BWSR Spring Training
Hold the morning of March 31 for the annual online BWSR Spring Training. Concurrent 90-minute sessions will be held from 8:30-10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. The training is free; however, registration is required to receive the session links. Updated information will be available on the BWSR Spring Training page.
Basic Hydrology
The Technical Training and Certification Program is offering Basic Hydrology training as an online webinar on Jan. 27 and 29. Attendees should attend both sessions to complete the course. This course was given virtually in January 2025 and in person in August 2024, and this will be a repeat of both those courses.
This training will cover the basic concept of determining hydrology for common conservation practices. We will review concepts such as runoff, curve numbers, peak discharges, and hydrographs. Students will learn about reading contour maps and delineating watersheds through example problems. By the end of the two sessions students should be able to delineate a watershed as well as obtain the values needed to determine a peak discharge from the delineated watershed using EFH2.
There is a prerequisite video as well as practice homework to be completed between the two sessions. For additional information please visit the Basic Hydrology page.
GIS Pro Basics
Back by popular demand, TTCP is offering an ArcGIS Pro training. This is the same class that was offered in several locations last winter. This is for staff still hesitant to transition into GIS Pro, so we’ll start with the basics. We’ll give an overview of the differences between ArcMap and Pro and give a short tour of the new layout. There will be classroom examples on editing feature classes (e.g. shapefiles), labeling, making layouts for map printing, and other common procedures. Much of the day is hands on! There are three in-person sessions in February and two virtual sessions in March. Please try to attend an in-person session if it’s within commuting distance!
For additional information and a link to register visit the Basic ArcGIS Pro page.
Soil Mechanics 1 (SM-1)
SM-1 is a hands-on course that teaches participants how to classify soils using the Unified Soil Classification System, a system used to describe the soil mechanics’ properties important for engineering design and construction. Participants are shown how to perform the field tests and classify soil samples. This training will be very useful for any technical staff. This year session will be held in Faribault on Feb. 18 and in Detroit Lakes on March 12.
For additional information and a link to register visit the Soil Mechanics 1 page.
Agronomy Technical Note #31 Workshops
Build confidence in herbaceous vegetation establishment! The Agronomy Technical Note #31 Workshops offer hands on, applied training for conservation professionals working with native and introduced seedings across Minnesota.
Participants will strengthen practical skills related to species selection, seedbed preparation, seeding methods, and management considerations for practices such as cover crops, filter strips, critical area planting, buffers, wildlife habitat, and wetland restoration. Training content is grounded in Minnesota’s Agronomy Technical Note #31 and emphasizes real-world application in the field.
Why attend: • Hands on, small group learning with experienced instructors • Practical guidance aligned with Minnesota practice standards • Skills you can immediately apply in conservation planning and implementation
Workshops will be held statewide in March 2026. For additional information and a link to register please visit the Agronomy Technical Note #31 page.
Tyler's Three Things: Bin Run Seed
“Bin Run” seed refers to grain that is produced and then planted as seed on the same farm owned by the producer.
Minnesota Statute known as “Seed Law” must be followed in all seedings, including conservation work.
Seed sold in Minnesota, including private sales, must be sold by a permitted vendor.
What to learn more? Check out the NRCS Bin-Run Seed Considerations for Cover Crops fact sheet.
2026 Shared Training Calendar
The working version of the 2026 training calendar is now available! This 12 month view of training offerings is regularly updated and provides information about upcoming training events, including potential dates and locations. Please see the legend at the top and note that the further out a training is proposed the more likely adjustments will need to be made. The dates, locations, and other details are always tentative until the event is posted on the Training Calendar.
BWSR Sponsored Training Events
March 31 from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m., HOLD THE DATE: BWSR Spring Training, Online
Technical Training & Certification Program Trainings
Tech Talk Webinars: Mondays at 1 p.m.
- Jan. 26, CPS 528 Grazing Management Updates
- Feb. 2, Endangered Species Act Pesticide Labels: how and where do conservation professional fit in?
- Feb. 9, Grazing Contingency Planning
- Feb. 23, Winter Camelina: A New Winter Annual Oilseed Crop for Economic and Environmental Benefit
- March 16, Minnesota Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) 10 Year Update Overview
- April 13, Farm Economics - Overview
- April 20, Soil Fertility Management on Pasture
- May 11, Farm Economics – Crops
- June 15, Farm Economics - Livestock
January
February
March
- March 2, Agronomy Technical Note #31, Waite Park
- March 3, Basic ArcGIS Pro, Online
- March 4, Agronomy Technical Note #31, Detroit Lakes
- March 6, Agronomy Technical Note #31, Carlton
- March 9, Agronomy Technical Note #31, Farmington
- March 11, Agronomy Technical Note #31, Morris
- March 12, Soil Mechanics 1 (SM-1) 2026, Detroit Lakes
- March 13, Agronomy Technical Note #31, Marshall
- March 31, Basic ArcGIS Pro, Online
- Jan. 7-March 25, Strategic Farming: Let's Talk Crops!, UMN Extension Online
- Jan. 26-28, UMN Extension's 5th Annual Pollinator Series, UMN Extension Online
- Jan. 28-29, MECA Annual Conference & Trade Show, Minnesota Erosion Control Association, Mankato
- *Jan. 28-29, Tribal-State Relations Training, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Carlton
- Feb. 3, Nutrient Management Conference, UMN Extension, Mankato
- Feb. 3-24, Northern Soil Compaction Conference, UMN Extension, Online
- Feb. 4, Ecological Silviculture Certificate Course, SFEC, Multiple Locations
- Feb. 10-11, Soil Management Summit, University of Minnesota Extension, Dubuque, IA
- Feb. 10-11, Midwest Cover Crop Council Annual Meeting and Conference, MCCC, Dubuque
- Feb. 17, Minnesota's Grand Challenge & Compelling Opportunity Conference, UMN Extension, St. Cloud
- Feb. 20, On Site Biochar Demonstration, Great River Greening, Brainerd
- *Feb. 25-26, Tribal-State Relations Training, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Hinckley
- March 12, Soils and Landforms, SFEC and NRCS, Cloquet Forestry Center
- *March 25-26, Tribal-State Relations Training, Prairie Island Indian Community, Welch
- April 7-29, Weed 'Em Out Workshops, SFEC, Multiple Locations
- May 28, Field Applications to Fire Dependent Forest Ecosystems, SFEC, Cloquet Forestry Center
- June 2, Northern hardwoods silviculture: What's next after creating gaps?, SFEC, Aitkin
- June 3, MN Forest Management Guidelines Field Workshop, SFEC, Hackensack
- June 9, Cover Crop Academy, UMN Extension, Multiple Locations
- June 17, Ecological Silviculture Applications to Mesic Hardwood Forests, SFEC, Grand Rapids
- June 18, Field Silviculture Application to Wet and Ash Dominated Forests, SFEC, Cass Lake
- July 28, Recognizing and Managing Oak Wilt, SFEC, St. Croix State Park
*LGUs need to identify in their requests that they work with BWSR.
Not all training takes place in a classroom. Check out the links below to learn at a time and place of your choosing.
We’ve also put together a searchable library of recorded modules, webinars, videos and other resources to help our staff and partners find professional development information on a variety of topics. You can visit BWSR's Online Learning page to find web-based technical training resources sorted by category
New:
Program Contacts
|
