IN THIS NEWSLINE ISSUED JANUARY 27, 2004:

1. INFORMATION SHEETS FROM ARIZONA VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC LAB
2. PERCHLORATE LEVELS IN PRODUCE
3. ROOF RAT PUBLICATION SUMMARYARIZONA
4. HABITAT SECTION
5. ANNUAL AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION RESEARCH REPORT NOW AVAILABLE
6. 4-H PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT ARIZONA
7. THE DESERT LEGUME PROGRAM (DELEP)
8. IMPROVING MEAT QUALITY WITH CLA
9. TRACK VEGETATION CHANGES AND MORE WITH RANGEVIEW
10. HORSE NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT WORKSHOPS
11. PECAN CONFERENCE
12. 4-H FOOD SAFETY WORKSHOP
13. UPCOMING CONFERENCES

1 INFORMATION SHEETS FROM ARIZONA VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC LAB

The Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Lab has created a website with links to important information about animal health and recent disease outbreaks that have been in the news.

The links include information on Bovine Tuberculosis (TB), Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis ("BSE"--"Mad Cow Disease"), USDA, FDA and CDC BSE informational links, information from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, links to information on Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) and other information sources.

Peder Cuneo, Veterinary Science and Microbiology

To learn more: http://microvet.arizona.edu/AzVDL/info.html

2 PERCHLORATE LEVELS IN PRODUCE

A concern that perchlorate could make its way into the human food chain through vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce has been the stimulus for research at the UA's Yuma Agricultural Center.

Perchlorate is one of the main ingredients in solid rocket propellant. Improper disposal of perchlorate-containing chemicals may result in contaminated soil and water. Because it can affect humans by inhibiting the thyroid's uptake of iodine, evaluating of the extent to which perchlorate is found in desert food crops irrigated with Colorado River water has become a priority.

Charles Sanchez, Yuma Agricultural Center

To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2003/article13_2003.html

3 ROOF RAT PUBLICATION SUMMARY

Have you heard a furtive scurrying in your attic? You could have roof rats. These citrus-lovers have not only infested homes in east Phoenix but have been noted in Glendale, Tempe and Tucson.

Members of the species Rattus rattus are agile climbers who forage for food at night. They're fond of fruit, especially citrus, but they'll also eat pet food, birdseed, and garbage.

Getting rid of roof rats isn't easy; they can invade your home through very small openings. You can't successfully repel or frighten them off, but you can trap roof rats or poison them with bait.

The best advice is to get professional help. A publication on roof rats is available from Calsmart.

Lawrence M. Sullivan, School of Renewable Natural Resources

To learn more: http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1280.pdf

4 ARIZONA HABITAT SECTION

Does the Sonoran Desert intrigue you? Do you love stories about bats, saguaros, or even hummingbird kidneys? Information for desert aficionados is available in a new section that has just been added to the UA news website, uanews.org.

"Arizona: Special Habitat" contains articles about UA scientists' research on bats, saguaros, birds, the geology of the Southwest, and other features unique to the Sonoran Desert and even to the entire state.

To learn more: http://uanews.org/sections/habitat/habitat.html

5 ANNUAL AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION RESEARCH REPORT NOW AVAILABLE

Every January the annual Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report highlights more than a dozen research projects from a variety of departments in the College, including some that are not focused strictly on agriculture. The goal is to describe in lay terms the ways the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is solving problems for the people of Arizona and beyond.

This year's topics range from genomics to economics, from commodities to sun protection, from safety issues to environmental concerns, and from rural to urban problems. Find out about research on cotton pest management, online shopping tendencies, ranch profitablity, remote sensing for natural resource managers, greenhouse cultivation, and more.

Colin Kaltenbach, Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station

To learn more: http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2003/

6 4-H PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT ARIZONA

4-H is the largest youth-serving organization in the world. From 4-H clubs to special interest groups to school enrichment projects, 4-H is the youth education component of Cooperative Extension, which is conducted jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state land grant university (The University of Arizona), and local county government.

While 4-H has its beginnings in rural America, 4-H now serves young people and volunteers from major urban centers and from suburban communities and rural non-farm settings as well. There are active 4-H program in all 15 Arizona counties and in the Native American communities. 4-H encourages participation by the entire family. Youth enroll as 4-H members, and other family members help out as club leaders, project leaders, meeting helpers and transportation aides.

The 4 H's stand for Head, Hands, Heart, and Health.

Lisa Lauxman, 4-H Youth Development

To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/4-h/

7 THE DESERT LEGUME PROGRAM (DELEP)

The beans and peas on your plates are legumes, part of a worldwide plant family that contains about 18,000 species. Legume species serve as food, shade, timber, firewood, windbreaks, ornamental landscaping, and as sources of medicinal compounds and industrial products. Many species fit into sustainable agriculture systems because of the symbiotic relationship they have with bacteria that grow on their roots and convert nitrogen from the air into a form that is usable by plants.

The legumes of the deserts of the world have never been systematically collected and studied, and some species are in danger of becoming extinct. The Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum jointly sponsors the Desert Legume Project (DELEP) with the UA to collect and presert as many desert legumes as possible. They want to increase the number of seeds per species to 10,000 to study and share, preserve endangered species, and investigate potential uses of legumes.

You can subscribe to DELEP's free monthly bulletin Aridus, work on field, laboratory and office projects, and support the efforts of the organization in general.

William Feldman, Desert Legume Project

To learn more: http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu/delep.html

8 IMPROVING MEAT QUALITY WITH CLA

Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, is a naturally occurring polyunsaturated fatty acid found almost exclusively in the milk and meat fat of ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats. CLA offers benefits for both animal and human health.

Studies in experimental models have shown that CLA protects animals against cancer, diabetes and heart disease, decreases the animal's body fat, stimulates the immune system and bone development, alleviates wasting disease and eases symptoms of lupus.

In a series of studies in the Department of Animal Sciences, researchers are feeding CLA to cattle and analyzing each animal's resulting muscle and fat composition. They believe the animals fed CLA will increase muscle synthesis and decrease fat synthesis, which can improve meat and milk quality, carcass value, feed efficiency, and the health and well-being of the animal.

Lance Baumgard, Animal Sciences

To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2003/article3_2003.html

9 TRACK VEGETATION CHANGES AND MORE WITH RANGEVIEW

It begins with the land: how to live on it, preserve it, and understand it. Ranchers and other natural resource managers work closely with the land every day, observing changes in the landscape and deciding how to handle them, from grazing cattle to monitoring wildlife or assessing fire danger.

Along with this site-specific approach, natural resource managers can also get a bird's-eye view of broader terrain by using RangeView, a University of Arizona satellite image database that shows degrees of vegetation greenness.

Developed by researchers in the Office of Arid Lands Studies' Arizona Remote Sensing Center, RangeView provides applications for viewing, animating and analyzing satellite imagery in order to monitor vegetation dynamics through time and across landscapes. Suitable for natural resource managers, land owners, educators and researchers, the site offers a step-by-step tutorial for getting started. See http://rangeview.arizona.edu.

Chuck Hutchinson, Arizona Remote Sensing Center

To learn more: http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2003/article10_2003.html

10 HORSE NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT WORKSHOPS

Nutritional Management: An Educational Series for Horse Owners is a series of three weekly, 2-1/2-hour sessions. A Tucson program is scheduled for January 26, February 2 and 9, 2004 at the Campus Agricultural Center on Campbell Avenue. A second program is scheduled in Prescott at the Yavapi County Extension Office on March 15, 22 and 29, 2004.

To provide horse owners with a more in-depth study of equine nutritional management, the workshop material focuses on applied aspects of feeding horses.

The sessions will include a basic explanation of the equine digestive tract and how unique features of the tract dictate feeding practices; evaluating different grains and forages to assess their potential as a feed component; how to read and use feed content tags; hay sampling techniques; and how to balance rations of current feeding programs using the results from forage analysis.

Mark Arns, Animal Sciences

To learn more: http://animal.cals.arizona.edu/equine/workshops/index.php

11 PECAN CONFERENCE

Learn about pecan culture, insecticides, orchard management, irrigation and production and processing equipment at the 38th Annual Western Pecan Grower's Conference, March 7-9, 2004, at the Hilton Inn in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Pecan samples can be sent by February 6, 2004 to be included in judging. Mail pecan entries to Esteban Herrera at Box 3AE, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM, 88003.

Contact: Esteban Herrera, 505-646-2921

To learn more: http://www.tpga.org/cgi-bin/public.cgi?action=events

12 4-H FOOD SAFETY WORKSHOP

A 4-H Food Safety & Quality Assurance Certification workshop will be held February 20, 2004 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Campus Agricultural Center Meat Lab in Tucson.

This is a required workshop for youth enrolled in livestock projects (Beef, Sheep, Swine, Dairy Cattle, Meat Goats and Dairy Goats) who wish to participate in the 2004 Pima County Fair and 2004 State Fair in livestock. The cost is $10 and pre-registration is required.

Bob Peterson,4-H Youth Development

To learn more: http://main.dlv.cals.arizona.edu/fourh-calendar/calendar.epl

13 UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Arizona Forage Producers Association 2nd Annual Meeting, January 28, 8:00 a.m to 2:30 p.m., Maricopa Agricultural Center, Maricopa AZ. Open to members and to anyone interested in attending. Tentative agenda includes continental breakfast and lunch, industry/equipment displays; overview of the Arizona Forage Producers Website; discussions on hay quality certification, hay fire causes and prevention; identification and control of noxious weeds and more. Contact the AFPA office at the Arizona Crop Improvement Association, (520) 318-7171.

19th Annual Southwest Nutrition & Management Conference, February 26-27, Tempe Mission Palms Hotel & Conference Center, Phoenix. Sponsored by the Department of Animal Sciences, the conference focuses on dairy production issues. For more information contact Albert Medina at (520) 621-3375; email: swnmc@ag.arizona.edu

"No Borders, No Boundaries: Evolving Markets" the annual Global Retailing Conference, April 1-2, Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa, Tucson. Sponsored by the Southwest Retail Center for Education and Research, part of the Division of Retailing and Consumer Sciences. Register at cals.arizona.edu/fcs/srcer. Early-bird discount applies before February 21.

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