Core and Private/Ag Row Pesticide License Preparation Class or CEUS

 

UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County is hosting a Core and Private/Ag Row Pesticide Exam Training Course on Wednesday, September 16, 2025, at 9:00 am at the Extension Office Location in Seffner, FL.  The cost is $60.00 for the class.

The Core training is needed by all license types.  The Private Exam Prep portion of the class will help you review to pass the Private Applicator Exam.  With both tests passed, you will be able to apply restricted-use pesticides on your property or that of your employers.  This license also allows teaching ag employees the mandatory EPA Worker Protection Standards.

If you have a Private Applicator or Ag Row License, then this class gives you 2 Core CEUs and 2 Private/Ag Row CEUs for your license renewal.  Here is a link below to register and more information. Please call Shawn if you need any special accommodations at the Extension Office.  We will also have a special (one of the last) pesticide license testing days at the Extension Office the next day for those who want to take the exams.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ufifas-hillsborough-county-core-and-private-pesticide-test-preparation-tickets-1245357350359?aff=oddtdtcreator

Ornamental Horticulture in Hillsborough and Polk Counties Down Again in 2024

The ornamental horticulture nursery and greenhouse industry contracted again for the third year in a row in 2024 in both Hillsborough and Polk Counties.  Hillsborough County growers produced an estimated $174 million in nursery and greenhouse plants.  This decreased 1.4% from the year prior, which was then about $176 million in 2023.  The average annual wage paid to someone employed in this sector in 2024 was $43,865 or $21.09/hr.  This is about a 4% increase over last year's average annual wage of $42,214 or $20.30/hr.  

In Polk County, growers produced about 14.5% less than 2023 with nursery and greenhouse sales estimated at about $53.5 million in 2024, as compared to $62.6 million in 2023. The average wage reported in Polk County was $41,512 or $19.96 per hour. Last year's average wage was $39,123 or $18.80/hr. or an increase of 6.2%.   

Both counties have seen a decrease in sales since the last increase in nursery production seen in 2021, when Hillsborough nursery sales were $308 million and Polk produced about $65 million.