The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
(Vol. 19 No. 42)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
State Fair Booths for KSRE and COA need your help! How long has it been since you've spent a day at the Kansas State Fair? How about taking a team down to work the booth and take in the exhibits around the Fair? I'd challenge each of you to do as the Farm Management Association Economists, the Sedgwick County Extension faculty and staff, and the Extension watershed specialist team have done, and put a team together to host the booths at the Fair. Faculty and staff from campus, area offices, counties/districts, research fields, and Research-Extension Centers coming to the fair and
working a few hours in one or both of the booths will be a huge help! The team can be of any sort of willing employees. How about a Program Focus Team making a day of it at the Kansas State Fair? It's as fun as you make it. You'll meet lots of people when you reach out and say hello. You'll have opportunity to explore the Fair exhibits. Our presence at the State Fair is very positive, and your presence can make it even more positive. So sign up for a day, half-day, or a couple hours in the booth. Your help is greatly appreciated.
The Kansas State Fair runs from Friday, September 6,
through Sunday, September 15.
Days and times that our KSRE/COA fair booths are open are:
Friday, September 6 - 2 - 7 p.m.Saturday, September 7 - (KFMA taking this entire day)
Sunday, September 8 - 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Monday, September 9 - 6 - 9 p.m.
Tuesday, September 10 – 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Wednesday, September 11 - (SG Co taking this entire day)
Thursday, September 12 - 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.(Watershed Specialists assisting with this day)
Saturday, September 14 - 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sunday, September 15 - 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 5 - 7 p.m.
If you would like to work in the K-State Research and Extension booth, please contact Maria Sweet, marswe@ksu.edu. If you would like to work in the College of Agriculture booth, please contact Sandy Klein, sandy@ksu.edu. We
will be in touch in late August/early September to finalize days,
times, entrance tickets, etc.
Public Issues 101. This past week, I was again reminded of what it means for Extension to be an objective, research-based, un-biased source for information and education. When it comes to working with a controversial issue, Extension professionals must be careful to retain the fact-based, unbiased position on that issue. One has to be careful with certain words you might use to describe the issue. Words like
"pro or con" are value-laden terms and probably should be avoided. Dr Barry Flinchbaugh, Emeritus Ag Policy Professor, points out that what might be pro to one individual is a negative to another, and vice versa. Whether that is what we mean or not, one needs to understand how the public perceives our educational program and information we provide. Dr. Flinchbaugh goes on to remind us to talk in terms of consequences to alternative
solutions to a problem including the status quo. Through all of this, it remains Extension‘s job to explain to people their alternatives
and the consequences of each under the law.
You may think something wrong has occurred. Nothing is further from the truth. It just remains critical that as Extension professionals we are reminded of how important it is to stay out of the politics and choosing sides. Our role is to present the facts so that the audience is well informed as they form their decisions.
Have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
WEBINAR: ETHANOL USE IN LEGACY ENGINES
The webinar, “Ethanol Use in Legacy Engines,” will be this Friday, August 30, 10 a.m. CDT. It will be presented by Edwin Brokesh, PE.
There are a lot of old vehicles around that people care very much about. It may be grandpa’s old tractor, the car they learned to drive in, or the first car they purchased new. Many people have an old something that they keep around to drive occasionally. These vehicles have old or “legacy” engines in them that were designed for use with fuels of the time. Like modern vehicles, modern fuels are much different. This webinar will discuss one aspect of modern fuels in legacy engines - ethanol. This webinar considers the interaction of ethanol with different materials found in older engines. It will also consider the combustion process and what that may mean for the operation of an older engine. Participants should come away with a better understanding of the care and maintenance of an older engine using ethanol containing fuels.
How To Connect: Start connecting 5 minutes prior to the start time. You need a computer with Internet access and speakers. At the meeting time, copy and paste this URL into your browser to enter the meeting: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/agenergy/.
At that URL you will find a login page. “Enter as a Guest” with your name, and business or institution and click “Enter Room.” The audio portion of the meeting will be come through your computer speakers.
Any time before the meeting you can visit the following URL to confirm your ability to connect: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/testconnect/.
Past web seminars on bioenergy topics are archived at http://farmenergymedia.extension.org/videos or http://bioenergy.unl.edu. --Ed
Brokesh ebrokesh@ksu.edu
UPDATE ON ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Annual conference will be here before you know it. Here are a few conference highlights and approaching deadlines:
September 21 is the deadline for room blocks at Holiday Inn at the Campus and Fairfield Inn by Marriott.
Registration should open later this week with an October 7 deadline.
Tuesday, October 22: - Kansas Wheat Innovation Tour
- State and Federal Benefits Updates
- Agent Association Meetings
- Poster Session and Reception
Wednesday October 23: - Women’s Breakfast
- April Mason, K-State Provost
- John Floros, Dean and Director
- Bonnie Lynn Sherow, Associate Professor of History, and
- Sue Peterson, Assistant to the President and Director of Governmental Relations
- K-State Research and Extension Awards Luncheon
- Retiree Activities
- In-Depth Training Sessions
- Dairy Industry Mini Symposium
- Communications Updates
Thursday, October 24: - Inspirational Breakfast, Steve Fisher
- Program Focus Team Sessions
- Kansas Wheat Innovation Tour
Go to the conference website for more details. --Maurice MacDonald, morey@ksu.edu
K-PICS ANNOUNCEMENTS
As you may be aware, OEIE’s KSRE-Program Impacts Collection System (K-PICS) Support Team is currently preparing to update K-PICS for the upcoming programming year, which begins October 1, 2013. In anticipation of this K-PICS update, we’d like to share a few announcements that all K-PICS users need to know. We have included some helpful actions to be taken by PFT Leaders and All K-PICS Users, along with necessary timelines.
PFT Leaders:
If you have not been in contact with OEIE regarding updates needed to K-PICS for your PFT, we request that you please contact us as soon as possible. For a timely OEIE response to your needs, your immediate attention is greatly appreciated. (If no action is required, please send us a note that no updates are needed.)
To complete K-PICS updates related to PFT specific templates and program data selections by October 1, 2013, OEIE intends to meet these targets:
- By the end of August, all submitted PFT items in need of K-PICKS updates are reviewed and any concerns or questions raised by OEIE are sent to PFT leaders. Leaders will be requested to provide feedback by early September.
- By mid-September, all items are in the system and sent to PFT leaders for final review. Leaders will be requested to provide feedback by September 23.
- By late September, any remaining edits/revisions are completed.
- On October 1, all items are active and available to K-PICS users.
Tip: When you’re looking at what may need to be updated within K-PICS, please review the following:
- Evaluation templates (instruments) accessible in the evaluation instruments area;
- Action plan(s) and program groups selections within the program entry area;
- Success story keywords; and,
- Program and instrument response data that has been entered for your PFT.
Check to ensure these templates and selections still reflects your PFT’s needs for the upcoming programming year. We are happy to provide you with additional information/data to assist you with these update decisions.
All K-PICS Users:
Data entry for this programming year (October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013) will need to be completed by Close of Business (5 p.m.) October 15, 2013. After this date, users will not be able to enter or edit data for programs that ended during this programming cycle. You will still be able to view and export this data after the data entry deadline.
Programs that end in the upcoming program year (October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014), and are therefore counted in next year's reporting cycle, should not be entered into K-PICS until after 12 p.m. (Noon) on October 16, 2013.
New: Soon you’ll see K-PICS’ new look which will provide you with a dashboard that informs you of what data you may need to review, edit, and enter prior to the October 15th data entry deadline.
Remember: The K-PICS Support Team is available via phone (785-532-5930) and email (kpics@ksu.edu) to assist you with the system. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about K-PICS. --Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation
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