Evaluation of Maryland's Farmer Training and Certification Initiative.

In 2002, University of Maryland Agricultural Nutrient Management Program (ANMP) developed a training initiative (Farmer Training and Certification or FTC) to instruct farmers to develop nutrient management plans for their operations, i.e., become Certified Farmers.  The anticipated benefits of this program include reduced expense to the farmer because he/she no longer pays someone to develop the nutrient management plan, the ability to make changes in the plan in a timely manner, and an understanding of the planning process which could conceivably lead to a higher degree of plan implementation.  No reliable metric exist to assess the effectiveness of FTC.  In January 2011, all farmers who completed FTC training between 2002 and 2009  (n=287) were surveyed by mail or e-mail to determine 1) if they were continuing to write their own nutrient management plan, 2) if they had discontinued writing their plan, the reason(s) for their decision, 3) challenges they face in the plan writing process, 4) additional training or information needs, 5) the perceived benefits of writing one’s own nutrient management plan and 6) management changes and/or cost savings that have occurred as a result of gaining a better understanding of the nutrient management process. Survey responses will be used to guide improvement of training materials and design future training opportunities to address the needs of Certified Farmers. In times of dwindling resources, survey results may provide data that would support the continuation or discontinuation of the FTC initiative.