Better Kansas - Ideas for Living, Growing and Succeeding

Better Kansas – Sept. 12, 2019

Posted on September 12, 2019September 11, 2019 by Mary Lou Peter

Welcome to Better Kansas. Where every Thursday we shed light on events, resources and other information designed to make your life, businesses, communities and state better. Share on social media and don’t forget to subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

WHEN IT COMES TO PARENTING, IT CAN SEEM LIKE WE ARE FEELING OUR WAY IN THE DARK! One of the topics so difficult to know how to handle with children is the concept of money. Questions I struggled with are how to tell a child you’re not able to buy something (or seriously, do you think we can afford a swimming pool?). When is a good time to start an allowance or IS an allowance even a good idea? Should I pay a 12-year-old to help with household chores? Or clean his room? Through a Child’s Eyes: Helping Children Understand the Concepts of Time, Money, and Talent brings up questions and suggestions that pretty much all parents think about at some point. Consider the unintended consequences of paying a child to do something. When you pay her to perform a task, it changes the way she thinks of that task and she may expect compensation every time. Take a look for more things to consider. Wish I’d thought of these things a few years back!

THERE’S SOMETHING WEIGHING ON US and I mean that literally. And only we can do something about it. I mean the obesity problem in our state and country. Thirty-three percent of Kansas adults are obese, and many of us eat poorly and do not get enough exercise. Sometimes it helps to have guidance. Enter SNAP-Ed, a nutrition education program provided to Kansas families with limited resources. We partner with numerous agencies and last year, in 72 of the state’s 105 counties, reached 40,717 Kansans through SNAP-Ed programs.

ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS I HAVE A TENDENCY TO save things. I tear out magazine articles, set aside mail to read one day and save household items and furniture just in case my grown children might want them someday. They’ve politely told me “no” more times than not, so I need to get serious about selling, donating or just pitching things. If this sounds like you, take a look at Cut the Clutter and Get Organized. I’m going to start the process one room at a time. Eventually, I’ll work my way to the basement, but that’s downright scary.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

THEY LOOK LIKE WHAT ‘E.T.’ BUILT TO PHONE HOME, but the 62 weather stations set up around the state don’t send messages to a different planet or alien spacecraft. They DO measure wind speed and direction, air temperature, precipitation and more, continuously sending the information back to K-State’s campus where it’s stored at the Weather Data Library. The system of weather stations, called Kansas Mesonet, is beneficial to science teachers, construction companies, farmers, ranchers … anyone interested in current and historical weather information for the state. And it’s used routinely by the National Weather Service. Read up on some of the latest developments.

WHILE WE’RE ON THE TOPIC OF WEATHER, I happened to hear a recent KCUR “Up to Date” radio segment (Kansas City area NPR station) focusing on how devastating this year’s floods have been for many Kansas and Missouri farmers and the long-term effect on soils. The interview features a northwest Missouri farmer and a K-State soil scientist. Very informative. The segment starts about the 22:30 mark. Listen in.

GOING TO THE DOGS: THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL AGRICULTURE FIELD DAY, but on Oct. 8, K-State Research and Extension is hosting Beef Production and the Working Cow Dog in Williamsburg, Kansas. We have A LOT of educational opportunities around the state every year, but I don’t remember seeing one on this topic. Hope you check it out.

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 – Sept. 5, 2019

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Mary Lou Peter

Better Living, Better Communities

DO YOU THINK MEDICARE IS CONFUSING? It can be! It’s nice to have choices but not so easy to know Plan A from Plan D much less which plan to sign up for. And oh, the seemingly endless changes every year! Many extension offices offer Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas, or SHICK. During open enrollment in 2017, K-State Research and Extension SHICK counselors educated almost 8,000 Kansans on Medicare plan comparisons and available benefits, saving them a total of $6.1 million. Outside open enrollment, SHICK counselors had contact with another 8,316 people through classes and plan comparisons. Remember, Medicare open enrollment is Oct. 15-Dec. 7.

FRESH TOMATOES, PEPPERS AND ONIONS are plentiful right now, and that means one thing: It’s salsa time! Whether it’s a game-day gathering or a birthday party, salsa has become a must-have condiment for many of us, and everyone’s recipe is a little different. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced cook, check out tips to keep your salsa safe in Sassy Safe Salsa at Home. It’s also available in Spanish, Atrevida Salsa Casera Segura. Among the factoids: Salsa flavors tend to mellow during storage; and there’s an optimal way to roast peppers. There’s even information about whom to contact if you’re interested in selling your own special salsa.

THEY CHEW THROUGH WIRING AND CONTAMINATE FOOD AND FEED and as the days grow colder, house mice will be looking for warmer digs, like our homes and businesses. They’re among the most common and economically destructive rodents in the United States, but their tiny size makes them so hard to keep out. Plus, forget rabbits – house mice reproduce like crazy. One pair can make more than 100,000 babies a year. Their scientific name, Mus musculus, makes me think of the muscle-bound cartoon character Mighty Mouse, but that was all in fun. It’s no fun though to find they’ve chewed through food packages in the pantry or left not-so-delightful droppings ANYWHERE. A new fact sheet Controlling House Mice provides all kinds of information, including ways to keep your space look less inviting to the little critters.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

A NUMBER OF PINE TREES IN MY NORTHEAST KANSAS NEIGHBORHOOD ARE DYING. It’s tough because they provide an evergreen wind break and serve as a visual barrier from people driving by, so it has me wondering what kinds of trees might be good options to replace them. The publication Conifer Trees for Kansas is a comprehensive guide to conifers (you know, the cone-bearing trees like pine, spruce and fir :). It tells which do well in different parts of the state, what their primary pests and diseases are – plus it has pictures. It even gives an idea if they’re slow-, medium- or fast-growing. Questions still? Check with your local K-State Research and Extension office. By the way, we’re proud to say that conifer publication won the 2018 American Society of Horticulture Science Extension Materials Award.

IF WEBER AND CALL HALLS WERE YOUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME for a few years in college or if you’re in or want to be in the livestock business in Kansas, come together with family and friends at the 5^TH Annual Animal Sciences and Industry Family and Friends Reunion from 5:30-9:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, at the Stanley Stout Center, 2200 Denison Ave. in Manhattan. The evening offers great food, entertainment and activities for the kids. This year, the Don L. Good Impact Award will be presented to the Kansas Livestock Association. More than 1,000 attended last year’s event. We hope to see you there!

APPARENTLY, ALFALFA, WHEAT SEEDLINGS AND OTHER CROPS HAVE BEEN ON GRASSHOPPERS’ MENU lately, and most are full grown by this time of year, which makes controlling them tricky, according to Grasshoppers – Eating their way through Kansas in a recent Agronomy eUpdate. The article has great photos and the nitty gritty on when and if to treat them in several crops. Plus, you’ll see that entomologist sense of humor I mentioned in a previous post.

Better Kansas – August 29, 2019

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Mary Lou Peter

Welcome to Better Kansas. Where every Thursday we shed light on events, resources and other information designed to make your life, businesses, communities and state better. Don’t forget to hit subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

FOR MANY EVENTS, WE PREPARE. Planning a wedding? The to-do list is a mile long. Expecting a baby? Another crazy list. But disasters happen every year in Kansas, and most of us are woefully unprepared. We’ve had tornadoes, floods and blizzards this year, with more extreme weather likely to come. It’s human nature to be in denial about bad things that might happen, but preparing ahead of time can make getting back to normal easier. Check out the Prepare Kansas blog and also look for resources on the FEMA page for National Preparedness Month. Thinking about being in denial reminds me of the Pam Tillis song Cleopatra: Queen of Denial. The mind does veer sometimes!

WHAT DRIVES YOUNG ADULTS’ FINANCIAL DECISIONS? I don’t mean the occasional stop at Starbucks, but bigger-picture decisions like buying a home or saving for retirement? Student loan debt, which tops $1.5 trillion, is a top-of-mind factor. A section of the article Money Matters in the spring 2019 K-State Seek research magazine sheds light on this and other factors that drive young adults’ financial decisions. In addition, eXtension offers student loan related fact sheets for students and parents, including savings options, such as 529 plans, types of student loans, responsible borrowing, how student loans can impact your later life, plus information on recovering from student loan default. K-State Research and Extension is part of eXtension.org.

MUSIC CAN CONNECT US, SOOTHE US AND HAVE POWERFUL EFFECTS on our emotions like nothing else can. It can take us to a different place. And research shows that listening to music as a child can affect the way we think. Researchers believe that the complexity of classical music especially, primes the brain to solve spatial problems more quickly. Take a look at Building Baby’s Brain: The Role of Music to learn more.

So maybe there WERE benefits to those squeaky 4^th grade violin lessons despite your family’s cringes while you were practicing!

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

SEPTEMBER IS A GREAT TIME TO GIVE YOUR LAWN A BOOST. Tips on seeding, overseeding and fertilizing plus power raking and core-aeration are outlined in a recent horticulture newsletter. And there’s more! Information on dividing peonies, thinking ahead for next year’s vegetable garden and current challenges for oak trees are also covered. And check out the video Fertilize for a Healthy Lawn.

WHEN WE’RE HYPER-FOCUSED ON SOMETHING IT MAY FEEL LIKE WE’RE operating in a vacuum. That can be true of running a farm business or any kind of business. But stepping back and evaluating the growth and progress of your farm or other agricultural enterprise can help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses. Benchmarking against similar farms can also help you assess your financial position and inform your plans for the future. The Financial Benchmarking Tool was developed by K-State and the CoBank Research Fellow program to help agricultural producers, bankers, consultants and others benchmark their financial ratios with cohorts who are members of the Kansas Farm Management Association.

GOING THROUGH STRESSFUL TIMES IS EASIER WITH A BUDDY, RIGHT? Cattle feel that way, too. So, some cattle operations have installed cattle handling systems called the Bud Box, designed to reduce stress for animals and the humans working with them. I admit, when I first heard of the Bud Box I thought it was so named because cattle are more comfortable when other cattle are nearby. That is true – think herd instinct – but the Bud Box is named after stockman Bud Williams who designed the system. It does draw on basic principles of cattle behavior and movement, including that cattle want to be with other cattle. Other principles and more information are outlined in the publication, Designing a Bud Box for Cattle Handling.

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Better Kansas – August 22, 2019

Posted on August 22, 2019August 22, 2019 by Mary Lou Peter

Welcome to Better Kansas. Where every Thursday we shed light on events, resources and other information designed to make your life, businesses, communities and state better. Don’t forget to hit subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

MANY OF US HAVE A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH SUGAR and most of us know the difference between table sugar and powdered sugar, but there’s a lot more to that sweet carbohydrate than some of us knew. And it comes in so many forms! There’s your coarse sugar and your fruit sugar and your brown sugar and your turbinado sugar?! … You get the picture. Get the scoop in Sugar: More Than Just a Sweetener to learn about sugars and sugar substitutes such as aspartame and stevia, plus information on the function of sugar in foods. I never knew that in frozen foods, low temperatures tend to numb the taste buds and sugar acts to enhance flavors. Am I the only person who’s never heard of the Maillard reaction?

I’LL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT, I NEED AN OCCASIONAL REMINDER to stick to a budget, use credit wisely and to be savvy about saving. For many of us baby boomers, our thoughts have shifted to thinking less about saving for a wedding or making it to the kids’ volleyball tournament and a lot more about planning our next weekend getaway and how to make our money last through a long, healthy 😊 retirement. The article Keys to Embracing Aging: Financial Affairs is full of reminders of things to consider as we age, plus do’s and don’ts we may not think about, especially regarding consumer protection. My own family remembers a relative who was incredibly smart but fell prey to a company that took advantage of him as he grew older. It can happen to anyone.

ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT BEING NEAR A MAJOR UNIVERSITY is easy access to informational sessions presented by an array of experts – and sometimes you don’t even have to be a student. A visual and insightful treat is in store for anyone who attends the Henry C. Gardiner Lecture Series at K-State Oct. 14. That’s when Dennis Dimick, the former executive environmental editor for National Geographic will speak about the challenges of living in the modern human era in his presentation “Living in the Human Age.” The free lecture, in the university’s McCain Auditorium, is open to the public. While at National Geographic, Dimick worked on more than 90 projects that addressed climate change, public lands, freshwater scarcity, coal and natural gas as energy supplies, and the effects on water supply from drought and snowpack loss in the United States. While on campus, he and National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson will speak to students and other campus groups. More information, plus a Q&A is available online. Plus, more information is available about the Henry C. Gardiner Global Foods Systems Lecture Series.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

THEY COME BACK EVERY YEAR TO WOW US WITH THEIR BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS, but even daylilies need a little TLC. This is the time of year to consider dividing daylilies, especially if it’s been a few years (or ever?) since the last time they were divided. Dividing them every 3-4 years helps keep them looking their best and we’ll be the lucky recipients of that for years to come. Check out the Dividing Daylilies section of a recent K-State Horticulture Newsletter and take a look at the video Dividing Daylilies.

YOU MAY KNOW KANSAS AS THE WHEAT STATE but did you know there are many varieties of wheat grown across the state? What grows well in western Kansas does not necessarily grow well on the eastern side of the state because of differences in average precipitation, soil type and other factors. To help farmers determine what varieties grow best and where, which certainly comes in handy when making decisions about seed purchases, K-State’s Agronomy Department and partners have just issued the NEW 2019 Kansas Performance Tests with Winter Wheat Varieties. It’s just a tad important since about one-fifth of all wheat grown in the United States is grown in Kansas.

By the way, university agronomists make public information on other crops too, such as corn, soybeans, canola, sunflower, grain sorghum and others. More on those later.

WHAT DO YOU CALL TWO SPIDERS THAT JUST GOT MARRIED? NEWLY WEBS! I’ve not met an entomologist yet that doesn’t have a sense of humor and that humor surfaces frequently in the Bug Jokes section of the K-State Extension Entomology blog. The scientists get down to serious business, too, as they conduct research and work with Kansans to scout farm fields, identify insects in homes and businesses and share information about how to manage them. By the way, the photo is of a longhorn milkweed beetle.

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K-State Research and Extension