July 14, 2020
Edition Topics
- Message from Dr. Silvertooth
- Congratulations Kerry Schwartz - Extension Faculty of the Year
- Live Q&A with Dr. Silvertooth - Today, July 14 at 1:30pm
- Arizona County Agricultural Economy Profiles
- Small-scale Farmers Colloquium, 2020
- New Extension Publications
- AmeriCorps positions now open
- First Annual Production Sale of Al-Marah-bred Arabian Horses
- Associate Director ANR Interview Zoom Presentation
- Major Zoom Update has been postponed until September 29th
- Nominations for the Shirley O'Brien Diversity and Inclusion Award
- The Garden Kitchen Online Cooking Class
- Educational Communication: Cooperative Extension YouTube Channel
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Message from the Associate Dean and Extension Director
The University of Arizona (UA) senior leadership team (SLT) has identified a $250M budget deficit due to a loss of tuition-based revenues. To recover from this serious budget problem, the SLT is advancing a salary reduction and “furlough like” program that will effectively reduce the salaries of UA employees paid on funds derived from the core university budget. This current plan includes salary reductions on the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension System (CES).
Originally, the SLT planned on implementing the salary reductions on 1 July 2020. In response to a recommendation from the UA faculty senate, the SLT moved the date of implementation to 17 August 2020.
As I have described previously, we submitted a request on April 30 to Provost Folks and the UA Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Lisa Rulney, for an exemption of all CES employees paid on federal & state funding from the salary reduction program. Vice President Burgess, Jeffrey Ratje, and Carolyne Greeno joined me in developing this request to the Provost and CFO. To date, we have not received a response.
The basis of this request is that none of the CES budget is associated with tuition-based funding at the UA. The core CES budget is derived entirely from federal Smith-Lever funding and a separate and distinct line of funding allocated specifically to the UA CES in the State of Arizona Budget, which is subject to renewal annually by the Arizona Legislature.
In addition, the CES is included in the UA Responsibility Centered Management (RCM) system that provides funding to academic units based on performance metrics. Through this RCM system, the CES pays all subvention costs, or “taxes”, to the UA every year. However, the CES has no access to revenues through RCM since the principle revenues are based on tuition and research.
Therefore, the CES honors the responsibility of paying the UA taxes without access to additional revenues from the UA. The only reasonable way we can increase the core CES allocation and revenue is through an increase in the allocation from the State of Arizona legislature.
We have presented what I believe is a good case to the UA Provost and CFO and we are waiting for their response. Thank you for your ongoing support and patience in this process.
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COVID-19: Employee Resources
Please enter any questions, comments, concerns, or additions you'd like to see on this space in the comments section on the FAQ page!
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| Congratulations Kerry Schwartz
Kerry Schwartz, Associate Specialist & Director of Arizona Project WET was awarded the Extension Faculty of the Year award during Project WET's weekly meeting. The Cooperative Extension Faculty of the Year Award was created to recognize and honor outstanding achievements and contributions by a faculty member in the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Kerry's has created an outstanding program over her 20 years with Project WET. Her hard work throughout Arizona bringing APW activities to communities that would otherwise have limited resources for water education is the true mission of Cooperative Extension.
The Project WET team really pulled off an outstanding Zoom award celebration. Thank you Kerry for all you do for Arizona Project WET, Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona.
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• Register for the event here
• Pre-submit questions by clicking here
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| Arizona County Agricultural Economy Profiles
Dari Duval, Ashley K. Bickel, George Frisvold
This collection of profiles synthesizes county-level data from the recent 2017 Census of Agriculture release, economic and demographic data, and water use data for all 15 Arizona counties. The objective of the project is to present agricultural production, water use, and regional economic data in a standardized, integrated, and easy-to-read format to provide context on the role of agriculture within state and county economies, as well as its role as a manager of land and natural resources.
The individual county profiles and statewide summary can be found here:
https://cals.arizona.edu/arec/publication/arizona-county-agricultural-economy-profiles
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| Small-scale farmers colloquium, 2020
This is a monthly meeting for commercial horticulture and small-scale farmers to share science-based information on diverse topics (soil, water, pests, diseases, weeds, farm management, marketing, food safety, etc.) that will help improve farm productivity, profitability, sustainability, food safety and food security.
Dates of monthly sessions: July 20th, August 17th, September 14th, October 19th, and November 16th.
All sessions are 4:00pm to 5:00pm.
Location: Zoom
REGISTRATION REQUIRED
To register, email your name, gender (optional), and location (county) to
yavapaipres@cals.arizona.edu
Contact:
Dr. Isaac Mpanga
Area Associate Extension Agent Comm. Hort. and Small Acreage
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| New Extension Publications
Improving Alfalfa Yield with Applications of Balanced Fertilizers
Ayman Mostafa and Worku Burayu
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) has an annual economic value of $9 billion in the United States (USDA NASS, 2018). In Arizona, there are currently 260,000 acres of alfalfa producing 2.16 M tons of hay with a cash value of $451 million. Increasing the productivity and improving the profitability of alfalfa in the low desert southwest United States is of great importance for dairies and livestock. Growers intensively manage and frequently harvest alfalfa to achieve and sustain high yields with high nutritive value that dairies depend upon.
Dose Responses of Field Populations of Alfalfa Weevil from Various Western States to Lambda-Cyhalothrin® Using a Feeding and Contacting Assay
Ayman F. Mostafa and Kyle G. Harrington
Formulated insecticide, lambda-cyhalothrin, was diluted with water to form a series of desired concentrations to examine a dose response by field populations of alfalfa weevil using feeding assays. Alfalfa weevil larvae were collected from 14 different locations in seven different states during 2019. Results showed responses of alfalfa weevil larvae to different doses of lambda-cyhalothrin. Mortality rates ranged from 88-100% for the higher two doses in all locations. Weaker responses to lower doses have been detected in populations from northern CA and TX in this assay. Further investigation is planned for the 2020 season, including testing a wider range of lower doses.
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| AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps positions are now open for fall recruitment. This grant year over 70 members will serve in 11 counties and 3 tribal communities in 36 different programs where they will provide youth STEM opportunities, nutrition and health education, and agriculture and environmental support services. Wildcat Corps Members are an important part of supporting the university's goal of improving lives and communities. They will serve to strengthen the capacity of youth to increase educational attainment and foster positive youth development.
Members serve 300 to 900 hours. The living allowance ranges from $2,652 to $6,600 and the educational award from $1,311 to $3,097. Educational awards can be used for future education or student loans. Members that are 55 or older at the time of service can transfer their educational award to a child or grandchild. To learn more about national service and AmeriCorps go to: https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps. For more information about Wildcat Corps positions email clipin@arizona.edu. To see a list of all open positions in Arizona, type "UACE" in the "Program Name" section at this My AmeriCorps link: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/publicRequestSearch.do
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| First Annual Production Sale of Al-Marah-bred Arabian Horses
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| Associate Director Ag & Natural Resources Interview Zoom Presentation
Our next two candidates will give their presentations on July 16 and July 21. Mark your calendars!
Presentation Title: How will your leadership, management, and professional skills allow you to address and meet the needs for ANR in Arizona?
“Please address what you see as two important issues ANR will face in the next five years, one involving your area of expertise in ANR and one in an area within ANR with which you are less familiar and not directly involved.”
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Major Zoom Update September 29 - new date
Zoom continues to strive for tighter security within meetings. Please see the following details around the latest update coming September 29, 2020. Once users receive this update, Zoom will require that all meetings have a Passcode or a Waiting Room enabled for all accounts.
You can read more about this update here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360045009111
Please contact your CES IT Professional, Andy Medina (gamedina@cals.arizona.edu), if you have any questions.
For help in Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Office, contact Cathy Munger – cmunger@arizona.edu
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Nominations for the Shirley O'Brien Diversity and Inclusion Award due Sept. 1, 2020
Current faculty and staff in ALVSCE are eligible for nomination and can be nominated for two awards to honor Shirley O'Brien for her exemplary work in promoting diversity and an inclusive environment within ALVSCE and across campus.
- Legacy Diversity and Inclusion Champion for an individual who has demonstrated exemplary leadership for 5 or more years.
- Emerging Diversity and Inclusion Champion for an individual who has shown exemplary leadership by initiating a new program or effort in the past 4 years or less.
Selection criteria, the nomination form, and how to submit nominations are at: https://compass.arizona.edu/awards/diversity.
Contact: inclusive@cals.arizona.edu
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| The Garden Kitchen Online Cooking Class
Italian Flavor
Online Hands-On Cooking Class
Date: Friday, July 17, 2020
Time: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Register Here!
Tired of your usual spaghetti dinner, but still crave hearty Italian food? Join us for Italy without pasta! This class is great for mixing up your usual Italian dishes as well as providing gluten free options for everyone to enjoy. Learn how to balance flavors that feel indulgent while sticking to a healthy diet.
Menu: Creamy Polenta with Mascarpone and Parmesan Cheese, Sunflower Parmesan Pesto, Sicilian Style Stewed White Fish with Capers and Olives, and Tomato and Fresh Herb Salad
Skills taught: Creating an herb based sauce, how to create a dressing, and how to create a stewed fish dish and creamy polenta
Instructor: Jennifer Parlin
Class fee of $40.00 per household
All proceeds from these classes go towards our free programming, empowering Pima County residents to build community wellness and make healthier choices through food, fitness, and gardening education.
Plus new classes just added!
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| Educational Communication: Cooperative Extension YouTube Channel
In the "digital age" - with the quest for information, but shorter attention spans - educational organizations are communicating more and more via social media, websites, and using digital communications, like Zoom.
Arizona Cooperative Extension is working to be at the forefront of this trend, in communicating with short, to-the-point videos.
Check out the Arizona Cooperative Extension YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/azcoopextension
Please make sure you're helping us advance the Cooperative Extension message. Please like, share and link through your social media channels, and help us do all we can to share with all stakeholders and communities.
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