IN THIS NEWSLINE ISSUED JANUARY 31, 2006:

1. MEMORIAL FOR ARIZONA WATER RESEARCH PIONEER SOL RESNICK
2. NEW DIRECTOR OF ARIZONA WATER INSTITUTE
3. VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR TOMATO CONSUMPTION STUDY
4. WATER WISE WORKSHOPS ON DRIP IRRIGATION
5. EFFECTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY ON ARIZONA SKIING
6. LEARN ABOUT GROWING VEGETABLES FROM SEED
7. NEW PUBLICATION ON ORGANIC CERTIFICATION AND LABELING
8. INNOVATIONS IN ARSENIC MANAGEMENT FOR WATER PROVIDERS
9. BUGMAN CARL OLSON
10. LIVESTOCK QUALITY ASSURANCE TRAINING FOR YOUTH
11. PROMOTING HEALTHY TEEN RELATIONSHIPS
12. VARIABLE RATE TECHNOLOGY USED IN YUMA AGRICULTURAL FIELDS
13. HIGH PLAINS DAIRY CONFERENCE

1 MEMORIAL FOR ARIZONA WATER RESEARCH PIONEER SOL RESNICK

Sol Resnick was a professor emeritus in hydrology and director emeritus of the Water Resources Research Center at The University of Arizona. His work as a professor and on water and irrigation projects around the world distinguished him as an authority in arid and semi-arid hydrology. He taught at universities in the US, Israel, Brazil, and Thailand and worked for the US Agency for International Development and the World Bank.

In 1998 he was recognized for his pioneering efforts with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arizona Hydrological Society. Dr. Resnick, who passed away on December 11th at the age of 87, began teaching at the University of Arizona in 1957 and retired in 1984.

The life, accomplishments and spirit of Sol Resnick will be commemmorated at a memorial celebration on March 4, 2006 at 2:00 pm in the Estes Atrium in McClelland Hall on the UA campus in Tucson. McClelland Hall is located at 1130 Helen Street. Parking will be available in the Park Avenue Garage near the northeast corner of Speedway Boulevard and Park Avenue.

There will be an opportunity for friends and colleagues to share brief memories of Sol. A reception will follow. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by email to alumni@ag.arizona.edu or call 520-621-7190.

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/newsline/ResnickMemorial.pdf

2 NEW DIRECTOR OF ARIZONA WATER INSTITUTE

Arizona governor Janet Napolitano recently announced the selection of Kathy Jacobs, deptuty director of SAHRA, as executive director of the Arizona Water Institute. Jacobs has more than two decades of experience as a water researcher and manager.

The Arizona Water Institute is a new consortium of the state's three universities focused on issues related to sustaining water resources into the future. In collaboration with state agencies and Arizona communities, the institute also is expected to provide public education and analytical support for policy makers, as well as new technology development.

Jacobs will maintain her position with SAHRA and her affiliation with the CALS Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science and Cooperative Extension.

To learn more:
http://uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/2/wa/MainStoryDetails?ArticleID=12103

3 VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR TOMATO CONSUMPTION STUDY

Researchers at the University of Arizona are looking at the biological value of high lycopene tomatoes in the human diet. Two CALS researchers, Chieri Kubota, Department of Plant Sciences and Cynthia Thomson, Department of Nutrition Sciences are studying the effects of a lycopene-rich diet under a grant funded by BIO5, The UA's collaborative research institute.

The goal of one portion of the study is to determine the effects of eating standard versus high-lycopene content tomatoes on blood lycopene levels and on oxidative stress reduction among healthy adults.

Volunteers in the study are being asked to complete two food consumption surveys, follow a lycopene-free study diet, provide four fasting blood samples, provide four 24 hr self-collected urine samples, and consume 2 fresh tomatoes per day for two 21 day periods. Men and postmenopausal women between 45 & 65 years old are eligible, and must be
1) willing to adhere to the prescribed lycopene free diet,
2) willing to eat 2 tomatoes per day, and
3) available for clinic visits, telephone contact and able to complete study questionnaires. Qualified participants will be compensated upon completion of the study.

If you are interested & would like more information, please call Julie West 321-7748.

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2005/article11_2005.pdf

4 WATER WISE WORKSHOPS ON DRIP IRRIGATION

Two workshops on drip irrigation will be offered in Cochise County during February:

1) "Drip Irrigation 101", a Water Wise Workshop, will be presented February 4 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at Cochise College, Room 314, at 901 N. Columbo in Sierra Vista. Cyndi Wilkins and Cado Daily, UA Extension Water Wise Specialists, will help demystify the parts and pieces of a drip irrigation system.

2) "Hands-On Drip for the Mechanically Challenged" will be presented on February 18 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. at the UA South (UAS)Plant Sciences Center at 1140 N. Columbo in Sierra Vista. Penny Artio, UAS grounds supervisor, will guide those who are "all thumbs" when it comes to irrigation systems in this hands-on workshop. Participants will put together a simple drip irrigation system.

Cado Daily, Cochise County Cooperative Extension

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/cochise/waterwise/index.html

5 EFFECTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY ON ARIZONA SKIING

Skiing requires snow; snowfall depends upon atmospheric conditions. What effect will climate variability and change have on Arizona's ski industry? Two University of Arizona researchers, PhD candidate Rosalind Bark-Hodgins and CALS professor Bonnie Colby, are examining this question.

Information from climate change models show the ski industry to be very vulnerable. According to such models, snowpack will decline, snow seasons become more variable and winter temperatures warmer.

Arizona ski areas already experience high variability in snowfall and season length. Climate change might account for some of the increased variability, but annual and decadal scale climate oscillations explain much of it, according to the researchers. They tested their premise by modeling Arizona's two major ski areas (Sunrise and Snowbowl) season data as a function of a key oscillation - El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and also the Pacific Decadal Oscillation modulated ENSO (ENSO-PDO).

Bonnie Colby, Agricultural and Resource Economics

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/cgi-azwater/print.pl?file=awr/janfeb06/image.html

6 LEARN ABOUT GROWING VEGETABLES FROM SEED

Growing vegetables from seed is a challenge no gardener can resist. Learn the best techniques at one of three demonstrations offered by Pima County Master Gardeners in Tucson during February.

The first will be held on Wednesday, February 1 beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Extension Garden Center at 4210 N. Campbell Ave. The demonstration will be repeated the same day at 1:00 at Tucson's Wilmot Library branch,530 N Wilmot Rd. The same demonstration will also be held on Friday, February 3 at 1:00 p.m. at the Oro Valley Library, 1305 W. Naranja Dr., Tucson. Each session lasts one hour.

The last part of the meeting uses samples of plants brought in for identification, diagnosis and treatment. For more topics in this series of garden talks by Pima County Master Gardeners, including growing tomatoes and citrus, fertilizing spring gardens, and others, see the url below.

Francine Correll, Pima County Cooperative Extension

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/talks.html

7 NEW PUBLICATION ON ORGANIC CERTIFICATION AND LABELING

As more products labeled "organic" make their way into retail outlets, questions have arisen regarding the proper use of the "organic" designation. A new book from the Western Extension Marketing Committee examines many of these issues.

Certification and Labeling Considerations for Agricultural Producers, a 56-page booklet, overs such topics as branding versus certification; changing consumer demand for food producers; social responsibility labels; the food attributes consumers value; food products and family health; the national organic program; animal treatment during production; the effects of production practices on the environment; and certification issues.

The mission of the Western Extension Marketing Committee, which consists of extension economists from 13 Western states, is to improve the quality of marketing education programs throughout the Western region.

The publication is available for downloading and printing in PDF format at http://cals.arizona.edu/arec/wemc/certification.html. Printed copies are available for purchase through CALSmart (cals.arizona.edu/calsmart). Phone 877-763-5315 for special pricing.

To learn more:
http://ag.arizona.edu/arec/wemc/wemc.html

8 INNOVATIONS IN ARSENIC MANAGEMENT FOR WATER PROVIDERS

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set new Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) for inorganic arsenic in drinking water, effective January 24. Drinking water that meets the current standard is associated with little or no risk and should be considered safe with respect to arsenic. In most cases, the human body can tolerate infrequent ingestion of small amounts of inorganic arsenic (below the MCL).

Arsenic is the twentieth most abundant element in the earth's crust and frequently occurs in rock formations of the Southwestern United States (including Arizona). If aquifers are in contact with rocks and minerals containing arsenic, then water pumped from these sources may contain detectable amounts of arsenic. Arsenic remains in the environment over long periods and when it occurs in high concentrations, can be toxic to many life forms. (For more information on arsenic see http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1112.pdf)

The UA Water Sustainability Program, in collaboration with the Arizona Water Institute, is offering a one-day arsenic workshop to inform participants about response options for the new arsenic MCL on Friday, February 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The workshop will be held at the Controlled Environment Agricultural Center (CEAC) Conference Room, 1951 East Roger Road in Tucson.

Leading Arizona experts on arsenic occurrence,regulatory activities,health effects,treatments for arsenic removal, and management of arsenic-bearing residuals will present the talks for everyone concerned about arsenic regulation as it affects Arizona water supplies.

See the link before for registration information and a full agenda.

Jackie Moxley, Water Resources Research Center

To learn more:
http://uawater.arizona.edu/programs/workshop1.html

9 BUGMAN CARL OLSON

Carl Olson maintains a collection of more than 750,000 insects in the CALS Department of Entomology. He was recently featured in the Arizona Daily Star:

"Roaches crawling up restaurant walls or over the menus don't faze him a bit. Just don't let him catch you with a can of Raid in your hand."

"'People have no tolerance. They think all bugs are bad,' says Carl Olson...As associate curator of the University of Arizona's Insect Research Collection, Olson is passionate about bugs -- beetles to aphids, ants to tarantulas."

To read more, go to the link below.

Carl Olson, Entomology

To learn more:
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/columnists/113192.php

10 LIVESTOCK QUALITY ASSURANCE TRAINING FOR YOUTH

All Arizona youth livestock exhibitors--youth and adults--are required to attend a Quality Assurance & Food Safety certification workshop prior to participating in their county fair and/or state fair. These workshops will feature the "Eight Good Production Practices."

Pima County: A workshop required for all youth livestock (beef, sheep swine, meat goats, dairy goats and dairy cattle) exhibitors to participate in the Pima County Fair will be held February 11 from 8:00 a.m. until noon. It will take place at the Pima County Cooperative Extension Office, 4210 N. Campbell Ave. in Tucson. Contact Bob Peterson, Pima County Cooperative Extension, for more information at 520-626-5161, peterson@cals.arizona.edu.

Pinal County: A Livestock Quality Assurance Training will be held for Pinal County 4-H members on February 25 from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Pre-registration is required. The workshop will be held at Central Arizona College, Room 0113, in Coolidge. Contact Maria Melendez, Pinal County Cooperative Extension, for more information at 520-836-5221, extension 201, mmelende@cals.arizona.edu.

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/quality/workshops.html

11 PROMOTING HEALTHY TEEN RELATIONSHIPS

Promoting Healthy Relationships is a research and outreach project designed to help youth understand how they should be treated in a dating relationship. The model that seems to reach young people best incorporates youth development strategies into educational programs that targe specific risk behaviors, including dating violence.

Increased awareness of domestic violence as a result of public education efforts has led to funding for the project by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Research, prevention and intervention projects that address intimate partner violence and its associated issues are aimed young people from throughout Arizona. The state is one of only three projects funded to focus on adolescent well-being, with the goal of teaching them strategies to avoid potentially violent situations.

Donna Peterson, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt2005/article12_2005

12 VARIABLE RATE TECHNOLOGY USED IN YUMA AGRICULTURAL FIELDS

Variable Rate Technology (VRT) -- the melding of satellite guidance systems (GPS/GIS) for tractors, sprayers and harvesters and computers to create the new era of precision agriculture -- is catching on fast in Arizona and California.

VRT has been used to apply varying rates of fertilizer, planting seed, plantgrowth regulators and soil amendments depending on plant and soil conditionswith consider financial success.

To read more about this technology and its application in Yuma, go to the Western Farm Press link below.

Kurt Nolte, Yuma County Cooperative Extension

To learn more:
http://westernfarmpress.com/news/12-30-05-variable-rate-technology-lettuce/

13 HIGH PLAINS DAIRY CONFERENCE

Issues affecting dairies throughout the West will be presented at the 2006 Inaugural High Plains Dairy Conference, March 15-17 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Topics include how to manage dry lots in inclement weather; using heat stress audits; managment strategies to improve fertility in lactating dairy cows; cow behavior and implications for housing and management; water quantity and quality issues; and various industry presentations.

Matt Van Baale, Department of Animal Sciences

To learn more:
http://www.highplainsdairy.org

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