- What SSP Means Here
- Who Runs the Credential
- Why It Is Not Corporate ESG or a Safety Credential
- The Three Lenses and Four Domains
- What Each Domain Looks Like in the Field
- Exam Format and Testing Conditions
- Eligibility, Fees and Registration
- Keeping the Credential Active
- Who Uses This Credential
- A Domain-Based Study Sequence
- Frequently Asked Questions
- SSP here means Certified Crop Adviser - Sustainability Specialty, an add-on to an active CCA credential, not a standalone certification.
- The exam fee is USD $170, delivered by Certification Management Services with live remote proctoring and two cameras.
- Four agronomy domains are tested: nutrients, soil and water, pest management, and crop management, each viewed through a sustainability lens.
- The 5 Sustainability CEUs count within the 40-CEU two-year CCA requirement, not on top of it.
What SSP Means Here
On this site, SSP refers to exactly one credential: the Certified Crop Adviser - Sustainability Specialty. The American Society of Agronomy styles the abbreviation "SSp," and it describes an advanced designation for crop advisers who already hold the core CCA certification. It is a specialty layered on top of an existing professional credential, which makes it quite different from an entry-level certificate you earn from scratch.
Many unrelated credentials in other industries share the same three letters. Nothing in this article applies to them. If you arrived looking for a safety, security, or software credential, this is a different subject entirely. For a quick orientation on the acronym itself, see our short explainers on what SSP stands for and SSP meaning.
The credential focuses on United States agricultural sustainability. It was developed with the United Soybean Board, and the content reflects production agriculture as practiced on working farms: row crops, nutrient plans, tillage and cover crop decisions, integrated pest management, and the economics that determine whether a practice actually gets adopted.
Who Runs the Credential
The specialty is administered through the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) as part of the International Certified Crop Adviser (ICCA) program. Examination delivery runs through Certification Management Services, and the exam is offered during published specialty examination windows rather than on a walk-in basis. The current linked performance objectives are the second generation, effective October 2022, and those objectives are the authoritative outline of what can be tested.
Because the exam is built from published performance objectives, preparation can be targeted. Candidates who read the objectives before opening any study material tend to waste far less time on peripheral topics. Our complete guide to the four SSP exam domains walks through that outline in more depth.
Why It Is Not Corporate ESG or a Safety Credential
The word "sustainability" invites confusion, so it helps to be precise about what this credential is and is not.
| Question | Certified Crop Adviser - Sustainability Specialty | Corporate ESG / sustainability reporting |
|---|---|---|
| Core subject | Agronomy decisions made at field and farm level | Organization-wide disclosure, metrics, and governance |
| Typical question | How does a nutrient management choice affect water quality and farm profit? | How should a company report and manage its environmental and social risks? |
| Prerequisite | An active CCA credential in good standing | Varies by program |
| Practitioner | Crop advisers working with growers | Sustainability and compliance professionals |
The Three Lenses and Four Domains
One of the most common sources of confusion is the relationship between the exam's domains and its competency lenses. They are separate layers.
The four official agronomy domains are:
- Sustainability and Nutrient Management
- Sustainability and Soil and Water Management
- Sustainability and Pest Management
- Sustainability and Crop Management
Each domain is then considered through three competency lenses: People and Society, Planet and Environment, and Profits and Economics. These lenses do not replace the four domains and are not additional exam sections. Think of them as three questions you ask about every agronomic recommendation: who is affected, what happens to the environment, and does it pay?
Key Takeaway
Do not build your study plan around the three lenses as if they were chapters. Build it around the four domains, then practice evaluating each recommendation from all three lenses. Scenario questions often reward the answer that balances all three rather than maximizing one.
What Each Domain Looks Like in the Field
Domain 1: Sustainability and Nutrient Management
Candidates should be able to connect fertilizer decisions to both yield and off-site consequences.
- How nutrient losses occur and which practices reduce them
- The relationship between nutrient use efficiency, cost, and environmental outcomes
- How source, rate, timing, and placement decisions change risk
- Communicating nutrient plans in terms growers and neighbors care about
Domain 2: Sustainability and Soil and Water Management
This domain ties soil health and water quality to management choices a grower can actually make.
- Erosion, runoff, and drainage considerations
- Practices such as conservation tillage and cover crops, including benefits and tradeoffs
- How soil and water outcomes affect long-term productivity and downstream communities
- Weighing practice costs against agronomic and environmental returns
Domain 3: Sustainability and Pest Management
Pest control is evaluated for effectiveness, environmental impact, and long-term durability.
- Integrated approaches that reduce reliance on any single control tactic
- Resistance management as a sustainability issue
- Effects of control decisions on non-target organisms, water, and neighbors
- Economic thresholds and the cost of both action and inaction
Domain 4: Sustainability and Crop Management
This domain looks at the system as a whole rather than a single input.
- Cropping system design, including rotation and diversity
- How management choices interact across seasons and fields
- Farm economics and risk as constraints on adoption
- Societal expectations around production practices
Notice that none of these is purely theoretical. Each one asks what a crop adviser should recommend when real constraints are present. For a topic-level breakdown, read our domains guide alongside the official performance objectives.
Exam Format and Testing Conditions
The SSP is a computer-based, multiple-choice specialty examination. It is taken under standard examination conditions that are strict and worth understanding before test day:
- Closed book with no outside references
- Live remote proctoring rather than a testing center sitting
- An on-screen calculator for any quantitative questions
- One blank sheet of scratch paper
- No breaks during the session
Remote proctoring has specific technical requirements. The examinee handbook identifies MonitorEDU, while current instructions specify Google Meet with two cameras. You will need a supported computer, a webcam, a microphone, a mobile device serving as the second camera, government-issued identification that matches your registration, and a private workspace. Always check the current instructions from ASA before exam day, since delivery details can change.
For a candid look at difficulty and scoring, see how hard the SSP exam is and our explanation of the SSP passing score. The passing standard follows the program's Modified Angoff standard-setting process, an expert-judgment method, so it should be understood as a defined competency standard rather than something to guess at from forum posts.
Eligibility, Fees and Registration
Eligibility is straightforward but non-negotiable. Candidates must be at least 18 years old and must already hold an active CCA credential in good standing. If your core certification has lapsed, restoring it comes first. The full checklist is in our SSP requirements guide.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Examination fee | USD $170 |
| Format | Computer-based, multiple choice |
| Delivery | Live remote proctoring through Certification Management Services |
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Required credential | Active CCA in good standing |
| Scheduling | Register and sit within published specialty examination windows |
The scheduling constraint deserves emphasis. Unlike exams you can book for tomorrow, you must register and test inside the published windows, so working backward from the next window is the right way to plan. Details are collected in our SSP exam dates guide, and the full financial picture is in the certification cost breakdown. Keep in mind that the $170 exam fee sits alongside, not in place of, the annual fees for your underlying CCA certification.
Keeping the Credential Active
The specialty depends on the CCA certification beneath it, so you must maintain the underlying CCA and pay the annual certification fees. Continuing education is where candidates most often misread the rules, so here is what the March 2026 ICCA policy manual requires.
- 40 total CEUs per two-year cycle
- Of those, 5 must be Sustainability Specialty CEUs
- At least 5 CEUs in each of the four standard agronomy categories
- 1 ethics CEU
- At least 20 board-approved CEUs
Key Takeaway
The 5 sustainability CEUs count within the 40-CEU total. They do not create a 45-CEU requirement. Plan your credits so that sustainability-focused courses also satisfy other categories where the rules allow, and confirm each course's approval status before enrolling.
Who Uses This Credential
Because the specialty sits on top of the CCA, the people holding it are working crop advisers: independent consultants, agronomists at retail and cooperative organizations, and advisers who work with growers on nutrient, soil, pest, and cropping system decisions. The credential signals that an adviser can evaluate recommendations beyond yield, including environmental outcomes, community expectations, and profitability.
That matters most where growers face questions from landowners, buyers, or programs that reward documented practice changes. An adviser who can discuss tradeoffs credibly has something to offer in those conversations. We discuss the career side in more detail in SSP jobs, the salary guide, and our ROI analysis. We do not quote earnings figures here because the value of the credential varies widely with role, region, and employer.
A Domain-Based Study Sequence
Since every candidate already holds a CCA, you begin with a foundation in the core agronomy areas. The task is to re-see that knowledge through a sustainability lens. One sensible sequence follows the dependencies between domains.
Read the Performance Objectives
- Download the second-generation objectives and mark every area where your field experience is thin
- Note which of the three lenses you tend to neglect (most agronomists underweight People and Society)
Domains 1 and 2: Nutrients, Soil and Water
- Start here because nutrient losses and soil and water quality are tightly linked, and the concepts feed the other domains
- Practice tracing a practice from input decision to off-site outcome to farm cost
Domain 3: Pest Management
- Review integrated approaches and resistance management as long-term sustainability issues
Domain 4: Crop Management
- Treat this as the integration week, combining rotation, diversity, economics, and societal expectations
Timed Practice Under Exam Conditions
- Work scenario questions closed book with only a calculator and one sheet of scratch paper
- Use practice questions to find weak domains, then revisit those objectives
For a fuller plan, see the SSP study guide and the condensed cheat sheet. Timed sets in our SSP practice test help you get used to a single uninterrupted sitting, which is harder than it sounds when no breaks are allowed.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means the Certified Crop Adviser - Sustainability Specialty, a specialty credential from the American Society of Agronomy's International Certified Crop Adviser program. It has no connection to other credentials that share the abbreviation. See what SSP certification is for more.
Yes. Candidates must hold an active CCA credential in good standing and be at least 18 years old. The specialty is an add-on and cannot be earned independently.
The examination fee is USD $170. You must also keep your underlying CCA current by paying its annual certification fees.
No. The four exam domains are nutrient, soil and water, pest, and crop management, each with a sustainability focus. People and Society, Planet and Environment, and Profits and Economics are competency lenses applied within those domains.
No. Under the March 2026 ICCA policy manual, the 5 Sustainability Specialty CEUs count within the 40 total CEUs required per two-year cycle, so the total remains 40.
No. The exam is closed book with no breaks. You get an on-screen calculator and one blank sheet of scratch paper, and you are monitored by live remote proctors throughout.