The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 35)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
It is now after July 1, 2011 and several new counties are into Extension Districts. This year only one new district was formed. I’m sharing a message from Brian Swisher to the team of agents in the newly formed Wildcat Extension District. I thought it worth sharing with Brian’s permission.
“Happy Birthday - Wildcat Extension District
Through the efforts and foresight of agents, extension boards, and county commissioners, a new Extension system has been born with great expectations and potential. Like a baby, much more development and many growing pains will be required to pursue our potential. It's important to remember that when working with people, nothing is ever perfect; but that doesn't keep us from pursuing perfection.
As we continue to mature and discover new ways to do our work, it is important to communicate. As I told camp counselors recently, don't operate on rumors. Ask and find out. We have found that the cell phone and e-mail are powerful tools that can increase productivity. If you have not programmed the district offices and staff into your phone yet, do it. One of the important assets of our district is a diversified and experienced staff. (280 years of Extension experience) It is important that we develop and use that asset to its fullest potential.
........ As we visit with citizens and media, it is important to be fact based. Following is an excerpt from an Extension article: The Kansas Extension District Law, passed in 1991, gave local Extension Councils the opportunity to partner with one or more counties to form a district. Forming a district involves agreements between the local Extension Councils and county commissioners.
Districting allows local citizens access to the expertise of additional agents. As part of a district team, agents can dedicate more time to a specific area of program focus. At the same time, agents have access to more resources and support as they work together in a larger team. District formation is not new. Other examples in our area are Southwind, Rolling Prairie, Frontier, and Flinthills. County fairs are managed by local fair boards and associations. Districting has little or no effect on fairs.
.....Finally, I appreciate the help and assistance I have received. Wildcat may be the fourteenth district to form but we have found that they are all unique. We are only getting started. No doubt there are challenges ahead. Keep the faith. Keep an open mind to all the possibilities. Remember to communicate... Brian”
This is a great message that conveys much anticipation and excitement with the beginning of a new Extension District. Gotta love the attitude! Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
KANSAS 4-H & FFA STATE WHEAT SHOW AND WHEAT VARIETY PLOT INFORMATION
2011 Kansas 4-H & FFA State Wheat Show in Wichita
Join us on Friday, August 12, from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the Sedgwick County Extension Office, 7001 West 21st Street North, Wichita, for the 2011 Kansas 4-H and FFA State Wheat Show. The wheat show is open to all 4-H and FFA members, family members, 4-H leaders, Extension staff and Vocational Agriculture staff. There will be eight contests open to youth members with cash prizes and ribbons awarded.
For full details about the show, visit http://www.kansas4-h.org/p.aspx?tabid=226. There is no registration cost. However, pre-registration will be required by August 1, on the Kansas 4-H website through Google Documents to ensure an accurate meal count and tour. Entries can also be entered on this registration system. To register now, visit 2011 Wheat Show Registration Hot Link, or visit https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dHBuUVhLY3JxdkZWdVdrRFlma3NyQWc6MQ#gid=0.
For more information about the wheat show or to get involved with the wheat show planning committee, contact Deryl Waldren at 785-462-6281 or email at dwaldren@ksu.edu.
2012 Kansas 4-H and FFA Wheat Variety Plot Enrollment
This program begins fall of 2011 and goes through September 2012. The enrollment form is on the Kansas State 4-H Website, www.Kansas4-H.org under "What's Hot." Members are asked to contact their local Extension Office by July 11 for information with enrollments due to the Northwest Area Extension Office by July 22, 2011. It is very important that we know the number of participants early, so we can have enough seed and metal signs available for Extension agents and leaders to pick up at the Kansas State Fair. New participants will receive a large plot sign, and five individual variety signs. These will be distributed on Friday, September 9, at the 2011 Kansas State Fair.
Resource information for the wheat variety project is located at http://www.kansas4-h.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=297.
This year's participants who are getting ready to harvest their plots should be planning their county fair display for possibly qualifying for the Kansas State Fair entry in the Showcase Building. For more information, contact Deryl Waldren at 785-462-6281 or email dwaldren@ksu.edu. --Deryl Waldren
THANK YOU COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS, AND WELL WISHERS
I am writing this to express my heartfelt thanks to colleagues, friends, and well wishers. Saleha and I were greatly touched by your presence at the retirement celebration. Our thanks to all those who remembered us by emails, phone calls, and cards. We thank you for the gifts, especially for the EAAMM foundation. Your financial support will be useful to provide practical out of school education on agriculture and rural health through the training center in Bangladesh.
Many of you came from a distance and took the time to be with us. We will remember you with gratitude and love. Thank you for the great support, assistance, and fellowship during the years of my work at Kansas State University. It was a great honor and privilege. It was a successful, enjoyable, and satisfying journey. Thank you all. --Mahbub Alam malam@ksu.edu
EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS COMPLETE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CHILDCARE TRAINING FOR HEALTH AND LEARNING
Anna Mae Brown, Susan Schoneweis,
Denise Sullivan and Nichole Burnett completed I Am
Moving, I Am Learning (IMIL) training the first week of June and are
now preparing to offer the IMIL training and curriculum to Extension colleagues
and partners. IMIL, which originated with Head Start, is a proactive approach to
address childhood obesity in home-based and childcare centers. Outcome evaluations have shown IMIL to increase
moderate to vigorous physical activity every day, improve the quality of
movement activities, and promote healthy food choices every day for young
children. Results of a national evaluation of IMIL is available at http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/earlychildhood/imil.asp.
Brown, Schoneweis, Sullivan and Burnett were trained as a part of the Childcare and
Youth Training and Technical Assistance Project (CYTTAP) which is supported by
the U.S. Department of Defense in partnership with the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and Pennsylvania State University Extension. This project focuses on increasing the quality and quantity of childcare
professionals who care for children (ages 0-12) from off-installation military
families in 13 states including Kansas. Kansas
was selected to be part of the CYTTAP project due to the state’s high
concentration of military families and the strong network of partners focused
on quality childcare.
For
more information about “I am Moving, I am Learning” or CYTTAP , contact Elaine
Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu, 785-532-7720. --Elaine Johannes
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
This week my picks are evidence of
short- and medium-term outcomes from Rebecca McMahon, Sedgwick County; and success
stories from Jamie Rathbun, Ellsworth County; and Rick
Miller, Johnson County.
Evidence of short- and medium term outcomes:
***Approximately
25 people attended both the growing greens and the marketing classes. Those
attending the greens class learned about different types of salad greens and
the best growing practices for Kansas. They also learned about the benefits of
growing greens in high tunnels, especially for winter production. After the
greens class, one of the attendees said that his business partner was so
excited about growing greens in high tunnels that they were planning to
purchase one for next year. Participants in the marketing class learned the
basics about Twitter, Facebook, and blogging and how using each of those social
media tools can benefit their business without costing a lot of money.
One
of the attendees at the marketing class shared that she came to a workshop last
winter and learned about the Simply Kansas program for marketing. She signed up
her business and also shared about the program with others. One of the people
she told about the program is in the process of starting a “Simply Kansas”
store selling only Kansas products in Augusta.
Success
Stories:
***Each of the Family Nutrition lessons throughout the school year has a
reminder about the importance of handwashing, when to wash, proper handwashing
steps and how long to wash. At the end of the year, teachers indicate that
students do a better job of remembering to wash hands without teacher prompting
and that students remind each other to wash hands after a sneeze or cough. One
teacher commented that it takes her class longer to wash up before lunch than
it has in the past--likely indicating that students are making sure to scrub for
a full 20 seconds.
***One of our small acreage landowners was approached by an
out of state firm to help them secure grant funding for their farm operation.
The firm wanted $1,500 cash up front to apply for funding on behalf of the
landowner and then would secure the grant funds. Because of my experience with
small business funding, I am aware of scams from companies that ask for money
up front and then don't produce. The landowner was very grateful and said he
had friends and family who had given the same advice but wanted to hear it from
someone in authority. He said he could rest assured that he was making a good
decision by not doing business with the company. --Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
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