FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES:
There are two opportunities for funding this year -- working groups and statewide initiatives. All requests for funding are due to Extension Programs by 5:00pm on May 25 . All proposals will be submitted on line and are required to have a county and campus or experiment station collaboration. Funding is available from July 1, 2007June 30, 2008. Final decisions will be made by Extension Administration. If your team received funding last year and is resubmitting, your proposal will not be considered if you do not include the report of accomplishments. All requests for funding will use the logic model. If you have any questions about this model, consult http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/pda/logicmodel/ or Sheila Merrigan (520.626.6543). To submit a proposal, go to http://cals-cf.calsnet.arizona.edu/exact/proposals and enter the username (cals) and password (ua) to access the page. The criteria can be found at http://ag.arizona.edu/internal/programs/statefundingcriteria2007.pdf using a different username (coa) and password (ua). For questions about funding requests, contact Patti B. (520.621.5308).
FOCUS ON FACULTY:
Congratulations to Dr. Patty Merk , who recently joined the Department of Agricultural Education as a regional specialist (in addition to her duties as Area Associate Agent, Family and Youth Development, serving Maricopa, Mohave and Yavapai Counties).
CRITERIA FOR SATELLITE OFFICES:
For those counties with satellite offices, here are some criteria that need to be followed: 1) the office serves a separate geographic population of the county; 2) the office is staffed by a paid employee and open to the public a minimum of 20 hours per week; 3) Extension publications, space for clientele consultation, and computers are available; and 4) all Extension program areas are represented. The full policy is available in our Program & Procedural Manual in Chapter 9, Section 9.14.
WEBCASTING PRESENTATIONS:
The webcasting presentations for the Area Assistant/Associate Agent, Agriculture (for Maricopa, Pima & Pinal Counties) took place yesterday. You can view each candidates presentation at http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/webcasts.html (using Internet Explorer, NOT Netscape, and have Windows Media Player installed on your computer). The webcast title is Building A Successful Extension Program for Agricultural Crop Production in Central Arizona and the two candidates are Karen Ollerton and Manda Cattaneo . For more information or questions, contact Glenda Thompson (520.621.3621).
SHORT-TERM UPDATE FROM THE FEBRUARY 2007 ARIZONA DROUGHT MONITOR:
The moderate El Nio has not brought the anticipated precipitation to the state during the early winter season, deepening the short-term drought in many of Arizonas watersheds. The Bill Williams watershed had an extremely dry fall and early winter, degrading conditions to extreme drought, while the San Simon improved from severe to moderate drought. Due to a southerly storm track pattern for January, White Water Draw in the southeast improved from abnormally dry to no drought, as storms dropped precipitation in southeast Arizona on the way into New Mexico, which has had a very wet winter. El Nio has dissipated in the eastern Pacific as sea surface temperatures have cooled, resulting in a forecast for below normal precipitation for the remainder of the winter, from the Climate Prediction Center.
COTTON VARIETY TRIAL DATA:
The 2006 Cotton Variety Trial Data is now available on the ACIS web site in either Excel or PDF formats.
CED POSITION DESCRIPTION UPDATES:
Updated versions of the generic County Extension Director position description are now available on line in Appendix A of our Program & Procedural Manual. There are both Word and PDF versions.
WATER CONSERVATION GROUP:
At the last Natural Resource Education working group meeting there seemed to be quite a bit of interest in forming a water conservation working group. If you are interested, send your name to Cado Daily by April 1 so that you can be included in future emails to set a date and location to meet. The focus would be on residential and business water conservation and not on large scale agriculture. This is also an opportunity to share all the great ideas being implemented across the state.
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES:
- The Healthy Lifestyles work group is sponsoring six Healthy Active Kids workshops all over Arizona during February and March. Remaining workshop dates and locations are: March 24 (Sierra Vista), and March 28 (Phoenix). Registration and details are available at http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/fcs/HealthyActiveKids.php.
The Southwest Marketing Network is holding its 5th Annual Conference on March 26-28 at the Radisson Woodlands Hotel in Flagstaff. Highlights of the conference include a Southwest Reception, tour of Chino Valley sites, and keynote speaker Anthony Flaccavento (founding member and Executive Director of Appalachian Sustainable Development). Go to the Southwest Marketing Network conference website for an agenda, registration and other conference information.
- The "Climate and Riparian Areas Workshop: Connecting the Dots Climate Change/Variability and Ecosystem Impacts in Southwestern Riparian Areas" will occur on April 11-13 at the Hotel Casa Grande (777 N. Pinal Avenue, Casa Grande - $60/night before cutoff date). Early registration deadline is March 23 ! A full agenda and registration information are available at http://cals.arizona.edu/gila/naturalresources/Riparianpage.html.