Crop Protection

Allan Hancock College's Crop Protection Program is designed for students preparing for, or advancing in careers in crop protection and pest control. The Crop Protection program will prepare students for a wide variety of entry-level positions related to pest identification, prevention, and control methods. This first of two stackable certificates provides students with the foundational courses which, when built upon by completion of the second certificate in Pest Control Adviser Preparation, will meet the requirements to qualify to take the Pest Control Adviser licensing exam.

The program emphasis is on local career opportunities such as pest management and control, agronomy,farm management, greenhouse and nursery operations, agricultural inspection,and crop advising. This program will adequately prepare students for advanced studies in many agricultural science fields including: Crop Protection, Crop Science, Agricultural Science, Fruit Science, Vegetable Science or Sustainable Agriculture. The graduate of the certificate program in crop protection will:

• identify plant pathogens, insects and weed species and assess the economic impact of pest infestations to determine the proper course of action for treatment and control.
• utilize integrated pest management strategies and techniques to sustainably prevent and control pathogen, insect and weed populations.
•  demonstrate working knowledge of plant physiological processes that affect crop production.

• demonstrate knowledge of pesticide modes of action and the biology of host-pest interactions in order to make effective and sustainable 

Based on the numbers of completers of similar programs in other California Community Colleges, coupled with the numbers of current Allan Hancock College students who are majoring in other programs but whose ultimate goal is actually the completion of this program, an estimate of 10-12 annual enrollment and annual completion of 5-8 is expected.  Total enrollment for 2018-2019 in the existing Agricultural Science Program is 103.

Allan Hancock College Enrollment Data for Agribusiness/Agriculture program provided by Institutional Effectiveness for Spring 2019 Annual Program Review

The goal of this first of two stackable certificates, the Certificate of Achievement in Crop Protection, is career readiness by providing students with the foundational knowledge which will begin to prepare them to qualify to take the Pest Control Adviser licensing exam, given by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Additionally, completing this first certificate alone will provide students with the intellectual and experiential knowledge required for employment in the many facets of the crop protection sector of the agriculture industry.  Possession of this certificate will represent a level of understanding of crop protection that is required by employers and is extremely rare to obtain at the community college level.  This program will open employment opportunities for students desiring immediate employment in the local crop protection field or in other mid-level jobs in pest management and control,agronomy, farm or greenhouse management, agricultural inspection and crop advising.

·        Objective1: prepare students for entry level employment in pesticide applications; crop protection; integrated pest management; identification, monitoring, prevention and control of agricultural pests

·        Objective 2: completion of 24 of the required 42 units needed to qualify to take the Pest Control Adviser licensing exam given by the Department of Pesticide Regulation

The Crop Protection program provides a unique opportunity, bringing together existing agriculture curriculum with four new courses to establish a pathway for students to be immediately employable in several mid-level positions; to continue with the second stackable certificate to obtain a Pest Control Adviser license.  The addition of this program to Allan Hancock College serves to accomplish our mission of providing students with the skills and knowledge they need in order to be employable in a high paying field that is lacking qualified workers and presents several local career opportunities. California is one of only a few states that require a license for people who advise farmers on pest control management. The need for new licensed Pest Control Advisers (PCAs) is so great in California agriculture, that the California Association of Pest Control Advisers (CAPCA) has been making intentional efforts to reach out to community colleges and four-year universities to encourage students to follow curricular pathways that will lead to qualifications for taking the PCA licensing exam. The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), who has the sole authority to issue the PCA license, requires that 42 specific course units be completed by the exam applicant. The local CAPCA chapter reviewed the courses planned by the Allan Hancock College agriculture coordinator for the completion of the Crop Protection and Pest Control Adviser Preparation Certificates. All board members are practicing Pest Control Advisers who have passed the rigorous exam given by the DPR and all agreed that these certificates, with the four new courses created specifically for this Crop Protection Certificate, will provide our students with the knowledge required to pursue this career path.  Additionally, the Department of Pesticide Regulation(DPR) has reviewed the course requirements for both of these stackable certificates and has determined that students who complete both certificates will have met all curricular requirements to take the PCA exam.  An ongoing relationship has been established with the DPR to update the list of their approved AHC courses that are accepted to count towards qualifying to take the PCA exam.

A major of 24 units is required for the certificate.