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Better Kansas – Ideas for Living, Growing and Succeeding

Month: May 2021

Better Kansas – May 13, 2021

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

To our readers: It’s with mixed feelings that I share that this is my last Better Kansas blog post. After 22 years (two years writing the blog), I’m retiring from Kansas State University. I’ve had wonderful experiences and met so many terrific people on this journey and for that, I’m forever grateful. It’s been a privilege and great fun to share with you some of the resources K-State Research and Extension offers. I’ll say it one more time, if you’re not familiar with your local extension office’s programs and services, check them out.  I’m told that my KSU email will remain active, so I’d be honored to hear from you.

— Thank you all, Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

This week in Better Kansas, we touch on communicating with children, including teenagers, using available technology to prepare for emergencies, butterfly gardens and other plant topics, generic drugs in livestock, and a full slate of wheat variety plot tours. This is just a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension has to offer. Check with your local office to find out what programs and services are available in your area.

Better Living, Better Communities

EVER NEED SUGGESTIONS ABOUT TALKING WITH TEENAGERS? OR REALLY, CHILDREN OF ANY AGE? Maybe it’s just me but parenting isn’t always sweetness and light. It’s downright difficult at times. K-State’s Wildcat Extension District has assembled wonderful resources to help parents at all stages. Some originated with specialists at other land grant universities, such as the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University and Purdue, but as mentioned before, that’s the beauty of the Cooperative Extension System – we all share! Take a look.

I’M PRETTY SURE IT WAS THE CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE my children and I experienced in 1989. Remember that? During the Bay Bridge World Series? Ever since, I’ve been interested in emergency preparedness education. And does life ever bring us our share of emergencies, from power outages to flooded basements to storms that affect whole communities. One of my colleagues recently shared tips that can help mitigate the difficulties after disasters. Take a look at Simple steps now can make recovering from emergencies easier to learn more. And check out the Prepare Kansas blog for even more information to help keep you and yours (plus your data) safe.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

EVERY YEAR I INTEND TO DO MORE TO SUPPORT BUTTERFLIES, those fragile gorgeous creatures that flit from one plant to another in my dab of a backyard. For simple suggestions to get started, watch the video on Butterfly Gardens, one of the many resources shared in the weekly Horticulture Newsletter. If you enjoy your garden and the creatures that come visit, consider subscribing. It’s free and full of great information shared by really smart people who study these topics for a living.

 

AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER, FOR US OR OUR ANIMALS, we’re faced with choosing between a brand name drug or a generic. Not a topic I see written about or discussed often, so I found this article about creating generic drugs for use in food animals interesting. It was produced as part of Cattle Chat, a weekly podcast and news article featuring veterinarians at K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute.

 

WHETHER A VETERAN WHEAT GROWER OR EARLY CAREER FARMER, you’ll no doubt find something to like (and maybe learn) at one of the many wheat variety plot tours planned in locations all over the state from now into June. And we’re more than a bit excited that we can see you in person! Don’t get me wrong, Zoom and other virtual ways to learn are terrific, but we’re happy to see you and converse in a safe way. Take a look at the schedule and don’t delay: They’ve already started.

Again, many thanks for sharing a few moments with me every week.

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For more resources and activities, contact the K-State Research and Extension office in your area. Check out our other blogs and subscribe to our weekly emails here: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/blogs/

Better Kansas – May 6, 2021

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

This week in Better Kansas I touch on food safety guidance for food stands and bake sales, wheat gluten, Garden Hour webinars, crop scout training and drought as it relates to ranch management. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

WE’RE GETTING BACK TO NORMAL … SORT OF. At least we’re now able to hold (and attend) some events, and where there are events, there is food, right? The Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all recently reaffirmed there is no evidence of COVID-19 transmission via food or food packaging. But for those of us who organize or work food stands and bake sales, K-State Research and Extension has developed recommendations for COVID safety to help mitigate the virus’s transmission from one person to another. If your church, school or community is planning an event, take a look at Safety guidance for food stands and bake sales in 2021. For other food topics, see the food safety web page. And please, stay safe out there.

 

WHEN STROLLING GROCERY STORE AISLES it doesn’t take long to find a food product labeled “gluten free.” But what is gluten, really? And why should we care? Is it really something to avoid? After all, it gives breads and other baked products their elastic, chewy properties. That makes me think of yummy bagels! Take a look at Gluten and Your Gut’s Good Health for more information about wheat gluten itself, plus facts about celiac disease and other conditions.

 Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

I’M WONDERING HOW MANY OF YOU MOSTLY IGNORED YOUR INDOOR CHORES THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKENDS, and instead took advantage of gorgeous weather to plant flowers and vegetables? I certainly did! For you like-minded spirits, the popular K-State Garden Hour webinars will continue through the summer and into fall. New topics are featured the first and third Wednesday each month from 12-1 p.m. Take a little break, have a bite to eat and learn about such topics as:

May 19 – Xeriscaping – Beautiful Landscapes with Less Water

June 2 – Effective Irrigation

June 16 – Native Plants to Support Native Bees

Aug. 4 – Organic Gardening

Aug. 18 – Gardening with Beneficial Insects

Sept.  1 – Basics of Growing Berries in Kansas

One-step registration allows your participation in any of the 2021 K-State Garden Hour series and provides access to previously recorded webinars, plus resources you may have missed. Check it out.

 

FARMERS KNOW THE VALUE OF KEEPING A CLOSE, WELL-TRAINED EYE ON THEIR FIELDS, watching for signs of pests, diseases and other problems that can eat into their crops and profits. To help keep those eyes well trained, a team of crop protection specialists at 11 Midwest universities including K-State, have now come together to produce the 2021 Virtual Crop Scout School free to the public. Read about it in a recent edition of the Agronomy eUpdate, which also touches on cotton stand establishment, stripe rust update in wheat, soybean seeding rates, effect of row spacing on soy yield, and facts about lightning (and staying safe).

 

I’M A NATIVE KANSAN BUT NEVER KNEW THAT OUR STATE IS LIKELY TO HAVE A DROUGHT THREE OUT OF 10 YEARS. Now that I think of it, that sounds right. When 2021 began, more than 81% of Kansas was experiencing some level of drought. Conditions have improved, however, with the April 29, 2021 U.S. Drought Monitor showing only western Kansas, or about 36% of the state in abnormally dry to severe drought conditions. Read about drought monitoring and ranch management in the May Beef Tips newsletter. Other topics this month cover cleaning winter feeding sites to reduce stable flies and nutrient runoff, the spring breeding season, and mineral supplements. In terms of drought, keep an eye on the western U.S. and the Corn Belt.

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

https://enewsletters.k-state.edu/beeftips/category/may-2021/

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For more resources and activities, contact the K-State Research and Extension office in your area. Check out our other blogs and subscribe to our weekly emails here: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/blogs/