What do You Need to Know to be a CNMP Provider?

The door is open for professionals to write CNMPs for animal feeding operations, but the criteria they must meet to be certified to write the plans is established at a minimum by the NRCS, with additional requirements for accreditation set by many states. When professionals have met the requirements of the NRCS, they can register as Technical Service Providers (TSP) for the NRCS, whom the NRCS will look to provide most of the services for writing CNMPs. The minimum requirements are established in three of the core elements in the NRCS general manual, GM-180, Part 409.10. In summary, the following training and experience is required at a minimum to obtain certification:


  1. Awareness of the NRCS conservation planning process; of agricultural waste management systems equivalent to the information contained in the NRCS Agricultural Waste Management Systems: A Primer Course; familiarity with the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide related to specific elements of the CNMP; the criteria associated with the NRCS CNMP Technical Guidance; and applicable state, tribal, and Federal laws associated with CNMPs.


  2. Knowledge of manure and wastewater handling and storage. This includes the components and activities associated with the production facility, feedlot, manure and wastewater storage and treatment structures and areas. Knowledge should be adequate to design and implement conservation practices typically used to address this element of a CNMP and working knowledge of the information contained in the NRCS Agricultural Waste Management Systems Level 2 Course, or equivalent.


  3. The professional must understand land conservation and treatment practices for land on which manure and wastewater from an animal feeding operations will be applied. A CNMP provider needs skill in applying soil loss and/or wind erosion prediction tools, skill in using site vulnerability assessment tools, knowledge of the NRCS conservation planning process, and knowledge adequate to design and implement conservation practices common to the geographic area.


  4. The CNMP provider must have experience and knowledge of nutrient management, including land application of all nutrients and organic by-products. The provider should be able to use nutrient risk assessment tools, have a working knowledge of the information in the NRCS Nutrient and Pest Management Considerations in Conservation Planning Course, as it pertains to nutrient management, and experience in developing a plan to address the nutrient management conservation practice in compliance with the NRCS Nutrient Management (FOTG Practice Code 590), and, Irrigation Water Management (FOTG Practice Code 449) conservation practice standard(s).
Specific criteria describing CNMP certification as a TSP are provided in the "Technical Service Categories and Criteria Options for Certification" on the NRCS TechReg webpage.


HOW DO YOU GET TRAINED AND CERTIFIED TO WRITE CNMPs?
Your training requirements and subsequent certification for writing CNMPs varies between states, and some states have not yet established a clear training and certification requirement for providing CNMPs in their states. In fact, some states defer to the training and certification that is provided by other states. Professional experience in agriculture, particularly in agronomy and/or agricultural engineering, alone is a good start, but it's not enough. Supplemental training is necessary to understand each of the components of a CNMP, and how information is collected and assembled into the plan.

To start, if you don't have existing certification or registration as a professional engineer, agronomist, soil scientist, or other agricultural professional, it would be a very good idea to obtain your professional certification. For example, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) has established certifications for professionals in agronomy, crops, and soils that demonstrates that you have met minimum training and experience requirements in these fields to provide professional expertise and services. The ASA also administers the Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) program, a voluntary program in agriculture that provides a base level of standards through testing and continuing education. To register as a professional engineer, you must be educated as an engineer and complete testing requirements specific for each state.

If you have the experience and certifications described above, and you want to write CNMPs only in your state, to find out what additional training is required in your state, click here. While the requirements for training in most states vary and have state-specific elements, the NRCS has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Tennessee that agrees to accept their CNMP training program for providing the requirements to register as a TSP for providing CNMP assistance and certification.