On Food and Agriculture Policy in the 21st Century
Richard Morrison is an attorney practicing in the field of water and environmental law, and agricultural issues. He is a partner in his family owned and operated Morrison Brothers Ranch, producing cotton, beef and dairy products. He has been a professor at NAU, a faculty associate at ASU and a Navy pilot. He is also an Episcopal priest and an active participant on numerous professional and community boards in Arizona.

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, food production must double to feed the world’s human population by 2050. Not only will we need twice as much food, it must also be more nutritious, reliably produced and adequately distributed. To achieve this we require technological, cultural, economic and social advances. Richard Morrison, speaking at the 2012 annual meeting of the Agri-Business Council of Arizona on May 18, describes the critical gap between current agricultural output and the level it needs to attain, with implications for producers, communities, academic institutions, legislative groups, and for each of us as individuals.  

Read more

First Lady Visits Tucson, Praises Students for Healthy Initiatives
First lady Michelle Obama arrived at the Tucson International Airport on Monday, where she was greeted by youth volunteers of Tucson Village Farm, a University of Arizona run urban farm that teaches youth how to grow their own food and make healthy life choices. She was also greeted by Haile Thomas, 11, who promotes healthier lifestyles as founder of the Healthy Girls Adventures club and Youth Advisory member for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. (Will Ferguson/Daily Wildcat)

First lady Michelle Obama came to Tucson Monday to meet with local students as part of her effort to promote healthy lifestyles.

Obama spoke with elementary school, middle school and college students who volunteer at Tucson Village Farm [part of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Pima County Extension] as well as some members of 4-H, a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. According to the volunteers, she asked what they did on the farm, what vegetables they liked and what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Read more

Arizona's Greenspace Honored
All the olive trees on the western part of campus are included as heritage trees, and the oldest are north of the Arizona State Museum. Planted by Robert Forbes in the late 1800's, they were part of his trials of arid lands crop plants brought to Tucson from around the world. (Photo courtesy Campus Arboretum)

The Nebraska-based Arbor Day Foundation has named the University of Arizona a 2011 Tree Campus USA school in honor of the UA's "commitment to effective community forestry management." The UA has garned the award for three straight years.
 
Tanya Quist, an assistant professor of practice in the School of Plant Sciences and director of the UA Campus Arboretum, will receive the award, which is sponsored by Toyota.
 
The Arbor Day Foundation said the UA achieved the designation by meeting its five core standards required for sustainable campus forestry: a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and the sponsorship of student service-learning projects.

Read more

Center Awarded for Safer, More Sustainable Pest Management

Arizona Pest Management Center Director Peter Ellsworth discusses the outcomes of integrated pest management practices with growers in a cotton field. (Photo: APMC)

For its leadership role in making pest control more ecologically friendly and less dangerous to human health, the Arizona Pest Management Center at the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has been awarded the Gold Tier Shining Star Award by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Read more