The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 32)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
I was given a unique opportunity to provide a "guest commentary" in the June 2011 issue of Kansas Electric Cooperatives' "Kansas Country Living" magazine. Living in Manhattan, circulation of that magazine is limited because we are not served by one of the member electric cooperatives. As a result, I decided to include that commentary in this Tuesday Letter for those who might not otherwise see it. Thanks to those who have sent notes when they saw it. The Kansas Electric Cooperatives are great partners to many of our educational initiatives working to improve community living. My closing paragraph gives indication as to why Larry Freeze, editor, contacted me for submitting this commentary. Copies of this issue of KCL magazine will be presented to all attending the NACAA meetings in Overland Park. Sorry for the length of this Tuesday message. The article follows:
I welcome the opportunity to tell you about Kansas State
University’s Cooperative Extension programs.
So, what is Extension and why at Kansas State
University? Most universities engage in research and
teaching, but the nation's land-grant universities, which includes Kansas State
University, have a third
mission-extension. Through engagement and outreach, we can literally help
people improve their lives, as we work to:
- build leadership in
citizens and strengthen communities;
- provide strategies to
individuals and families for living vibrant, healthy lifestyles;
- guide children, through
our 4-H programs, towards responsible adulthood;
- provide decision tools and
information for vibrant and sustainable agriculture and food systems; and
- give guidance to
preserving and protecting our natural resources.
In short, Extension develops and delivers solutions for
today’s problems aimed at improving the quality of life and standard of living
for people in Kansas
and beyond.
Don’t believe Extension is just for rural or agricultural
families. Now more than ever, our
educational programs and information are relevant for people living in Brewster, Wichita, Oswego, Johnson County,
or Johnson City. Also, check out 4-H opportunities for all Kansas youth from age 5
to 18, whether in the city, town, or out in the country.
How did Extension happen? Federal law created the land-grant university
system, experiment stations, and extension.
Resources of federal, state, and local governments along with land-grant
universities designed and shaped this non-formal educational system called
Extension.
It began with a vision that research and technology
developed at Kansas
State University
and the national network of land-grant universities should be transformed into
practical, useful knowledge that provided solutions to problems and opportunities
for families, youth, communities, and agriculture across this nation. The Extension system was created to use that
research-based knowledge in educating and informing people, primarily through
non-formal, non-credit educational programs.
Our statewide presence, with Extension agents in every
county, lends itself to collaboration with local groups, state and national
organizations and colleagues in other states. We work with Kansans through a
variety of means, from face-to-face education and communication to using
state-of-the-art technology for educational delivery.
We learn as much through our listening, questioning, and
involvement with people, as they will gain from our educational programs. That delivery model assures relevance, respect,
and value in the information and educational programs delivered. Each day we work to provide relevant
information that creates solutions for today’s problems and opportunities, providing
knowledge for you to make changes based on your interest and your goals for
you, your family, your business and your community. We strive to be the trusted
source of information and education in our communities.
For the future, K-State Research and Extension is working to
increase the capacity of our agents and specialists across the state, moving
into multi-county units to better serve increasingly better educated citizens
and still stay connected locally to help understand and meet your needs and
concerns, and embrace new opportunities. Check us out, as we have an office in
every county seat.
And finally, August 7-11, we are proud to host the 2011
National Association of County Agricultural Agents meeting in Overland Park, Kansas.
Extension agents from across the country will come to Kansas
to closely examine our state and how we work to serve diverse audiences
here. We offer thanks to Kansas Country
Living Magazine for providing support to our Kansas Extension agents in hosting
this national event.
And, now, have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
UPDATED NBAF SITE- SPECIFIC RISK ASSESSMENT DATA COLLECTION EFFORT NOTIFICATION
Beginning June 14, 2011, SES, Inc. will be contacting identified stakeholders to collect data to update the Site-Specific Biosafety and Biosecurity Mitigation Risk Assessment (SSRA) for the construction and operation of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. This work is being performed on behalf of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and will continue through July 8, 2011. SES, Inc. is a Kansas-based company with headquarters in Merriam, Kansas.
- The SSRA was first completed in October 2010 and provided to Congress in November 2010.
- The updated SSRA will be submitted to Congress and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in January 2012.
- The data collection methodology entails contacting the following stakeholders primarily within a 6.2-mile (10-kilometer) radius of the NBAF site, but may include contacting some portion of these stakeholders in surrounding counties and states:
* Landowners (i.e., producers)
* Kansas State University staff and officials
* Livestock sale barns
* Local and state emergency management
* State Department of Agriculture
* Livestock trade associations
* State field veterinarians
* Kansas State University Extension staff
* Local large animal veterinarians
* Private sector
- The updated SSRA will assist DHS during final design of NBAF and provide refined inputs to safety procedures and emergency response plans.
- DHS is committed to risk mitigation and will not build or operate NBAF unless it can be done in a safe manner; updating the SSRA with current data prior to final design is part of this commitment. --Susan Peterson, Assistant to the President and Director of Government Relations skp@ksu.edu
NEW LOGO, BRANDING GUIDE COMING JULY 1
Timed to coincide with the new university wordmark, K-State
Research and Extension administration and graphic designers have developed a
new logo for our organization. The K-State Research and Extension Branding Task
Force has been given the charge of developing branding guidelines to go along
with the new logo and with developing an educational program to acquaint
employees with those guidelines. Among the issues the task force is addressing
are logo use and placement, co-branding, and consistency in presenting the
K-State Research and Extension message.
The guidelines are designed to apply to many forms of
communication, including Web pages, printed publications and other written
communications, and social media. The new logo will be available on July 1, and
branding guidelines will be released online initially. Watch for more information
from Daryl Buchholz and the task force. All items with the previous logo should
be used until gone; all future orders must contain the new logo.
The task force is Pat Melgares, chair; Rick Butler, Linda
Gilmore, Pat Hackenberg, Shannon Krueger, Lisa Moser, Fran Richmond, and Sharon
Thielen. For questions regarding the logo and branding guidelines, contact any
member of the task force. --Pat Melgares melgares@k-state.edu
ADVANCED DISTINGUISHED LECTURE ON THURSDAY, JUNE 16: "THE SCHOLARSHIP OF EXTENSION"
I have invited Dr. Ed Gilman from the University of Florida to be an ADVANCE Distinguished Lecturer (http://advance.k-state.edu/). His seminar, “The Scholarship of Extension,” will be presented in Leasure Hall room 013 this Thursday, June 16, at 2:30 pm. He will discuss his career path and how he integrates research, extension and teaching into his professional programs.
Ed has a 50% research: 50% extension assignment and teaches an arboriculture class at the University of Florida. He works with arborists, consultants, landscape contractors, tree nursery operators, urban foresters, planners, landscape architects and others engaged in tree selection, growing, planting and management issues. His research includes irrigation, fertilization, roots, and other tree transplant and after-care techniques and a recent focus on tree response to pruning. Dr. Gilman is the author of “The Illustrated Guide to Pruning” (Delmar Cengage Learning, 3rd edition due out this August). Please join us for this engaging presentation! http://hort.ufl.edu/people/gillman.shtml --Cheryl Boyer crboyer@ksu.edu
RETIREMENT CELEBRATION - DR. MAHBUB ALAM
Dr.
Mahbub Alam, Extension Specialist, Irrigation Systems, will be retiring
June 30, from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at
Kansas State University.
A reception will be held for him on
Thursday, June 23, from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. in 133 Seaton Hall.
Dr. Alam, a Fulbright Scholar from
Kansas State University, has maintained an advisory role to Bangladesh
Agricultural Research Council. He also
manages the EAMM International Welfare Foundation which provides agricultural
and rural health training to villagers living around the training center in
Bangladesh. In lieu of gifts, donations to
the EAMM International Welfare Foundation would be appreciated. Please make checks payable to “EAMM
International Welfare Foundation” and send them to Biological & Agricultural
Engineering, 147 Seaton Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506.
Letters and cards are being collected
for Dr. Alam and can be sent to Cindy Casper, 147 Seaton Hall, Manhattan, KS
66506. If you plan to attend the
celebration, please let Cindy Casper know at 785-532-5813 or email ccasper@ksu.edu. --Cindy Casper
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
My picks this week are from Gayle Price, Southeast Area
Extension Specialist, Family and Consumer Sciences:
Evidence of short-term (knowledge gain) and medium-term
outcomes (behavior change)--
In 2010, 21 ServSafe Employee Level classes were conducted
in 18 counties training 372 entry-level foodservice employees. Participants
indicated that they increased knowledge and skills of best food safety
practices. More than 90% of the participants indicated they plan to use what
they learned at work and/or at home. Participants reported they intend to wash
their hands, check food temperatures, increase the use of thermometers and be
more cautious of cross contamination and food left out at room temperature. Seventy-five percent of ServSafe participants indicated
they improved their food safety knowledge and plan to practice new skills.
The National Restaurant and
Hospitality Association (KRHA) has estimated that the average cost of a
foodborne illness outbreak to an establishment is about $75,000. The economic
value of foodservice educational programs can be calculated by multiplying the
number of establishments reached by food safety programs by this estimated
economic burden, $75,000. In 2010, KSRE/KRHA trained employees from 157 Kansas
foodservice operations. Thus, the value of food safety training in Kansas is estimated
at $11,775,000.
The public
value of food safety best practice training is decreased risk of foodborne
illness and lower public cost of health care, increased confidence in the safety
of our food supply, fewer days of work missed due to illness, and increased
productivity. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
|