California Nitrogen Management Specialty (CA-NSp)

You must hold a current Western Region CCA certification to be eligible to take the CA-NSp exam.

The CA-NSp specialty certification is for California-based CCAs who desire to provide nitrogen management planning services for their clients. Passing the CA-Nsp exam is required to be able to certify Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Plans for clients. 

A separate self-certification program is available through California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for farmers /landowners who would like to do nitrogen planning for their own operations.

Maintaining certification

Once you pass the CA-Nsp exam, an additional annual fee will be added to your CCA renewal to maintain both certifications. The minimum CCA CEU requirements will increase from 5.0 credits to 8.0 credits for the Nutrient Management category and 7.0 credits for the Soil & Water Management category. 

Study materials

• CA-NSp Performance Objectives
• University of California Nitrogen Course
  • An online course delivered by University of California researchers and extension specialists that can prepare individuals for the CA-NSp exam and provide existing CCAs with the Nitrogen Management Specialty an opportunity to earn CEUs in nutrient management and soil and water management. Modules cover environmental impacts, soil N cycling, plant N utilization, N sources and budgeting, irrigation and N management, and California cropping systems.

Important notes

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the University of California – Davis, the American Society of Agronomy’s (ASA) International Certified Crop Adviser (ICCA) Program and the CCA – Western Region (WR) Board have collaborated on developing the next version of the Nitrogen Management Program.

Those CCAs with the California Nitrogen Management Specialty prior to October 1, 2020, are automatically added to the new program and must adhere to the new program’s requirements for maintaining the specialty.