As a CTP student, if you choose to let your certification lapse, you still keep access to Foundation Courses, CLP course materials, and CTP course materials appropriate to the stage in which you are in the program.

However, if you choose to let your certification lapse, you won’t be actively certified, so you will lose the website listing, and, more importantly, you should not perform any commercial assessments during that time using the SFWS name. Once you re-certify, you may have these benefits back. Additionally, it is important to note that you need to be a Certified Lab-Technician (CLT) to elevate from Stage 1 and graduate the program.

As a Certified Soil Food Web Lab-Technician, you have the following benefits:
* You can advertise yourself as a Certified Soil Food Web Lab-Technician
* Listing on our website
* Continued access to the Foundation Courses, where new content continues to be added
* Continued access to the CLP course materials, including all updates

Please click here to purchase your recertification. Then, log in to your account at clp.soilfoodweb.com to take the MPAs to recertify.

Your completion certificate is generated as soon as you complete MPA4 and can be found in the same place where you took the exams, clp.soilfoodweb.com.

Previously completed MPA exams can be viewed in the same place where you took the exams: clp.soilfoodweb.com/assessments

For Soil Food Web work, we use a standard biological compound light microscope. It should have a trinocular head; objective lenses with 4x, 10x, and 40x magnification; and an Abbe condenser. Microscopes come with 10x eyepieces as a standard, thereby providing 40x, 100x, and 400x total magnifications.

Equipment list.

Your camera must provide a viewable area measuring at least 200 µm wide. It should provide detailed images and relatively smooth video, which is important for viewing moving organisms. Therefore your camera should be rated at least 5MP resolution, and should be equipped with USB 3.0 technology, connecting to a USB 3.0 port on your computer via a USB 3.0 cable. There are, however, cameras that perform well without the faster USB technology; for questions about particular models please contact the help desk.

A small camera FoV introduces several difficulties. Because it offers a smaller space in which to conduct observations and generate data, it results in greater data variability. Techniques can be applied to compensate for this, but they increase the complexity, and therefore the time consumption, of the soil assessment process. A smaller FoV narrows the focal plane, making it more difficult to view microbes, especially when they are of larger size and/or motile. Therefore it also makes it impossible to capture the sort of high-quality images that are important in communicating with other technicians, with potential clients and the general public, and of course with your mentor/instructor.

A camera that meets the requirements will most likely have C-mount threading, an industry standard. Many of these cameras are further packaged with a reducing, or wide-angle, lens attachment. These are usually 0.5x magnification, and in the case of most cameras, they ensure that the viewable aspect easily meets the required 200 µm width. Some cameras, typically those of lower resolution, are equipped to mount only on a tube like the ones that hold your eyepieces; these cameras will not meet the FoV size requirement.

Students must complete the Foundation Courses (FCs) with 90%+ overall AND be enrolled (have purchased) at least one AP program which is the Certified Lab-Tech Program (CLP), Consultant Training Program (CTP), and Grower Training Program (GTP).

GTP – Grower Training Program
CTP – Consultant Training Program
CLP – Certified Lab-Tech Program
MPA – Microscopy Proficiency Assessment (exam to be taken at the end of the CLP)
FC – Foundation Course

Currently, mentors are assigned based on their availability and paired to students in relation to their time zones and language preference. All of our mentors are highly qualified.

Only students enrolled in the CTP and GTP who are already assigned a mentor will be added to the CTP Forum.

The GTP is intended for farmers, growers and ranchers who do not wish to become certified consultants but if you change your mind during your program (before you enter Stage 3), you can transfer from the GTP to the CTP and complete Stage 3 of the Consultant Training Program. This will enable you to be certified as a Soil Food Web Consultant.

The amount of time required depends on your other commitments. Students are expected to complete the GTP within 2 years. The maximum allowable time for completion is 3 years, after which your enrollment will expire. This policy is designed to help students to remain focused and motivated. You can of course apply for an extension if there are extenuating circumstances. Below is a breakdown of the time needed to complete each stage of the GTP:

GTP Stage 1 – The BioComplete™ Compost Practicum

Students typically need to make at least 6 compost piles before they can achieve the required standards for passing the compost practicum. If you have the resources, you can make multiple piles, with varying recipes, simultaneously, to save time. Each pile will require up to 28 days to complete, once built. A reasonable timeframe for the compost practicum is 3-12 months. Some students may take longer.

GTP Stage 2 – The BioComplete™ Liquid Practicum

Students can expect to complete Stage 2 within 3 months, or less if they are well-prepared and focused.

GTP Stage 3 – Implementation

The duration of the Final Project should be around one growing season +/-1 month. You should allow sometime prior to the growing season for preparation; several hours per month, during the growing season, for data collection; and several days of work at the end of the growing season for data analysis and the write-up of your project.

This is not currently possible, but we are hoping to put on a number of in-person intensive workshops in 2023.

Yes, it is. GTP students are required to complete the CLP in Stage 1 of the GTP. Click here for more info

You will need to purchase several pieces of equipment in order to complete each stage. The precise budget will depend on the size of your operation. Your mentor will be able to advise you on equipment selection. The minimum requirements are likely to cost at least $1,000. You may be able to repurpose some of your existing equipment e.g. spraying rigs for the application of liquid biological inoculation. Once you are enrolled in the course, you will receive access to the Equipment List, which has all equipment information.

The term BioComplete™ is used to refer to compost and liquid amendments that meet the minimum biological requirements defined by Dr. Elaine Ingham as being required in order for the amendment to be effective in restoring the soil biome when correctly applied. You will be trained on how to make these amendments in the GTP. Once you have successfully completed the GTP, you can apply to the Soil Food Web School for a license to use the term in association with your products, but the term can only be used by individuals and corporations that have a license agreement in place. Licensees will be required to meet stringent quality assurance requirements.

The courses are designed for people who are either farmers, ranchers or growers. While you don’t need a background in science or any other qualifications, you will need access to some land and other resources. If you are considering taking this course before you purchase land, that’s ok, so long as you have some space and resources to make your compost (and to practice microscopy) in Stage 1, and to make your liquid amendments in Stage 2. You will need the land by the time you reach Stage 3 for implementation.

Students typically need to make at least 6 compost piles before they can achieve the required standards for passing the compost practicum. Each pile can require up to 28 days to complete, once built and it can take about a month to three months to source the needed feedstocks to make the pile. A reasonable time frame for the compost practicum is 3-12 months. Some students may take longer.

The CLP can be completed while in any location, as you will only need to take some samples and use your microscope. However, once you start composting you should remain in that location throughout the rest of the program as the compost produced in Stage 1 is the foundation for both the Stage 2 Liquids and the Final Project. In other words, all composting-related activities should be carried out in the same location.

While you may request an extension for completing the GTP, it may only be granted in extenuating circumstances. In several cases, requesting to pause the program may be a better course of action.

Yes. Please email [email protected] for assistance. Make sure to include the reason for your pause and your intended resume date. The time that you spend in paused status will not be deducted from the 3 years that you have to complete the GTP. Note that you can only pause your program for a total of six months cumulative during your 3-year enrollment period. If you request a pause, your spot with your mentor may not be held.

Currently our system is designed for 1:1 interactions. You must be an enrolled GTP student to take part in any meeting.