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Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service |
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Vol. 15, No. 40
August 11, 2009 ...Word from the
Associate Director - Extension and Applied Research WORD FROM THE
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH Some of the best things I took away from those visits included:
So, where were these "official visits?" We had organized conversations in Allen, Barber, Bourbon, Butler, Crawford, Franklin, Gray, Hodgeman, Kingman, Labette, Linn, Reno, and Pratt Counties. I want to thank the office staff, Board members, and Extension agents for their preparation in hosting those visits. If you've not seen me in your office in a few years, drop a note and let me know you'd like me to plan a visit. I'll make it a priority! Even with concerns for the economy and local budgets, I observed that continued commitment to serving the interests and needs of people of Kansas. And, that is the way is should be, and has to be! Now is the time to be focusing your attention on the 2 or 3 big picture needs within your local Extension unit for which you need to plan to make a difference. Through such a commitment to planning and then follow through on those plans, K-State Research and Extension will continue to be better and more vital in its service to the people of Kansas. Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
FRANNIE MILLER
SELECTED AS PESTICIDE SAFETY AND INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR Frannie is currently ending an eight-year tenure as the Rice County Agriculture Extension Agent in Lyons, Kansas where she had responsibilities for programs with producers, youth and as Entomology project leader, among others. Frannie holds a B.S. in Agronomy from Oklahoma State University and an M.S. in Entomology from University of Nebraska. Frannie brings a wealth of knowledge to this position with her overall background and her close knowledge of agricultural and community issues in Kansas. The PS-IPM Coordinator serves two major federally funded programs. K-State is mandated to provide pesticide safety education to those seeking recertification as private or commercial pesticide applicators. Pesticide safety is of course critical for all agricultural producers and the general public; Frannie's program will work closely with Kansas Department of Agriculture and federal agencies on all aspects of pesticide safety. IPM is the scientifically-based decision-making system for controlling and managing pests of all kinds in safe and effective approaches. Pests include insects, plant diseases, weeds and pest animals, whether these are in rural, urban or institutional settings. Frannie is charged with facilitating communication among various groups in KSRE who conduct or provide education in IPM, and to assist in collaborative projects across disciplines. Join us in welcoming Frannie Miller to her new position, and remember to say "Hi" when you see her in McPherson, Manhattan, Topeka or elsewhere around the state! --Tom Phillips twp1@k-state.edu
ESP AWARD APPLICATIONS
Exciting opportunities for extension units
offering 4-H Cloverbuds beginning October 1, 2009 - training to assist
in the preparations! Extension agents, volunteers and teens are
invited to participate in one of the trainings either August 27, Rock
Springs 4-H Center; or September 1, Scott City. Registration deadline
is August 15, and may be found on-line at
http://www.kansas4h.org/DesktopDefault.aspx
. Click on 4-H Events Registration - Then
on View Events With Open Registration. Upon completion of training, each
extension unit will receive a free copy of the 4-H Cloverbuds
curriculum.
For more information contact me at
pvanhorn@ksu.edu . --Pam
Van Horn
NEW ELECTRONIC
AGENT PERFORMANCE REVIEW SYSTEM Professional Development Plan (from the Professional Development System) 2009-2010 Action Plan (from the Action Plan system) 2008-2009 Impacts/Outcomes (from the Reporting System) Agent Performance Review documentation
(from the Performance Review System) All these components are currently available with the exception of the performance review. In addition, all K-State employees are required to complete the Annual Declaration and Disclosure of Conflict of Interest. All information needed for the performance review needs to be completed by agents by October 1. Once completed, board members will receive a copy of all the above documentation to review and send comments to the area director. This is an all electronic process except for board members who do not have e-mail. Area Directors and board representative will establish individual appointments with agents to conduct the performance review. We appreciate your patience through this transition period. --Dale Fjell dfjell@ksu.edu
DIVERSITY
PROGRAMS OFFICE UPDATE With the new school year approaching quickly, the DPO would like to mention a few of our upcoming activities. On August 29, the Black Student Union will be holding its annual Welcome Back Picnic. On September 1, the College of Ag will be holding our annual Watermelon Feed on the Weber Hall Lawn. And finally the first MANRRS meeting of the new semester will be held on September 2, in Waters 137. We are also happy to announce our joint pizza party with the Multicultural Engineering Program will be held September 3, from 5:15 - 7:15 p.m. in the Fiedler Atrium/Auditorium. As always, if there are any questions or concerns that you may have about diversity, feel free to stop by the Diversity Programs Office and we’ll be happy to assist you. If you would like more information on any of our upcoming events please contact Dr. Zelia Wiley at 785-532-5793. --Zelia Wiley zwh@ksu.edu
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CATALOG: *NON-DATED* OFFERINGS * If you are the contact person for a
*non-dated* offering, please review your offering Please update at your earliest convenience so your offerings may be selected by agents completing their professional development plan. Thanks for your assistance in keeping the catalog current. --Margaret Phillips margaret@ksu.edu
VOLUNTEERS
REQUESTED TO HELP IN OUR BOOTHS AT THE KANSAS STATE FAIR
We would appreciate faculty and staff from campus, area offices, counties/districts, Agronomy Fields, and Research-Extension Centers coming to the fair and working a few hours in one or both of the booths. Also, we would really appreciate agents and/or faculty, who are coming to the fair anyway, signing up to work a couple of hours in the booth before or after your activities. Days and times that our KSRE/COA fair booths are open are:
If you would like to work in the K-State Research and Extension booth, please contact Katie Wedel, kwedel@ksu.edu by August 28. If you would like to work in the College of Agriculture booth, please contact Sharon Thielen, sthielen@ksu.edu by August 28. We will be in touch in late August to finalize days, times, entrance tickets, etc. Thank you. --Sharon Thielen and Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
SHOOTING SPORTS
After the deadline, county coordinators and Extension offices will be invoiced for fees and verification of entries. Team listings are to be turned in at check-in, before any shooting begins, the morning of the match. T-Shirts, like those sold for Spring Match, can be ordered on-line as part of registration. Volunteer preferences can also be recorded on-line. --Jim Adams jadams@ksu.edu
NEW 4-H
ENROLLMENT FORMS AND PROJECT GUIDES On the back side of MG3B we have a new project called Energy Management to better fit our new Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) emphasis. Energy Management includes the old Small Engines project and the new Power of the Wind phase. Other changes include listing Dairy Goats after Dairy Cattle and Meat Goats after the Leadership project. In addition, Cloverbuds has been removed and now has its own Enrollment Form MG3C! All three enrollment forms are on the Extension Publications website as form fillers and hard copy orders will be sent out from Extension Distribution. The Kansas 4-H Project Selection Guide will be delivered once again via the August issue of the Kansas 4-H Journal. A few extra copies will be available in Extension Distribution. Again this year, the Kansas 4-H Project Curriculum Guide is on the web for Extension Unit download and use as they desire. Just go to www.Kansas4-H.org , click on Projects and it is the first listing. We hope these new forms and guides will make enrolling in 4-H easier for new and current families. --Jim Adams jadams@ksu.edu
MARIE’S PICKS . . . --One bright spot in Hamilton County has been the continued expansion of the dairy industry. The Dairy Industry now leads the Agricultural sector in value of production in Hamilton County according to the Kansas Agricultural statistics. Forty-two percent of the value of total agricultural products comes from the Dairy industry. This is the milk value only and does not include the dairy cattle numbers. The number of milk cows in the State of Kansas is 112,000 with more than 22,500 located in Hamilton County. We celebrate the Dairy Industry the first weekend in June by having a parade, trade show, cook off, ice cream freeze off banquet, BBQ, and games for the kids. The event fundraiser has been the give away of a vehicle or trip each year in order to raise money for scholarships. Known as Southwest Kansas Dairy Days, this event celebrates the industry in Southwest Kansas and brings in people from miles around. The celebration also includes two $10,000 scholarships awarded to Seniors from Syracuse or Johnson High Schools. Each year the youth in our 4-H program are represented well as some of the finalists. It was very emotional this year when one of our 4-Hers was the scholarship winner from our school. It has been crucial that Extension is involved with such a large sector of Hamilton County. To date over $100,000 in scholarships have been awarded. It is hard to imagine what Hamilton County would look like without this industry that has only been here since 1993. --After seeing many businesses within the county through the years simply close their doors leaving a void in the local economy and community, the Ellis County Economic Development Program Development Committee (PDC) members felt there is a need to address business succession planning. After many meetings, working in partnership with all Ellis County Extension Agents, the PDC is nearing the completion of a "Business Succession Planning" DVD. The DVD highlights experts in their respective fields laying out the groundwork of the components and resources necessary to develop a comprehensive and thorough plan to transition a business on to the next person, whether they are a family member or business associate. --At the Annual Ford County Wheat Plot tour, besides listening to industry specialists, the producers were given the opportunity to interact and network with other producers from across the county and learn what varieties were working for them. Many times this shared information amongst neighbors is as important as the research being presented. The results of the pathology reports and the yields of the Ford County wheat plots helped two producers in the Southeast part of Ford County rethink the wheat varieties that they have been planting for the past several years. They will look toward experimenting with new varieties with disease packages that better meet the needs of their operations and the problems that they have been experiencing the past several years. Through some work with their neighbors, they will do a better job of trying to get the large acres of volunteer wheat in the area controlled to help with Hessian fly and barley yellow dwarf concerns, as well as through better management practices and timely planting dates. While this year's wheat crop is a distant memory and next year's crop is not yet in the ground, the information provided will help these two producers have a more optimistic outlook on next year's harvest.
--Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
KSRE MASTER
CALENDAR New features! **When you use the search feature (tab on top row), you can ADD AN EXACT PHRASE OR TEXT to the search parameters. Select "Upcoming Events" to review events and professional development offerings for the next two weeks. Use "Submit Event" to enter your own event dates. Make sure that your events are listed correctly. You can edit events that you have submitted. If you need to correct previously submitted items, contact Marie Blythe. Note: Professional Development entries are automatically added to the new Master Calendar system and do not require separate/duplicate entry! --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.eduPlease Submit Items no later than Noon on Monday to include in the following Tuesday Letter to: tuesday@ksre.ksu.edu . Put the word "Tuesday" in the subject line. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer. |