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November/December 2023 Issue #51
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| 4-H Youth Development Program
STEM Activities are part of the 4-H Youth Development Program
Valerie Gabrielson, 4-H Youth development Program Coordinator
Livestock and agriculture are what most people think of when they hear 4-H. In Maricopa County, those projects are a big part of what the youth work so hard on, but 4-H is so much more than just livestock and agriculture. Did you know that here at the Maricopa County 4-H youth development program we have a very active STEM project?
STEM has been a part of 4-H for many years now, but during the 2023-2024 year Maricopa County 4-H will be hosting more STEM activities than before. STEM Saturdays began in September and will take place once a month in different locations around the valley. Topics include flight science, wildlife, entomology (bugs), geology, astronomy, drones, kitchen science and the forces of nature. These activities are open to any 4-H member aged 8-18.
Maricopa Couty 4-H will also be hosting an underwater robotics project and competition. Last year our team of Matthew Allen, Lucas Hsu and Josiah Eckles placed second in the state competition. Lego robotics will be another STEM related project that will be held monthly in the north valley. Finally, Maricopa County teens, Abby Herrera, Stephen Gabrielson, Ethan Kanuchok and Emilio Martinez will be participating as Tech Changemakers. These teens will be teaching at several clinics throughout the year that teach adults in the workforce how to use drone technology in their chosen professions. These teens have been trained and certified in drone technology and policies.
If you would like more information or to become a member, go to https://extension.arizona.edu/4h/maricopa and click on “Join 4-H”.
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SNAP-Ed ProgramCelebrating Farm to School Month!
Kaley Necessary and Marina Gallardo, SNAP-Ed Program Leads
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The Arizona Farm to School Network is Arizona’s hub for Farm to School programming. Arizona Health Zone’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) team at Maricopa County Cooperative Extension (MCCE) partners with communities to support the three core elements of Farm to School: Procurement, Food Education, and School Gardens.
In October, our SNAP-Ed team attended the 2023 Arizona Farm to School Network Gathering to broaden our understanding of how to encourage farm to schoolwork in SNAP-eligible communities. During the first day of the two-day gathering, our team visited local growing and learning spaces like the school garden at Garfield Elementary, Arizona Worm Farm, the school nutrition program at Madison Park, and finally the People’s Demonstration Farm at MCCE. During the virtual gathering day, our team had the opportunity to learn how to connect local growers to school nutrition services, expanded our understanding of trauma-informed lunchrooms, and learned techniques for supporting school gardens.
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With the knowledge our team gained from this professional development experience, we can better support the implementation of Farm to School initiatives in the schools and communities that we partner with. For example, we provide technical assistance to help with the installation of new school gardens and we guide schools in keeping their existing gardens sustainable. Through food demonstrations, taste tests, and nutrition lessons, we encourage youth to try new foods and teach them how to prepare their garden-grown produce.
Farm to School work also provides opportunities for programs at MCCE to collaborate and learn from each other. Several MCCE programs were involved in this gathering including 4H, Urban Ag, and the Agricultural Literacy & STEM program.
With the knowledge our team gained from this professional development experience, we can better support the implementation of Farm to School initiatives in the schools and communities that we partner with. For example, we provide technical assistance to help with the installation of new school gardens and we guide schools in keeping their existing gardens sustainable. Through food demonstrations, taste tests, and nutrition lessons, we encourage youth to try new foods and teach them how to prepare their garden-grown produce.
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Farm to School work also provides opportunities for programs at MCCE to collaborate and learn from each other. Several MCCE programs were involved in this gathering including 4H, Urban Ag, and the Agricultural Literacy & STEM program.
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Arizona Center for Rural Leadership
Scott Koenig, Executive DirectorThe Arizona Center for Rural Leadership has had a busy several months. The program is supported by a non-profit 501-c-3 whose board of directors met in Maricopa, AZ in October at BiodelAg, an entrepreneurial start-up in regenerative agricultural soil health by Class 6 alum, Ben Cloud. This public-private partnership has allowed both the non-profit and Extension to deliver on their missions since the founding in 1983.
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Class 32 of Project CENTRL travelled to our neighbors to the south in October to learn about the people, culture, agricultural production and water management in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, MX. All participants came back finding more similarities than differences among Arizona & Sonora!
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In addition to the board of directors, the Center is supported by a dedicated Alumni Committee who hosted a behind the scenes tour of Luke Airforce Base and how they interact with their neighboring communities while delivering on their key component of national security.
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From there, twelve Alumni Committee members traveled to Cottonwood, AZ to plan the year ahead in activities for the 700 graduates of Project CENTRL. There will be new county-specific ways to engage throughout the year!
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Urban Horticulture/ Master Gardener Program
Michael Chamberland, Assistant Agent, Urban Horticulture
Assistant Agent for Urban Horticulture, Michael Chamberland, was awarded the Weed Manager of the Year Award from the Southwest Vegetation Management Association. The award recognizes his work on the stinknet weed, Oncosiphon pilulifer.
The 21st Master Gardener Fall Festival was held in October, in partnership with Metro Tech High School. The Fall Festival is the largest Master Gardener event of the year. Master Gardeners grew plants for the plant sale and contributed other sales items. 44 Master Gardeners helped run the event, which saw 680 people attending.
Urban Horticulture hosted our first HOA Connections Symposium in November. The Symposium brought together speakers on issues facing green infrastructure management for Home Owners’ Associations. The event builds engagement of Master Gardeners with horticulture issues relevant to HOAs. Assistant Agent Michael Chamberland and Associate in Extension Shaku Nair presented at the Symposium.
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Agricultural Literacy & STEM Program
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Farm to School Annual Gathering
Taylor La Ravia, Assistant in Extension
On October 19th and 20th, the Agricultural Literacy and STEM program helped host the Farm to School Annual Gathering. The gathering started off on the 19th with two in-person tour groups: one in Tucson and one in Phoenix. A total of 60 educators attended the in-person tours. Educators were able to visit school gardens, seed research facilities, native garden spaces, and farms; attend cooking demonstrations; enjoy a shared-meal and networking hour; and ultimately came away with connections and resources to help them build more robust farm to school programming in their communities.
On October 20th, 148 people logged in to join the virtual day filled with sessions and breakout rooms focusing on how schools can incorporate agriculture into their classes, what resources are available to educators and community members, and what programs and support are currently being offered.
Many organizations and departments came together to make this event possible, including our own SNAP-Ed team, Local First, Pinnacle Prevention, the Maricopa County Public Health department, the Mollen Foundation, and more!
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Turf Science Program
Pest Management and Pesticide Safety Seminars for Turf and Landscape
Shaku Nair, Associate in Extension, UA Turfgrass Science
The Turfgrass Program successfully completed one of its signature events on November 28th-29th – the Annual Pest Management and Pesticide Safety Seminars for Turf and Landscape personnel. One hundred seventeen attendees participated in the events offered in two locations in the valley. This year, topics included new research results on turf beetles, desert-adapted turf varieties, techniques to improve water use efficiency, combating herbicide resistance and getting your facility ready for a pesticide inspection.
Attendees were personnel from golf courses and other institutions, school districts, pest control and landscaping companies. Participants were greatly appreciative of the timely and relevant information presented, and the convenient locations.
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Is your turf winter-ready?
Many lawns in Maricopa county have already been overseeded in preparation for the winter. Overseeding is the practice of seeding cool-season winter grass into an existing warm-season grass lawn such as Bermuda, prior to it going into dormancy for the winter. For information on how to care for your overseeded lawn over the winter, please check out our publication linked here.
However, many people choose to skip overseeding and let their lawns go dormant over the winter. This is a great decision too!
Skipping overseeding saves you the costs of ryegrass seeds and maintenance through the winter and the golden color of dormant bermuda could be a welcome change. Here are some tips to care for you dormant lawn:
- As the weather cools, water once or twice per week to keep roots and soil slightly moist.
- After grass turns completely blond following frost, keep roots from drying out. Water once or twice per month unless rain keeps soil moist.
- Resume irrigation in late March-April when temperatures warm up and grass greens up.
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Urban Agriculture Production, Small-Scale, and Beginning Farmer Program
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The Urban Agriculture Production, Small-Scale and Beginning farmer Program hosted five recent events with partners USDA NRCS, USDA FSA, the Southwest Indian Agricultural Association (SWIAA), and AZ Farm to School Network to provide resources and technical expertise around urban, small-scale and beginning farming in Arizona. Our Grand Opening of the People’s Demonstration Farm (PDF) brought farmers across Arizona together to celebrate the new space at MCCE dedicated to research, education, and outreach in urban agriculture production.
Dr. Ayman Mostafa and Dr. Ed Martin opened the event discussing the evolution of the PDF, and the new Service Center that will be housed as a one-stop-shop for urban farmers at MCCE with Extension, USDA NRCS, and USDA FSA all housed in one location. Further exciting news was announced of the approval of the new Arizona Center for Urban Smart Agriculture (ACUSA) at the University of Arizona, which will bring stakeholders together to drive solutions in urban agriculture production. Attendees learned from Dr. Debankur Sanyal about soil health and management, with a demonstration on taking soil samples in our plots, networked with peers, heard talks from USDA NRCS and FSA representatives on services available for urban and small farms, and then participated in a series of demonstrations on the farm from beekeeping, small farm tools, propagation, high tunnel production, to food safety. AZ Farm to School Network stopped by the following day for an informational tour of the new People’s Demonstration Farm.
October's Urban Ag Hour on Zoom featured a talk by University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Yavapai County Director Matt Halldorson on viticulture in urban and small-scale environments, followed by a talk on conservation practices for adding in pollinator habitats to urban and small-scale farms by NRCS State Biologist Karlee Cork.
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November’s Urban Ag Hour on Zoom featured a talk by Pinnacle Prevention's Local Food Purchasing Program Coordinator, Parker Filer discussing the Purchase Local AZ Program followed by a talk on Payment Eligibility and Record Keeping with FSA Agriculture Specialist Colton Hernandez. At our November Urban Agriculture Seminar our program teamed up with SWIAA and NRCS to offer an intensive Hoop House workshop at the People’s Demonstration Farm.
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November’s Urban Ag Hour on Zoom featured a talk by Pinnacle Prevention's Local Food Purchasing Program Coordinator, Parker Filer discussing the Purchase Local AZ Program followed by a talk on Payment Eligibility and Record Keeping with FSA Agriculture Specialist Colton Hernandez. At our November Urban Agriculture Seminar our program teamed up with SWIAA and NRCS to offer an intensive Hoop House workshop at the People’s Demonstration Farm. Attendees braved the rain and heard from Colleen Hanley on Season Extension options and best practices for implementing in the hoop house, built a hoop house on site with Sara Hipperson and Sowan Thai, and heard from NRCS representatives Jose Santini and Mariela Castaneda. 226 attendees participated across events, participating in beneficial education, networking, and discussion!
Want continual updates? Follow us on Instagram @urbanandsmallagproduction!
Program Team
Ayman Mostafa, Area Agent, Regional Specialist & Program Leader
Colleen Hanley, Assistant in Extension & Program Manager
Trixy Struck, Farm Manager
Nate Diemer, Program Coordinator
Tiffany Drake, Program Coordinator
Sara Hipperson, Program Coordinator
Alex Immendorf, Program Coordinator
Sharrona Moore, Program Coordinator
Jared Williams, Program Coordinator
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Field Crops Integrated Pest Management Program
We concluded a recent Extension IPM event that entered its 13th consecutive year. On November 15, 2023, our Program hosted the 13th Central Arizona Farmer Field Day at the Maricopa Agricultural Center where we showed the results of many trials conducted by the UArizona Cooperative Extension Agriculture Team members. We also had an update on the status of Arizona Cooperative Extension, new funding support from the state, and future plans for the organization from Dr. Ed Martin, Associate Vice President & Director, Cooperative Extension, Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension, The University of Arizona.
The event had another record engaging attendees of growers, pest control advisors, industry and government representatives, with very rich and informative discussions about the various topics and trials conducted by UArizona Cooperative Extension faculty. There were many opportunities for in-depth exchanges about pest and agronomic management, and new technology updates in the region in.
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We are at the final planning stage of another event, the Late Season Field Day that will be held at the site of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Cotton Variety trials at A Tumbling T Ranches in Goodyear on December 6, 2023.
The Alfalfa and Forage IPM Team is conducting several experiments to study different approaches of pest management in alfalfa and forage crops. Our research emphasizes the contributions of biological control agents and cultural practices in managing major pests of alfalfa in the arid environment. Our main goal is to provide effective and economic management for insect pests in alfalfa while reducing the impacts on environment, and health.
Program Team
Ayman Mostafa, Area Agent, Regional Specialist & Program Leader
Kyle Harrington, Associate in Extension
Avik Mukherjee, Postdoctoral Associate
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Interim Director CutDr. Ayman Mostafa
We just wrapped up the Thanksgiving holiday, providing us with a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the blessings and bounties that life offers. As celebrated my favorite holiday, I am grateful to the MCCE community that I’m proud to be one of its members, and to the broader community we all serve that embraces MCCE and has shown unwavering support of our mission since 1914.
Our MCCE team, our amazing volunteers, community partners, sponsors and advocacy groups are united by a shared purpose: Improving Lives, Communities and the Economy by taking the science of the University to the people of Arizona through programs, publications, classes, events and one-on-one teaching.
We support community health and wellbeing, youth and their development into good citizens and producing the safest, most abundant and most affordable food worldwide. We take pride in serving as a network of knowledgeable faculty and staff that provides lifelong educational programs for all Arizonans to achieve all these goals in a sustainable way that helps our communities thrive for generations to come.
As we are counting the days to Christmas, holiday season and new year, our Maricopa County Cooperative Extension faculty and staff are going full steam with their excellent work to serve our communities.
Please stop by and see what’s new at the office. As always, thanks to everyone for their continued support of Maricopa County Cooperative Extension!
I want to personally wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season, and a Joyful New Year. Our next newsletter will be in January 2024!
I invite you to read about what is happening at our MCCE, follow our social media accounts for the office and programs, and as always, please stop by and see what’s new at the office.
Thanks to everyone for their continued support of Maricopa County Cooperative Extension!
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