The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 31)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Summertime has arrived! Wow... but I guess it's to be expected. Wheat harvest is underway. Summer 4-H camping is in full swing. And, temperatures are bumping the century mark!
I carry some positive news with respect to the state budget and how K-State Research and Extension has fared in that process. The legislature and Governor did enact an across the board reduction to all state agencies including higher education. That reduction along with other cost increases totaled just under $700,000 for the Extension portion of the KSRE budget. The Experiment Station totaled just slightly over $1,000,000 in reductions. However, we are greatly thankful that the KSU central administration has committed to covering those reductions for both CES and AES! Support from central administration for the work of K-State Research and Extension remains clearly evident in their going above and beyond to assist us in these difficult budget times. With such a commitment from the President and Provost, we have a continued responsibility to continuously improve upon the great work of K-State Research and Extension!
Additionally, Governor Brownback used his line item veto power to remove the provision of the 2.5% tax on state health premiums from your paycheck.
With our state budget remaining flat, the Provost has approved my request to release all vacant Extension agent positions for filling. Over the next several weeks, your area directors will be working with local boards to prepare announcements and begin the process of advertising to fill vacancies. These processes do take time, but it is great to be in this position to begin filling positions in a much more timely fashion in the coming months. Thanks for your understanding and support over the past years with our policies of holding vacancies open!
And, have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
PREPARE FOR THE STORM
Tornado season is well underway. Are you prepared if you have to take shelter? Do you have a "grab and go bag" that contains some necessities? This is just a start of things you might want to take to a shelter: purse or wallet, closed toe shoes, jackets, long pants, copy of prescriptions and pill box, cash, copy of important files on your computer, cell phone and charger, car and house keys, name and phone number of insurance agent. Store in your shelter such things as blankets, water jug, snacks, diapers, radio, flashlights, and extra batteries.
A little pre-planning before a storm will save some stress after the storm. Have you completed a household inventory and stored it somewhere besides your home? To help with the inventory, go to http://knowyourstuff.org. --Mary Lou Odle, for Family Resource Management Focus Team
150TH ANNIVERSARY OF K-STATE - WE NEED HELP BUILDING A CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Jackie McClaskey, former Assistant Dean of Ag and now an Adjunct Faculty member; Jennifer Wilson, K-State Research and Extension Riley County; and Steven Graham; are representing the College of Agriculture/K-State Research and Extension on the K-State 150th Sesquicentennial Celebration Steering Committee and Subcommittees.
One of our assignments is to collect dates for reoccurring COA/KSRE annual events and programs, both on and off-campus, that we can use to help celebrate the 150th Anniversary of K-State during 2013. So, this would include Annual Crop/Livestock Field Days, Roundups, etc., in Manhattan and around the state.
We have started a calendar for you and others to add to (see below).
Please send back additional events and programs (and exact or approximate dates) to add to the calendar by June 30, 2011 to Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu. --Jackie McClaskey, Jennifer Wilson, and Steven Graham
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February 14, 2013
All University 150th Celebration Kickoff
February 15, 2013
150th Celebration Gala Event
March 1
Cattlemen's Day
April
Open House
May
3i Show KSRE Booths
Graduation
June
KSU Friends of Gardens Gala
State FFA Convention
4-H Discovery Days
Plant Pathology's International Fusarium Workshop
July
County Fairs
Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology International Workshop
Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association/KSU Field Days
August
County Fairs
Ag Econ Risk and Profit Conference
September
Congressional Assistants Tour
Kansas State Fair
Water and the Future of Kansas Conference
October
K-State Research and Extension Annual Conference
BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES EVENT AT KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The Consortium for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability
and its
partners will host the Sixth Annual Dialog on Sustainability: Building
Sustainable
Communities, Thursday, July 14, in
Durland/Rathbone/Fiedler Hall, on the main campus of Kansas State
University.
Focus of the one-day dialogue is to disseminate information on
current
sustainability related activities, programs and plans and to
explore opportunities
for further collaboration. Sessions will
be held throughout the day on the PRIDE Community Voluntary
Improvement
Program, exploring relationships between climate and rural
sustainability and
using community assets effectively.
Activities will include discussions, small group dialogs,
posters, exhibits
and more. Travel scholarships are
available for community organizations and continuing education
credits are
available.
Exhibits and posters, including information on university courses
and
information on future sustainability events are welcome. Those
interested in
presenting a poster at the event or who would like to set up an
exhibit as part
of the resource fair, should contact Sheree Walsh with the Center
for Hazardous
Substance Research at smw@ksu.edu
or call
785-532-6519 by June 30, in order that we may reserve poster
or exhibit
space.
The public is invited to attend any or all of the sessions at no
charge, but
pre-registration is encouraged. For further information, go to www.engg.ksu.edu/CHSR/sustainability.
For more information on this event, please contact Dr. Larry E.
Erickson, lerick@ksu.edu, 785-532-4313; or Becky
O’Donnell, bodonnel@ksu.edu, 785-532-6955.
Mark your calendars
and take advantage of this
unique opportunity to share ideas and build partnerships as well
as advance
efforts towards a sustainable future for Kansas communities. --Sherry Davis sbd@ksu.edu
CLARITY, FOCUS AND ACTION - COACHING WORKSHOP
Clarity Focus, Action is a workshop that teaches coaching skills. It is designed to help you help others get clear on where they want to go, get focused on the various paths to get there, and then move them into action. This workshop will be useful to you if you supervise others - as almost everyone in our system either directly supervises others or works with someone who needs a little nudge because they are 'stuck'.
We have the opportunity to send one more representative from Kansas to this workshop in Nebraska September 27-29, 2011 at Camp Carol Joy Holling near Ashland, Nebraska. Registration and lodging are sponsored by UNL Extension, so participants would need only to be responsible for transportation.
Please contact Margaret Phillips, margaret@ksu.edu, ASAP if you are interested in participating.
Co-leaders for this workshop are Keith Niemann, Alan Baquet, and Deanna Peterson. All have been certified as professional co-active coaches by The Coaches Training Institute and are members of the International Coach Federation. --Margaret Phillips
MARIE'S PICKS. . .
My picks this week include short- and medium-term outcomes from Krista Harding, Southwind District; and Carmen Stauth, Kiowa County:
Evidence:
*Landlords and tenants turn to the Extension office for lease law
and leasing agreement information. Twenty-three individuals were
assisted with leasing information such as hunting leases, terminating a
lease, and rental rates. In almost every instance, time was spent
reviewing current leasing arrangements and
suggesting ways to improve upon current leasing agreements
such as utilizing a written lease instead of a verbal agreement,
writing in stocking rates, fertilizer requirements, and retention of
hunting rights.
*Female landlords were educated on timely, pertinent agriculture
topics at a Lady Landlord presentation. Participants learned about methane gas leases, land leasing, governmental programs, brush
control, and soil testing. Perhaps more important than the information shared, the participants
learned where to go with questions, whether it be the Extension
personnel or the USDA offices. Because of the knowledge gained, they will be more prepared to make
farm management decisions.
Evidence:
*Absentee landowners learned about local rental rates, land values, and how they may be influenced through cultivation practices for cropland and pasture amenities for grassland. This information can then be used for discussion with local producers to negotiate equitable lease arrangements.
***The public value then is experienced when non-participants/other
community members benefit from increased viability of rural communities and their access to a safer and less expensive food supply. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
MAY EXTENSION AGENT PERSONNEL CHANGES
Lindsey Friesen, 4-H Youth Development Agent in Butler County, began employment effective May 1, 2011. Her e-mail address is friesenl@ksu.edu.
Amy Lorenzen, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Golden Prairie District, began employment effective May 1, 2011. Her e-mail address is amyloren@ksu.edu.
Cody Barilla, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Reno County, began employment effective May 15, 2011. His e-mail address is cbarilla@ksu.edu.
Laura Weiss-Cook, Family and Consumer Sciences Military Agent at Fort Riley, began employment effective May 29, 2011. Her e-mail address is lmwc@ksu.edu.
Andrea Wood, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Kingman County, transferred from Edwards County effective May 29, 2011. --Stacey Warner swarner@ksu.edu
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