AMES, Iowa — Commercial manure applicators can attend annual training to meet commercial manure applicator certification requirements on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will conduct Commercial Manure Applicator training from 9 a.m. to noon at 69 locations in Iowa. Doors open at 8:30 a.m.

There is no fee for the workshop. Pre-registration is required. No walk-ins are allowed. Applicators must register by Dec. 27, 2023, with the ISU Extension and Outreach county office where they plan to attend. A complete list of workshop locations can be found on the Iowa Manure Management Action Group website.  To register to attend Mahaska county 9 am or 1 pm showing, please call 641-673-5841 or email Laura Ayala lkayala@iastate.edu.

New this year

Ten locations will offer live workshops for commercial manure applicator certification as part of the Confinement Site Manure Applicator Training. Attend the two-hour confinement site training, and the additional hour to fulfill your three hours of training. If you want the Confinement Site certification, you will be excused after two hours. However, if you want the commercial certification, you can stay for the extra hour to earn your three-hour certification.

The dates, counties, workshop locations and phone numbers for the 10 locations hosting a Live Commercial Manure Applicator Workshop are as follows:

• Jan. 16, Osceola County, 1:30 p.m. Willow Creek County Recreation, 5945 Highway 9, Ocheyedan; 712-754-3648.
• Jan. 16, Webster County, 1:30 p.m. ISU Extension and Outreach office in Fort Dodge; 515-576-2119.
• Jan. 18, Johnson County, 9:30 a.m. ISU Extension and Outreach office in Iowa City; 319-337-2145.
• Jan. 22, Wayne County, 1:30 p.m. ISU Extension and Outreach office in Corydon; 641-872-1755.
• Jan. 29, Davis County, 1:30 p.m. ISU Extension and Outreach office in Bloomfield; 641-664-2730.
• Jan. 30, Ida County, 1:30 p.m. Holstein Community Center in Holstein; 712-364-3003.
• Feb. 6, Dallas County, 1:30 p.m. ISU Extension and Outreach office in Adel; 515-993-4281.
• Feb. 8, Clay County, 1:30 p.m. ISU Extension and Outreach office in Spencer; 712-262-2264.
• Feb. 13, Kossuth County, 1:30 p.m. ISU Extension and Outreach office in Algona; 515-295-2469.
• Feb. 27, Boone County. 1:30 p.m. ISU Extension and Outreach office in Boone; 515-432-3882.

Commercial manure applicators needing to recertify and those wanting to certify for the first time should attend the statewide showing or one of the live workshops in their area. All certified commercial manure applicator licenses will expire on March 1, 2024. To avoid paying late fees, those wanting to renew must complete training requirements and submit forms and fees to the Department of Natural Resources before March 1. The law requires all commercial manure applicators to attend three hours of training annually to meet certification requirements.

Businesses that primarily truck or haul manure of any type or from any source are also required to meet certification requirements.

Those unable to attend the program on Jan. 4 or attend one of the 10 live workshop locations above, need to schedule time with their ISU Extension and Outreach county office to watch the training videos. Due to scheduling conflicts, extension offices will no longer accept walk-in appointments to watch these videos but do offer scheduled dates and times to provide this training.

If you can’t attend training during one of the scheduled reshow dates at your county extension office, you will be charged a $10 fee to view the training at your convenience. If attending the workshops or watching the three-hour video is not convenient, commercial applicators may contact their local Department of Natural Resources field office to schedule an appointment to take the certification exam. Another option for commercial manure applicators is to take their training online at the DNR MAC eLearning site. The applicator will need to sign in and get an A&A account.

In addition to the commercial manure applicator training offered on Jan. 4, ISU Extension and Outreach will also offer five dry/solid manure workshops for commercial manure applicators in February 2024. Information regarding these workshops and locations is available in the brochure online. Program requirements are the same as the regular commercial training program, but this training program is geared more toward dry/solid manure issues.

For more information about the commercial manure applicator certification program, contact your ISU Extension and Outreach County office or visit the Iowa State manure resources online.