Contact Information Randy Ryan 520-621-1845 rryan@ag.arizona.edu

More and more the business of growing food is moving either indoors or into tightly controlled facilities, especially in Arizona where conditions outside can sometimes swing a little too wildly for some crops. That's why the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona will be opening new research facilities to study agriculture in controlled environments. They also will christen a new Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory designed to provide diagnostic services for cultured penacid shrimp growers anywhere in the world, including newly developed shrimp farms in Arizona.

The College will host ceremonies to dedicate its new facilities on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at the Campus Agricultural Center, 4101 N. Campbell Avenue, north of Roger Road. The dedication of the Aquaculture Pathology Lab is at 8:30 a.m. The dedication of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Complex is at 11:30 a.m. Tours of the facilities will follow.

The Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory, run by the veterinary science and microbiology department, replaces an aging "chicken coop' facility. It is part of the United States Marine Shrimp Farming Program, an integrated, multi-state research effort that continues to develop and transfer technologies, products and services necessary to expand the domestic shrimp industry. The new lab will offer U.S. receive direct access to reliable stock, advanced disease diagnostic and treatment methods and management protocols. Funding for the lab was provided by a subcontract on a facilities grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the University of Southern Mississippi.

The new Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Complex to be dedicated is an office and laboratory building and greenhouse. The new complex will assist the rapidly growing CEA industry and train students in increasingly advanced agriculture technologies. Construction of this facility was made possible through a special appropriation by the Arizona Legislature.

Colin Kaltenbach, director of the Agriculture Experiment Station, will preside along with Agriculture Dean Eugene Sander and UA President Peter Likins.

Editors Note:The event is for members of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences community. Media are welcome to cover these events, but please note that no accommodations have been made for the general public to attend.