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 Trainings

From introductory courses for new employees to advanced training for conservation advisors, the Conservation Professional Training Program, or CPTP, provides the training you need at every level.

Upcoming In-Person Trainings

Please reach out to Kevin Erb with questions – kevin.erb@wisc.edu, 920-391-4652 (landline).

Basic Ag/Ag 101 Session 1

Date
Tuesday, July 14, 2026 (8:45am – 4pm)

Location
Hancock Ag Research Station, Hancock WI

Description

Basic Ag 101 is designed for new agency staff working with landowners. The first part, taught by experienced conservation professionals, is scheduled for July 14, 2026 (Hancock Ag Research Station in Central Wisconsin) will focus on techniques and strategies for communicating with/working with traditional and non-traditional (Amish/Mennonite, Tribal) landowners and provide a foundation in determining and assessing resource concerns in cropland (traditional/specialty), pasture and forested areas. Lunch is provided.

Part 2 (separate registration, Location and Date TBD in the Fall) will focus on understanding farm tillage equipment, soil erosion, and the components of a livestock operation.

See full agenda for Session 1 here.

A line of cows eating through a fenceline

Karst Geology in Northeast Wisconsin

Date
Monday, July 20, 2026, 9 am -3:15 pm

Location
Brown County STEM Innovation Center, 2019 Technology Way, Green Bay

Description

This one-day training is designed to dig deeper into the geology and groundwater flow in Northeast Wisconsin, discuss the basics and limitations of depth to bedrock and karst mapping, and provide real case studies of groundwater concerns and examples of local approaches to concerns. The afternoon field session includes a quarry visit and/or site visits to discuss methods of sinkhole and karst feature identification.

The audience for this agency training is DNR drinking water staff, DNR CAFO, runoff, nonpoint, spills R&R staff, LWCD/NRCS staff and consultants in Karst areas. DNR attendees will be direct billed. NRCS staff will be direct billed (confirm approval with supervisor). The registration fee of $30/person covers the training and lunch. ($40 if after 4 pm Friday, July 10). The event will start at the Brown County STEM Innovation Center (located at 2019 Technology Way, Green Bay, on the UW-Green Bay campus). After classroom session and lunch, participants will drive/carpool to the field sites and quarry.

Available Online Trainings

Fundamentals of Soil Health

Learn to improve your soil and water management, implement cover crops, and build soil health through four self-paced online soil health courses for farmers and agricultural professionals. These self-paced, online courses are available at no charge, and can be taken stand-alone or in conjunction with the in-field soil health training.

To register or for more information, contact Kevin Erb at kevin.erb@wisc.edu or 920-391-4652.

Introduction to Soil Health

The online Introduction to Soil Health course provides an overview of the importance of soil health to crop production and dives into the three primary characteristics of soil – physical, chemical and biological. This course also demonstrates easy-to-use field tests to identify current soil conditions and highlights the common practices that a farmer may choose to implement in order to improve soil health.

Soil Water Management

Building on the basics from the Introduction to Soil Health course, Soil Water Management delves deeper into the topics of soil-water and soil moisture management. Learners gain an understanding of soil-water properties related to water quality and quantity, the benefits of improving water infiltration and soil moisture holding capacity, common challenges to the adoption of practices that improve soil-water balance, and how to overcome those challenges. Real-farm examples are used to reinforce course concepts.

Cover Crops and Soil Health

This course discusses cover crops, the benefits of using cover crops to improve soil health, common barriers to utilizing cover crops, and potential alternatives. The course explains proper selection, establishment, management, and termination of cover crops in diverse production systems and recommends site-specific cover crops conducive with producer goals and farming systems.

Soil Health Management Systems

Soil Health Management Systems focuses on the challenge of implementing soil health practices in a farming system. The course guides participants through the process of selecting appropriate soil health management practices to meet farm-specific management requirements and goals. Course materials explore the key agronomic management principles to improve soil health, including reduced tillage, cover crops, crop rotations, and mulching, with an emphasis on understanding the benefits and challenges of implementing various soil health management practices within diverse agricultural production systems.

Corn growing with dead cover crops between the rows

AgLearn Courses

The Conservation Professional Training Program has worked with the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service to create a series of online courses hosted through AgLearn.

Federal employees should automatically have an AgLearn account. Non-federal employees will need additional assistance to access AgLearn courses.
For assistance, please contact your local AgLearn point of contact staff.

The courses our team has developed are listed below:

Conservation Planning Part 1

This course provides an introduction to the Nine Steps of Conservation Planning. Areas of focus include how we approach conservation of natural resources, how we approach and serve our clients, and how the work we do is designed to balance the client’s economic, cultural, and environmental concerns.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000019

Conservation Reserve Program Training for Technical Service Providers

Designed for TSPs and partners working with the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the focus is on the responsibilities of NRCS, the TSP, and the program participant, conservation plan development, and working with the client to complete contract documentation

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000504

Technical Service Providers Orientation and Conservation Planning Part 1

Designed to help applicants seeking certification to become technical service providers (TSPs), this course outlines the steps for certification, provides a basic awareness of NRCS expectations, and introduces how to effectively partner with NRCS and eligible participants to implement conservation.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000191

Introduction to Conservation Forestry

This course informs conservation planners about basic forest ecology and forest management practices to establish a foundation for implementing forestry and agroforestry conservation practices.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000482

Basics of Plant Identification for Conservation Planners

This course introduces plant identification and its role in the conservation planning process.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000450

Delivering Effective Blended Training to Conservationists

The course provides succinct, practical information to help you create effective blended trainings.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NCRS-NHQ-000055

Ecological Site
Descriptions

This course informs conservation professionals about ecological site descriptions and the value of referencing them throughout the NRCS conservation planning process.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000428

Introduction to the Emergency Watershed Protection Program

This course provides participants with fundamental knowledge about the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program, including the types and levels of assistance available, program timelines, the recovery process that NRCS follows, key documentation required, and program eligibility criteria. Participants also take away information about where to locate EWP Program information and common roles that NRCS staff fulfill.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000491

Emergency Watershed Protection Program Readiness

This course will refresh your knowledge of the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program and help you get ready to support program efforts in your area. The course takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000490

Forage Suitability Group (Pasture States)

This course introduces forage suitability groups (pasture states) and their reports.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000427

FSA 858 Wetland Screening Tool

This course provides a step-by- step method to understand and complete the FSA-858 form, along with background and practice in identifying potential wetlands on an applicant’s property that may impact his/her loan application.

AgLearn Catalog Number
FSA-HQ-DAFP-858

Fundamentals of Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Provisions

This course will give an overview of the basics of the Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000409

Introduction to Pasture Condition Scoring

This course introduces the pasture evaluation approach known as Pasture Condition Scoring (PCS), including the 10 indicators of pasture health most commonly used in PCS and some tools for evaluating the indicators.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000414

Rangeland Health Assessment

This course is designed to raise awareness of when, why, and how to use the rangeland health assessment procedure as detailed in Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000410

Stream Visual Assessment Protocol 2 (SVAP2)

Stream Visual Assessment Protocol 2 (SVAP2) introduces the process of visually assessing streams on working land.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000423

Using Basic Soil Survey Information in Conservation Planning

The goal of this course is to introduce several common soil properties and interpretations, the basics of map unit composition, and Web Soil Survey, the official source of soils data.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000416

Using Planning Criteria in Conservation Planning

This course introduces the NRCS planning criteria and their role in each phase of the Nine Steps of Conservation Planning.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000486

Using WIN-PST for Conservation Planning

This course introduces the Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST), how to run it, and how to interpret and use its reports.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000429

Wildlife Habitat Evaluation for Conservation Planning

The course introduces the concept of wildlife habitat and how to apply science-based means of evaluation to aid the conservation planning process.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000426

NEPA, the NRCS-CPA-52 Environmental Evaluation and Conservation Planning

The course explores NEPA, the NRCS 9 Step Planning Process, and the NRCS-CPA-52 Environmental Evaluation Worksheet.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000048

Communication Skills for Conservation Professionals: The Art of Helping People Help the Land

This course gives you a foundation in the methods and tools that will help you grow your communication skills and develop productive working relationships with your customers. You will learn effective communication practices, barriers to communication, and strategies to adapt your communication approach to help people help the land.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000501

Introduction and Orientation to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

Designed for both NRCS and FSA staff, this course focuses on agency roles in the CRP process and using CRP to implement conservation on the ground to preserve and improve our nation’s soil, water, and wildlife resources.

AgLearn Catalog Number
NRCS-NEDC-000509

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