliance,” Whitford said. “There’s no fee to
register. We’re trying to make it as painless as possible.”
Category 14 was created by
legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2009. The law requires
farmers handling manure from confined feeding operations to be certified through
the state chemist’s office. CFOs are livestock facilities that house at least
300 cattle or 600 swine or sheep, or 30,000 fowl, such as chickens, turkeys or
other poultry.
The fertilizer rule
applies to those who use or transport in excess of 10 cubic yards, or 4,000
gallons, of manure originating from a CFO per year. This includes farmers who
apply manure from a CFO to their land.
“This certification
program is intended to make sure we understand the process of applying manure,
and that we apply it in a way that helps us produce a better crop and keeps it
out of water,” Whitford said.
At nine sites across
Indiana, Purdue Extension will host three-hour training sessions on safe and
effective fertilizer material handling and application practices, followed by a
90-minute certification exam. Two exam-only dates also are scheduled. Advance
registration is required in all cases. Participants must bring a
government-issued ID and also should bring a calculator to the training/exam
events.
Dates, times, locations
and registration/enrollment information for the training/exam sessions include:
- July 26, 9 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. Eastern, Beck Agricultural Center, Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and
Education, 4540 U.S. 52 W., West Lafayette. To register, call 765-474-0793.
Enrollment limited to 60 people. - July 26, 1-5:30 p.m.
Central, Jasper County Fairgrounds, 2671 W. Clark St., Rensselaer. To register,
call 219-866-5741. Enrollment limited to 100 people. - August 5, 9 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. Eastern, Wabash County REMC, 350 Wedcor, Wabash. To register, call
260-563-0661 ext. 246. Enrollment limited to 100 people. - August 5, 2-6:30 p.m.
Eastern, Randolph County Fairgrounds, 1885 S. U.S. 27, Winchester. To register,
call 765-584-2271. Enrollment limited to 100 people. - August 15, 9 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. Eastern, Decatur County Fairgrounds, 1645 N. Park Road, Greensburg. To
register, call 812-663-8388. Enrollment limited to 100 people. - August 18, 9 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. Eastern, Washington County Cornerstone Hall, 170 N. Jim Day Road, Salem.
To register, call 812-883-4601. Enrollment limited to 100 people. - August 18, 3-7:30 p.m.
Eastern, Dubois County Fairgrounds, 4157 S. Indiana 162, Huntingburg. To
register, call 812-482-1782. Enrollment limited to 100 people. - September 9, 9 a.m. to
1:30 p.m. Eastern, Olive Township Public Library, 408 S. Bray St., New
Carlisle. To register, call 574-235-9604. Enrollment limited to 40 people. - September 9, 2-6:30 p.m.
Eastern, Elkhart County Fairgrounds Ag Hall Building, 17746 County Road 34,
Goshen. To register, call 574-533-0554. Enrollment limited to 100 people.
Exam-only dates include:
- September 15, 2-4 p.m.
Eastern, Wells County Community Center, 1240 4-H Park Road, Bluffton. To
register, call 260-824-6412 or by email at horan@purdue.edu. - December 16, 1-3 p.m.
Eastern, Clinton County Fairgrounds, Fairground Street, Frankfort. To register,
call 765-659-6380 or 765-296-3511 or e-mail cemanuel@purdue.edu by Dec. 12.
To download the Category
14 training manual or for more information about the training and exam
sessions, visit the Purdue Pesticide Programs website at
http://www.ppp.purdue.edu/ or contact a county office of Purdue Extension.
