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Vol. 14, No. 24
April 29, 2008 IN THIS ISSUE... ...Word from the
Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research WORD FROM THE
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH State Extension Advisory Board members: Jason King, Grant County; Judy Parsons, Stevens County; JoAnn Murray, Atchison County; Andrew Sramek, Rawlins County; and, Don Montgomery, Osage County. Extension faculty: Shawna Mitchell, McPherson County, for KEA4-HA ; Nadine Sigle, Post Rock District, for KEAFCS; Michael Vogt, Marshall County, for KACAA; Chuck Otte, Geary County, as NACAA Past President; and Margaret Phillips, Associate Director's office, for Epsilon Sigma Phi. Jim Lindquist, Assistant Director - Field Operations, and I will be co-hosting the delegation. The conference is a great opportunity to connect with co-horts from all across the country who have interest and passion in Extension. On Wednesday the delegation will be making visits to each Congressional office carrying a message of how Extension is making an impact in Kansas. --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu P.S. Think good thoughts..... "To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline - training - is about." ~James Clavell, in his novel "Shogun."
A FEW WORKERS
STILL NEEDED FOR KSRE BOOTH AT THE 3i SHOW IN GREAT
BEND The show is open each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our booth (I-115) is in the Expo-2 Building, along the north wall in the same spot where we have been before. We could still use a few people on Thursday, May 8th, from: 11:00 a.m. - 12 Noon Steven Graham will bring the display and handout materials from campus, plus be present during all three days of the show. If you would like to attend the 3i Show and also assist in the booth for an hour or more, that would be great. There is no entrance or parking fee. The 3i Show is a huge farm machinery show which also has some daily programming aimed at spouses. These programs, called "Extreme Makeover" this year, are coordinated by Donna Krug and Berny Unruh with our Barton County Research and Extension Office. Please e-mail and let me know what time(s) you would like to work in the booth on Thursday, May 8th. Thanks for your assistance. --Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
3-i SHOW CONSUMER PROGRAMS OFFER
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Four programs are set for each day beginning at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. The theme for this year's consumer programs is "Extreme Makeover." From fashions, to home décor, food to financial planning, there is a program that will interest everyone. Extension Agents Lori Shoemaker, Amy Collins, and Kerri Ebert are each presenting programs this year. Go to the Barton County Web page for the complete list and description of 2008 consumer programs. We hope to see you in Great Bend! --Donna Krug dkrug@oznet.ksu.edu and Berny Unruh bunruh@oznet.ksu.edu
GRASS AND GAIN
FIELD DAY SLATED FOR MAY 15 AT MILLER, KANSAS If so, Thursday, May 15, would be a great day to plan on being near Miller in the northeast corner of Lyon County. Porter Cattle Company will be the site of the “Grass and Gain Field Day” where you will have the opportunity to view, listen and ask questions about ways to potentially get more gain from your grasslands. Pre-registration with the Lyon County Extension Office, 620-341-3220, is requested by May 12 to ensure a meal count. Co-hosted by K-State Research and Extension, Lyon County, and the Tallgrass Legacy Alliance, the Field Day will begin at the hay barn just southeast of Miller - just follow the signs! Registration and refreshments will begin at 3:30, with the speakers beginning shortly before 4:00 in the afternoon. After some brief introductions, Rich Porter, owner of Porter Cattle Company, will give an overview and history of the Porter Cattle Company, talking about the goals, management, stocking and habitat enhancement taking place throughout the operation. Paul Ingle, watershed hydrologist with the Melvern Lake Water Quality Project, will follow with a discussion about the watershed we will be in and some of the practices undertaken by the Porter operation to preserve and enhance water quality. Concurrent sessions will follow, rotating through three main areas around the hay barn. One session will focus on the cattle processing facility, including a demonstration of how some of the equipment works while reducing stress on the animals and workload on the cowboys. A second session will cover the receiving pens, grass traps and lagoon designs that help keep the facility environmentally friendly. The third session will take a look at the tame grass traps and have a discussion about how to best manage the tame grasses in the traps – for stand persistence, herd health and animal performance. After all groups have rotated through the three sessions, the entire group will reconvene at the hay barn for some additional brief question and answer, followed by the evening meal sponsored by the Westar Energy Green Team, Frontier Farm Credit, the Melvern Lake Water Quality Project, and Porter Cattle Company. “Maximizing Grass Gains while Maintaining Prairie Health” will be the topic of the keynote evening address, presented following the evening meal by Dr. K.C. Olson, Kansas State University Cow/Calf Nutritionist. With higher feed grain prices, it should be in every cattle producers’ best interest to get the most from their grazing lands while still keeping those lands in a long-term, highly productive condition. Don’t forget to pre-register with the Lyon County Extension Office, 620-341-3220, or brees@ksu.edu by May 12 to ensure a meal count. See you there! --Brian Rees ETHANOL CO-PRODUCT STORAGE AND UTILIZATION CONFERENCE The Ethanol Co-Product Storage and Utilization Conference will be held May 19-20, 2008, at the University of Nebraska - ARDC near Mead, NE. Registration is due May 9. There is no cost to register. The focus of the Conference will be hands on education on mixing and storage of wet distillers grains and surrounding issues. Educators should leave with a resources toolbox for use to provide training in their local areas. For more information regarding this conference, contact Sandy Johnson, sandyj@ksu.edu ; or John Hay by phone at 402-472-0408 or by e-mail at jhay2@unl.edu . --Lori Fabian lfabian@ksu.edu
ANNUAL KANSAS AGROFORESTRY FIELD DAY The annual Kansas Agroforestry Field Day is set for Thursday, May 29, 2008. Vaughn Juhnke, winner of the 2006 Kansas Agroforestry Award, will be hosting the event at his McPherson County farm. Agroforestry is the integration of trees, shrubs and other vegetation into production agriculture with the goal of optimizing production as much as possible while simultaneously conserving and improving natural resources and wildlife benefits. Windbreaks, riparian forest buffers and wildlife plantings are a few examples of Agroforestry practices, all which may be found on Juhnke’s 40 acre farm. The Agroforestry Field day will provide landowners and natural resource professionals the opportunity to observe a successful model of land management that optimizes wildlife habitat, recreation, conservation and aesthetics. A variety of concurrent sessions will be offered throughout the day that will provide information on how to establish and sustain trees, shrubs, native grass, food plots, and pond management. Registration costs $10, and will include lunch. A meeting brochure is available on the KFS Website at www.kansasforests.org . --Charles Barden cbarden@ksu.edu
MAB OFFERING
TRAVEL TO SOUTHEAST ASIA IN 2008 Possible programs include a Southeast Asia rainforest canopy walk with FRIM scientists, visits to multinational agribusinesses, a tour of the United Nations office in Bangkok, and stops at farms and food processing facilities, to name a few. The tour will include other cultural and historical sites. The cost of the trip is $3,900 and it includes airfare from the west coast, hotels, admission prices and the majority of our meals for 16 days. If you are interested in more information or would like to register, please contact Mary Bowen at mjbowen@ksu.edu or 785-532-4435. A full itinerary is available at www.mab.ksu.edu/Alumni/International_Trips.html . --Mary Bowen, Master of Agribusiness, KSU Program Associate
CENTER FOR ENGAGEMENT AND
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TO HOST RURAL GROCERY STORE SUMMIT JUNE 1,
2008 The summit will provide an opportunity for rural grocery owners and partners to gather and discuss the challenges and success of operating a rural grocery store. Results of a statewide grocer survey and five regional customer surveys will also be discussed. The summit will also help CECD to understand what types of information or resources are most important to rural grocery store owners. More information and a registration form can be found at www.ruralgrocery.org . Please contact Chandra Ruthstrom at 785-532-7260 if you have any questions. --Dan Kahl dkahl@oznet.ksu.edu
NATIONAL
EXTENSION AWARD OPPORTUNITIES Both nomination processes have a completion date of June 2, 2008. If you would like assistance in putting together your nomination, let me know, and we will work with you to create the strongest nomination package. --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
KAE4-HA AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED ASA: Melissa Thimesch, Butler County Communicator Awards: --Diane Mack, KAE4-HA President; and Robyn Deines, Recognition Committee Chair LOCAL UNIT CREDIT CARD POLICY REVISED The Local Extension Unit Credit Card Policy has been recently revised to allow for the purchase of airline tickets and to pay conference registration costs. The Extension Council/Governing Body can use their Council/Governing Body credit card to purchase airline tickets from airline ticket outlets. They can also pay conference registration costs directly to the conference registration site prior to the conference. Go to the Financial Resources page of the Employee Resources Website to view the revised policy: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/employee_resources/DesktopDefault.aspx . --Jim Lindquist jlindqui@ksu.edu
EXTENSION COUNCIL EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS
FOR REMODELING AND MAINTENANCE
EMPLOYER PROVIDED VEHICLES
MARIE'S PICK OF THE WEEK The topics for this flyer are developed after annually soliciting input from the leadership of the agents’ associations. This process is an effort to best represent local programming across the state in terms of the four Program Development Committees (PDCs). Some topics will have a targeted audience and/or location; others will be programs that are implemented statewide. When you prepare your own annual impacts, remember to forward such items to your association president and/or to me. To view the 2008 flyer, go to http://tinyurl.com/2363nh and select PILD under the Making an Impact header in the upper right corner. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
STATE 4-H
CURRICULUM ACTION TEAM FORMED Andrew Dempewolf, Teen, Decatur County Kendra Baehler, 4-H Youth Development, Reno County Brenda Taxeras, Volunteer, Leavenworth County Linda Biles, Volunteer, Shawnee County Clarissa Shields, Teen, Johnson County Beth Drescher, 4-H Youth Development, Sedgwick County Bill Wood, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Douglas County Cathy O'Rourke, Volunteer, Johnson County Diane Nielson, Family and Consumer Sciences/4-HYouth Development, Atchison County Lori Hambright, Volunteer, Dickinson County Barbara Havlicek, Volunteer, Riley county --Jim Adams jadams@ksu.edu
RETAINING NEW 4-H MEMBERS - RESOURCES NEEDED! Also, if you have held an activity or developed an approach to help transition new families into 4-H, can you share that information with the committee, as well? Even if you didn't have stellar results, it would be important to share the types of approaches that are being tested. Activity ideas can be directed to Eric Otte (group convener), JoEllen Arnold, or Susan Schlichting. We will gather the information and share it back out to the system. We have so many creative and exciting things happening across the state. It is important that we take time to share our successes and our attempts so that we can continue to build on ideas and work "to Make the Best Better" as we Grow 4-H in Kansas! --Susan Schlichting sschlich@oznet.ksu.edu
4-H VOLUNTEER IMPACT STUDY REQUEST FOR HELP The survey is planned as an online survey. Your help is requested in determining survey participants. Each office will be contacted to obtain e-mail addresses to send invitations to volunteers to participate in the survey. Thanks in advance for your help. This survey has received IRB approval. --Rod Buchele rbuchele@ksu.edu
BOARD RECRUITMENT MODULE The Board Recruitment Module includes: * Strategizing about the characteristics that are important to an effective board * Identifying individuals who have those characteristics * Determining who to invite to run for election to the council is another step * Communicating the importance of the council and of having nominees who are willing and available to participate in the business * Expecting at least 3 meetings a year to do the important work is essential * Getting commitment from individuals to have their name placed on the ballot and find out if they are also willing to serve the board or not * Attending the election meeting and annual meeting is also important Take a look at the module and plan ahead for a successful outcome in 2009. http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/boardleadership/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=999&tabid=566 --Margaret Phillips margaret@ksu.edu
THE NEW
REPORTING WEB PAGE IS READY FOR YOU TO USE!!! In case you haven't seen the e-mail, the contents are included here, too. One clarification that you need to be aware of is that in the contacts section of the reports, Hispanic/Latino is a separate category from the race categories because it is an ethnicity, not a race. So the contacts for race should add up to the same number as the contacts for gender, but Hispanic/Latino ethnicity will be an additional number because they could be of any race. The reporting task force and I are really looking forward to seeing the impacts that will come forward in this new system. The address is: www.reporting.ksre.ksu.edu . You will need to log in with your eid and password, which will be the same one you use for everything at KSRE and K-State. You will find instructions linked in the tool bar at the top of the page once you get into the system. These are instructions for agents. (Specialists can learn from these, too. The difference is that specialists do a different quarterly report than agents and we will be adding an instruction page for them soon.) The system should recognize you as either an agent or a specialist. If when you click on "insert a new quarterly report" the page you see doesn't look like the instruction page, you are in the database as a specialist. Please send a message in the feedback link at the top of the page to get that changed. You don't need to go back and put in reports for previous quarters unless you want to for local use. Please use the feedback link in the top toolbar to give us suggestions or let us know if you are having trouble using the system. We will be making improvements for awhile, I am sure, so let us know what you think. We will be adding some templates for you
to use, if you like, to share your impacts with stakeholders. These are
still under development. I am also happy to receive calls directly from you when you want to compliment us on a job well done. :-) Of course, I will listen even if that is not your message!! --Reporting Task Force - Paula Peters, Co-Chair ppeters@ksu.edu
DISCOVERING THE LEADER WITHIN YOU - THE
LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE Kouzes & Posner define vision as “an IDEAL and UNIQUE IMAGE of the FUTURE for the COMMON GOOD.” Vision is about hopes, dreams and aspirations. It’s about exciting possibilities, creating something grand, achieving a whole new standard of excellence. Vision is about developing a shared sense of destiny. It’s about what the group or organization or community collectively desire. When asked to share his viewpoint of vision, Daryl Buchholz, Assistant Director KSRE, said, “Communicating is among the most important actions that a person in a position of responsibility has to do. I've found that my weekly communication can bring clarity to goals, expectations, and a culture for the organization. Continuous, open communication will fill the void that might otherwise be filled with gossip, rumor, and negative energy. Letting the system know priorities helps to set a positive direction and eventual culture for the organization. When I interviewed for the Associate Director responsibility, communication was on the top of my list of actions I needed to be about. In my first 4 years I have every indication that persons in positions of significant responsibility for the organization can never communicate too much.” So what’s your vision? How would you like to change the world for yourself and your organization? What’s your most distinctive skill or talent? What work do you find enthralling, absorbing, involving? Can you define your vision for your program? How have you shared your vision? To learn more about
“inspiring a vision” and other leadership principles, plan to
participate in the “Discovering the Leader Within You” Workshop,
October 7 - 9, 2008 at the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center,
Wichita, Ks. Registration is $200 which includes a personal
360-degree assessment of your leadership skills. Registration is
limited to 25 people on a first-come, first-serve basis. Additional
information and registration can be found at
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/Employee_Resources/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=206
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT -
FINANCIAL CAPITAL Last time I ended with a reference to built and financial capitals being closely connected. Let us continue with that discussion. How could you tell if your community has low financial capital? Is the community infrastructure substandard, though the tax burden is high on residents? Does you community have unusually high poverty rates? Does your community have trouble raising funds for non-profit charitable organizations? Do bond issues for schools or infrastructure improvement fall flat from lack of vote or votes against? Each of the aforementioned issues indicates low financial capital. You could ask similar questions to assess your own financial capital. For example, is your debt ratio higher that your income? It is easy to assess a community’s financial capital. The challenge is figuring out how to increase financial capital. Well, it cannot be done without engaging the other capitals. South Dakota Extension uses a great example.
Five of the seven capitals were needed to reach the goal and the two remaining capitals could easily be added to the equation. For instance, Cultural Capital could be included by holding fundraisers that promote the local heritage or traditions, such as a German supper or a tamale sale. Natural Capital could be added by including improvement of the local landscape, where the vacant lot that was once an eyesore can become welcoming and attractive by adding trees and grassy areas around the pool. This example illustrates how building relationships enhances access to financial capital. The capitals are intertwined. It takes one to build on the other in many cases. That leads us into the discussion of social capital, which is my favorite capital to study. I look forward to that for next time. Thanks to SDSU Extension and Flora, Flora, Fey, and Emery for their extensive study into the capitals. --Debra Bolton dbolton@ksu.edu
MARKETING MINUTE: MAKE YOUR WEBSITE
GOOGLE-ICIOUS
So, a question we ask is how to make our sites more “Google-icious!” Here are a few tips:
-Title your site. Make sure your page has a descriptive, accurate title. It’s the first thing people will see from your site when they do a search. And keep it short. If you look at Google search results, Google only displays about the first 64 characters of a title.
-Always add descriptions to documents. When making PDFs with Acrobat, use Control D, and put a good title in the title field.
-Include alt text on navigations, graphics. Without alt text, search engines cannot “read” what your graphics represent. Adding the alt text lets a visual item be read as content.
-Create a network of links. By linking to other sites and encouraging them to link to your site, you can move up the ranking of search results.
-Add metadata. These are the descriptive words that explain what is in your site, and it also appears in the site description in a Google search. . - Register your site at Open Directory Project, a web directory of Internet resources, including Google: http://dmoz.org/add.html . Or use http://www.google.com/addurl.html .
For more tips to make your site Google-friendly or to comment on this discussion, visit our Marketing Minute blog at http://ksremarketingminute.blogspot.com/ . If you need more information on search engines, please contact Amy Hartman at 785-532-6379, or e-mail ahartman@ksu.edu
VIEW THE MASTER SCHEDULE OR ADD NEW
ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS To view the complete Master Schedule online or as a pdf, go to http://129.130.72.154/MasterSchAdd/ Submit corrections to previously submitted items to cthomas@ksu.edu .DATES TAKEN FROM THE MASTER SCHEDULE FOR MAY 8 THROUGH MAY 14, 2008: Saturday, May 10, 2008, Harvey County 4-H Spring Rabbit Show, registration starting at 8:00 a.m. at the Fairgrounds, Athletic Park in Newton, Ann Religa areliga@ksu.edu Wednesday, May 14, 2008, Character Counts! 201 Intermediate Level, starting at 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the McPherson County Extension Office, Gary Gerhard ggerhard@ksu.edu Wednesday, May 14, 2008, NE Area FCS Program Enhancement, starting at 9:30 a.m. at Throckmorton on the K-State campus, Room 2002, Sharolyn Flaming Jackson sharolyn@ksu.edu |
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