The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
(Vol. 16 No. 32)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
So much talk, so many rumors, and now the Big 12 lives on!
But, if you're like me, that is enough said about all the conference shuffles, and now I am going to go to something different that I hope you will agree is worth repeating. The following was taken from an article I did back in 2007.
Effectiveness in extension work and carrying out the extension mission requires being outwardly focused. By that I mean, focused on people other than yourself. Walking that fine line between 1) seeing to it that people know who you are and have an appreciation for your work, and 2) being characterized as boastful, arrogant, and self-serving, can be difficult. I believe success in this profession requires a large dose of humility. Personal satisfaction for our work isn't so much about success as it is about significance.
Remaining focused on the interests, needs, and desires of our clientele will always be primary in the success of extension work, which brings me to the "FRED FACTOR". Take a moment to go to this website, and in the upper left corner, click on "Meet Fred." Fred's success comes through the significance he creates with his focus on meeting the needs of others as a Postal Worker. His success will come in knowing he, as a Postal Service professional, has served the needs of each person on his postal route better than anyone else.
"People often say, motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily." ~Zig Ziglar
"The world is divided into people who do things, and people who get credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class, there is far less competition." ~Dwight Morrow - 1873-1931, Businessman, Politician and Diplomat
Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
MESSAGE FROM GORDON DOWELL, KSU FOUNDATION: "WHILE I AM OUT"
Last winter, I had the privilege of speaking at three of
four Partnership meetings. That
opportunity gave me a greater appreciation for the professionalism and
expertise represented by the Extension network.
I spoke about the importance of estate planning, based on
personal experiences. My discussions and
PowerPoint illustrated how we can work together to help landowners support
local people and programs by preserving wealth that might otherwise go to the
IRS. With the recent explosion of land
values, tax implications can be extraordinary.
During the next few months, I’ll be back on the sidelines
for additional medical treatment. That
doesn’t mean, though, that our work to help landowners reduce estate and
capital gains taxes and use those dollars to support local scholarships, 4-H,
Extension or research programs is on hold.
While I am out, Darci, Lori and Kent -- my KSU Foundation gift
planning colleagues -- stand ready to help you help your friends and neighbors
meet their goals. Contact any of them at
800-432-1578 for no-cost, no-obligation assistance. In many ways, we are in the education
business.
As land values climb, the opportunity and potential of
appropriate planning grow exponentially. Based on your relationships with retiring or absentee landowners, you
can open doors to benefit the landowners, your community and K-State people and
programs.
I look forward to working with you down the road. All the best. Thank you. --Gordon Dowell, Gift Planning Officer for Extension and Real Estate, KSU Foundation, gordond@found.ksu.edu
INVASIVE TREE CONTROL FIELD DAY - JUNE 17
An Invasive Tree Control Field Day will take place on
Thursday, June 17, starting at 9:30 a.m. Location is W 190 Dr. and S
200th Ave., West of Covert, Kansas (about 6 miles SW of Osborne, KS).
Ask Teresa for good directions.
The Field Day is hosted by the
North Central Prairie Weed Management Area and funded in part by a
grant from the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the
Environment (KCARE).
Shears,
Saws, Choppers and more equipment will be in action. Girdling, foliage,
basal bark and more methods will be used on site. There will be a
review of chemical treatment of locust trees and mechanical removal of
cedar trees. Lunch will be served free of charge.
Presenters will be: Keith Harmoney, KSU Ag Research Center - Hays, Range Scientist
Chris Petty, K-State Research and Extension Ag Agent, Graham County
Walt Fick, K-State Research and Extension, Range Management Specialist
Carol Blocksome, K-State Research and Extension, Range Specialist
Jim Strine, Kansas Forest Service, NW Area District Forester
To RSVP by June 15, contact: Teresa Webb at Solomon Valley RC&D
320 South Sixth Street
Stockton, Kansas 67669
Phone: 785-425-6647
Fax: 785-425-6308
E-mail: teresa.webb@ks.nacdnet.net --Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
FNP FALL FOOD GARDENING WITH YOUTH WORKSHOP DEADLINE EXTENDED
REMINDER: Two youth gardening workshops are being offered at the end of June. Now is the time to start planning youth gardening/nutrition activities for the coming school year. Fall is a great time to work with youth, particularly in school settings. The spring months are packed with school activities and state assessment testing, so consider fall for some of your youth gardening programs.
Dates and locations for the workshops are:
- Monday, June 28, 4-H Hall “B”, Sedgwick County Extension Education Center, 7001 W. 21st St. No, Wichita, KS
- Wednesday, June 30, Extension Meeting Room, City/County Building, 9th and Ash, Salina, KS
Workshops will begin with registration at 9:30 a.m. Opening remarks will begin at 10:00 a.m. The workshop will conclude at 3:00 p.m. The $25 registration fee includes lunch and materials. (Please make us aware of any dietary restrictions.) Make checks payable to The Kansas 4-H Foundation. FNP accounts can be billed upon request. The registration deadline for the workshop has been extended to June 21.
Please register through the Kansas 4-H website. Click on the green 4-H Events Registration button. For more information contact Evelyn Neier, Kansas Junior Master Gardener Coordinator, at 316-722-0932 or eneier@ksu.edu. --Evelyn Neier
AUGUST UPDATE
The August Agent Update will be held August 23-25, 2010 at
the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan. Please return the registration form and check by August 6th to receive the early bird discount.
A block of rooms has
been held at the Holiday Inn Campus for August 23-25, 2010. Their number is 785-539-7531. Please mention K-State Research
and Extension to get the $89 room rate. The cutoff for making reservations is
July 24. --Linda Lamb llamb@ksu.edu
KSRE GRANT WRITING TRAINING: SEPTEMBER 21, SEPTEMBER 28, IN SALINA
The current economy, budget concerns and calls for expanded services are creating demand for local grant writing skills.
To meet this demand, attend the one-day Grant Writing training built exclusively for K-State Extension professionals and stake-holders. The one-day (9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.) training will be offered twice at K-State Salina on SEPTEMBER 21 (Tuesday), and SEPTEMBER 27 (Monday). For $35 you will receive instruction, materials, refreshments, lunch and a copy of the Grantsmanship Center's Program Planning & Proposal Writing- Expanded Version guide (what a deal!).
In response to whether participants of the 2009 training would recommend the session to KSRE colleagues, agents said, "Absolutely! It's a good time to focus and learn about writing grants." "Yes, now that I have been in the system for a few years I think that every Extension Professional should be exposed to some sort of basic grant writing professional development."
Training objectives include:
* Increase awareness and knowledge of grant resources for youth-family-community programs.
* Learn grant writing techniques.
* Increase understanding of the fit between grants, program planning and program management.
* Build a K-State Extension team that supports each other in grant writing and management!
Web-based registration opens on July 30 and closes on September 6. If you'd like to know more and/or would like to register early, contact Elaine Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu, 785-532-7720; or Paula Seele, pseele@ksu.edu, 785-523-5773. --Elaine Johannes
MARIE'S PICKS...
My picks this week are from information that Rich Llewelyn shared regarding webinars hosted by Art Barnaby and Troy Dumler. Observations included that having timely and relevant topics is key, online registration is essential, and online evaluations are quite helpful in receiving feedback.
The first ACRE webinar was conducted on August 4, 2009 ahead of the August 14 signup deadline. The SURE webinar was on February 19, 2010 ahead of the crop insurance sign-up deadline of March 15. The most recent ACRE webinar was May 14, in advance of the June 1 deadline for the 2010 ACRE sign-up, but after the May 11 USDA reports.
Participants of the most recent webinar included producers, insurance agents, and lenders representing 16 states and the District of Columbia. Complimentary phone lines were provided government and academic staff, as well as staff from each of the Kansas congressional delegation, extension, and Farm Service Agency personnel. Nearly half of the registrations (31 of the 68 individual registrations) for the May ACRE webinar took place on the day before. This was likely due to rain the previous night that kept people out of the field. Having credit card facilities was essential, because mail-in registration would have been impossible and call-in registration difficult.
Following the most recent ACRE Webinar, the evaluation conducted showed 60.6% of the respondents were producers, 8.5% insurance agents, 3% lenders, and the remainder “other.” Evaluation results showed that 87% of the respondents said they would recommend a webinar like this to others. When asked to list the most important things learned, answers varied, but several noted learning how ACRE works like a put option. Other answers common to several respondents were regarding how ACRE would have paid historically, and having a better understanding of ACRE and how it works. When asked how what was learned would affect management decisions, there was a fairly strong consensus to not sign up for ACRE. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
WEBSITES FOR POSTING EVENTS: KANSAS NATIVE PLANTS SOCIETY EVENTS AND KANSAS SAMPLER EVENTS
The Kansas Native Plants Society has a website where you can post events. It is very easy to do. Go to the Kansasnativeplantsociety.org and click on events and it will take you to the page with a link, "Send KNPS your event information," click on that and you will be able to fill in your information and e-mail to KNPS and then they will post.
The Kansas Native Plants Society lists pretty much anything that is native plant related: stewardship of land, invasive species control, burning, planting native grasses/forbs, learning plant identification, and wildflower/range tours.
A lot of people check this website for events, so it is a good way to get information out.
*Kansas Sampler also has a site where you can post events - http://www.kansassampler.org/calendar.php. It is self-explanatory.
And, don't forget to put events on our own K-State Research and Extension calendar. --Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
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