July 27, 2021
Edition Topics- Message from Interim Director Ed Martin
- PCCE July-August Newsletter
- Arizona Youth Development In-Service | August 4-6
- Pinal County Horticulture Assistant/Associate Agent Candidate Seminars
- New Publications
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Message from the Interim Director of Extension
I met with a former Extension colleague for lunch, and we talked about our time at the University of Arizona and in Cooperative Extension. There was a lot of reminiscing about the good old days and how much the University and Cooperative Extension has changed over the years. However, it struck me during our conversation how many of the issues we had back in the 1990s are still with us today; and how things are not so different. Issues surrounding work/life balance and not enough hours in the week; trying to get publications out and wondering what would be the latest tagline or market campaign coming from the State Extension office or UA Administration. But of all the topics we covered, the one we kept coming back to is how we worked hard to expand our capacity to meet the needs of the people of Arizona. That certainly has not changed. I applaud everyone’s efforts to get grants and gifts; developing partnerships and relations with local community leaders; and train Designated Campus Colleges (we used to call them volunteers back in the day). All of these efforts help increase our reach into our communities and increase Extension's capacity. Job well done!
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| PCCE July-August Newsletter
Pima County Cooperative Extension just published our July-August e-newsletter, The Round-Up. This issue features stories on our food resilience grant, the outcome of the Pima 4-H livestock auction, our efforts to address childhood toxic stress, and more. In our PCCE News section, we share a hearty congratulations to Debbie Curley, who has been promoted to Area Associate Agent in Family and Consumer Health Sciences, and to Jenn Parlin who is now our Assistant Agent overseeing our SNAP-Ed program at the Garden Kitchen. We hope you will Sign up to get The Round-Up, to learn more about our many programs and projects.
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| Arizona Youth Development In-Service | August 4-6
Arizona 4-H is excited to announce an upcoming in-service opportunity open to all Arizona youth development professionals. It will take place August 4-6 at James 4-H Camp & Outdoor Learning Center in Dewey, AZ. Agenda topics include policy updates, county strategic planning, statewide event coordination, and team building. Meals and lodging will be provided. If you would like to attend, please complete this short registration form as soon as possible. Contact David Shafer (dahveed@arizona.edu) with any questions.
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| Pinal County Horticulture Assistant/Associate Agent Candidate Seminars
The Search and Screen Committee for the Pinal County Horticulture Assistant/Associate Agent position invites you to candidate seminars. The purpose of the continuing-eligible Horticulture Extension Assistant/Associate Agent position is to develop and deliver educational information, structured programs, and technical support to the consumer and commercial horticulture sectors, as well as urban agriculture and food systems in Pinal County, Arizona.
All Cooperative Extension faculty and staff are invited to participate, especially anyone that may potentially collaborate with this new faculty member.
Candidate Seminars are:
Dr. Jay Subramani, Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 12:30 pm https://arizona.zoom.us/j/82074074024
passcode: Pinal
Seating will be available in the Pinal County Cooperative Extension Conference Room for individuals wishing to attend the seminars in-person. Please RSVP in-person attendance to Lisa Elliott (melliott@email.arizona.edu).
There will be an additional opportunity to visit with the candidate from 3:30-4:30pm. Please contact Lisa Elliott (melliott@email.arizona.edu) to be included in the meeting.
Evaluation forms for candidates can be found at here and will be due by COB Monday, August 2, 2021.
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| New Publications
As climate change, excessive land use and dominance by weedy species continue to degrade natural systems at an accelerating rate, management approaches, such as ecological restoration, become more critical for mitigating habitat destruction. The immense challenges posed by widespread environmental change highlight the importance of identifying best management practices for designing and deploying effective restoration strategies that are logistically and monetarily feasible. This is particularly important in systems characterized by high stress, such as semi-arid and arid habitats. Ecological restoration strategies in these systems is challenging and often results in poor outcomes, despite significant resource inputs.
Farella, J., Hauser, M., Parrott, A., Moore, J. D., Penrod, M., & Elliott-Engel, J. (2021). The Journal of Extension, 59(3), Article 7.
A literature review was conducted using the key words relating to Native American Youth and 4-H to assess the current state of 4-H youth programming serving First Nation/ Indigenous populations to inform future Extension initiatives. A systematic and qualitative review determined what level of focus the conducted programming efforts placed on broadly accepted elements of cultural identity as noted in the Peoplehood Model. A very small number of articles (N=13) were found pertaining to 4-H and Indigenous Communities. Fewer demonstrated emphasis on the peoplehood elements of language, place, traditional ceremony or calendars, and history. This work investigates a continuing inequity in 4-H PYD–both in service and reporting–and suggests some next steps for creating a more inclusive 4-H program for Native American/First Nation/Indigenous youth.
Extension Administrators’ Perspectives on Employee Competencies and Characteristics
Elliott-Engel, J., Westfall-Rudd, D., Seibel, M., Kaufman, E., & Radhakrishna, R. (2021). . The Journal of Extension, 59(3), Article 3.
Extension administrators discussed the competencies and characteristics of Extension professionals as they explored how Extension will need adapt to changing clientele, both in who they are and how they want to receive information. Extension education curriculum is not fully preparing future Extension employees in all required competencies, falling short on use of technology, diversity and pluralism, volunteer development, marketing, and public relations, risk management, and the community development process. Additionally, the Extension educator workforce development pipeline is not preparing a demographically representative population, leaving state administrators struggling to hire prepared professionals, especially those with in-culture competency (e.g., racial and ethnic minority and urban).
Enterprise Budgets: Guayule, Flood Irrigated, Southern Arizona
Trent Teegerstrom, Clark Seavert, Paul Gutierrez, Hailey Summers, Evan Sproul and Blase Evancho
This series of enterprise budgets estimate the typical economic costs and returns to establish, grow, and harvest guayule over a six-year period, using flood irrigation in southern Arizona. It should be used as a guide to estimate actual costs and returns and is not representative of any particular farm. The assumptions used in constructing these budgets are discussed below. Assistance provided by area producers and agribusinesses is much appreciated.
Grapefruit and Pummelo for Southern Arizona
Glenn C. Wright
Grapefruit (Citrus × aurantium L. var. racemosa (Risso) ined.) formerly (Citrus x paradisi) is a fruit that can cause great disagreements. Many people believe that the fruit is excessively bitter, thick-peeled and/or difficult to eat, while many others enjoy the bracing flavor of the fruit, either fresh or juiced, as an essential part of a winter morning’s breakfast. Pummelos (Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr.) are relatively unknown in the United States but are widely available in East Asian countries. Pummelos are slowly increasing in popularity due to returning travelers, East Asian immigrants and adventurous “foodies” who are willing to give them a try.
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