FOCUS ON FACULTY & STAFF:
Thirty members of USDAs Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program visited southern Arizona last week. Thanks to Rick Gibson, Dean Fish and Deborah Young for hosting an excellent tour. Thanks to Gene Giacomelli , Chieri Kubota , Mike Crimmins , Tim Dennehy, Dean Fish and Ed Martin for their presentations on the future of sustainable agriculture in Arizona. Kudos to the Extension Programs staff for helping organize the meeting: Sandra Saad , Patti B. , Sheila Merrigan and Xinyu Zhang .
UPDATING FACULTY AND STAFF BIOS:
Both faculty and staff can request biography changes for the biography that appears as a "More Info" link next to their name on our Extension directory website . To do this: 1) click "More Info" next to your name, 2) scroll down and click on "Edit Biography" (located on the left side in small print), 3) enter a username and password to enter the edit screen, 4) indicate which section or sections are being updated by unchecking the "No Change" checkbox, and 5) make edits and click the "Submit Changes for Review" button. If you want to begin a new biography, go to http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/directory/bio.html . To submit a new or updated photo, email it to Steven Crofts. The photo should be in .jpg format, sized roughly 130 pixels wide by 160 pixels high. All changes or new submissions are not made automatically, but will be forwarded to Steven Crofts for approval and should show within a few days. If you have any questions on this process, contact Steven Crofts or Robert Armstrong .
SUBMITTING ARTICLES FOR TUESDAY MORNING NOTES:
Do you have an Extension-related article or announcement that you would like to submit to Tuesday Morning Notes? If so, just go to our submittal form page and complete the four fields (name, email, date and content) and then click on the Send button at the bottom of the page. We ask that the content be in final format (although we reserve the right to edit as needed) because some articles are coming to us in raw content form and this requires extra time and a more extensive rewrite. If you have any questions, contact Steven Crofts (520.621.7145).
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES:
- There will be six "Healthy Active Kids" workshops given across the state between November 2006 and February 2007 sponsored by the UA Cooperative Extension Healthy Lifestyles work group. The workshops are designed for teachers, community and youth leaders, 4-H volunteers, parks and recreation staff and others interested keeping kids at a healthy weight, to share nutrition and physical activity curriculum ideas and build healthy lifestyles into their communities. The workshop schedule is: November 8 - Sierra Vista , 3:00-9:00pm; November 18 Parker , 10:00am-4:00pm; December 2 Phoenix , 9:00am-3:00pm; February 8, 2007 - north Phoenix/Deer Valley , 3:00-9:00pm; February 15, 2007 Tucson ; 10:00am-4:00pm; March 1, 2007 St. Johns , 10:00am-4:00pm. Visit the website for registration details, forms, workshop flyer, times and locations.
- The UAs Water Resources Research Center is accepting proposals for research grants under the Water Resources Research Act, Section 104B. Funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, Section 104B provides support for small research projects on water-related issues of importance to the state and region. The WRRC usually funds three to five small grants of about $10,000-$12,000 over a 12-month period. Funded projects start March 1, 2007 and proposals are due by 5:00pm on November 27 . For additional information contact Terry Sprouse (520.792.9591, ext.13). Guidelines are available on the WRRC web site .
- The Arizona Livestock Incidence Response Team (ALIRT) composed of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arizona Cattle Growers Association, USDA Wildlife Services, and Arizona Department of Agriculture, is hosting a national conference that will address livestock emergencies. The National Livestock Response Conference will be held at the Crown Plaza Phoenix Airport on Thursday, December 7. We would like to invite you to join interested veterinarians, public health officers, law enforcement and livestock producers to attend the conference to learn more about biosecurity, surveillance, and protection of our beef supply in the United States. For more information, please contact Laura Rittenbach , Bob Kattnig or Peder Cuneo .
- The Arizona Agriculture Extension Association In-Service will be December 14 at the Maricopa Ag Center. The one-day program will offer highlights of all Extension programs and projects in Agronomy, Horticulture, Natural Resources/Animal Science, and Pest Management and will "encourage professional improvement and quality performance among Extension workers, and promote cooperation, loyalty and understanding among Extension people and other University of Arizona personnel." All Extension agents, specialists, and program/project personnel engaged in Extension programming are invited to participate in a concurrent session by presenting a 15-minute overview of research results or outreach education programs. There is opportunity for 36 total volunteered submissions in 4 concurrent sessions - Agronomy, Horticulture, Natural Resources/Animal Science, and Pest Management. The preliminary program, title and abstract Submission, as well as registration forms can be found at http://ag.arizona.edu/aaea/index.htm .
- The CALS Controlled Environment Agriculture Center Arizona will present two back-to-back conferences in January at the DoubleTree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park: 1) Greenhouse Crop Production and Engineering Design Short Course January 14-17, 2007 . Now in its 7th year, this Short Course offers three days of intensive education and practical experiences in the science of hydroponic crop production, and the engineering of controlled environments. The format offers attendees multiple opportunities to interact with some of the worlds leading controlled environment agriculture experts. This years theme is EnerG - the Resourceful Greenhouse. Attendees will be provided with a roadmap and the knowledge necessary to develop a successful greenhouse operation. Registration fee is $499 ($599 after December 4, 2006); 2) Second Annual Growers Marketing Forum: Farm to Fork (GMF3) January 17-19, 2007 . The Forum gives greenhouse and field growers important insights and knowledge on how to succeed in the vegetable and specialty crop marketplace. Attendees will learn from the experts about entry into wholesale and retail markets, optimal market sizes and types, distribution, branding, and packaging. Includes a tour to a state-of-the-art greenhouse tomato production and packing facility. Registration fee is $650 ($795 after December 4, 2006).
For more information and to register for these conferences, go to http://ag.arizona.edu/ceac/ or contact Glenn McCreedy , Coordinator (520.626.9566).