I regret to report that my first eye surgery for the detached retina was not fully successful and I had to have a second operation last Wednesday. Unfortunately, that means another few weeks of restricted recovery at home. However, I do have my phone and Blackberry and will continue to work over half time. I appreciate the kind thoughts and words that have already come my way.
Congratulations to Pedro Andrade-Sanchez for receiving a "Superior" Paper Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) for his paper titled "Development and Field Evaluation of a Field-Ready Soil Compaction Profile Sensor for Real-Time Applications." Pedro, along with his co-authors, will receive special recognition at ASABE's Annual International Meeting later this year in Reno, Nevada.
Kirk A. Astroth, Assistant Director, 4-H, was recently elected by his peers at their recent annual meeting in Portland, Oregon, to become the incoming chair-elect for the National 4-H Program Leaders. In this role, Astroth will participate in national dialogues about the direction and priorities for the 4-H system and provide a voice for state 4-H programs at the national level. This is a total 3-year commitment.
The University will have a link to Outreach and Extension when their new Web site is released this summer. Everyone in Extension has the opportunity to put their program and event information into this new site so it is visible to the public. You also have the opportunity to become more involved with other units within the University that do outreach by joining the UA Collaborative for Community Engagement and Outreach (uacollaborative.ning.com). Join Sheila Merrigan, Dan McDonald and Lisa Schwartz in an overview and training session on both the Collaborative and inputting data into the new Web portal. Indicate your interest in joining a session by going to Doodle at doodle.com/vzyy9shuv529fuq4.
Dr. S Peder Cuneo, Extension Veterinarian, Veterinary Science, offers the following information and guidelines regarding the recent influenza outbreak:
There has been tremendous media attention directed towards the outbreak of influenza in North America. Human cases have been reported in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Several agencies have identified this as "swine flu". In fact there have not been any cases of this flu found in any animals. This was stated by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on April 27: "There is no evidence that the virus is transmitted by food…The virus has not been isolated in animals to date. Therefore, it is not justified to name the disease swine influenza. It would be logical to call this disease ‘North American Influenza’". To this point this disease has only be shown to be transmittable from humans to humans.
In published CDC reports the 2 index cases reported in the U.S. had no contact with swine before developing the disease. The CDC states: "You cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating a properly handled and cooked pork product is safe." There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu.
As personal hand hygiene is very important in prevention, the CDC has these guidelines for hand washing: 1) washing your hands often will help protect you from germs, and 2) wash with soap and warm water for 15-20 seconds or clean with alcohol-based hand cleaner, disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers.
Although this influenza strain has not been found in animals, any pigs that are showing signs of illness, off feed, difficulty in breathing, or elevated body temperature should be examined by a veterinarian. Any animal showing such clinical signs should not be allowed to attend any livestock shows and should be isolated from other animals.
For more information, check out the following sites:
Citrus Care Workshop, Thursday, April 30, 1:00-3:00pm, Mohave Community College, 3400 S. Hwy 95, Bullhead City. The workshop will cover planting, care, fertilizing, maintenance, pruning and citrus greening. Special guest speaker will be Glen Wright, Associate Research Scientist, Yuma Ag Center, Mesa Station. Sponsored by The University of Arizona Mohave County Cooperative Extension and Bullhead City Area Master Gardeners.
Palm Tree Care & Maintenance Workshop, Thursday, May 7, 10:00am-1:30pm, Laughlin Library, 2840 Needles Hwy, Laughlin, NV. The workshop will cover planting, care, maintenance, fertilizing and pruning. Special guest speaker is M.L. Robinson, Area Extension Specialist & Horticulturist, Clark County Cooperative Extension. The registration fee is $10.00, payable in advance with registration form. For more information, contact The University of Arizona Mohave County Cooperative Extension, 101 E. Beale St, Suite A, Kingman or call 928.753.3788. Sponsored by The University of Arizona Mohave County Cooperative Extension and Bullhead City Area Master Gardeners.
The 13th Annual AZ Women in Agriculture Conference will be held July 9-10 at the Radisson Woodlands Hotel (1175 W Route 66), Flagstaff. The theme is "Pulling Together." Two of the mini sessions will be conducted by Extension faculty: Linda Houtkooper (Associate Director, Programs, who will conduct "Healthy Living – Nutrition & Activity Tips") and Monica Pastor (Maricopa County Director, who will conduct "Pulling Together for Ag Literacy"). Registration is $50. Go to azfb.org/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&rowid=237 for more information and to download a registration form or call 480.635.3609.
James A. Christenson, Ph.D.
(jimc@cals.arizona.edu)
Associate Dean and Director
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Forbes, Room 301
Tucson, Arizona 85721
520/621-7205
520/621-1314 FAX
TMN submittal: http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/tuesday/submittal_form.html