Local 4-Hers take part in sweepstakes

The 2011 Kansas 4-H Livestock Sweepstakes was held Saturday, Aug. 20, on Kansas State University campus in Manhattan. Barton County 4-H members competing were Kyle Blakeslee, Katie and Mattie Shafer and Cody Wondra from the Ellinwood Energizers 4-H club and Payton Mauler from the Busy Buzzers 4-H Club. The teams were coached by Rena Berrett, Barton County Extension summer intern.

The Barton County Farm Bureau 93rd Annual Meeting

Over one hundred Farm Bureau members met Saturday Aug. 27 at the of Barton County Junior College Student Union for The Barton County Farm Bureau 93rd Annual Meeting to conduct the business of the Association.

Try a little tenderness

By John Schlageck, Kansas Farm Bureau Recent consumer research has shown there's a segment of the U.S. population that is willing to pay more for tender and very tender cuts of beef. So how do you determine what is tender and very tender? Some would argue, "We all know what a good, tender steak is because we've had one and enjoyed every bite." Sure you know what you like and I know what I like, ...

Random Thoughts

Dr. Victor L. Martin Rather than beat a dead (dry) horse this week, let's change course a bit as quite a bit is happening soon and some other issues are popping up. If the forecast is correct, by the time you read this we will have received some beneficial rain and temperatures will be a chilly 80 instead of over one hundred. · September 7th is the annual Kid's Ag Day event for elementary schools ...

Terrace maintenance can save soil

Now is a good time to evaluate and perform maintenance on terraces in wheat stubble or fallow ground, saids Greg Bauer Barton County Supervisory District Conservationist

Some random thoughts presented

Rather than beat a dead (dry) horse this week, let's change course a bit as quite a bit is happening soon and some other issues are popping up. If the forecast is correct, by the time you read this we will have received some beneficial rain and temperatures will be a chilly 80 instead of over one hundred.

Funding available

This July the Barton County Conservation District received approval for funding under the Non-Point Source Pollution Management Plan. The programs approved for cost-share funding by the board of supervisors for this plan are plugging of abandoned water wells and upgrading failed sewage systems.

Winter Wheat Woes

Dr. Victor L. Martin This is the article where we would discuss a change in the weather, as in plentiful rains and normal temperatures, providing optimism as producers head toward fall planting season with hope for a bumper wheat crop in 2012. Unfortunately that's not exactly what happened. While scattered storms have delivered much appreciated rains, as of August 22 Barton, Pawnee, and Rice Counties were under a drought warning, Stafford was under a drought ...

Back to school with good food

By John Schlageck, Kansas Farm Bureau With school starting across Kansas this unfortunately can mean the return of unhealthy lunches which can certainly be labeled as fast food, most of which come to schools shipped in already prepared packaging. If you have or have had children in school, you know what I mean. Beanie weenies, chicken nuggets, high-carb mac and cheese, fried snacks and sugary soft drinks are popular fare served at school cafeterias across ...

Hispanic and/or women farmers or ranchers can request claims package

Eric B. Banks, state conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, reminds hispanics and women farmers and ranchers about an announcement made a few months ago by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Happenings

Dr. Victor L. Martin Before we get to fall planted crops, let's take a week off and see what's going on that may be of interest to producers in the area. This is the time of year when K-State is hot and heavy into the season of Fall Field Days, even if it is August. While none are in Barton County, some are close enough to have some benefit. · South Central Experiment Field, ...

Family farm

By John Schlageck, Kansas Farm Bureau It seems people outside agriculture routinely try to define the family farm. In our contemporary society this means people one or two generations removed from the land live in sprawling suburbia. Today, men and women whose great grandfathers or grandfathers worked the fields with mules and horses, progressed to tractors and are now using GPS, sit behind desks and computers serving a public they rarely, or never, see or ...

Ag secretary announces grants for energy-saving measures in Kansas

TOPEKA –Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Wednesday announced grants for more than 900 agricultural producers and rural small businesses across the country to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in their operations, including two area farmers. Vilsack made the announcement as part of President Obama's rural economic bus tour in the Midwest where today he highlighted efforts underway to reduce our country's dependence on foreign oil, which will increase the economic competitiveness of rural America ...

Our Climate and Crop Production

Dr. Victor L. Martin Instructor/Coordinator Agricultural Program Barton Community CollegeIf you have followed along the last several columns, you have a basic understanding of the climate in our area. Actually, you probably already knew much of what you read just by living here. Let's try to briefly address two items today. First what does our climate tell us as farmers and ranchers? Second, what are the dangers in confusing weather and ...

Sept 1 is NAP application closing date for certain crops

Adrian J. Polansky, State Executive Director of USDA's Farm Service Agency in Kansas, reminds producers that Sept. 1, is the application closing date for certain crops under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). Crops eligible for NAP benefits are limited to those not insurable in the county and are produced for food or fiber.

University team receives $9.6 million USDA grant to help develop solutions for beef cattle grazing s

Drought, flooding, extreme heat, subzero temperatures: All of these climatic events and more in Kansas can threaten the supply and affordability of the nation's beef supply. It's hard to do much about the weather, but a team of Kansas State University scientists will be trying to find solutions so cattlemen can better adapt to any future climate extremes in their grazing operations.

Wandering about wheat

Looking at wheat throughout the central region of Kansas during the first couple days of May, members of the Wheat Quality Council (WQC) labeled the crop in fairly average to slightly above average condition.

Barton County Farm Bureau awards scholarships

Trees need care through dry weather

The question that I seem to get most often right now is why are my trees dying? Most of the time, the answer is the drought. Even though we have had some moisture recently, we are still in a severe drought. Driving around the county, you will even see old, big Red Cedars dying in the tree rows. That is because we have had two summers that were extremely hot and dry which baked the ...

Divide remains in Congress over Farm Bill, food stamps

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House and Senate Agriculture Committees laid the groundwork this week for reducing the size of the federal food stamp program, approving farm bills that would shrink food aid and alter the way people qualify for it.

Kansas CRP meetings for landowners prior to signup hosted by PF

Pheasants Forever is hosting fifty-one informational meetings across Kansas for landowners and agricultural producers in advance of the USDA Farm Service Agency's Conservation Reserve Program general sign-up that runs May 20 through June 14. Led by Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists, landowners can learn how to increase their farm or ranch income while creating wildlife habitat in the process.

Even Animal Lovers Prefer No Rabbits in the Garden

This week, I found a column from K-State's Mary Lou Peter about the rabbits that are out and about. They may be cute hopping around in a field, but when they get into your garden, their cuteness wears a little thin.

MILC, SURE, and NAP will restart on May 8

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia announced today that farm payments, which had been temporarily suspended due to sequestration, are scheduled to resume today, May 8th. This includes payments for the 2011 Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE), the Noninsured Crop Assistance Program (NAP) and the Milk Income Loss Contract Program (MILC).

Why Does It Matter?

This is finals week at Barton and many of the other colleges around the state. For instructors it's time to evaluate what students learned over the last semester. For students it's time for that one last push to maintain or raise their grades. While faculty see testing as a method to evaluate learning and adjust accordingly, students often see testing as a way to be tortured. Students focus on the grade while faculty focus on ...

Play safe on the farm

The dream of many young farm boys and girls is to ride on a tractor. For a youngster, the mammoth tractor epitomizes raw power, responsibility and coming of age.