K-State Research and Extension

search

Better Kansas – Ideas for Living, Growing and Succeeding

Tag: COVID-19

Better Kansas – Jan. 14, 2021

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

Welcome to this week’s Better Kansas, where I touch on resources for caregivers, cooking basics, parenting during the coronavirus pandemic, Cheyenne Bottoms (and community vitality resources), the Women Managing the Farm conference, and beef herd management. That’s quite a wide range of topics! This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Feel free to share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

AN ESTIMATED 65.7 MILLION AMERICANS ARE FAMILY CAREGIVERS FOR AN ILL OR DISABLED RELATIVE, according to the National Alliance of Caregiving. That’s 29% of the adult population and involves 31% of all U.S. households. And many of those caregivers are also holding down fulltime jobs, working to advance their careers and responsible for their own nuclear family. Stress can run high in the best of circumstances. Throw in a pandemic and its financial, health and social implications and political angst during election season, it’s no wonder that caregivers feel beyond pressured. K-State Research and Extension offers help for caregivers, including programs like Powerful Tools for Caregivers. Check with your local extension office to determine if a similar program is planned in your area. In the meantime, if you’re a caregiver, please take a break; forgive yourself – often; ask for and accept help when offered; and find your best way to relax, whether it’s reading a book, gardening or meditating. Also, check out Dr. Erin Yelland’s work in Adult Development and Aging resources and in the North Central Region Aging Network.

WE ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUCH AN INNATE SENSE OF FOODS, HERBS, SPICES AND COOKING that they instinctively put meals together without a second thought. I’ve always been envious. I am not one of those people. For those of us who feel like we must follow a recipe to a T, take a look at Cooking Basics: Make a Meal from What’s on Hand. It’s similar to a guide I shared a year or so ago, breaking recipes into protein, vegetable, starch, liquid, sauce and flavor, but this one’s a little more comprehensive, I think. It provides suggestions for stir fry, soup, salad and more. This whole segment also conjures up thoughts of those who have an innate sense of fashion …. you know those people who can put on anything and look FABULOUS. But that’s another topic … another day.

IT’S BEEN AWHILE SINCE I’VE REFERENCED THE GROWING ARRAY OF RESOURCES IN ‘SUDDENLY IN CHARGE,’ an effort begun early last year as part of the K-State Research and Extension response to the coronavirus pandemic. This time, I was drawn to the resources for parents, which include talking to young children and teens about coronavirus. Now that we’re approaching our second year in this pandemic, it might be a good idea to go over the basics again, especially if they’re chafing at the idea of social distancing and not readily seeing friends or family members. Who can blame them?!

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

LAST FALL I HAD THE THRILL OF VISITING CHEYENNE BOTTOMS in the heart of  Kansas. I’d heard of it and driven by it but was always on my way to somewhere else, so had not actually driven into this incredible gem of nature right here in our own state. Thanks to a patient friend, that’s been remedied. Thousands of birds were stopping by this vast wetland that day … waves and waves of seemingly every kind of bird you can think of, including some surprises. Pelicans in Kansas? This photo was taken that day. Where had they been? Where were they going? I had visions of opening a bed and breakfast or other small business to accommodate the people who visit this site. Those of you with an entrepreneurial spirit might want to listen to Growing Kansas Agritourism, one of the many informative First Friday e-Call webinars offered to support businesses and community vitality across the state.

THE ‘WOMEN MANAGING THE FARM CONFERENCE’ set for Feb. 10-12 is going virtual this year. The conference offers a supportive setting where women can develop the skills, resources and knowledge needed for success in a competitive agricultural environment. Several keynote speakers are slated, plus breakout sessions on machinery and maintenance, fence building, fence law, estate planning, farm finances and more. New this year is a resource library to support attendees in maintaining a healthy and sustainable home and business life. I attended this conference a couple of years ago and met a woman from out of state who owned farmland in Kansas. She’d come back to check on the farm, which she was leasing to someone else, and to learn more about farm management at the conference. Take a look at the agenda and register at http://womenmanagingthefarm.com/.

 

THE JANUARY ‘BEEF TIPS’ NEWSLETTER IS OUT, and features information about K-State’s Winter Ranch Management Seminar series, heifer development program considerations, balanced nutrition and calving, recordkeeping and financial decisions (Tally Time), and sampling grain for mycotoxins – those naturally occurring toxins produced by certain molds that can be found in food or feed. Some of those mycotoxins can cause illness and death in humans and animals. Take a look.

 

FARMERS HAVE ABOUT TWO MONTHS to make some important crop insurance decisions. The 2018 Farm Bill now allows producers to make an annual election for Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC).  The deadline to change your election with the Farm Service Agency from previous year’s selections is March 15, 2021 which will be the program elected for the crop harvested in 2021 (Marketing Year 2021/2022). The Agricultural Economics Department at K-State has again published the popular “Trade-off” spreadsheet to assist producers in making this election.

_

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 – Dec. 10, 2020

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

In today’s Better Kansas, we shine a light on new virtual sessions aimed at helping those in our pandemic pods make the most of being together, reaching out to elderly friends and relatives, the new Seek research magazine, birdwatching and feeding, the outlook for the spring wildfire season, facial recognition technology for cattle and the 2021 Swine Profitability Conference. 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 ALL DOING OUR BEST TO STAY POSITIVE DURING THIS PANDEMIC, RIGHT? Sometimes out of bad things come good things. For some, it’s a lot of together time with family and others in our pods. But even for the closest friends and family, it’s a lot of togetherness. To help make this time … or any time … better, a new program, Living Well Together is launching this week and will continue at least into March. The one-hour online sessions (45 minutes with 15 minutes for Q&A) will cover topics ranging from the benefits of playing board games, the Mediterranean eating style, exercise as medicine, diabetes prevention, checking your credit, family mealtime fun and more. The sessions are free and will be recorded, but do require registration. Check it out.

 

ON THE OTHER HAND, MANY OF US HAVE ELDERLY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES who we’ve not been able to visit in months because of COVID-19. It’s especially difficult during this holiday season. If I feel that it’s hard to differentiate one day from another because I’m working from home, I can’t imagine what it must be like to be confined to my room or apartment, day in and day out with little social interaction for months on end. For ideas on how to reach out to loved ones during this most challenging of times, take a look or listen in to Apart but connected: Stay in Touch with older adults. My sister has come up with a way for our extended family to add a little cheer to a relative who’s in assisted living. Different parts of our family will soon gather outside her building and though separated as families, will sing Christmas carols to our much-loved relative. We’re hoping to add a little cheer to her neighbors as well.

 

A NEW EDITION OF THE AWARD-WINNING SEEK RESEARCH MAGAZINE IS OUT with well written features and great photography of K-State’s work in affordable, sustainable housing, industrial hemp, and COVID-19. Another feature takes a look at the university’s notable research milestones over the past 10 years and short entries shine a brief spotlight on other activities. For a glimpse of what your land grant university is doing, take a look.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

I’VE WRITTEN BEFORE ABOUT THE SIMPLE JOY OF BIRDWATCHING, and of course it helps to feed the particular birds you’d like to watch. It’s fun to watch the pecking order of birds landing at the feeder. It’s not just chickens that have a hierarchy! BUT I haven’t filled my birdfeeders in weeks because every time I do, lately, the squirrels seem to invite their siblings, friends and distant relatives to my back yard for dinner. Apparently, they didn’t get the word about social distancing. A friend loaned a (humane) trap so I could catch and relocate but they’ve been too smart to enter, no matter what treats I’ve tempted them with. I may buy squirrel baffles – you know those big plastic domes – but in the meantime, I’m going to try sprinkling a particular spice in with the bird seed. Take a look at Problems at the Bird Feeder, one of several Backyard Birding Guides.

 

MENTION WILDFIRE SEASON and the average person may think of California and Oregon … maybe Colorado. But Kansas is developing a wildfire reputation of its own. Two of the state’s largest wildfires in recorded history occurred in the past five years. Many of us remember the Anderson Creek fire that burned nearly 400,000 acres in Oklahoma and Kansas, and the Starbuck fire that burned 660,000 acres – both of which cost millions in property damage, the huge loss of livestock and the death of a truck driver. That means many a property owner is keeping an even closer eye on conditions that would be conducive to these destructive fires. Take a look at the 2021 Spring Wildfire Outlook for Kansas to get an idea how things are shaping up for the coming year. Lest we think that no one pays attention to Kansas, I found that The New Yorker Magazine and CNN, plus numerous newspapers, radio and television stations across the state did an incredible job of bringing information to the attention of many of us who don’t live in the affected areas.

ALL CATTLE LOOK THE SAME, RIGHT? NOT EXACTLY. Just ask their mamas! Take a look at a video about new facial recognition technology research for cattle that could aid the industry in various ways. That includes biosecurity such as protection against the spread of a foreign animal disease and could be beneficial to a national animal disease traceability system. For a written article and radio interview on this smartphone app, take a look at K-State team eyes facial recognition technology for cattle.

 

THE 2021 K-STATE SWINE PROFITABILITY CONFERENCE, which annually showcases the status of the U.S. and global swine industry and updates producers on developments affecting their profitability, has been postponed to Feb. 1, 2022 because of … you know … COVID-19. For a look at the last conference held earlier this year and to get a flavor of the types of presentations attendees hear, take a look at the Swine Profitability Conference page. The last conference drew more than 150 participants.

_

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 – July 9, 2020

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

In today’s Better Kansas, we address timely financial topics, support for small businesses, food safety resources, feeding a growing global population, rates for custom farm work and a classic radio broadcast. 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

 

MAYBE YOU CAN IDENTIFY WITH THIS, TOO?!? Apparently some of us are spending more money while socially distancing despite the fact that we’re going out less, according to a “Financially Speaking” blog post.  WalletHub calls it “comfort buying” or shopping as a way to relieve stress or boredom. There’s some odd comfort in knowing that it’s not just me. Anyway, take a look at the post and other Financially Speaking entries, such as managing the financial implications of furloughs, Coronavirus and student loans and other timely topics written by extension agents and specialists across the state. Good stuff. Now I just need to figure out where I’ll wear that dress from Banana Republic. Kind of tough when your car hasn’t left the garage in days. Too dressy for neighborhood walks?

 

SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DON’T OFTEN HAVE THE LUXURY of traveling to multi-day meetings in expensive hotels for in-depth seminars on how to attract and retain customers. That’s all nice but who will run the store? Who will help with that special order? Enter First Friday e-Calls, which can be accessed online right from your home or business and are designed to bring relevant topics to businesses for free. The program is part of K-State Research and Extension’s commitment to supporting community vitality. Upcoming First Friday e-Call topics and speakers include:

Friday, Aug. 7 – 9:30 a.m.: Deb Brown, Co-Founder, SaveYour.Town, “Growing Your Own Entrepreneurs.”

Friday, Sept. 4 – 9:30 a.m.: Becky McCray, Co-Founder, SaveYour.Town, “Idea Friendly Communities.”

Previous calls have included Creating an Online Sales Presence for your Business; Emergency Programs to Help Small Businesses and Displaced Employees During COVID19; Filling Empty Buildings and more. To register for upcoming e-Calls or to listen to previous sessions, take a look at First Friday e-Calls. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting. Check it out!

 

AREN’T WE ALL JUST A LITTLE WEARY OF COVID-19? Unfortunately, COVID-19 is not done with us. Our understanding of the pandemic and its implications for food safety are evolving, as are the resources on the Food Safety and COVID-19 page. It covers everything from guidance for restaurant re-openings, county fairs, social distancing and much more. Whether you’re a restaurant owner concerned about the health of your employees or a casual shopper (or vendor) at your local farmer’s market, there’s information for you.

 

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

IT’S EASY TO GET BOGGED DOWN IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY SITUATION, but a recent video presentation provides a glimpse of the long view. In “The Global Agricultural Landscape: Feeding more than 9 Billion People,” the head of K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics shares a two-part presentation available to us online. Globally, we have a population of about 7.8 billion people, but that number is growing and to some extent, in places least able to grow their own food. Listening in to these sessions is like listening in to college classes for free on a topic important to us all, whether you help grow the food or are a consumer like me. No, that tomato plant in the back yard doesn’t count :). Check out The Global Agricultural Landscape: Feeding More Than 9 Billion People: Part 1 and Part 2.

 

THIS JUST IN FOR FARMERS: HAVE YOU WONDERED WHAT YOUR NEIGHBORS (or for that matter, growers on the other side of the state) pay for custom work done on their farms? The results of the 2020 Custom Rates Survey have just been posted. The report shows the average rate paid in different regions of Kansas for such work as grain harvesting, seed cleaning, grain hauling and haying. For comparison purposes, the page also shows the 2018 rates for the same categories. The survey was conducted by K-State’s Land Use Survey program in the Department of Agricultural Economics in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

 

SINCE WE WORK TO SUPPORT AGRICULTURE ACROSS THE STATE, not to mention nationally and globally, I thought I’d throw this into this week’s Better Kansas. Just something I thought worth highlighting. Remember Paul Harvey and his “The Rest of the Story” segments? A friend reminded me recently about the iconic radio broadcaster’s tribute to farmers in “God Made a Farmer” that he wrote more than 40 years ago. Agriculture has changed a lot since then, but much remains the same. Paul Harvey died in 2009 at the age of 90, but his words and that voice live on.

_

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 14, 2020

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

In today’s Better Kansas, we touch on stretching dollars, supporting communities, wind energy, tree and shrub challenges, meat supply disruptions and Kansas sunflower production. 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

NEWS THAT FOOD PRICES HAVE JUMPED, even as unemployment has skyrocketed largely due to COVID-19, just reinforces that we need to make the most of what we have. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Summary reported May 12 that the price index for food at home in April posted its largest monthly increase since February, 1974. Resources that can help us be more efficient with what we have include Cook Once, Eat for a Month and When Your Income Drops, which include information about budgeting, resources and financial survival skills. These and much more are on the COVID-19 Resources page.

 

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES and the individuals, families and businesses that comprise them is a focus of K-State Research and Extension. Through programs and activities, the Kansas PRIDE Program works with volunteers in communities across the state to make them even better places to live and work. Check out the May newsletter for more about what they’re up to. Kansas PRIDE is a partnership of KSRE, the Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Masons and Kansas PRIDE, Inc. And what a good idea, painting address numbers on curbs – important for first responders, but also for people like me who still aren’t sure which house when my GPS says I’ve reached my destination.

 

LAST WEEK I TOUCHED ON SOLAR ENERGY AND HOW IT’S HARNESSED TO POWER OUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES. In discovering that, I also learned that wind energy is a form of solar energy. Wait. What?! It’s because air is affected by pressure and temperature so methods of heat transfer such as convection, conduction, radiation, and advection relieve the temperature imbalances and are the driving forces for wind. This two-page article takes a complex subject and makes it as easy to read and understand as these things can possibly get.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

AS TREES AND SHRUBS START TO PUT ON THEIR LEAFY SPRING SHOW, it’s easier than ever to identify problems with Tree and Shrub Problems in Kansas. It’s a handy guide to whatever might ail our landscape plants, including pests, diseases and environmental stresses, and ways to manage the problems. Plus, it includes great photos. Nobody really wants a picture of dying trees UNLESS it can help us identify what’s going on in our own backyards, right?! Pine wilt, powdery mildew and Japanese beetles … we’re onto you!

 

 

THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF SOME MEAT PACKING PLANTS LINKED TO COVID-19 is leaving grocery meat cases less full and on the other end of the supply chain, livestock producers with animals that were ready to go to market… like two weeks ago. Whether you’re a consumer or a producer … or just curious about how this all works, this fact sheet by experts  will shed light on the market disruption and what it means for the cattle industry.

 

MANY OF US LEARNED AS CHILDREN THAT THE SUNFLOWER IS OUR STATE FLOWER. The state legislature designated it so in 1903. But there’s a lot more to them than the gorgeous golden addition they add to our landscape. In fact, Kansas is the 4th largest commercial sunflower grower in the U.S. In 2018, 89 million pounds of sunflowers worth more than $16 million were grown on 65,000 acres across the state. Sunflower seeds make a healthy snack or salad topper and oil produced from them is used as cooking oil. And, oh yes, birds love them. Many commercial bird seed mixes have sunflower seeds as a main ingredient. If you’re a grower or are thinking about it, check out Agronomy’s Sunflowers page and 2019 Kansas Performance Tests with Sunflower Hybrids.

_

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/