Better Kansas - Ideas for Living, Growing and Succeeding

Better Kansas – April 15, 2021

Posted on April 15, 2021April 14, 2021 by Mary Lou Peter

In this week’s Better Kansas, we touch on the resumption of 4-H summer camps, the food trend known as charcuterie, vegetable gardening, March update on climate and its effects on Kansas crops, and a webinar on USDA efforts to aid agricultural producers affected by COVID-19. 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

AFTER THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC SHUTDOWN LAST YEAR, ROCK SPRINGS 4-H CAMP will open its doors this summer. That means hundreds of Kansas kids can disconnect from technology and experience the great outdoors through canoeing, horseback riding, fishing, and other activities. Take a look at the article, Kansas 4-H prepares to bring back summer camp for more information, including a radio interview on the topic. More information about 4-H in general is available on the Kansas 4-H website or by contacting your local extension office.

I’VE SEEN REFERENCES and a lot of photos in magazines of charcuterie boards – a collection of cold cooked meats and sometimes cheeses, nuts and other foods assembled together on a cutting board or serving platter. So, it was nice to find several videos devoted to charcuterie (and how to build your own) on the Wild West Extension District nutrition web page. Helpful for those of us who weren’t even sure how to pronounce this food and entertaining trend. Makes me want to have a little party! By the way, the Wild West Extension District is composed of Seward, Stevens and Haskell counties.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

CARROT, CUCUMBER AND PEPPER LOVERS LISTEN UP, now (or soon) is the time to get those plants growing in your garden. Whether you’re new to vegetable gardening or have successfully grown at least some of your own produce, there’s good information in the Vegetable Garden Planting Guide. It includes a concise calendar that indicates when vegetables should be planted in Kansas. Whether it’s asparagus or zucchini or pretty much anything in between, the guide provides handy information about the type of planting, average days to germination and first harvest, recommended number of plants or seeds in a 10-foot row, planting depth and more.

LAST MONTH WAS THE 5TH WETTEST MARCH SINCE 1895 IN KANSAS – especially good news for parts of the state that were in drought conditions. Northwest Kansas received 262% of the amount it normally does in March, according to the Kansas Ag-Climate Update for March 2021. The state was also warmer than normal, overall averaging 3.7 degrees warmer than usual. The conditions boosted the spring development of the winter wheat crop. The monthly Kansas Ag-Climate Update is a collaborative effort of K-State’s climate and extension specialists.

K-STATE HOSTED A WEBINAR NOT LONG AGO ON RECENT USDA NEWS related to pandemic assistance for agricultural producers. The USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers webinar presented a recap of the steps USDA took last year to aid farmers and ranchers negatively impacted by COVID-19, plus provided information from K-State and Kansas Farm Service Agency representatives about more recent USDA announcements. More information can also be found in a USDA announcement.

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 – April 8, 2021

Posted on April 8, 2021April 6, 2021 by Mary Lou Peter

Better Kansas – April 8, 2021

Today in Better Kansas, I share valuable information about free webinars on money management, plus Alzheimer’s disease, in-season fruits and vegetables, rose care, emerging crop insects and prospective plantings on U.S. farms this year. 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

GET A GROUP OF COMMITTED PEOPLE TOGETHER – in this case extension educators who understand the value of teaching about money management – and the result is Wallet Wisdom, a series of free webinars on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. starting April 22, open to everyone. Interested? Register once and you can watch just one or all six webinars. Topics are: A Financial Checkup; Emotions and Money; Spending Plans; Increasing Savings; Debt Management; and All About Credit. Can’t watch at that time? They’ll be recorded to watch later. Personal note: For years, I thought banks should provide this kind of education, but I’ve rarely seen that. Some of us learned these lessons the hard and costly way. Also, if you have grown or mostly grown kids, please share this information with them.

I’VE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS BEFORE but not in this context, so please indulge me. Like many, my family had its first big gathering in about 1-1/2 years last weekend. My, how the children have grown! It was a wonderful day with gorgeous weather. One of the many there was a beloved mom and grandmother, and a vibrant former business owner…. and she has Alzheimer’s disease. She has been in even stricter isolation than the rest of us this past year and we were so grateful to finally share a day with her again. We at K-State are fortunate to have a specialist in adult development and aging who has studied Alzheimer’s disease and has prioritized educating the public about this horrible disease that afflicts a shocking one in every 10 people, age 65 and older. Take a look at Alzheimer’s 101 to learn more.

WE KNOW THAT THE PRICE OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IS OFTEN LOWER WHEN THOSE CROPS ARE BEING HARVESTED, ALSO KNOWN AS “IN SEASON.” But when are those crops harvested in a typical year? A handy guide, What’s in Season was produced for the Walk Kansas program. Discover what’s in season when, plus cooking tips and healthy recipes to take advantage of that bountiful carrot or plentiful pea crop. I just wish we could grow oranges here in Kansas. Thankfully, our neighbors to the south are happy to grow them for us.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

WHEN LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON PRUNING ROSES IN MY OWN YARD, I found the fact sheet Rose Care. In four pages, it covers planting, pruning, insect and disease management, and provides suggestions for rose varieties that have grown well in the Kansas City area. It was produced by Johnson County K-State Research and Extension and the Johnson County Extension Master Gardeners. I’ll write more in an upcoming post about Extension Master Gardeners, but in the meantime check out the program.

IT’S NOT JUST US! THE BUGS AROUND US ARE ENJOYING THE WARMER SPRING WEATHER, TOO. Some showing up in farmers’ fields are alfalfa weevils (pictured, credit U. of California-Davis) and army cutworms. That’s prompted the first Entomology Newsletter of the season. For details about what to watch for, as well as management information so they don’t chomp their way through your smorgasbord … also known as your crop, take a look. I didn’t know that skunks are a way to detect army cutworms!

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED USDA REPORTS OF THE YEAR, PROSPECTIVE PLANTINGS, was released March 31. It indicated that U.S. farmers expect to plant corn on 91.1 million acres, up less than 1% from last year. Soybean and wheat acreage is expected to be up 5% and cotton down less than 1% this year. Listen in to an Agriculture Today radio interview with economist Dan O’Brien on the topic and its implications for those commodity markets. Also, take a look at the USDA’s Prospective Plantings information.

Better Kansas – April 1, 2021

Posted on April 1, 2021March 31, 2021 by Mary Lou Peter

Welcome to Better Kansas, where this week we pull out positive nuggets from this past year, plus grant writing workshops, the dollars and cents of gardening, swine research into a devastating disease and wheat growers, do you know where your cattle are? 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 MORE THAN A YEAR INTO THIS PANDEMIC and although we’ve seen hopeful signs, there is plenty of reason to stay vigilant. I’ve often thought that sometimes out of bad things, come good things. It doesn’t mean we welcomed the bad experiences or wanted them to happen. But we can acknowledge how we may have changed or learned as a result of those experiences. A K-State nutrition specialist covers a bit of that in Healthy Living: Specialist shares possible pandemic positives. Many of us in fact, are washing our hands more often and are more intentional when we go shopping. Of course, given this past year, I still feel like going to the grocery store is a big outing!

A PASTOR, A VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER AND A NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVIST WALK INTO A BAR …. No wait, that’s a different story! Seriously though, they may have all walked into (or logged into) a grant writing workshop where they learned how to write proposals to fund everything from new playground equipment to safety equipment for firefighters. Because there’s money out there to fund all kinds of projects, K-State Research and Extension has hosted more than 60 grant writing workshops across the state since 2016 and thanks to the internet, the pandemic hasn’t stopped them. More are coming up April 14 & 21 hosted by the Central Kansas Extension District and April 27 & 29 hosted by the Chisholm Trail Extension District. They are for veteran grant writers, as well as rookies. More information about the effort in general is available in Changing the future of communities, one grant at a time.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

IF YOU’RE STILL DECIDING WHETHER TO START A FOOD GARDEN this year, Gardening 9-1-1: Costs and Benefits of Home Gardening may be beneficial. It sheds light on the average cost of a garden, including soil, amendments, seed, tools and such ($167 to $322), plus how to put a value on the produce after harvest. For me, the intangible benefit is how good you feel when you’ve grown something successfully. I’m still thinking of that wonderful cantaloupe I grew years ago … that variety I forgot to save the label for, so didn’t remember what to buy the next year. Don’t be like me … hang onto those labels at least until you know if the outcome is tasty! The fact sheet also touches on the topic of “locally grown” foods.

EIGHT YEARS OF K-STATE RESEARCH LED TO “A DISQUIETING SCENARIO” FOR SWINE PRODUCERS, that feed and feed ingredients could potentially serve as a means for the introduction and transmission of foreign animal diseases in swine. Of particular concern is the possibility of African Swine Fever, a highly contagious and deadly virus. At this point, ASF has not been identified in the U.S. and researchers are working to keep it that way. The disease is not a food safety issue and not a threat to human health but could devastate a country’s swine industry. Read more about the research, plus a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service resource page on the topic.

ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES TO GROWING WINTER WHEAT is that in addition to its value as a grain crop to be harvested in early summer, a grower can also graze cattle on it … up to a point. And in parts of Kansas some wheat varieties have reached that point. That point is known as first hollow stem or FHS of development. After the crop hits FHS, leaving cattle to graze it can impede optimal grain yield at harvest time. Check out this Agronomy eUpdate article for details on this topic in general, as well as a recent update.

Better Kansas – March 25, 2021

Posted on March 25, 2021March 24, 2021 by Mary Lou Peter

In this week’s Better Kansas, I delve into gardening with children, preparing for emergencies, metals in soils, calf health and a follow up on spring wheat in northwest Kansas. 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

IF YOU KNOW KIDS, CHANCES ARE YOU KNOW A PICKY EATER. I’ve often heard that if children help grow their own food, they’re more likely to at least try those brussels sprouts and broccoli. That’s just one of the potential benefits to including children in the process, from planning the garden design, to helping pick what fruit and vegetables to grow, to watering, pulling weeds and more. And hey, it gets them outdoors and away from electronics. Take a look at Gardening 9-1-1: Kids in the Garden for more information.

I ONCE WROTE “LIVING IN THE HEARTLAND IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.” We here in Kansas are reminded of that over and over, especially this time of year. Severe thunderstorms, strong winds, flooding and tornadoes are nothing new to us and always something to be mindful of and prepared for. The Prepare Kansas blog is an easy and visually interesting way to help all Kansans be better prepared for whatever might come our way. I realized how accustomed I’d grown to our natural disasters when someone reminded me that college students coming to Kansas from other states or countries may be completely unfamiliar with tornadoes and the siren systems in many communities. Before we know it, we’ll be talking about ice and snow. We ARE a hardy bunch!

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

THE EXPRESSION “HEAVY METAL” might conjure thoughts of Radiohead or Metallica, unless of course you’re growing plants. In that case, heavy metal is more likely to mean metals found in garden soil. It’s not common and usually not an issue but metals including lead, cadmium, arsenic and others can be found in some soils. Read Heavy Metals in the Soil and Garden for more information. The best way to learn about your soil, including more common tests for pH, phosphorus, potassium and nitrate which can be performed by the K-State Soil Testing Lab. Samples can be submitted through the extension office in your area. Read about the lab’s services online for more information.

ONE OF THE JOYS OF DRIVING ACROSS KANSAS IN SPRING IS SEEING COWS AND THEIR NEW CALVES dot the landscape. But young calves, particularly, are susceptible to scours (what we non-bovines call diarrhea) in those early days of life. The condition can cause metabolic acidosis and can be fatal if not promptly treated. A recent Cattle Chat article and podcast by veterinarians at the Beef Cattle Institute cover the topic with tips to help keep your calves safe.

A FEW WEEKS AGO I WROTE ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF GROWING SPRING WHEAT in northwest Kansas. Since then, I came across this article by one of our agriculture and natural resources agents in the Twin Creeks Extension District, which includes four counties, two of which border Husker country. It gets into some of the details that we know so far about this potential alternative crop for farmers, including that seeding rates need to be higher, compared with the winter wheat varieties we traditionally grow, and that heat stress would be more detrimental to spring wheat than winter wheat.

—

K-State Research and Extension