The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
(Vol. 21 No. 7)
IN THIS ISSUE...
CONSENT TO RECEIVE YOUR W-2 FORM ELECTRONICALLY
The State of Kansas offers all
State of Kansas employees the opportunity to consent, view, and print
their W-2 form electronically through the State of Kansas Employee Self
Service. For employees who have not yet consented, log on to the State of Kansas Employee Self Service website and consent to receive your W-2 electronically. Employees are encouraged to review the electronic W-2 flyer (pdf) for
information on how to consent and access W-2 information online. Note,
as a State of Kansas employee you must access the State of Kansas website. The electronic W-2 forms are not accessible through KSU HRIS
Employee Self Service.
Currently
W-2s for 2008-2013 are available on-line. W-2s for 2014 will be
available in early January, 2015. Printed W-2s, for employees who do
not consent to receive their information electronically, will be
distributed through US mail in late January, 2015.
For
employees who have consented this year or in the previous year, no
action is required. Employees who consent to receive their W-2 form
electronically will not receive a paper W-2 form.
Terminated employees can consent and receive their W-2 form electronically 18 months after their termination date.
If you have any questions, please contact your department HR liaison. --Martha Monihen mmonihen@ksu.edu
HEALTHY YOU: WELLNESS IN THE WORKPLACE
Infection Protection
Cold and flu season is here!
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the timing of flu is
unpredictable and can vary from season to season. Seasonal flu activity can
begin as early as October and continue to occur as late as May. Flu activity
most commonly peaks in the United States in January or February. Flu activity
peaked during the week ending December 28, 2013 for the 2013-2014 season and
began a downward trend in early January.
Avoiding the cold or flu can often be difficult because we can be exposed to
the illness before the person who has it shows any symptoms. However, if someone in your household or
office has a common cold or other contagious bug, you can take some precautions
to keep catchy infections from taking over your office:Immunizations – Talk to your doctor to make sure
you are current with all of your immunizations and be sure to get a flu shot
annually.- Hand Washing – Think of hand washing as a
survival skill.
- Proper Rest and Good Nutrition – Getting plenty
of sleep and maintaining a healthy diet will improve resistance and bolster
immunity.
- Keep Your Distance – If someone in your office
or house shows symptoms of a cold, flu, or any contagious illness, keep your
distance from their coughs, sneezes and objects they touch.
- Disinfect – To keep catchy infections contained,
use a common disinfectant on the following hotspots: phones, door handles, computer
keyboards/mouse, light switches, faucets, microwaves and refrigerator handles
--Jodi Drake jdrake@ksu.edu
NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF BREADS LOOKING FOR YOUTH ENTRIES
Kansas Wheat is hosting the National Festival of Breads
contest and, for the second time, is featuring a youth division! One youth
grand prize winner will be selected and will receive a $300 scholarship. Two
youth entries will receive a runner-up prize of a $100 scholarship. More
prize packages are detailed in the official contest rules at nationalfestivalofbreads.com.
“Inspiring youth to bake can foster future generations of
home bakers,” says Cindy Falk, chairperson of the event and nutrition educator
for the Kansas Wheat Commission. “These youth bakers can then pass on their
baking skills as a service to local schools, communities and clubs.”
“The National Festival of Breads builds upon a rich
tradition of grassroots support and is the nation’s only amateur yeast bread
baking competition. This contest is a way for amateur bakers to be
recognized for their baking skills and creativity,” Falk said.
4-H members
or youth entering the contest need to submit their entries by January 16. The entries
are now accepted online through http://nationalfestivalofbreads.com.
The recipe should be an original one created by the entrant, which means lots
of delicious taste testing for 4-Hers and their families! The entry should also
have a full color photo of their bread attached.
Tips on how
to rise to the top of the competition can also be found on the National
Festival of Breads website. The most important of these is to follow the rules.
It won't matter how tasty your bread is if the rules aren't followed. This
contest is for yeast breads and quick breads only. So, save your cake, cookie,
pudding or other tasty treats for sharing with your friends and family. Also,
make sure to use King Arthur Flour and Red Star Yeast.
The National Festival of Breads will be held
in Manhattan on June 13, 2015 at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event is open to
the public and features a variety of unique activities for 4-Hers and their
families to enjoy: baking demonstrations, taste tests, a trade show and preparation
of the finalists' entries for the contest.
For more
information on how to enter the contest, information on the festival, recipes
for county fairs and much more, please visit http://nationalfestivalofbreads.com. --Steven Graham sgraham@ksu.edu
ZOOM AUDIO/VIDEO CONFERENCING UPGRADED TO WORK WITH SINGLE SIGN-ON
The K-State Zoom audio/video conferencing service has been upgraded to work with the university’s Single Sign-On service, which allows K-Staters to use their eID/password to sign in. Instructions for how to sign in can be found in the Accessing Zoom article. You can access Zoom by using the Web, the Zoom app download, or a link on your K-State Connect page. Please use Single Sign-On from now on.
Attention: Previous K-State Zoom accounts will be deactivated on February 16, 2015.
Upgraded Account Details
Only individual or group email accounts will work with the upgraded Single Sign-On accounts. If you have used a shared account, calendar resource, or distribution list to sign up for your previous Zoom account, it will not work with Single Sign-On.
The first time you log into your upgraded Zoom account with Single Sign-On, your personal meeting ID will not match your previous account. There will be a two-month transition period for users to reassign their previous personal meeting ID.
To reassign it, log into your previous account and change your personal meeting ID. Then log into your upgraded account with Single Sign-On and change your personal meeting ID to your desired 10-digit number. See the Accessing Zoom article for instructions on how to change your ID using the Zoom app.
On February 16, 2015, your previous account will be deactivated, and the personal meeting ID linked to that account will be released.
For questions, contact shelleytroyer@k-state.edu or call the IT Help Desk, 785-532-7722. -- Shelley Troyer
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
My
picks this week are outcomes from Brian Rees, Lyon County; and Jonie James,
McPherson County; and a success story from Brian.
**Many
local producers have been able to increase their per acre profits by
incorporating grazing livestock on their crop ground into their operating plan.
Although there is some initial expense (seeding costs, fencing, and water
development) the benefits from lower cost gains and feeding cost reductions
more than offset the expenses.
By
using livestock to harvest a growing cover, producers are able to capitalize on
lower cost gains while also reducing feeding costs, manure handling expenses,
improving infiltration and reducing soil erosion and nutrient run-off, all of
which should combine to improve overall, long-term productivity and profit.
**Long-term
sustainability for many producers is heavily dependent on maintaining the
number of acres they farm. Farm machinery investment needs to be used close to
its full capacity to maintain efficiency within the farming enterprise. Paying
closer attention to their land leases, and evaluating what they should be
offering for these land leases is taking on a higher level of importance with
producers. Producers are updating their leases every 2-3 years; they are doing the math to determine what an equitable share or cash rent would be, and
they are converting more of their leases from verbal to written leases.
**Relationships
between landlords and tenants have long been an emphasis when working on lease
arrangements. One situation in particular came to light. The niece of a long
time landlord contacted me regarding an aging tenant who had been renting the
same ground for more than 50 years, the relationship starting with her
grandmother and continuing at present with her aging aunt. The concern was NOT
over the quality of the relationship—things were going well and there is still
a tremendous trust between the landlord and tenant—but rather to try to get a
better understanding of ag leases and leasing for the future, as both the
landlord and tenant were advancing in age. A meeting had been scheduled between
the parties for discussion, but when I finally asked, I learned the landlord did
not know about the tenant’s death a day earlier. Because it was a long-term
relationship, the landlord called the tenant’s spouse to express sympathy, and
shared they had been talking with me. This alarmed the tenant's spouse,
"Why were they talking to you?" as the first fear was cancellation of
the lease arrangement. However, all parties DID meet, had a good open
discussion, and now have formalized a new three-year lease. The landlords have
a better understanding of ag leases and current practices, changed from a
shared arrangement to a cash rent (fixing numbers for both parties), and the
tenant's fears have been relieved with the new lease. –Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
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