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This week's news
briefs from Kansas State University Research and Extension: 2) Start Onion Plants Indoors Soon 3) Will Kansas’ Timber Supply Dwindle as Importer Demand Rises? 4) Ag Conference for Women Offered 5) K-State Animal Scientists Give Feeding Tips for Swine Producers
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Adult children who move away from home may find that having a phone book with listings from the community in which their parents live is helpful, said Deb Sellers, Kansas State University Research and Extension specialist on adult development and aging. Access to listings of healthcare and service providers (for example, the closest pharmacy, home health agency and a local grocery store) can save time if an accident or the sudden onset of an illness should prompt the need for quickly connecting parents with nearby help, Sellers said. More
information on managing aging is available at any county or district
K-State Research and Extension office.
2) Start Onion Plants Indoors Soon MANHATTAN, Kan. – Onion sets will show up in the next month or so at nursery and garden stores. That may be too late, however, if gardeners don’t like to gamble on the flavor, uses or keeping quality of the onions they grow, according to Ward Upham, Master Gardener coordinator for Kansas State University Research and Extension. Onions like cool weather. Sets need to find a home in Kansas gardens by mid- to late March, he said. “Unfortunately, retail onion sets usually are poorly identified by variety. And, even where they’re well-labeled, the selection tends to be limited – making it difficult for gardeners to find specific varieties in either sets or transplants. That’s why growing onions from seed is still a good option,” Upham explained. Gardeners could wait until March or early April and plant where the seeds will grow through summer. “One problem in waiting, though, is that the onions won’t reach harvest size until August. Or, they may try to bulb when they’re too young, resulting in small onions. Plus, young onions are always rather weak. They’re not only difficult to weed but also susceptible to damage from weed competition,” Upham said. So, he advises gardeners to start their year’s onion crop indoors by late January, planting the seeds one-half to three-fourths inch apart in a seed starting mix. The plantings will require these conditions: • 75 to 80 degree temperatures until the young seedlings emerge. • Regular watering to keep the potting mix moist, not wet. • Plenty of light, augmented by fluorescent, if necessary. • 60 to 65 degree temperatures after the seedlings reach 1-2 inches tall. • Soluble fertilizer in their water when the plants grow to 2-3 inches. • A leaf-end trimming to encourage stockiness when they reach 4-5 inches.
• A
gradual, protected move outdoors in March.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Since January 2006, a Kansas City timber company has exported 30,832 black walnut logs to China and other countries, according to the Kansas Department of Agriculture. “Undoubtedly, some of those logs originated in Missouri. Still, overall foreign demand for black walnut may be stronger than it’s ever been,” said Bob Atchison, rural forestry coordinator for the Kansas Forest Service. “And, given the impressive growth in today’s Asian markets, the demand for black walnut and other timber is likely to remain constant or even increase in years ahead.” Determining the overall effect of timber sales on the state’s economy is difficult, Atchison said. Many exported walnut logs are high quality, used to produce veneer. But, a walnut of just average size and quality brings about $90 on the farm and more than double that on the export market, he said. Plus, Kansas sawmills also process another 22 million board feet of mixed hardwoods every year. “Undoubtedly that adds up to quite a bit of return,” the forester said. “But, how long it will last in the state’s revenue stream is a real question. Over 95 percent of our forest acreage is privately owned. And, the majority of it is basically going unmanaged.” Last year, the state forest service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service completed a five-year inventory of Kansas’ forestland, measuring about 20 percent per year. The inventory found an estimated 2.1 million acres of woodlands – of which 57 percent was oak-hickory forest and 29 percent, elm/ash/cottonwood. “That sounds better than it is. Almost half of the trees inventoried were culls,” Atchison said.
For east Kansas
landowners who want to improve their long-term income outlook,
however, the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program – EQIP–
is now covering half the project costs for thinning out lower
quality trees and planting new ones. Qualified landowners can sign
up for the program at their local Natural Resources Conservation
Service office.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. – An upcoming farm management conference for women will focus on successful business strategies and risk management. The conference, scheduled for Feb. 9-10 in Hutchinson, is themed “Moving Ag Women Forward.” Why a farm management conference for women? More women are choosing agribusiness as a career. Others are taking active roles in farm management – even though they sometimes are the spouse or partner without a background in farm management or rural life, said Kristy Archuleta, conference coordinator, based in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. Conference topics will include managing a business in an ever-changing world, avoiding management mistakes and conflicts in family businesses, adding humor, and identifying new opportunities in rural communities.
“A major objective of
the conference is to provide an opportunity for women in agriculture
to network with other women. It’s important for women to feel
supported and connected to others who face the same or similar
challenges of farm life,” Archuleta said. The
conference is the result of a contractual partnership with the
United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency
Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program and with
regional partners that include both educators and farm service
providers.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – High grain prices have many swine producers looking for ways to maximize their feeding operations. Swine specialists in the Kansas State University Department of Animal Sciences and Industry provided these tips for producers who are keeping a close eye on the bottom line: • Check particle size of the diet; • Properly adjust feeders to minimize wastage; • Make sure diets are thoroughly mixed; and • Double check to see feed budget targets are being met. More information about raising swine and other livestock is available at K-State’s animal sciences Web site: http://www.asi.ksu.edu. -30- K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan. For more
information: Contributing
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