Education Opportunity for Non-CCA Agronomy Professionals.

The educational opportunities for agronomy professionals who are not part of the certification programs are limited, or they do not address the routine questions encountered in the work environment.  Serving as the individuals interpreting analytical results and making nutrient application recommendations these agronomists need to better understand the quality and the use of the data before them.  This paper will review some of the soil testing methods commonly in use and how the generalized summaries and client specific soil testing data can be applied as teaching tools.  Comparison of long-term and seasonal variability can also serve to normalize changes observed when samples are collected on 3 or 4 year rotations.  Educational outreach for this segment of the industry increases the confidence of these professional agronomists and reduces errors that could lead to yield loss or over application of nutrients on the farm.