The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service

  
Vol. 12, No. 8  January 3, 2006

IN THIS ISSUE...

...Word from the Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research
...Contact with Legislators/Legislative Committees
...Password Change Time Again!
...National PBS/Frontline Special - "Country Boys" Focuses on Rural Youth
...Thank You from Carol Fink
...Controlling Residential Energy Bills
...Kansas Watershed Planning Conference
...Direct Sales, From the Farm to the Customer...What You Need to Know and More..
...No-Till on the Plains
...Master Schedule

...Tuesday Letter Archives

WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Happy New Year 2006! With the New Year comes lots of talk of New Year's Resolutions. You know the common ones, like lose weight, exercise more, spend more time with family and friends, quit smoking, pay off the credit cards, etc. You also know that most of the time these resolutions go unmet. You ever thought about why? It goes with the saying, "if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." Sounds a little like something we talk about in Extension.

To be successful with any goal, one needs to have an ACTION PLAN in place. Just saying you are going to pay off the credit cards isn't going to magically make those monthly statements get smaller and smaller. Instead, an action plan needs to be created. An action plan gets specific enough to create the desired change towards your goal. An action plan might be as simple as to say, I am not going to use credit cards for purchasing groceries or gas, or I will not purchase anything over $100 with a credit card. If you follow through on those one or two actions, you will be successful in reducing your credit card debt.

So, what might be a New Year's Resolution I would vote for in K-State Research and Extension? In the spirit of integrity, be it resolved that I will not spread rumors in the workplace. The action plan is fairly simple. As a research-based information organization, I will take to heart the need to go to the most appropriate source to verify the rumor. Then, upon knowing it to be fact, it is no longer a rumor!! I will hope several will take this to heart and seek out the facts and understanding first rather than throwing out allegations or uniformed information and rumors. Such action will be your contribution to a kinder, more positive, and more research-based organization. And, you will help K-State Research and Extension to better achieve its number one organizational core value!

I'd also suggest you can help me and all your co-workers. When you hear or read something that appears to be a rumor floating through K-State Research and Extension, contact the source of that rumor and ask what evidence he or she has to make such statements. When the facts are there, its not a rumor!

Hope your Holidays exceeded all your expectations for time spent with family, friends, and to rejuvenate yourself. --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu

CONTACT WITH LEGISLATORS/LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES
If you are contacted and asked to provide information to legislators, are asked to provide testimony to Legislative Committees, or want to make a request to the Legislature for funds, programs, changes in legislation or new legislation affecting your program, the Board of Regents and/or the Regents institutions, please call or e-mail my assistant, Steven Graham, first, before doing anything else.

Also, if you want to invite a legislator(s) to attend a special meeting, please let Steven know first. By special, I do not mean something you do every year, i.e. annual Extension Council meeting, long-running local legislative event, etc. I mean something high profile that will have the legislator commenting to Sue Peterson that he/she was pleased to be invited. Sue should know you want to invite the legislator ahead of time and not find out afterward from the legislator.

As employees of the College of Agriculture/K-State Research and Extension, we operate under the auspices of the Kansas Board of Regents. We are subject, therefore, to "The Policy and Procedures Manual" of the Kansas Board of Regents. The entire section 5 of the manual is entitled: "Interaction With The Legislature And Other State Agencies."

I will not go into all the details because the overall message is very simple. We are to cooperate with such requests and can interact with legislators but ALSO are required to notify the President/CEO of the Board of Regents about an invitation to produce information, appear before a committee, provide input to a law, etc.

The way we do this within the College of Agriculture/K-State Research and Extension, is to e-mail or call Steven Graham. He will inform Sue Peterson, Assistant to the President and Director of Governmental Relations for Kansas State University. Sue then notifies the Board of Regents.

I encourage you to use this chain of command for two reasons:
1) We are required to under the Regent's Policies and Procedures.
2) Sue Peterson has her fingers on the pulse of Kansas politics and can enhance our activity and thought process with more information.

Sometimes, she will be aware of other activities that we can either join or avoid entirely. This helps us circumvent potential problems and succeed in our mission.

I encourage you to attend or host local legislative coffees or "eggs and issues" breakfasts. I also encourage you to know your local legislators and be a dependable source of research-based information for them.

However, if a legislator asks you for very specific information you may not be totally familiar with, think about contacting Steven and determining the proper strategy for responding. Also, if a legislator asks you to testify orally or provide written testimony and submit it on some subject, check with Steven before committing to do that. We always like to assist legislators, but we also want to protect you from being drawn into something that is better avoided.

I appreciate your cooperation. Steven Graham can be reached by e-mailing sgraham@oznet.ksu.edu  or by calling 785-532-6147. Thanks for your cooperation. --Fred Cholick fcholick@oznet.ksu.edu

PASSWORD CHANGE TIME AGAIN!
Starting January 1, and extending until February 8, all University eID passwords need to be changed. Changing your eID password will also change your OzNet password. If your password is not changed before February 9, your University eID and OzNet accounts will be deactivated. Only password changes made starting January 1 and ending February 8 will be valid.

If you forget to change your eID password the following will happen:
* You won't receive your OzNet or your KSU e-mail
* You can't log onto any of the OzNet servers if you are on campus or at most WAN sites
* You can't log in to the Intranet, the Support Downloads page, the State Fair Site, EzWeb2, WALK Kansas, FNPRS, and many other sites
* You can't author web pages on the Research and Extension web server
* You can't connect to the University's dial-up service

To change your eID password, log in to your eID profile at http://eid.k-state.edu . For more detailed instructions on changing your password, go to http://accounts.oznet.ksu.edu/password . --Kathryn Burton  kburton@ksu.edu

NATIONAL PBS/FRONTLINE SPECIAL - "COUNTRY BOYS" FOCUSES ON RURAL YOUTH
Rod Buchele, KAE4-HA president; and Elaine Johannes, Youth Development Extension Specialist; encourage Extension professionals with youth development responsibilities to tune into the national PBS/Frontline airing of "Country Boys," January 9-11, 2006, 8 - 10 p.m.

The documentary, which tells the story of two rural adolescent boys growing up in Eastern Kentucky, is co-sponsored by national 4-H, National League of Cities, the National Mentoring Partnership and America's Promise. The boys, whose lives are challenged by family dysfunction, economic stress, and failure in education systems, benefit from caring adults who mentor them into adulthood.

The film's goals are to encourage all youth development professionals such as KAE4-HA members to:
- support increased numbers of adult mentors for rural youth,
- support local discussions and awareness of the developmental needs of adolescent boys,
- support substance abuse prevention efforts for rural youth and families,
- promote initiatives that provide opportunities for educational access in rural areas (e.g., alternative schools).

"Country Boys" also provides an excellent professional development opportunity for 4-H leaders and other youth-serving staff.

For more information about "Country Boys," log onto http://www.itvs.org/outreach/countryboys or contact Rod Buchele, rbuchele@ksu.edu ; or Elaine Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu . --Elaine Johannes

THANK YOU FROM CAROL FINK
I would like to thank everyone for their cards, prayers, and expression of sympathy and support upon my father's death. --Carol Fink cfink@ksu.edu

CONTROLLING RESIDENTIAL ENERGY BILLS
January 18, 2006,  Bruce Snead will present "Controlling Residential Energy Bills." The meeting will be at the Rooks County 4-H Building, Stockton, Kansas, at 10:00 a.m. --Libby Curry lcurry@oznet.ksu.edu

KANSAS WATERSHED PLANNING CONFERENCE
Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Holiday Inn, Salina

K-State Research & Extension will join KDHE, the Kansas Water Office, State Conservation Commission, and other agencies in sponsoring the 2nd Annual Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) Conference.

WRAPS was unveiled in 2005 as the new framework for watershed planning and management in Kansas. WRAPS is a locally-driven process of engaging watershed residents to determine the condition of water and other natural resources; identify sources impacting these resources; establish restoration and protection goals; identify restoration and protection measures (BMPs and other actions); and to develop an action plan to implement selected measures.

The overall goals of a WRAPS are to restore and protect the health of water and other natural resources in a watershed; better coordinate local, state, and federal restoration and protection efforts; and to more efficiently target technical and financial assistance programs within watersheds. Several Extension agents around the state are currently involved in WRAPS projects.

The WRAPS Conference will be a good opportunity to learn more about restoring and protecting natural resources in your watershed! Session topics will include understanding water quality in your watershed; the role of municipalities in WRAPS; managing sedimentation in reservoirs; watershed outreach strategies; service learning opportunities for students; watershed assessment tools; managing development in urbanizing watersheds; and a "lessons learned" roundtable discussion. The conference will also feature a forum for participants to provide feedback on the WRAPS process and a special session about the next round of WRAPS project funding.

The deadline to register for this conference is January 13. The conference brochure is available online at www.kwo.org/Calendar/Flyer_2006_Watershed_Restoration_Protection_Conference.pdf . The registration fee is $25. To register, contact Lisa Duncan at KDHE, 785-296-4195 or lduncan@kdhe.state.ks.us

A block of rooms is available at the Holiday Inn in Salina for $59 plus tax. To reserve a room, contact the hotel directly at 785-823-1739. Be sure to mention that you're with the "KDHE conference" to get this rate. The deadline for hotel reservations is January 12.

Certificates for professional development credits are available free of charge. Request a certificate when you register for the conference and it will be available for pick-up at the conference. If you register at the door, certificates will be mailed after the conference. --Robert Wilson rwilson@mail.agecon.ksu.edu

DIRECT SALES, FROM THE FARM TO THE CUSTOMER...WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND MORE..
Five locations across Kansas:

January 24 - Dodge City
January 25 - Great Bend
January 31 - Salina
February 1 - Topeka
February 8 - El Dorado

Agenda and registration materials may be found on the KCSAAC calendar of events,  http://www.kansassustainableag.org/calendar.html .

Contact is Ruth Smerchek, Department of Commerce - rsmerchek@kansascommerce.com , 785-296-3034, or Jana Beckman beckman@ksu.edu , 785-532-1440. --Jana Beckman

NO-TILL ON THE PLAINS
No-Till on the Plains is a regional organization that reaches over 3,000 farmers yearly. The farmer-run group promotes practical and scientific application of no-till farming. On behalf of our organization, we respectfully request your presence at the No-Till on the Plains Winter Conference, January 30-31, 2006, to be held at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kansas.

Over 1,300 participate in this yearly premiere no-till conference of North America. This year’s theme, Myths versus Reality, will shed light on several of the myths associated with no-till as well as the many real benefits of changing to a no-till system which include increased profits, time savings, and a healthy environment. Outstanding speakers from around the world will enlighten and motivate producers about the benefits of utilizing no-till. You will also be given the opportunity to continue your education by being exposed to the latest speakers and innovations in no-till. Over 50 transition sessions will be available to choose from that will provide ways to increase profitability, ways to cut production costs, ways to gain better agronomic understanding of soils and their reactions to fertility as well as new crops that will help spread workload, reduce risks and potentially improve the bottom line.

http://www.notill.org/ contains all the latest information on the conference. Please contact us if you have any questions on the conference. --Jana Lindley 888-330-5142

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