2024 Short Course Programming Information
The 2024 CPM Short Course and MCPR Trade Show will be held at the Minneapolis Hilton hotel. All programming, the trade show, and rooms will be at the Minneapolis Hilton for 2024.
Registration Types and Pricing:
Pre-registration has closed. Onsite registration will be available beginning at:
- 8:00 am on Tuesday
- 6:30 am on Wednesday
- 7:00 am on Thursday
PRICING:
$255 – General Admission
$265 – Applicator Recertification (Categories A & C)
$265 – Applicator Recertification (Categories A & H)
$310 – Applicator Recertification (Categories A, C & H)
$275 - TSP Session
**Recertification registration note: Dates have changed from previous years. Please see a detailed recertification schedule farther down the page to ensure you attend the correct dates/times!
*Cancellations and requests for refunds must be received in writing prior to 30-days before the event; approved refunds will be processed less a $25 administrative fee. No refunds will be made within 30-days of the event or for no-shows.*
QUESTIONS?
Applicator Re-certification Questions - (651) 201-6615 or Pesticide.Licensing@state.mn.us.
General Registration Questions - (763) 235-6473 or jessi@mcpr-cca.org
Booth and sponsorship questions please contact Erin Rossow at (507) 902-9191 or erossow@agmgmtsolutions.com.
Event questions please contact Todd Ginter at (507) 388-1635 or Todd@agmgmtsolutions.com.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS:
HILTON MINNEAPOLIS
The Hilton Minneapolis hotel offers a special room rate of $119/night if you book before December 6, 2024 or until the room block sells out – whichever comes first! You can make your Hilton Minneapolis hotel reservation online (below) or by phone at (612) 376-1000 and reference CROP.
Tuesday, December 10th
8 AM - Registration Opens
10 AM - TSP Session
1 PM - MCPR Plenary Session
1:30 PM - Pesticide Applicator Recertification (Category C: Field Crop Pest Management)
2 PM - MCPR Annual Meeting
2:30 PM - MCPR Plenary Session (continues)
3 PM - Exhibit Hall in the Grand Ballroom (on the 3rd level) Opens with Ice Breaker Reception
6:30 PM - Exhibit Hall in the Grand Ballroom Closes
Wednesday, December 11th
6:30 AM - Registration Opens
7:30 AM - Pesticide Applicator Recertification
8 AM - General Session Crop Pest Management Short Course
9 AM - Exhibit Hall in the Grand Ballroom Opens
11 AM - Break and Opportunity to Visit the Exhibit Hall
12 PM - Lunch
1 PM - Concurrent Crop Pest Management Short Course Sessions
5 PM - Exhibit Hall in the Grand Ballroom Closes
Thursday, December 12th
7 AM - Registration Opens
8 AM - Concurrent Crop Pest Management Short Course Sessions
9 AM - Exhibit Hall in the Grand Ballroom Opens
11 AM - Exhibit Hall in the Grand Ballroom Closes
12 PM - Programming Ends (lunch on your own)
Trade Show Floor Hours
- December 10th, 3 PM - 6:30 PM
- December 11th, 9 AM - 5 PM
- December 12th, 9 AM - 11 AM
Special Events and Programming
Ice Breaker Reception
Tuesday, December 10th at 3:00 PM
MCPR After Hours Casino Night
Hosted by Minnesota Certified Crop Advisors
Wednesday, December 11th at 7:30 PM -11:30 PM
Looking for some fun and excitement on Wednesday, Dec. 11? After you enjoy your networking dinners, join us at the Hilton in the gallery space just off the main lobby for MCPR After Hours Casino Night, hosted by Minnesota Certified Crop Advisors (MCCA).
We will have various casino games run by a great group of entertaining professionals with Ace High Casino, Inc. Games will include Blackjack, Texas Hold’em, Three-Way Action Poker and a Cup O Luck table. With your paid admission, you will receive a stack of chips, door prize drawing tickets and drink tickets.
While the gaming will be just for bragging rights for the big winners, it should be a fun time to connect with friends and test your skills. You can also upgrade your experience by contributing to the Minnesota Crop PAC. With your donation, using personal funds (no company money is allowed), you will receive extra chips, bonus drink tickets and additional door prize drawing tickets.
PRICING:
Admission: Base Price $35
- Includes $1,000 in chips, two drink tickets and two door prize tickets
Special Recognition: Certified Crop Advisor (CCA)
- Includes an additional $250 in chips and four additional door prize tickets
Upgrade your ticket with a contribution to the MN Crop PAC!
VIP: $100 ($35 base + $65 MN Crop PAC contribution)
- Includes an additional $250 in chips, three drink tickets and five door prize tickets
High Roller: $250 ($35 base + $215 MN Crop PAC contribution)
- Includes an additional $500 in chips, four drink tickets and 10 door prize tickets
*Note: Contributions to the MN Crop PAC must be from personal funds. The use of company money for PAC donations is not allowed.
Thank you to our 2025 CPM Short Course and MCPR Trade Show Sponsors
Platinum Sponsor
Diamond Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsor
Tuesday, December 10th
TECHNICAL SERVICE PROVIDER (TSP) SESSION
December 10th, 10 AM - 1 PM
This training will present the latest information from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) on nutrient and pest management to TSPs certified in these categories in Minnesota. This session will focus on the latest tips for documentation that is needed for Nutrient Management (590) and Pest Management Conservation System (595) in the EQIP and CSP programs. The session will also provide updates on the various Conservation Plan Activities (CPAs), Design and Implementation Activities (DIAs), and Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activities (CEMAs) associated with nutrient and pest management. Hear the latest information along with other updates on the TSP website, certification and recertification.
PLENARY SESSION
December 10th, beginning at 1 PM
It Starts with Leadership: Building a Culture to Navigate Unchartered Waters
Erin Mies, People Spark
Our businesses are facing changes on many fronts, from the technology and advancements impacting our products and services, to the changes to laws and regulations impacting our business and our customers, to the operational landscape impacting how we operate our businesses, attract and retain talent, engage our teams, and achieve our goals. Our success during these ongoing changes is anchored in our culture and our teams. We, as leaders at all levels, can ensure the success of our businesses and our teams by:
- setting a clear direction,
- defining our culture including what’s acceptable and what’s not, and
- leveraging the culture to attract and engage our teams.
In this session, participants will engage in exploring these topics as they relate to their own organizations and learn concepts to help build the desired culture – despite any storms that arise.
Erin Mies co-founded People Spark Consulting with business partner Kristen Ireland, in 2018. People Spark is a business and human resources consulting company that works with small to mid-size businesses in the ag industry to achieve their goals through their HR strategies.
Erin has more than 20 years of experience consulting and coaching executives, leaders, and managers in human resources and leadership development, specifically in the agricultural and food industries. In addition to her work experience, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Music (Harp) from Wittenberg University (Ohio), and her Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Erin resides in Minnesota.
CEU= 1 PD
The Price of Growth: Trends Shaping Global Agricultural Input Markets
Erik Hoegemeyer, Agribusiness Program Coordinator, Midland University
The agribusiness input world has again been rocked by a confluence of internal and external factors: extreme weather, fluctuating prices, geopolitical instability, changing financial and capital flows and new innovations reshaping supply and demand. We will discuss and interpret some key dynamics and trends that every agribusiness professional needs to understand and follow, from new trade flows, macro and microeconomic externalities, the future of globalization (or deglobalization?) and innovations that will shape the input business as we grow into the future.
Erik Hoegemeyer is an Assistant Professor and Agribusiness Program Coordinator at Midland University in Fremont, NE. In addition, Erik performs professional infotainment seminars for Agribusiness firms in the seed, ethanol, ag retail, and livestock industries.
Erik is originally from Everett Township, Dodge County, Nebraska, where his family settled in the early 1870 's. He grew up in his family's corn and soybean seed business, which was founded in 1937 (Hoegemeyer Hybrids) and is currently part of the Corteva family of seed brands.
He attended the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and graduated with a degree in Agricultural Economics in 1999 and has also been awarded a Master of Business Administration from Creighton University, a Master of Legal Studies from the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California and is currently finalizing his doctoral thesis in International Business at Liberty University. He also holds Executive Degree Certificates in Behavioral Economics from the Yale School of Management and in Quantitative Business Analytics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to entering academics, he was employed for 25 years in various financial and executive positions in the Commodity Trading, Swine, Seed, Agrichemical, and Transportation industries.
He is married to his wife Kari and has four children: Elisabeth, 18, Andrew, 16, Phillip, 14, and Joseph 12. They currently reside in the Omaha suburb of Elkhorn, NE.
CEU= 1 PD
PESTICIDE APPLICATOR RE-CERTIFICATION
December 10th, 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM and December 11th, 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
*Please note Category C starts in that afternoon on Tuesday, December 10th!
These MDA-approved sessions are for applicators that need recertification credit in Categories A (Core), C (Field Crop Pest Management), and/or H (Seed Treatment). Workshop topics will include insect, disease, and weed updates, new pesticide safety topics, prevention of off-target movement of pesticides, and more. Please bring your current license card with you.
*Start time on Wednesday, December 11th is 7:30 am!
- Category A + C: Attend December 10th from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm and December 11th recertification sessions from 7:30 am to 11:15 am.
- Category A + H: Attend all December 11th recertification sessions (7:30 am to 4:30 pm).
- Category A + C + H: Attend all December 10th and December 11th recertification sessions.
Do You Need to Recertify? Please refer to your pesticide applicator license for your recertification due date. If the due date is 12/31/2024 then you will need to take a recertification workshop, or retest with MDA, by the end of 2024 in order to renew your license in 2025. You can also check the status of your license, including your recertification date, online at: http://www2.mda.state.mn.us/webapp/lis/default.jsp. For any licensing questions, please contact MDA at: 651-201-6615 or Pesticide.Licensing@state.mn.us. PLEASE NOTE: 2025 RENEWAL NOTICES WILL BE PRINTED PRIOR TO THIS EVENT. AFTER CREDIT IS GIVEN TO PARTICIPANTS, THE RETEST FEE WILL BE REMOVED FROM RENEWAL AMOUNT.
Wednesday, December 11th General Session
CROP PEST MANAGEMENT SHORT COURSE GENERAL SESSION
December 11th, 8 AM – 11 AM
MCPR Legislative Policy Discussion and Elections Update
The 2024 elections will shape agriculture policy at the Federal and State levels of government. Join us as we engage with a panel of key stakeholders and policy experts to review the election results and hear how that will influence policy priorities, public investment strategies, and regulatory action. MCRP invites you to participate in this discussion, offering a unique opportunity to learn and grow your understanding of the issues likely to impact ag retailers and the ag sector. This session will help you and your organization’s leadership team be better prepared to engage with policymakers and strengthen our advocacy efforts.
Panelists: Brian McClung, McClung PR & Blois Olson. Fluence Media
Brian McClung is the CEO of McClung PR with over 25 years of experience in media, politics, and business. Before founding the firm, he served as Press Secretary, Director of Communications, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, earning recognition on the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty list. Brian’s PR work has garnered multiple awards, and he serves as a local and national media analyst and adjunct professor, with a B.A. in Mass Communications and Journalism from Washington & Lee University.
Blois Olson has been called “Mr. Minnesota” for his ability to read the mood of the state’s residents and the political dynamics and economic trends. He has moderated hundreds of conversations across the state including political debates, economic discussions and business forums.
His influential newsletters and commentaries are read by thousands daily as part of Fluence Media. From the MN Orchestra lockout to Punch Pizza at the State of the Union he’s influenced news and information three decades throughout the country.
His insights and perspective are sought regularly by business, civic and political leaders across the state and country.
Named one of 100 Minnesotans you should know for 2023, he was recognized as a “Top Marketer” by Minnesota Business magazine in 2012, and named one of “200 Minnesotan’s You Should Know” by Twin Cities Business magazine in 2011.
He has been on-air host and contributor to WCCO Radio since 1998.
Outside of radio, Blois has built a handful of successful businesses in media and public relations/public affairs, his current company Fluence Media is the leading source of
information for Minnesota’s business and political elite. He lives in St. Louis Park, has two adult children, and enjoys pickleball, golf and wine.
CEU= 1 PD
Soil Health and Climate Smart Ag: What’s in it for me?
Minnesota is receiving a historic influx of federal and state funding promoting widespread adoption of soil-friendly and climate-smart agricultural practices, including $1.2B worth of USDA Climate Smart Commodity partnership projects impacting our state. Simultaneously, unprecedented demand for sustainably produced products and feedstocks creates an opportunity for ag retail to diversify revenue streams, capture new markets, and continue to build trust with customers by incorporating conservation-aligned services into their business. But what does that all mean for you?
Shifting to a “climate-smart” agricultural system requires industry wide collaboration and innovative approaches to scale. Speakers will share current opportunities, practical experience and on the ground examples of successful service-models for conservation delivery, while engaging the audience in applying key insights to their own position in the value chain.
After brief presentations, the panel will host a Q&A to foster dialogue, solicit perspectives, and forge connections to emerging opportunities in the public and private sector.
Panelists:
- Anna Cates, Soil Health Specialist, Minnesota Office for Soil Health
- Ariel Kagan, Climate and Working Lands Program Director, Minnesota Farmers Union
- Jared House, Soils Programming Coordinator, MN Board of Soil and Water Resources
- Andrew Lambert, Technology Services Manager, Centra Sota Cooperative
- TJ Cartes, Regional Sales Representative, Saddle Butte Ag
Moderator: Peter Mead, Agriculture Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy
CEU= 1 SW
AI Guided Advancements in Agriculture
Dr. David Mulla, Department of Soil, Water & Climate at the University of Minnesota
This talk will provide an overview of how AI is being used in agriculture, give some example success stories for AI applications in agriculture, and discuss future directions and challenges for accelerating the adoption of AI in agriculture. Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications are rapidly emerging to assist producers improve productivity, efficiency of inputs and sustainability of agricultural practices such as tilling the soil, planting a crop, applying irrigation, fertilizer, manure or crop protection products, and harvesting. AI is a powerful approach for assessing spatiotemporal patterns and uncertainty arising from variations in weather, soils, nutrient availability, insects, and disease that may affect productivity. AI guided tools are emerging to help producers with early detection and treatment of stresses from water, nutrients, pests and diseases.
Specific strengths of AI include computer perception and vision, classification, regression, clustering, and predictive analytics, multi-criteria, multi-objective decision-making, and natural language processing tools as exemplified by chatbots and virtual assistants. Advances in AI have fostered the widespread adoption of autosteer tractors in agriculture. Advances have also been significant in the areas of a) remote sensing for precision agriculture, b) detection of stress from weeds, insects, nitrogen or water, c) robotic navigation and manipulation, and d) crop phenology assessment.
Dr. Mulla is Professor and Larson Chair for Soil & Water Resources in the Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate at the Univ. of Minnesota, and a member of the Executive Committee for the National AI-CLIMATE Institute. From 2004 – 2024 he was Director of the Precision Agriculture Center at the Univ. of Minnesota. From 2007-2013 he was a consultant to the Millennium Challenge Corporation for a project to install erosion control practices and plant 8 million olive trees on 75,000 ha in Morocco.
Dr. Mulla and his coauthors (including 46 MS and PhD students) have produced over 230 publications, and have received funding of over $50 million. Broadly speaking, Dr. Mulla’s pioneering research on precision agriculture contributed significantly to its adoption in the US and around the world, fostering business opportunities, job growth and greater economic and environmental efficiency in agriculture.
Dr. Mulla is an internationally recognized researcher and scholar. His peers elected him as a Fellow in the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), and as a Fellow in the Agronomy Society of America. In 2012 he received the Pierre C. Robert Precision Agriculture Research Award from the International Society for Precision Agriculture. In 2013 he received the SSSA Soil Science Applied Research Award. He has served as Associate and Technical Editor for the Soil Science Society of America Journal, and as Associate Editor for the journal Precision Agriculture.
CEU= 1 CM
