Congratulations to Cochise County faculty, especially Susan Pater, who had
all three supervisors attend their advisory board meeting and retreat in
Douglas where they discussed county plans and budgets for the coming year.
The county report and materials for the supervisors will be on line soon at
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/counties/cochise/. A history of Cochise
County extension is available now at
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/counties/cochise/history.pdf
* Our thanks to Susan McGinley who participated as a member of the 2001
ECOP/ESCOP Image Enhancement Writing Team in Gainesville, Florida February
26-March 2, 2001. During these few days, Susan was one of a team of
writers, editors, and graphic designers who reviewed more than 3,500
submissions to the National Impact Database. From those 3,500 submissions
the team created 22 Science and Education fact sheets that will be used to
inform key decisiion makers and opinion leaders about successful research,
education, and extension programs throughout the United States. Again this
year, the team did all of its searching and sorting of the submissions
electronically, no small task considering the number of submissions and the
technical interface required for such searching.
* Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a severe, highly communicable viral
disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer, and other
cloven-hooved ruminants. FMD is not recognized as a zoonotic disease. The
Arizona Department of Agriculture is hosting an informational seminar on
Thursday, April 12, from 8 am - 10 am, at their office, 1688 West Adams
Street, Room 206, Phoenix, on Foot and Mouth Disease. All Extension faculty
who work with livestock are invited to attend. Federal veterinarians will
present information on field identification of the disease. A state
emergency plan will also be discussed. Contact Helen Nasios or Al Davis of
the Animal Services Division of the Department of Agriculture at
602/542-6309 if you plan to attend. For more information on FMD, see
http://agriculture.state.az.us/
* A new website to check out! Arizona Money 2000+ at
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/money2000/
* Sabbatical Leave results, 2000 Reports: Tom DeGomez tested two ecological
theories concerning the relationship between insect communities and tree
species that have implications for the future of Arizona's forests. Mike
Ottman spent his sabbatical leave at the University of Reading, England.
His sabbatical topic was inter-row competition in wheat in the United
Kingdom. Mike Kilby investigated changes in grower practices and philosophy
in the pecan industry in the southwestern United States that could be used
to improve Cooperative Extension programs. Sherry Betts utilized her leave
to develop an implementation model for community action for youth development.
* Yuma Farm Safety Day and Tractor Driving Skills Course, May 4, 8:30 a.m.
at Yuma Mesa Agricultural Center. Contact Barry Bequette for details
(plantdoc@cals.arizona.edu).