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Better Kansas – Ideas for Living, Growing and Succeeding

Tag: sorghum research

Better Kansas – Nov. 19, 2020

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

In today’s Better Kansas, we touch on holiday food preparation, Kansas PRIDE happenings, produce contributions feeding the hungry, dry to drought conditions across the state, sorghum product advances (more about feeding the hungry) and a change in pest management schools. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer.

I am taking a break next week to try out some of these holiday tips I’ve been sharing and to give thanks – for my family, friends, colleagues, readers and while we’re at it, food, shelter, health, a nice fall day …. I could go on and on! HAPPY THANKSGIVING and as always, feel free to share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

TURKEYS, STUFFING AND TURDUCKENS, OH MY! In looking for info for the other part of my job (writing and editing news articles), I happened upon a full page dedicated to preparing holiday foods. Us being a university and all, it’s mostly links to good information about research-based food safety, but there are also a few basic recipes. Many of the resources are available in both English and Spanish. And YES, under “Seasonal Food Safety” there really is a fact sheet about how to safely prepare turducken. I didn’t realize until now that we have Louisianans to thank for those layered turkey-duck-chicken creations. Also, don’t miss the USDA Hotline Answers. Isn’t accidentally cooking the bag of giblets in the turkey a rite of passage for novice cooks?!

 

AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE KANSAS PRIDE PROGRAM as it celebrates its 50th anniversary of helping make communities across the state better. In the November PRIDE newsletter we can read about (or listen to) a Kansas Profile column on the restoration of the high school in Lecompton, Kansas (pictured), which now serves as the community center, library, physical activity and meeting venue. Plus, learn about ways volunteers in Potwin, Riverton, Galena, Wichita, Ellis and Conway Springs are working to make their communities better. Don’t miss “If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me.” And for those of you on social media, Kansas PRIDE is also on Facebook.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

K-STATE’S OLATHE HORTICULTURE CENTER is at it again – teaming up with non-profit After the Harvest to help feed hungry families in the Kansas City metro area. And this time, we’re on television! After the Harvest has volunteer “gleaners” who travel to the university’s horticulture center and other farms in the area to harvest fresh produce that was missed or – in the university’s case – not needed for research. That fresh, nutritious food – thousands of pounds of it – is then distributed to families in need through Harvester’s, a regional food bank serving 26 counties in northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri. Read about this effort plus current research in fruits and vegetables, turfgrass, work with Growing Growers and more in the Olathe Horticulture Center Fall 2020 Newsletter. And watch upcoming issues of this blog for updates on Kansas Extension Master Gardeners’ (aka EMGs) generous efforts across the state.

 

SPEAKING OF HUNGRY PEOPLE, researchers here in Kansas are working to better utilize Kansas crops – corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum – to feed hungry populations around the world AND give Kansas agriculture an economic boost. Take a look at Sorghum grain provides answers for food shortages to learn how fortified food products can alleviate hunger and add high caloric value to support early development in young children. Given that Kansas grows by far more sorghum than any other state, this effort and work like this is beneficial for the world’s growing population and for the agricultural economy right here at home.

KANSAS, LIKE MANY STATES, IS DRY, with 12% in severe or worse drought as of Nov. 10. The rest of the state, save some southern counties, was in the abnormally dry to moderate drought category, according to a K-State e-Update article and the U.S. Drought Monitor. For an update on how dry conditions and fall temperatures have affected our important winter wheat crop, take a look at Factors to Consider in Winter Survival of Wheat. For the record, USDA/NASS reported that the state’s newly planted winter wheat was rated 32% good to excellent, 45% fair, and 23% poor to very poor as of Nov. 15. A total of 88% of the new crop had emerged. Topsoil moisture supplies were rated 23% very short, 41% short, 35% adequate and 1% surplus, while subsoil moisture – you know, down where those plant roots are looking for it – was rated 22% very short, 43% short, 34% adequate and 1% surplus.

CHANGE IN PLANS! LAST WEEK I BROUGHT YOU INFORMATION ABOUT PEST MANAGEMENT SCHOOLS PLANNED FOR DECEMBER. They will still be held but because of the surge in coronavirus cases in Kansas and elsewhere, they will be in a virtual format rather than in-person as previously planned. Take a look to sign up for this valuable training.

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. 26, 2019

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas BlogWelcome 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

SOME TIME AGO, A FRIEND TOLD ME THAT GUILT I WAS FEELING about something stemmed from my German-Lutheran-Midwestern roots. What?! He was teasing … I think … but I’m pretty sure none of that has anything to do with feeling guilty about the food I waste. You know how it is, those blueberries that were on special just jumped into your cart and now they’re dry as dog food, or the pork chops that sounded so good when you bought them – the ones that have been buried in the freezer for years(!). And how about confusion over “use by” or “sell by” dates on labels? Whether you’re feeling guilty like me or just need to make room for a pot of fall chili, you might want to take a look at What’s in Your Refrigerator? for more on food waste.

AND WHILE WE’RE IN THE KITCHEN, a subject near and dear to my heart is sitting down together for family meals. Imagine being on an island with your family, even if it’s just for 30 minutes. You’re away from the distractions: work, school, sports, band, ballet, social media … video games! Whether a single parent with one child or a boisterous, bickering group of eight, studies show that parents can lead by example by eating nutritious foods (WITH the kids), support communication skills and boost self-esteem during discussion around the table. For more on building traditions and strengthening family ties, read Family Meals … Worth Making a Priority or listen to a short radio segment on the topic. Remember to turn off the TV.

EVERYONE IS VULNERABLE TO SCAMS in one way or another. If you watch enough daytime talk shows, you’ve seen victims of dating, home-repair, and credit-card scams. Really, can we trust anyone? Seniors (age 65+) are particularly vulnerable and targeted. Think about it … they often have more robust financial resources and grew up in a world where politeness and trust were more typical. If you are a senior or have loved ones who are, take a look at Protecting Yourself from Senior Scams.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

DON’T BE DECEIVED BY THE PRETTY WHITE FLOWERS! Those vines winding their way around your crops or garden plants could be field bindweed, a perennial and incredibly invasive weed that creeps its way through farm fields and home landscapes alike. It’s so damaging it’s on the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s top 12 list of noxious weeds. On agricultural land, it can cut crop yields and in home gardens it can smother shrubs and flowers. Now that fall has arrived, but before the first killing frost, is a good time to manage it in farm fields. Take a look at Fall Control of Bindweed for information. And for more on bindweed in home landscapes, check Bindweed: A noxious weed. This stuff has deep roots and has wound its way through the spirea shrubs in my suburban back yard more years than not. Managing it has been a constant struggle.

I’VE SAID IT BEFORE AND IT’S WORTH SAYING AGAIN, KANSAS IS THE NO. 1 SORGHUM-PRODUCING STATE BY FAR. It’s used primarily as livestock feed and in ethanol production, but increasingly as an ingredient in food products, partly because it’s gluten-free. Even this drought-tolerant, important grain can be improved, however, and that’s the goal of a big new public-private partnership using genome-to-phenome (G2P) plant breeding. The effort is supported by Kansas sorghum growers and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. Learn more in Unique public-private research maps the future for dryland crops.

IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON AND ALL, but Kansas State, Nebraska, Colorado State and Oklahoma State have set all of that aside 🙂 long enough to collaborate on four upcoming 2019 Crop Insurance Workshops. Topics include preparing and responding to a natural disaster; farm policy; market outlook; trade education; using crop insurance and hedging; and hemp policy and risk management. Apparently, lots of questions on that last topic! The workshops are planned for Brush, Colorado, on Oct. 29; Grand Island, Nebraska, on Oct. 30; Salina, Kansas, on Oct. 31 and Enid, Oklahoma, on Nov. 1.

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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/