Large group of people on a farm walking behind tillage equipment. This photo was taken at the Arlington Ag Research Station for an Ag 101 training hosted for ag educators by Kevin Erb. This is a strip tillage.

Conservation Professional Training Program

Our Training Services: What We Offer

University research and knowledge with a talented team of instructional designers and professional evaluators to create custom conservation-related online trainings addressing client needs.

Adapt and revamp existing trainings to better serve learner needs and reach desired outcomes.

The ability to integrate both short-term evaluation and long-term impacts to prove training effectiveness and improve with ongoing participant feedback.

Design and develop custom face-to-face and online training from the ground up to meet client needs.

Integrate a variety of innovative multimedia into learning management systems to better meet learner needs.

Combine the latest research on learning theory/strategy and a wealth of conservation knowledge, creating robust learner profiles and applied learning outcomes.

Examples of Past Projects

In 2019, we debuted an online training for manure applicators across the Midwest with information on equipment inspection, loading and spreading manure, and addressing manure spills.
Developed and implemented soil resiliency training for front-line employees of Pioneer Seed in four states, focusing on management practices that reduce nutrient losses and improve water holding capacity of soil in their seed conditioning process.
In 2016 and 2017, our team worked with the Farm Service Agency to create a hybrid online wetland screening course and follow-up train-the-trainer field training. Leadership within the 600-staff group, trained at 26 locations across the US, implemented a localized version of the training nationwide, targeting more than 5,000 USDA staff.
Between 2016 and 2026 we have developed more than 25 online trainings for USDA-NRCS staff seeking Conservation Planning Certification or continuing education to support their certifications, with three additional courses under development. Focus areas have ranged from building technical skills with the tools of Conservation (WinPST, Stream Visualization Assessment Protocol), basic and advanced training on Forestry, Ecological Site Descriptions, to improving the training abilities of agency staff through online training on using training technology, and the development of instructional guides providing hands-on resources for agency trainers.
From 2011 through 2014, we worked in partnership with four other Universities to develop a series of nine in-person, field, online, and blended training courses to certify Technical Service Providers to complete Conservation Reserve Program plans to assist NRCS state and field offices with the CRP workload. View the project Executive Summary and Full Report for more information.