Jerome Pier

Ex-Officio

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About…

Jerome Pier serves as the Chair of the Board. He currently works as an Agronomist for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Elk Grove, California.

Jerome completed a Master of Science at Cornell University and completed his Doctorate in Soil and Water Science at the University of Arizona.

 

Q+A:

 Why do we need CCA’s?

“To me, the real challenge is that everyone in California who is in the business has a PCA license as well. So, why would you want this certification, in addition to a PCA license? It all has to do with Fertility management, nutrient management, crop management, and all of the other areas that are important for farming and sustainability in California. You are not really a well-rounded agronomy professional until you have that CCA certification. It is a difficult thing to get but proves you have deep knowledge of nutrient management, water management, and crop management. The CCA certification is different than what a PCA certification brings to the table. Adding this certification to brings a level of professionalism that makes you a holistic person in the field and industry.”

What led to this need?

“The biggest growth in the program is a result of  the need for nitrogen management in 2014. The waiver changed and the state would be sued for not maintaining quality drinking water all based on nitrate pollution. There were a lot of hot spots in drinking water wells that have been evaluated since the 70’s. The state legislature asked UC to do a study with two very sensitive environmental areas, Tulare and Salinas. They found a high potential nitrate pollution from agriculture. A lot of nitrogen was unaccounted for, and it was assumed if it didn’t go in the air, it went in the ground water. This nutrient management piece has driven the need for Certified Crop Advisers. CCA is recognized as a technical service producer capable of writing these nitrogen management plans, which are required of most farmers in the state. There are about 80,000 farmers and we only have roughly 1,400 CCAs in the western region.”