Arid Lands Animal Production (ALAP) Initiative
Growing local food systems and bioeconomies.
Providing impactful multidisciplinary research, teaching and outreach programs that enhance the productivity and sustainability of food animal production in Arizona and arid lands worldwide.
Enhancing the productivity and sustainability of animal production in Arizona and beyond.
Global meat consumption will continue to increase for the foreseeable future, especially in lower-income and middle-income countries as standard of living improves, creating heightened needs for more productive and sustainable food animal production.
Arid and semi-arid lands constitute about 40% of Earth’s land. Of Arizona’s 73 million acres, 35 million acres are used for food production, but less than 1 million acres are suitable for crop production. The vast majority (98%) of agricultural land in Arizona is range and pasture land for ruminant animals.
Most of the biomass on arid lands is composed of plants, which are composed of cellulose. Humans do not have the enzymes to digest cellulose, in other words, we would starve to death eating only grass. Ruminant animals, like cattle, bison, sheep, goats, and deer, can digest cellulose through a symbiotic relationship with the trillions of bacteria in their rumen. Meat, milk, and other products from ruminants provide sustainable human food from arid lands unsuitable for other food production.
The initiative harnesses two modern, interconnected facilities to provide multidisciplinary research, teaching and outreach programs that enhance the productivity and sustainability of food animal production in Arizona and arid lands worldwide.
Food Product & Safety Laboratory
The Food Product and Safety Laboratory is a USDA-inspected meat processing facility in Tucson, which will be completely renovated and expanded in early 2025. Capabilities include animal harvest, meat cut fabrication, value-added meat processing, smoking and cooking, and alternative packaging systems. Facilities include a modern lecture hall, analytic and microbiological laboratories, research kitchen and sensory testing, demonstration kitchen, and a retail store.
The Bovisphere
The Bovisphere is an enclosed cattle-feeding facility currently under construction at the Campus Agricultural Center in Tucson. The Bovisphere will have the capability to measure inputs like feed and water intake, as well as outputs like emissions on an individual animal basis. Manure will be captured and utilized in a bio-circular system.