1) Keep Personal Checks Personal

MANHATTAN, Kan. – When ordering checks, arrange to pick up new checks at the bank, rather than having them sent to your home, said Marilyn Bischoff, Extension family economics specialist, University of Idaho, Boise.

Using initials, rather than your first name; a work, rather than home telephone number; and a post office box, rather than your home address, can protect personal financial information and reduce the risk of identity theft, said Bischoff, who also recommends filling in all of the blanks before signing a check and balancing a checking account regularly.

More information on managing money and protecting personal information is available by contacting any country or district K-State Research and Extension office.

– Source: Kansas State University Research and Extension


 

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2)  ‘Ergonomic’ Should Mean ‘OK’ Improvement

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Whether garden trowel, kitchen knife or pair of pliers, hand tools labeled as “ergonomic” may or may not be an improvement.

“Just as no one hand tool is perfect for every job, no one hand tool is perfect for every user,” explained Kerri Ebert, farm safety assistant with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

One goal in designing an ergonomic hand tool, for example, is to decrease the amount of force or grip strength needed to operate the tool. This, in turn, reduces hand fatigue, pain and the odds for injury.

“A seemingly simple solution– changing the handle – can go a long way toward meeting that goal,” Ebert said. “For this solution to work on an individual level, though, you still have to find a good match in terms of your particular body size, ability, workplace and tasks.”

In general, tools that offer slightly thicker, slip-resistant handles require less grip strength. They spread the hand’s task over a larger, less “concentrated” surface area, she said. With standard screwdrivers, this also increases the torque (turning or twisting force) that the tool itself supplies.

“‘Best’ grip diameter varies, though – as widely as the size of people’s hands,” Ebert said. “And, most manufacturers just go with the average 1.5 inches wide for cylinder-shaped handles.”

Fortunately, an easy test, called the “OK” method, can determine whether handles fit a particular hand, she said. The method’s two steps are: 1) Form an “okay” signal with thumb and index finger. 2) Measure the inside width of the “O.” If the tool handle just fits inside the “O,” that is the ideal size. 

“For hand tools you’ve already got, you could try some customization to achieve the handle width you need for efficiency, ease and safety of use,” Ebert said.

Other adaptations – including longer handles for more leverage – are outlined in the K-State AgrAbility program’s Web site at http://www.agrabilityproject.org/archive/handtools.cfm. That page also links to the program’s resources for farmers with back pain, debilitating disease, limb loss or the like.


 

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3) Horticulturist Suggests Post-New Year’s Resolutions

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Although New Year’s Day is past and spring is months away, gardeners can make and keep resolutions now that could have a big impact on the 2008 growing season.

Ward Upham, Master Gardener coordinator for Kansas State University Research and Extension, suggested the following as good possibilities:

1. Indoors now or outdoors later, I will grow a plant from seed – preferably a vegetable.

2. I will test my soils before spring, so I’ll know the nutrients or other amendments they need to support healthy plant growth. If I don’t know how to sample soil, I’ll ask at my county or district Extension office. (Extension agents also can forward samples for testing and explain test results.)

3. I’ll do fruit trees’ needed pruning early enough that I’ll still have time for dormant sprays.

4. Because many evergreen diseases require treatment in late winter or spring, I’ll check my evergreens soon for dead or discolored needles. I’ll compare any I find to the disease photos on the Web at http://www.hfrr.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=586, or I’ll take samples to my Extension office.

5. I’ll clean up all of last year’s remaining garden debris and thus the diseases it may harbor. I will include removing any green-looking, but leftover iris leaves before this year’s new iris leaves appear.

6.  Skipping the spring bloomers until they’ve flowered, I will finish any necessary tree and shrub pruning before bud break. I’ll try to appreciate natural shapes and prune only for plant health or strength.

7. I will compost all current and future landscape debris except for woody limbs, dandelion roots, poison ivy and the like. Or, I will save it to plow into my vegetable garden next fall. If this requires my setting up or cleaning out a compost bin or storage place, I’ll do that before spring, too.

8. I’ll be ready to fertilize spring-flowering bulbs at the best time – just as their foliage emerges.

9. I’ll look at catalogs and may drool. I’ll plan and perhaps choose an annual-plant color scheme. Before placing a mail order, however, I’ll wait to see if the plants I want will also be available locally.


 

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4) K-State Poultry Center to Offer First-Ever Pullet Sale

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State University’s Poultry Teaching and Research Center will hold its first-ever pullet sale this spring to raise funds for maintenance of the poultry unit.

“Two egg-type breeds will be available – a white leghorn hybrid cross that will lay white eggs and a New Hampshire hybrid cross that will lay brown eggs,” said Scott Beyer, poultry specialist with K-State Research and Extension. “These breeds are extremely feed-efficient and productive and would be excellent free-range or small-farm production birds.”

Each pullet will sell for $6 and must be picked up from K-State’s poultry farm during the first two weeks of April. Reservations for pullets can be called in to Robert Beckley at 785-539-5041 or e-mailed to rbeckley@ksu.edu.

The pullets were raised on the university’s poultry farm, which is a part of K-State’s Department of Animal Sciences and Industry. The birds were raised by students and employees as a part of teaching projects.

Each pullet has been vaccinated for Marek’s disease, fowl pox, Newcastle disease and infectious bursal disease. Each has also been slightly beak-trimmed.

“The poultry unit, which was built in 1966, needs to be updated and repaired so we can provide our students with the best teaching experience and research opportunities in the coming years,” Beyer said.

More information about the K-State poultry program is available on the Web at http://www.asi.ksu.edu/poultry. Beyer encourages anyone interested in making a donation to the poultry farm endowment to contact him at 785-532-1201 or sbeyer@ksu.edu.