American Floral Endowment provides grant for University of Florida online grower courses

Greenhouse Training Online courses offered by University of Florida IFAS Extension (UF) have received a boost with an education grant from the American Floral Endowment (AFE). The four-week courses in English and Spanish are designed for growers or technical managers in the United States and other countries, and have been completed by over 1,000 growers.

The education grant from AFE will help cover the cost of translating course materials into Spanish. This commitment to diversity training is critical. Even though approximately 80 percent of agricultural workers in the United States are of Hispanic origin and are Spanish-speaking, there is a lack of Spanish-language resources.

Lack of trained staff is recognized by growers as the number one issue they face. Training is an investment by businesses in their employees who are already performing well, have proven their work ethic and just need opportunities to advance their growing careers. The AFE grant will also help measure the return on this investment, where UF instructors will quantify the impacts of learning in terms of knowledge, behavior and economic value. The next course, offered on October 1, is Disease Management, taught by Dr. Carrie Harmon.

Disease Management

After completing this course you will be able to:
• Prevent diseases by learning how diseases develop and spread
• Learn how to differentiate between disease and other issues
• Understand basic organic and conventional management options for greenhouse and nursery situations
• Safely apply and handle fungicides and understand rules and regulations

The course runs from October 1 to 26, 2018. It costs $US 199 per participant, and includes a personalized certificate of completion. Over 4 weeks, there are streaming video lessons, readings and assignments (about 2-3 hours total commitment per week), which can be accessed at any time of day.

Other 2018 courses

Advanced Nutrient Management
Started September 3rd

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An advanced level course that helps understand and manage pH management, convert fertilizer units and formulate a fertilizer from individual salts, and diagnose nutritional problems and take corrective actions. Deadline to register is September 10.

Irrigation Water Quality & Treatment
November 5 to December 7

An advanced level course that helps interpret water quality tests for irrigation of greenhouse and nursery crops, select appropriate water treatment technologies, and design a water treatment and monitoring system.

Click here to register

For more information, go to http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/, or email greenhousetraining@ifas.ufl.edu