Confined Animal Manure Manager Trainings – Virtual and In-Person

August 30, 2021

Bryan Smith begins the first presentation for a full-day CAMM Training in Bishopville, SC.

SC State Regulation R.61-43 requires all confined animal facility operators to attend the Confined Animal Manure Manager (CAMM) certification program provided by Clemson Extension.  The CAMM team has worked hard to provide trainings for South Carolina’s confined animal facility operators this year.  Bryan Smith (Laurens), Brian Beer (Lancaster), Lee van Vlake (Florence), and Amber Starnes (Chesterfield) worked together to offer four initial, full day trainings and 39 recertification trainings, with four more recertification trainings yet to go this fall.

The team offered 18 two-hour Zoom online recertification trainings on various topics from January 21, 2021 through March 30. 2021, with 384 growers attending.  Dr. Julie Helm with Clemson Livestock Poultry Health in Columbia offered another three classes on Animal Biosecurity, with another 32 growers attending those classes.  Presenters included Bryan Smith, Dr. Julie Helm Dr. John Chastain (Clemson University), Dr. Sean Eastman (Livestock Poultry Health), Lee van Vlake, and Tonya O’Cain (SCDHEC).  Topics included “Getting Producers Ready for Emergency Disease Outbreaks,” “Setbacks and Filter Strips: What is really needed to protect surface water?,” “Crop Utilization of Manure Nutrients and Soil Fertility,” and “Energy from Poultry Manure: A Comparison of Anaerobic Digestion & Combustion” as well as several others.

From July 19, 2021 through August 31, 2021 the team offered 15 two-hour in-person recertification trainings around the State, with 189 growers attending those trainings.  Dr. Helm also offered another two Biosecurity trainings to 9 growers.  The team has another four Zoom online trainings planned for September 2021.

During June and July the team also offered four full-day initial training classes to provide certification to new growers and growers that may have allowed their certification to lapse.  74 growers attended these full-day trainings.  Since January 2021 the CAMM team has offered a total of 41 trainings to 683 growers around the State.

The team plans to offer two more initial, full-day trainings in February 2022 and another slate of recertification trainings for our growers from January through March 2022.  More information about the training program may be found at www.clemson.edu/camm .