WEEKEND EVENTS REPORT:
This past Friday and the weekend marked a couple of special events for CALS:
- Starting at Friday noon, I, along with the Dean, Colin Kaltenbach, the Development Office, Jeff Schalau and others celebrated the unveiling of the new Ag Center in the Verde Valley. The University of Arizona Grosetta Educational Center will be built on prime highway-accessible land donated by Andy and Marybeth Grosetta about halfway between Camp Verde and Cottonwood. It will be a state-of-the-art facility housing master gardeners, 4-H, range, animal sciences and resource development specialists along with education classrooms. Building will begin in the spring of 2007. See me, Jeff Schalau or Dave Schafer for a look at the model design.
- Over the weekend, about 200 people attended the 7th V-V Field Ranch Explorers Day. I had not attended since the early years and was very impressed. The programs for adults and children were quite impressive. The weather was great up near Happy Jack at Mahan Park and the food was superb. People from around the state are discovering this great ag literacy program. Two vans came from Pinal County, visitors from Havasupai Tribe, the normal buses from Prescott and Cottonwood, and a lot of first timers. A special thanks to Pam Denney, Karen Pizzuto, Dave Schafer, Jeff Schalau, Keith Cannon, Debra Pearson and the many others that provided a lot of hard work to make this happen. Great program. Check it out.
FOCUS ON FACULTY:
I am pleased to announce the Third Class of FYC Extension Scholars. This year's class includes Kim Gressley, Cathy Martinez, Amy Parrot and as an adjunct member, Lani Hall. Class II and Class III will be meeting by
conference call and video conferencing this fall and we look forward to hearing from the members of Class I in regards to their research projects. Congratulations Kim, Cathy, Amy and Lani!
NEW EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The annual meeting of the Arizona Pecan Growers Association will occur on Friday, September 22 at the Palo Verde Holiday Inn in Tucson. Registration begins at 8:00am and the program at 9:00am. Topics to be discussed include Immigration issues, Economics of orchard establishment, Interpreting weather maps, nitrogen rates and timing, pecan pests survey, orchard floor management, nut thinning, EQUIP program for pecans, and the pecan industry in Sonora, Mexico. Contact Mike Kilby for more info at 520.403.4613.
The University of Arizona Maricopa Agricultural Center and the USDA Arid Lands Agricultural Research Center will present the 2006 MAC Field Day on Wednesday, October 4, 2006, at the Maricopa Agricultural Center. This year's Field Day will include air-conditioned bus tours of their research fields, as well as a guided walking tour of the USDA Arid Lands Agricultural Research Center. There will also be equipment displays, posters and a symposium entitled “Agriculture: Securing Our Future.” Registration starts at 8:00am and the Field Day concludes with a barbeque lunch. As in past years, there will be a call for posters. The Poster Session is a unique opportunity for extensionists, researchers and companies to showcase their programs, projects and products. This year the Poster Session will take place under the covered parking area on the North side of the building with 3x8 tables and 4x8 poster boards available. Electricity is available for those who need it and wireless Internet service is available upon request. To include a poster(s) in the program, complete and submit the form found at http://cals.arizona.edu/aes/mac/Forms/MACfieldday06/MACfieldday06.html by September 25, 2006. For more information, contact the Maricopa Ag Center (520.568.2273).