BY RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

Tasty pies and classic cars. That sounds like a recipe for a fun weekend. Today, we’ll learn about a rural community which combines those things for a big community festival every year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sandy Kruse is the mayor of Gypsum, Kansas. She is also a key volunteer with the annual event now known as the Gypsum Pie Festival and Car Show.&nbsp;

Sandy was born in Salina. In 1961, she and her husband moved to Gypsum where she’s lived ever since. Sandy is now semi-retired from her position as a registered nurse at Tammy Walker Cancer Center in Salina. She was also elected Mayor of Gypsum in 2017.&nbsp;

Several years ago, Sandy and her family had a big Memorial Day picnic. They invited friends to bring their classic cars. It was so much fun that this has become an annual event, put on by a committee of volunteers from the community.&nbsp;

Some years ago, Sandy and her husband had visited the annual meatloaf festival in Paxico. “If people come out for meatloaf, surely they would come out for pie,” her husband said. It was decided that Gypsum could host a pie festival to go with a classic car show.&nbsp;

On Sunday, May 30, 2021, the annual pie festival and car show will take place in Gypsum. “We encourage area churches and nonprofit organizations to sell pies,” Sandy said. Community organizations support their activities by selling homemade pies, by the slice or by the pie. Craft vendors will be there as well.&nbsp;

The committee has ordered 155 fruit pies and 30 cream pies to be sold at the city auditorium, in addition to the pies sold by other groups. Flavors include apple, cherry, rhubarb, strawberry, strawberry rhubarb, gooseberry, peach, blueberry, bumbleberry (which is mixed fruit), pecan and many more. Cream pies include chocolate, lemon, coconut cream, peanut butter, and other flavors. Is your mouth watering yet? This year, the city is even selling ice cream to go with the pie.&nbsp;

The event’s proceeds are used for community beautification. “One year we bought planters downtown, another year we bought a sound system for the city, and we’ve helped pay for the new ‘Welcome to Gypsum’ sign,” Sandy said.&nbsp;

The car show consists mostly of hot rods and classic cars. Some cars are highly customized. “I have a 1951 shoebox Ford,” Sandy said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Entries are $20. “We’ve had as many as 200 cars,” Sandy said. Instead of trophies, the winning car entries win – what else? – a pie.&nbsp;

Gypsum is located on Highway 4. The highway will be temporarily closed so the show can take place on Main Street in town&nbsp;

In addition to the annual festival, Sandy is proud of the progress which has been made in the community. “My biggest priority as mayor is to have the levee certified, which is a requirement of FEMA,” she said. “We have a number of young families that have opened businesses here, such as Exit 14 restaurant, K-4 Garage, McKim Service, and the newest, a body shop named Augies Rod and Custom,” she said.&nbsp;

“He lives in Gypsum and works as a fireman in Salina,” Sandy said. He did body work on Sandy’s car and now has opened his own shop.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Community groups are also working on senior housing and summer youth programs. As a memorial project, families have purchased benches that are found throughout the town.&nbsp;

“We are making Gypsum more welcoming,” Sandy said. “We invite people to join us.&nbsp;&nbsp;We expect more than a thousand people (for the festival).” Visitors have come from as far away as Indiana and California. That’s impressive for a rural community like Gypsum, population 405 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

For more information, check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/GypsumPieFestivalAndCarShow">Gypsum pie festival and car show on Facebook</a>.&nbsp;

Tasty pies and classic cars. That sounds like a wonderful combination, and that is what we will find in Gypsum on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We commend Sandy Kruse and all the volunteers who are making a difference by putting on such a fun event in Gypsum. With that, please pass the pie.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620219791007.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BY RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural DevelopmentTasty pies and classic cars. That sounds like a recipe for a fun weekend. Today, we’ll learn about a rural community which combines those things for a big community festival every year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sandy Kruse is the mayor of Gypsum, Kansas. She is also a key volunteer with the annual event now known as the Gypsum Pie Festival and Car Show.&nbsp;Sandy was born in Salina. In 1961, she and her husband moved to Gypsum where she’s lived ever since. Sandy is now semi-retired from her position as a registered nurse at Tammy Walker Cancer Center in Salina. She was also elected Mayor of Gypsum in 2017.&nbsp;Several years ago, Sandy and her family had a big Memorial Day picnic. They invited friends to bring their classic cars. It was so much fun that this has become an annual event, put on by a committee of volunteers from the community.&nbsp;Some years ago, Sandy and her husband had visited the annual meatloaf festival in Paxico. “If people come out for meatloaf, surely they would come out for pie,” her husband said. It was decided that Gypsum could host a pie festival to go with a classic car show.&nbsp;On Sunday, May 30, 2021, the annual pie festival and car show will take place in Gypsum. “We encourage area churches and nonprofit organizations to sell pies,” Sandy said. Community organizations support their activities by selling homemade pies, by the slice or by the pie. Craft vendors will be there as well.&nbsp;The committee has ordered 155 fruit pies and 30 cream pies to be sold at the city auditorium, in addition to the pies sold by other groups. Flavors include apple, cherry, rhubarb, strawberry, strawberry rhubarb, gooseberry, peach, blueberry, bumbleberry (which is mixed fruit), pecan and many more. Cream pies include chocolate, lemon, coconut cream, peanut butter, and other flavors. Is your mouth watering yet? This year, the city is even selling ice cream to go with the pie.&nbsp;The event’s proceeds are used for community beautification. “One year we bought planters downtown, another year we bought a sound system for the city, and we’ve helped pay for the new ‘Welcome to Gypsum’ sign,” Sandy said.&nbsp;The car show consists mostly of hot rods and classic cars. Some cars are highly customized. “I have a 1951 shoebox Ford,” Sandy said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Entries are $20. “We’ve had as many as 200 cars,” Sandy said. Instead of trophies, the winning car entries win – what else? – a pie.&nbsp;Gypsum is located on Highway 4. The highway will be temporarily closed so the show can take place on Main Street in town&nbsp;In addition to the annual festival, Sandy is proud of the progress which has been made in the community. “My biggest priority as mayor is to have the levee certified, which is a requirement of FEMA,” she said. “We have a number of young families that have opened businesses here, such as Exit 14 restaurant, K-4 Garage, McKim Service, and the newest, a body shop named Augies Rod and Custom,” she said.&nbsp;“He lives in Gypsum and works as a fireman in Salina,” Sandy said. He did body work on Sandy’s car and now has opened his own shop.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Community groups are also working on senior housing and summer youth programs. As a memorial project, families have purchased benches that are found throughout the town.&nbsp;“We are making Gypsum more welcoming,” Sandy said. “We invite people to join us.&nbsp;&nbsp;We expect more than a thousand people (for the festival).” Visitors have come from as far away as Indiana and California. That’s impressive for a rural community like Gypsum, population 405 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;For more information, check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/GypsumPieFestivalAndCarShow">Gypsum pie festival and car show on Facebook</a>.&nbsp;Tasty pies and classic cars. That sounds like a wonderful combination, and that is what we will find in Gypsum on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We commend Sandy Kruse and all the volunteers who are making a difference by putting on such a fun event in Gypsum. With that, please pass the pie.&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Sandy Kruse, Gypsum Pie Festival and Car Show 

Recently I saw a “poll” on Facebook that asked, “What special thing did your mom cook that makes you think of her?”&nbsp; Though I did not respond, it did make me think. &nbsp;

I thought about all of the special dishes my grandmother would make, and how many of those were passed on to my mom:&nbsp; pecan pie, macaroni and cheese, chocolate cake, fried chicken, and biscuits.&nbsp; They were all great special dishes, but then I realized that the one dish that will always remind me of my grandmother was none of those (well, maybe the macaroni and cheese). &nbsp;

It was cornbread—regular, old, ordinary cornbread.&nbsp; She made it most meals—from scratch.&nbsp; She could whip up a batch in minutes and have it in the oven.&nbsp; Many times it was in place of bread.&nbsp; Cornbread went with anything. &nbsp;

Cornbread was for ordinary events; everyday, no special occasion meals.&nbsp; It was for special dinners as well:&nbsp; holidays, family gatherings, meals of separation, funeral meals of sadness and loss.&nbsp; It was part of my grandmother’s presence. &nbsp;

As an elder law attorney, I think that many parents would be surprised at what their children tell me about them.&nbsp; Oh sure, I get the occasional “Dad had a huge farm.” “My parents accumulated wonderful wealth.” “Mom had a doctorate degree,” and so on. &nbsp; But let me share with you what I hear that is so heart felt. &nbsp;

“Mom fixed a wonderful breakfast every day.”&nbsp; “Dad came to all of my sporting events.”&nbsp; “Mom was always there for us kids.”&nbsp; “Mom and Dad were there for me when I went through a divorce.”&nbsp; “Dad always took time to talk with me.”&nbsp; “Sundays were always a family day.”

These were a lot of very ordinary things that became special—special ordinary things. &nbsp;

I wonder if there are some special ordinary things I do?&nbsp; I know some items my children would point out about their mother:&nbsp; She is always, always there for them in times of crisis; she would go to battle for them like an aggravated badger; and she always made her bed, even at someone else’s house or in a hotel.&nbsp; And the boys all learned from these very special ordinary things. &nbsp;

The original title of this column from years ago, was originally “Grays Matter.”&nbsp; You matter.&nbsp; The lessons you teach from example matter. Some of the ordinary things you do will become special to your family when they recall you.&nbsp; Special ordinary things—like just loving them, fixing dinner, providing for them while growing up.&nbsp;

My grandmother has been gone about 10 years, and my mom about 20.&nbsp; There is so much I appreciate about them now that perhaps I didn’t when they were alive.&nbsp; I know that many life lessons I learned from them I did not realize until they were gone, and I have had time to contemplate what they would do in certain circumstances, guiding me by their examples.&nbsp;

If you have someone “gray” in your life, before they go think of those “special ordinaries” they have given you and thank them.&nbsp; If you are a “gray,” remember so many of those ordinary things will become special and you should be proud of that. &nbsp;

Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, 
Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To 
contact him, please send an email to randy@clinkscaleslaw.com. 
Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information 
purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different 
and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable 
law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578498921842.png" alt="Randy Clinkscales" />
 <figcaption>Randy Clinkscales</figcaption>
 </figure>Recently I saw a “poll” on Facebook that asked, “What special thing did your mom cook that makes you think of her?”&nbsp; Though I did not respond, it did make me think. &nbsp;I thought about all of the special dishes my grandmother would make, and how many of those were passed on to my mom:&nbsp; pecan pie, macaroni and cheese, chocolate cake, fried chicken, and biscuits.&nbsp; They were all great special dishes, but then I realized that the one dish that will always remind me of my grandmother was none of those (well, maybe the macaroni and cheese). &nbsp;It was cornbread—regular, old, ordinary cornbread.&nbsp; She made it most meals—from scratch.&nbsp; She could whip up a batch in minutes and have it in the oven.&nbsp; Many times it was in place of bread.&nbsp; Cornbread went with anything. &nbsp;Cornbread was for ordinary events; everyday, no special occasion meals.&nbsp; It was for special dinners as well:&nbsp; holidays, family gatherings, meals of separation, funeral meals of sadness and loss.&nbsp; It was part of my grandmother’s presence. &nbsp;As an elder law attorney, I think that many parents would be surprised at what their children tell me about them.&nbsp; Oh sure, I get the occasional “Dad had a huge farm.” “My parents accumulated wonderful wealth.” “Mom had a doctorate degree,” and so on. &nbsp; But let me share with you what I hear that is so heart felt. &nbsp;“Mom fixed a wonderful breakfast every day.”&nbsp; “Dad came to all of my sporting events.”&nbsp; “Mom was always there for us kids.”&nbsp; “Mom and Dad were there for me when I went through a divorce.”&nbsp; “Dad always took time to talk with me.”&nbsp; “Sundays were always a family day.”These were a lot of very ordinary things that became special—special ordinary things. &nbsp;I wonder if there are some special ordinary things I do?&nbsp; I know some items my children would point out about their mother:&nbsp; She is always, always there for them in times of crisis; she would go to battle for them like an aggravated badger; and she always made her bed, even at someone else’s house or in a hotel.&nbsp; And the boys all learned from these very special ordinary things. &nbsp;The original title of this column from years ago, was originally “Grays Matter.”&nbsp; You matter.&nbsp; The lessons you teach from example matter. Some of the ordinary things you do will become special to your family when they recall you.&nbsp; Special ordinary things—like just loving them, fixing dinner, providing for them while growing up.&nbsp;My grandmother has been gone about 10 years, and my mom about 20.&nbsp; There is so much I appreciate about them now that perhaps I didn’t when they were alive.&nbsp; I know that many life lessons I learned from them I did not realize until they were gone, and I have had time to contemplate what they would do in certain circumstances, guiding me by their examples.&nbsp;If you have someone “gray” in your life, before they go think of those “special ordinaries” they have given you and thank them.&nbsp; If you are a “gray,” remember so many of those ordinary things will become special and you should be proud of that. &nbsp;Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, 
Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To 
contact him, please send an email to randy@clinkscaleslaw.com. 
Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information 
purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different 
and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable 
law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.

CLINKSCALES: Special ordinary

This has been an incredible semester of good news for our campus community. From outstanding accreditation visits to national championships in several different departments – and numerous other examples, too many to name – spring 2021 will be remembered as a semester of success and celebration at Fort Hays State University.

One such success story is that of Whitney Randall, a senior on the Tiger women’s basketball team, who was named the 2021 MIAA Women’s Winter Student-Athlete of the Year. Only one other FHSU student-athlete – All-American Kate Lehman (2011-15) – has won this prestigious award from the MIAA, one of the best NCAA Division II conferences in the country.

Whitney is an incredible person, an accomplished student-athlete, and an individual who gives generously to her teammates and her community.

This award is not given on athletic talent alone, although Whitney did earn first-team all-MIAA honors for her success on the court. It is also based on the academic and campus/community service accomplishments of individuals who are a junior or a senior in athletic eligibility and have a grade-point average of at least 3.25.

Whitney shines in all three areas. On the athletic front, she led her team in scoring while providing senior leadership and experience for a young team with eight underclassmen on the 12-player roster. Academically, Whitney – a health and human performance major who wants to teach and coach – has maintained a perfect 4.0 throughout her entire college career. She plays a role in the Christian Challenge ministry through the Celebration Community Church. She has participated in three international mission trips as an FHSU student. And during the summer months, she serves as a sponsor and counselor for youth from her hometown during a week-long Christian church camp.

Whitney is an incredible person, an accomplished student-athlete, and an individual who gives generously to her teammates and her community. I will admit that I am a bit “star-struck” by several of our community members like Whitney. It’s always interesting to hear where they got their start. It turns out that Whitney learned about Fort Hays State from her dad – J.P. Randall, a standout defensive player on the Tiger football team in the early 1980s – who talked fondly of his college days at FHSU.

Whitney grew up in Alva, Okla., and began playing recreation league basketball when she was 5 years old. I am pretty sure I had not even seen a basketball when I was 5!

Her success with basketball came early, and she helped lead her high school team to three state championships. That drive to succeed was one of the reasons Whitney chose FHSU – the success of Lady Tiger basketball – coupled with the community support that our university and athletic teams enjoy.

Whitney loves the competitiveness of the game and its fast pace. I also learned about her deep affection for her teammates – or as Whitney would say, her best friends.

“We’re more than just teammates,” she said. “We are a family, and we do everything together. The coaches are very supportive, whether it’s on or off the court. They help us when we need it and always have our backs.”

Whitney’s favorite college basketball memory came in 2019 when Fort Hays State hosted the Central Region tournament, and more than 5,000 raucous, loyal fans came to cheer them on.

“When we walked onto the court with 5 minutes until tip-off, I stood in amazement,” she said. “For an athlete, that’s one thing I would want everyone to experience. It’s a dream to have thousands of people cheer you on in a big moment.”&nbsp;

I still get goosebumps as I recall the loud, packed, high-energy crowd that day. It is a powerful memory. I had to chuckle when Whitney shared, “When I can’t hear Coach Hobson when I’m on the court or even when we’re in a huddle, that’s when I know the fans have really shown up!”&nbsp;

Another highlight for Whitney was the excitement of winning conference titles in 2019 and 2021 and making the NCAA tournament every year she has been at the Fort. As she describes the wins, she always circles back to talking about one of the reasons she chose FHSU – community support.

Whitney really appreciates our Tiger fans. So do I. We have a very loyal fan base that sticks with us in the moments of glory as well the tough losses.&nbsp;

Part of anyone’s history are moments of struggle as well as success. It's no different for Whitney.

“I would say there are tough spots for every collegiate athlete. My freshman year was when I struggled the most. I learned that everyone has to learn how to balance school, sports, and life,” she said. “I have also learned that there is a time when it is your turn to shine and when it is your turn to cheer on someone else from the bench. That is something that makes you a better teammate as well as a better leader – on and off the court.”

In reminiscing about her time as an athlete, Whitney believes “it takes a lot to be a champion. It’s not just about the sport. It’s about going to classes, showing up on time, sacrificing, and being unselfish. Teams succeed when they have a common goal, and it doesn’t matter who the star is.”&nbsp;

I am so honored to be part of this university and this community, where people connect deeply and sincerely. We have so many “all-stars” in our student body, faculty, staff, and community. That is why we work hard, learn, grow, and celebrate one another.&nbsp;

I cannot wait to see Whitney receive her award this summer and share in this significant accomplishment. I am very proud of Whitney, her coaches, faculty, teammates, family, and friends – all who have shaped her heart and mind, and in the process, loved her into an extraordinary woman of character and a true champion.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575301942236.jpeg" alt="Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president</figcaption>
 </figure>This has been an incredible semester of good news for our campus community. From outstanding accreditation visits to national championships in several different departments – and numerous other examples, too many to name – spring 2021 will be remembered as a semester of success and celebration at Fort Hays State University.One such success story is that of Whitney Randall, a senior on the Tiger women’s basketball team, who was named the 2021 MIAA Women’s Winter Student-Athlete of the Year. Only one other FHSU student-athlete – All-American Kate Lehman (2011-15) – has won this prestigious award from the MIAA, one of the best NCAA Division II conferences in the country.Whitney is an incredible person, an accomplished student-athlete, and an individual who gives generously to her teammates and her community.This award is not given on athletic talent alone, although Whitney did earn first-team all-MIAA honors for her success on the court. It is also based on the academic and campus/community service accomplishments of individuals who are a junior or a senior in athletic eligibility and have a grade-point average of at least 3.25.Whitney shines in all three areas. On the athletic front, she led her team in scoring while providing senior leadership and experience for a young team with eight underclassmen on the 12-player roster. Academically, Whitney – a health and human performance major who wants to teach and coach – has maintained a perfect 4.0 throughout her entire college career. She plays a role in the Christian Challenge ministry through the Celebration Community Church. She has participated in three international mission trips as an FHSU student. And during the summer months, she serves as a sponsor and counselor for youth from her hometown during a week-long Christian church camp.Whitney is an incredible person, an accomplished student-athlete, and an individual who gives generously to her teammates and her community. I will admit that I am a bit “star-struck” by several of our community members like Whitney. It’s always interesting to hear where they got their start. It turns out that Whitney learned about Fort Hays State from her dad – J.P. Randall, a standout defensive player on the Tiger football team in the early 1980s – who talked fondly of his college days at FHSU.Whitney grew up in Alva, Okla., and began playing recreation league basketball when she was 5 years old. I am pretty sure I had not even seen a basketball when I was 5!Her success with basketball came early, and she helped lead her high school team to three state championships. That drive to succeed was one of the reasons Whitney chose FHSU – the success of Lady Tiger basketball – coupled with the community support that our university and athletic teams enjoy.Whitney loves the competitiveness of the game and its fast pace. I also learned about her deep affection for her teammates – or as Whitney would say, her best friends.“We’re more than just teammates,” she said. “We are a family, and we do everything together. The coaches are very supportive, whether it’s on or off the court. They help us when we need it and always have our backs.”Whitney’s favorite college basketball memory came in 2019 when Fort Hays State hosted the Central Region tournament, and more than 5,000 raucous, loyal fans came to cheer them on.“When we walked onto the court with 5 minutes until tip-off, I stood in amazement,” she said. “For an athlete, that’s one thing I would want everyone to experience. It’s a dream to have thousands of people cheer you on in a big moment.”&nbsp;I still get goosebumps as I recall the loud, packed, high-energy crowd that day. It is a powerful memory. I had to chuckle when Whitney shared, “When I can’t hear Coach Hobson when I’m on the court or even when we’re in a huddle, that’s when I know the fans have really shown up!”&nbsp;Another highlight for Whitney was the excitement of winning conference titles in 2019 and 2021 and making the NCAA tournament every year she has been at the Fort. As she describes the wins, she always circles back to talking about one of the reasons she chose FHSU – community support.Whitney really appreciates our Tiger fans. So do I. We have a very loyal fan base that sticks with us in the moments of glory as well the tough losses.&nbsp;Part of anyone’s history are moments of struggle as well as success. It's no different for Whitney.“I would say there are tough spots for every collegiate athlete. My freshman year was when I struggled the most. I learned that everyone has to learn how to balance school, sports, and life,” she said. “I have also learned that there is a time when it is your turn to shine and when it is your turn to cheer on someone else from the bench. That is something that makes you a better teammate as well as a better leader – on and off the court.”In reminiscing about her time as an athlete, Whitney believes “it takes a lot to be a champion. It’s not just about the sport. It’s about going to classes, showing up on time, sacrificing, and being unselfish. Teams succeed when they have a common goal, and it doesn’t matter who the star is.”&nbsp;I am so honored to be part of this university and this community, where people connect deeply and sincerely. We have so many “all-stars” in our student body, faculty, staff, and community. That is why we work hard, learn, grow, and celebrate one another.&nbsp;I cannot wait to see Whitney receive her award this summer and share in this significant accomplishment. I am very proud of Whitney, her coaches, faculty, teammates, family, and friends – all who have shaped her heart and mind, and in the process, loved her into an extraordinary woman of character and a true champion.&nbsp;

MASON: Celebrating a true Tiger champion

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there! The month of May has arrived and that means a frenzy of activity for families who are celebrating Mother’s day or graduations in the days ahead. Hopefully your weekend plans include some good family time. I feel so blessed to have been a mother the past forty years and have now earned the title of grandma. Having four active grandchildren recently provided opportunities to catch a soccer game in Lindsborg, a track-meet in Washington, and a gymnastics meet in Salina. (All within 30 hours) The six-year-old, who was along for the ride, reminded us that his baseball games will start soon. You can be sure, we’ll be planning to attend.

Nearly 140 people in the Cottonwood Extension District are celebrating the conclusion of the eight-week long Walk Kansas program on May 22nd.&nbsp; Most of the teams have met or surpassed their goal to exercise at least 30 minutes five times a week. I am hoping with the more spring like weather it won’t be hard to keep the habit of regular exercise going.

	And finally, May 17-23 is designated as “Bicycle to Work Week.”&nbsp; Since I am passionate about cycling whenever I have the chance I consider this week a celebration. Although it is estimated that less than 1 percent of adult Americans commute to work by bicycle, roughly 41 percent of work commutes are shorter than 5 miles. In my case, my husband John and I log seven miles a day which includes two round trips to my office. Unless it is below 20 degrees or icy underfoot, you are likely to see us in our hi-vis green jackets and helmets, pedaling along on our tandem bike.&nbsp;

	Bicycle commuting is a great way to squeeze regular exercise into a busy schedule. Commuting time can be used to stay in shape instead of sitting frustrated in traffic. Statistics also show that bicycle commuters are happier and more productive at work. As more cyclists take to the streets as summer approaches, make sure you take time to review bicycle safety rules with young riders.&nbsp; &nbsp;

	Whether you are riding for fun, fitness or with family, or taking essential trips to work or shop, you are part of a movement for safer streets, connected communities, a healthier planet, and happier people.&nbsp;

So, whatever you are celebrating this May, have a wonderful time!

Donna Krug is the District Director and Family and Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. You may reach her at (620)793-1910 or <a href="mailto:dkrug@ksu.edu">dkrug@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573141404420.png" alt="Donna Krug is the District Director and Family and Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District." />
 <figcaption>Donna Krug is the District Director and Family and Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District.</figcaption>
 </figure>Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there! The month of May has arrived and that means a frenzy of activity for families who are celebrating Mother’s day or graduations in the days ahead. Hopefully your weekend plans include some good family time. I feel so blessed to have been a mother the past forty years and have now earned the title of grandma. Having four active grandchildren recently provided opportunities to catch a soccer game in Lindsborg, a track-meet in Washington, and a gymnastics meet in Salina. (All within 30 hours) The six-year-old, who was along for the ride, reminded us that his baseball games will start soon. You can be sure, we’ll be planning to attend.Nearly 140 people in the Cottonwood Extension District are celebrating the conclusion of the eight-week long Walk Kansas program on May 22nd.&nbsp; Most of the teams have met or surpassed their goal to exercise at least 30 minutes five times a week. I am hoping with the more spring like weather it won’t be hard to keep the habit of regular exercise going.	And finally, May 17-23 is designated as “Bicycle to Work Week.”&nbsp; Since I am passionate about cycling whenever I have the chance I consider this week a celebration. Although it is estimated that less than 1 percent of adult Americans commute to work by bicycle, roughly 41 percent of work commutes are shorter than 5 miles. In my case, my husband John and I log seven miles a day which includes two round trips to my office. Unless it is below 20 degrees or icy underfoot, you are likely to see us in our hi-vis green jackets and helmets, pedaling along on our tandem bike.&nbsp;	Bicycle commuting is a great way to squeeze regular exercise into a busy schedule. Commuting time can be used to stay in shape instead of sitting frustrated in traffic. Statistics also show that bicycle commuters are happier and more productive at work. As more cyclists take to the streets as summer approaches, make sure you take time to review bicycle safety rules with young riders.&nbsp; &nbsp;	Whether you are riding for fun, fitness or with family, or taking essential trips to work or shop, you are part of a movement for safer streets, connected communities, a healthier planet, and happier people.&nbsp;So, whatever you are celebrating this May, have a wonderful time!Donna Krug is the District Director and Family and Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. You may reach her at (620)793-1910 or <a href="mailto:dkrug@ksu.edu">dkrug@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp;

KRUG: Lets celebrate May

By GREG DOERING Kansas Farm Bureau

I recently received an email from a local car dealer offering to buy my truck. Normally I just delete these types of pitches, but in this instance curiosity got the best of me. I opened the email and quickly discovered my gently used vehicle was worth more than I expected — a lot more. The offer was almost exactly what I’d paid for the truck about three years ago, and it was just a few thousand less than a comparable new vehicle. It’s just one of the latest examples of the pandemic’s weird effects on nearly everything, starting with toilet paper and now cascading through every sector of the economy. A shortage of computer chips, lower factory output last year, surging demand and a host of other things have boosted the value of my truck. A similar story is playing out with lumber and the housing market. &nbsp; This logistics logjam includes agriculture, but the disruption today is going mostly unseen by consumers. Hiccups in the supply chains have created all sorts of shortages across the ag industry for things like fertilizer, herbicide and even the plastic wrap used for hay bales. Not all of these are directly related to COVID-19, but it served as the first domino in the chain reaction that’s led to higher prices for just about everything needed to make anything. Other factors include the deep freeze across the middle of the country in February that curtailed all sorts of industrial capacity and the beginning of a post-pandemic demand surge that comes with a return to more normal lifestyles. While these are just some of the proximate causes of current shortages and price increases, the root cause is the decades-long effort to squeeze every extra penny out of the process between a product’s origin and its consumption. Greatly oversimplified, this system fine tunes every part of the production process while using forecasting to figure out just how much product it needs to make, ship and place on a shelf as close to the time it’s purchased as possible. It’s often called “just in time delivery,” for this reason. When it works, which is the vast majority of the time, it lowers prices for everything by reducing the need to hold inventory. When there’s a once-in-a-century pandemic on top of other more regular interruptions, prices go up for everything. Overall, we’ve benefitted greatly from this efficiency. It’s one of the reasons Americans enjoy an abundance of affordable options for our food, electronics and other goods. The downside to having only the appearance of abundance and not an actual abundance. In time, the market will correct. High prices will cure high prices, either through reducing demand or enticing new competitors to increase supply. Of course, it’s a little easier to be optimistic if you’re not looking for a used truck, trying to buy (or build) a house or securing farm inputs. Right now, I’ve still got my truck. I’m holding out a little bit longer on the off chance I can make an even trade for a brand new one.

"Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574694551876.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By GREG DOERING Kansas Farm BureauI recently received an email from a local car dealer offering to buy my truck. Normally I just delete these types of pitches, but in this instance curiosity got the best of me. I opened the email and quickly discovered my gently used vehicle was worth more than I expected — a lot more. The offer was almost exactly what I’d paid for the truck about three years ago, and it was just a few thousand less than a comparable new vehicle. It’s just one of the latest examples of the pandemic’s weird effects on nearly everything, starting with toilet paper and now cascading through every sector of the economy. A shortage of computer chips, lower factory output last year, surging demand and a host of other things have boosted the value of my truck. A similar story is playing out with lumber and the housing market. &nbsp; This logistics logjam includes agriculture, but the disruption today is going mostly unseen by consumers. Hiccups in the supply chains have created all sorts of shortages across the ag industry for things like fertilizer, herbicide and even the plastic wrap used for hay bales. Not all of these are directly related to COVID-19, but it served as the first domino in the chain reaction that’s led to higher prices for just about everything needed to make anything. Other factors include the deep freeze across the middle of the country in February that curtailed all sorts of industrial capacity and the beginning of a post-pandemic demand surge that comes with a return to more normal lifestyles. While these are just some of the proximate causes of current shortages and price increases, the root cause is the decades-long effort to squeeze every extra penny out of the process between a product’s origin and its consumption. Greatly oversimplified, this system fine tunes every part of the production process while using forecasting to figure out just how much product it needs to make, ship and place on a shelf as close to the time it’s purchased as possible. It’s often called “just in time delivery,” for this reason. When it works, which is the vast majority of the time, it lowers prices for everything by reducing the need to hold inventory. When there’s a once-in-a-century pandemic on top of other more regular interruptions, prices go up for everything. Overall, we’ve benefitted greatly from this efficiency. It’s one of the reasons Americans enjoy an abundance of affordable options for our food, electronics and other goods. The downside to having only the appearance of abundance and not an actual abundance. In time, the market will correct. High prices will cure high prices, either through reducing demand or enticing new competitors to increase supply. Of course, it’s a little easier to be optimistic if you’re not looking for a used truck, trying to buy (or build) a house or securing farm inputs. Right now, I’ve still got my truck. I’m holding out a little bit longer on the off chance I can make an even trade for a brand new one."Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

Kansas Farm Bureau Insight: Logistics logjam

There have been a number of plants that have either died over winter or been slow to leaf out. &nbsp;In some cases, this is likely due to accumulated stress. &nbsp;We often think of plants reacting to stress that happened during the current season or possibly the previous year but it may not be that simple. &nbsp;I think this all started during the winter of 2017 - 2018. &nbsp;Many areas of Kansas had virtually no rain or snow from November through most of April during that winter. &nbsp;This put plants under a tremendous amount of stress. &nbsp; Plants under stress often react by setting an abnormal number of fruit buds. &nbsp;This helps ensure the survival of the species even if the parent plant dies. &nbsp;So lots of fruit buds were set during 2018. &nbsp;Those buds matured into flowers and then fruit (seeds) during 2019. &nbsp;Think back to last year. &nbsp;I have never seen certain plants bloom as well as they did last year. &nbsp;Maturing this much fruit takes a great deal of energy. &nbsp;I think this resulted in such low energy levels in the fall that the plants just didn’t have enough energy to make it through the winter or may have delayed leaf out. &nbsp;Areas with too much rain last summer had that additional stress added to the mix. &nbsp;Roots need oxygen as well as water and too much rain can damage root systems. So what do we do? &nbsp;The only thing we can do now is try to avoid any further stress. &nbsp;Basically, that means watering during dry weather. &nbsp;Don’t overdo it as too much moisture can damage root systems. &nbsp;The goal is to keep the soil moist but not waterlogged while allowing the top of the soil surface to dry between waterings. Lauren Fick is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District. If you have questions, she can be contacted by e-mail at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:lfick@k-state.edu">lfick@k-state.edu</a>&nbsp;or by phone at 785-628-9430 or 620-793-1910.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1580750915301.jpeg" alt="Lauren Fick is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District." />
 <figcaption>Lauren Fick is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District.</figcaption>
 </figure>There have been a number of plants that have either died over winter or been slow to leaf out. &nbsp;In some cases, this is likely due to accumulated stress. &nbsp;We often think of plants reacting to stress that happened during the current season or possibly the previous year but it may not be that simple. &nbsp;I think this all started during the winter of 2017 - 2018. &nbsp;Many areas of Kansas had virtually no rain or snow from November through most of April during that winter. &nbsp;This put plants under a tremendous amount of stress. &nbsp; Plants under stress often react by setting an abnormal number of fruit buds. &nbsp;This helps ensure the survival of the species even if the parent plant dies. &nbsp;So lots of fruit buds were set during 2018. &nbsp;Those buds matured into flowers and then fruit (seeds) during 2019. &nbsp;Think back to last year. &nbsp;I have never seen certain plants bloom as well as they did last year. &nbsp;Maturing this much fruit takes a great deal of energy. &nbsp;I think this resulted in such low energy levels in the fall that the plants just didn’t have enough energy to make it through the winter or may have delayed leaf out. &nbsp;Areas with too much rain last summer had that additional stress added to the mix. &nbsp;Roots need oxygen as well as water and too much rain can damage root systems. So what do we do? &nbsp;The only thing we can do now is try to avoid any further stress. &nbsp;Basically, that means watering during dry weather. &nbsp;Don’t overdo it as too much moisture can damage root systems. &nbsp;The goal is to keep the soil moist but not waterlogged while allowing the top of the soil surface to dry between waterings. Lauren Fick is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District. If you have questions, she can be contacted by e-mail at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:lfick@k-state.edu">lfick@k-state.edu</a>&nbsp;or by phone at 785-628-9430 or 620-793-1910.&nbsp;

​FICK: Plants slow to leaf out in spring 2021

The Arctic cold blast that swept through the southern U.S. in February caused a much bigger loss in oil supply than previously estimated, with output falling to a three-year low. A report from the Energy Information Administration shows drillers cut production by almost 1.2 million barrels per day in February, a much bigger hit than previously reported. U.S. production for February was down 10 percent from January, and was 22% lower than a year earlier. The cold snap shut down the power grid and other infrastructure including a brief shutdown at the HollyFrontier refinery in El Dorado February 18, according to reports under the refinery's current Consent Decree. The EIA report shows a big drop in Kansas output in February as well. Production averaged 66,000 barrels per day, a 12% drop from January and 25% lower than February of 2020.

Benchmark crude futures settled Friday at $63.58 per barrel, up more than a dollar on the week and about three dollars higher than a month ago. In morning trading Monday, WTI for June delivery was fetching $64.25 per barrel.

Kansas Common crude ends the month of April at $53.75 per barrel, up a dollar fifty from a week earlier and two dollars higher than at the first of the month. The average price for April was a fraction shy of $52 per barrel, down about 89 cents from the average for March.

The weekly Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes reports 440 active rigs nationwide, a decline of one oil rig but an increase of two rigs seeking natural gas. The count in Texas was up one and New Mexico was down one.

Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reported 18 active oil-and-gas drilling rigs in Western Kansas this week, an increase of two rigs over last week. The count in the eastern half of the state was unchanged at six active rigs. Operators in Barton, Ellis and Stafford counties drilled four wells to total depth last week.

Kansas regulators approved 20 new drilling permits last week, nine east of Wichita and eleven in Western Kansas, including one in Barton County and one in Russell County. That's 265 new permits so far this year.

Independent Oil &amp; Gas reports ten newly-completed wells in Kansas this week, five east of Wichita and five west, including one new well-completion in Ellis County. Operators have completed 224 wells so far this year.

Operators filed 100 Intent-to-Drill notices with the state of Kansas last month. That marks a slight decline from the month before, but is much higher than any other monthly total for the last year or so. There are four new intents in Barton County, six in Ellis County, two in Russell County and one in Stafford County.

US crude production dropped by more than 100,000 barrels to average just less than 11 million barrels per day last week. The Energy Information Administration says we're still more than a million barrels per day behind last year's record pace.

EIA says domestic crude-oil stockpiles were up slightly to just over 493 million barrels. That's equal to the five-year average. Gasoline stockpiles were also up slightly. But overall petroleum inventories dropped by a big margin, led by diesel and fuel-oil stockpiles which were down more than three percent.

The government reported US crude imports increased more than a million barrels per day to 6.6 million. The four-week average is nearly 11% higher than the same four-week period last year.

The government reports a big spike in gasoline demand, and the auto club AAA says that means we're filling our tanks more often. The latest measurement of demand nationwide reached its highest springtime total in two years, and just three percent below the same week in 2019. That's according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. On Thursday (4/29), the national average pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline was a fraction short of $2.89. That's half a cent higher on the week. The average in Kansas was nearly $2.73 a gallon, up a penny on the week and about seven cents higher than a month ago. We spotted two seventy-four across Great Bend and two sixty-nine in Hays. Filling up your 15-gallon tank cost a few cents less than last week, and about 30 cents more than a month ago.

Oil-by-rail traffic across the US is up over last week and last year at this time. The Association of American Railroads reports 11,131 tanker cars hauling petroleum or petroleum products last week, up 302 tankers from last week and a 17.1 percent increase over the same week last year, when the pandemic response reduced nearly all rail traffic.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592847975802.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp; JOHN P. TRETBARThe Arctic cold blast that swept through the southern U.S. in February caused a much bigger loss in oil supply than previously estimated, with output falling to a three-year low. A report from the Energy Information Administration shows drillers cut production by almost 1.2 million barrels per day in February, a much bigger hit than previously reported. U.S. production for February was down 10 percent from January, and was 22% lower than a year earlier. The cold snap shut down the power grid and other infrastructure including a brief shutdown at the HollyFrontier refinery in El Dorado February 18, according to reports under the refinery's current Consent Decree. The EIA report shows a big drop in Kansas output in February as well. Production averaged 66,000 barrels per day, a 12% drop from January and 25% lower than February of 2020.Benchmark crude futures settled Friday at $63.58 per barrel, up more than a dollar on the week and about three dollars higher than a month ago. In morning trading Monday, WTI for June delivery was fetching $64.25 per barrel.Kansas Common crude ends the month of April at $53.75 per barrel, up a dollar fifty from a week earlier and two dollars higher than at the first of the month. The average price for April was a fraction shy of $52 per barrel, down about 89 cents from the average for March. The weekly Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes reports 440 active rigs nationwide, a decline of one oil rig but an increase of two rigs seeking natural gas. The count in Texas was up one and New Mexico was down one. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reported 18 active oil-and-gas drilling rigs in Western Kansas this week, an increase of two rigs over last week. The count in the eastern half of the state was unchanged at six active rigs. Operators in Barton, Ellis and Stafford counties drilled four wells to total depth last week. Kansas regulators approved 20 new drilling permits last week, nine east of Wichita and eleven in Western Kansas, including one in Barton County and one in Russell County. That's 265 new permits so far this year. Independent Oil &amp; Gas reports ten newly-completed wells in Kansas this week, five east of Wichita and five west, including one new well-completion in Ellis County. Operators have completed 224 wells so far this year. Operators filed 100 Intent-to-Drill notices with the state of Kansas last month. That marks a slight decline from the month before, but is much higher than any other monthly total for the last year or so. There are four new intents in Barton County, six in Ellis County, two in Russell County and one in Stafford County. US crude production dropped by more than 100,000 barrels to average just less than 11 million barrels per day last week. The Energy Information Administration says we're still more than a million barrels per day behind last year's record pace. EIA says domestic crude-oil stockpiles were up slightly to just over 493 million barrels. That's equal to the five-year average. Gasoline stockpiles were also up slightly. But overall petroleum inventories dropped by a big margin, led by diesel and fuel-oil stockpiles which were down more than three percent. The government reported US crude imports increased more than a million barrels per day to 6.6 million. The four-week average is nearly 11% higher than the same four-week period last year. The government reports a big spike in gasoline demand, and the auto club AAA says that means we're filling our tanks more often. The latest measurement of demand nationwide reached its highest springtime total in two years, and just three percent below the same week in 2019. That's according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. On Thursday (4/29), the national average pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline was a fraction short of $2.89. That's half a cent higher on the week. The average in Kansas was nearly $2.73 a gallon, up a penny on the week and about seven cents higher than a month ago. We spotted two seventy-four across Great Bend and two sixty-nine in Hays. Filling up your 15-gallon tank cost a few cents less than last week, and about 30 cents more than a month ago. Oil-by-rail traffic across the US is up over last week and last year at this time. The Association of American Railroads reports 11,131 tanker cars hauling petroleum or petroleum products last week, up 302 tankers from last week and a 17.1 percent increase over the same week last year, when the pandemic response reduced nearly all rail traffic.The Arctic cold blast that swept through the southern U.S. in February caused a much bigger loss in oil supply than previously estimated, with output falling to a three-year low. A report from the Energy Information Administration shows drillers cut production by almost 1.2 million barrels per day in February, a much bigger hit than previously reported. U.S. production for February was down 10 percent from January, and was 22% lower than a year earlier. The cold snap shut down the power grid and other infrastructure including a brief shutdown at the HollyFrontier refinery in El Dorado February 18, according to reports under the refinery's current Consent Decree. The EIA report shows a big drop in Kansas output in February as well. Production averaged 66,000 barrels per day, a 12% drop from January and 25% lower than February of 2020.

News From the Oil Patch: Feb. cold snap more costly than reported

By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;

Lights, camera, action! The cameras roll as the actors say their lines, and the commercial is recorded. That’s a frequent occurrence in a Hollywood studio, but this filming took place in a rural Kansas barn.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Last week we met Kevin and Julie Kirkwood of Kirkwood Kreations Photography. Kevin and Julie are farmers and award-winning photographers who specialize in farm and ranch landscape scenes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

One day in 2013, Kevin learned of an unusual request. Marci Penner’s Kansas Sampler Foundation and the Kansas Barn Alliance sent the word that a New York film director was looking for a picturesque barn in which to film a Coca-Cola commercial. People were encouraged to submit photos of suitable barns.&nbsp;

Kevin realized that he and Julie had a photo of a barn which would be ideal. The photo had been taken when Kevin was out for a ride in Dickinson County with Julie and her father and stepmother, Larry and Donna Schlappi. “We were drivin’ down some road and as we drove by this barn, Larry said, ‘Hey Julie, your grandfather and your great-grandfather and I used to farm that land and we used that barn,’ ” Kevin said.&nbsp;

Kevin took a picture of it. It was a classic Kansas scene: A weathered wooden barn, surrounded by a field of golden wheat.&nbsp;

When the call came for photos, Kevin submitted his barn picture. Out of 2,000 barn photos, the picture that was selected was Kevin’s.&nbsp;

Zach Lowry was the New York film director. He and his business partner Luke Rafferty were students at a film school in New York. They had an idea for a Coca-Cola commercial which they wanted to produce and sell to the Coca-Cola company. Their idea for the Coke commercial was based on the 50th&nbsp;anniversary of the creation of Coca-Cola and the 50th&nbsp;anniversary of the Ford Mustang.&nbsp;

The script for the commercial described a little boy and his grandfather, going into an old barn on a hot summer day. The grandfather shows the boy an old, beat-up Mustang automobile. The two work on restoring the Mustang while, of course, consuming some tasty bottles of Coke. The next scene, presumably years later, features a grown-up young man walking into the barn to see the beautiful, fully restored candy-apple red Mustang. He takes it for a drive, while drinking another bottle of Coke. He glances at a black-and-white photo hanging on the rearview mirror, showing him and his grandfather together. The commercial ends with an aerial view of the Mustang zipping along the wide-open country roads.&nbsp;

Zach notified Kevin Kirkwood that the exterior of the barn looked ideal for filming. Unfortunately, the inside of the barn was a different story. The interior needed major renovations for the barn to be workable.&nbsp;

Kevin tracked down the barn owner, Lonnie Heigele who lives at the nearby rural community of New Cambria, population 126 people. Now, that’s rural. Lonnie gave permission for the renovations because the project would help the students at the film school.&nbsp;

Kevin, Julie, and friends set out to make the renovations. It was like an old-fashioned barn-raising, with volunteers pitching in together. Others donated props, including a beautifully restored Mustang.&nbsp;

In three days during 2014, Zach. Luke, and seven New York film students filmed the video in the barn in Kansas. In the end, Coca-Cola did not purchase the commercial, but the students received an invaluable experience. In 2015, the commercial was revealed at a special announcement in Chapman.&nbsp;

Zach stated at the announcement that he was blown away by the hospitality and support which he found in rural Kansas. Folks in Kansas even helped out when Luke’s own car broke down. “This (project) took months and months of work and dedication and the unbelievable, indescribable generosity of the people in Kansas,” Zach said. You can watch the complete commercial on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NVHgiVI0X0">YouTube</a>.&nbsp;

Lights, camera, action! The cameras rolled to film the commercial in a Kansas barn. We commend Kevin and Julie Kirkwood and all those who made a difference by making this happen. As a director might say: That’s a wrap.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619616340232.png" alt="Screen Shot 2021-04-28 at 8.25.25 AM.png" />
 <figcaption>Screen Shot 2021-04-28 at 8.25.25 AM.png</figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;Lights, camera, action! The cameras roll as the actors say their lines, and the commercial is recorded. That’s a frequent occurrence in a Hollywood studio, but this filming took place in a rural Kansas barn.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Last week we met Kevin and Julie Kirkwood of Kirkwood Kreations Photography. Kevin and Julie are farmers and award-winning photographers who specialize in farm and ranch landscape scenes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One day in 2013, Kevin learned of an unusual request. Marci Penner’s Kansas Sampler Foundation and the Kansas Barn Alliance sent the word that a New York film director was looking for a picturesque barn in which to film a Coca-Cola commercial. People were encouraged to submit photos of suitable barns.&nbsp;Kevin realized that he and Julie had a photo of a barn which would be ideal. The photo had been taken when Kevin was out for a ride in Dickinson County with Julie and her father and stepmother, Larry and Donna Schlappi. “We were drivin’ down some road and as we drove by this barn, Larry said, ‘Hey Julie, your grandfather and your great-grandfather and I used to farm that land and we used that barn,’ ” Kevin said.&nbsp;Kevin took a picture of it. It was a classic Kansas scene: A weathered wooden barn, surrounded by a field of golden wheat.&nbsp;When the call came for photos, Kevin submitted his barn picture. Out of 2,000 barn photos, the picture that was selected was Kevin’s.&nbsp;Zach Lowry was the New York film director. He and his business partner Luke Rafferty were students at a film school in New York. They had an idea for a Coca-Cola commercial which they wanted to produce and sell to the Coca-Cola company. Their idea for the Coke commercial was based on the 50th&nbsp;anniversary of the creation of Coca-Cola and the 50th&nbsp;anniversary of the Ford Mustang.&nbsp;The script for the commercial described a little boy and his grandfather, going into an old barn on a hot summer day. The grandfather shows the boy an old, beat-up Mustang automobile. The two work on restoring the Mustang while, of course, consuming some tasty bottles of Coke. The next scene, presumably years later, features a grown-up young man walking into the barn to see the beautiful, fully restored candy-apple red Mustang. He takes it for a drive, while drinking another bottle of Coke. He glances at a black-and-white photo hanging on the rearview mirror, showing him and his grandfather together. The commercial ends with an aerial view of the Mustang zipping along the wide-open country roads.&nbsp;Zach notified Kevin Kirkwood that the exterior of the barn looked ideal for filming. Unfortunately, the inside of the barn was a different story. The interior needed major renovations for the barn to be workable.&nbsp;Kevin tracked down the barn owner, Lonnie Heigele who lives at the nearby rural community of New Cambria, population 126 people. Now, that’s rural. Lonnie gave permission for the renovations because the project would help the students at the film school.&nbsp;Kevin, Julie, and friends set out to make the renovations. It was like an old-fashioned barn-raising, with volunteers pitching in together. Others donated props, including a beautifully restored Mustang.&nbsp;In three days during 2014, Zach. Luke, and seven New York film students filmed the video in the barn in Kansas. In the end, Coca-Cola did not purchase the commercial, but the students received an invaluable experience. In 2015, the commercial was revealed at a special announcement in Chapman.&nbsp;Zach stated at the announcement that he was blown away by the hospitality and support which he found in rural Kansas. Folks in Kansas even helped out when Luke’s own car broke down. “This (project) took months and months of work and dedication and the unbelievable, indescribable generosity of the people in Kansas,” Zach said. You can watch the complete commercial on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NVHgiVI0X0">YouTube</a>.&nbsp;Lights, camera, action! The cameras rolled to film the commercial in a Kansas barn. We commend Kevin and Julie Kirkwood and all those who made a difference by making this happen. As a director might say: That’s a wrap.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Kirkwood Kreations – Part 2 

I don’t know what makes some people deathly afraid of snakes and other people not, but I was blessed (or cursed) with the latter; we’ll call it a “healthy respect.” Now, don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want a snake for a pet, to wear around my neck or to curl up on my lap for scratches like our pups, but I’m not afraid of them at all. I have close friends who would make a back-door in a building where there was no back-door, if suddenly faced with a snake. My brother, whom I have always seen as manly-as-they-come, will turn and walk the other way. I have seen grown men twice my size and tough-as-nails run screaming like little girls at the sight of a snake. A recent conversation with a friend who found a big bull snake in her basement reminded me of my first encounter with a big Kansas snake.&nbsp;

My first residence in Kansas, years ago, was only one-half mile or less from the Arkansas River, so my place was no stranger to critters. The first summer there, I had a vegetable garden at one end of the yard. Nearby sat a small chicken coup that was home to a few odd chickens and a duck or two. One duck was sitting on a nest of several eggs, on the floor, at the far end of the chicken house. This particular day as I worked in the garden, I could hear the duck squawking and quacking like crazy from inside the chicken house, sort of like a duck’s version of a frenzied 911 call. I peered into the little building and found the momma duck pacing back and forth in front of her nest. “Odd,” I thought, so I stepped up into the building to get a better look, and there coiled up in-and- around her nest was a big bull snake swallowing her eggs. As I remember, a couple lumps in its throat showed the beast had already ingested a few.

What happened next will probably make many readers think the butter had dripped off my noodles. Bull snakes are not poisonous and eat many vermin around farmsteads, so if you can tolerate them and give them space, we humans will be the benefactors. Knowing this, I didn’t want to kill or hurt the thing, so with the garden hoe I had in my hand, I scooped the bugger up and chucked it out the door into the yard where I had some maneuvering room. With the snake trying to decide whether to “slither” for its life or whether to turn and take me on, I pinned its head to the ground with the flat blade of the hoe, and carefully grasped the wriggling critter just behind the head. The snake kept wrapping around my arm and leg, so I finally stood on its tail while I hoisted its head to stretch it out; it was as long as I am tall, well over 6 feet. A friend was there, so with me holding the brutes head out the window with one hand, and the rest of its body inside the car with the other, we drove to the river and released it there. I’m sure it paid me many more visits after that we just never knew about.

Back to my friend’s snake encounter that reminded me of this story. Her clothes dryer is in the basement, and some time back, the dryer quit working properly. Long story short, they found a big bull snake had somehow gotten into the dryer vent and was completely blocking it. It was pulled out and released near a row of round bales up the road. Now, I’m certainly not advising to release a rattlesnake that is around your home or buildings that might bite someone, but if possible, give bull, rat and garter snakes room and let them do the jobs God equipped them to do, to help rid your property of vermin. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>I don’t know what makes some people deathly afraid of snakes and other people not, but I was blessed (or cursed) with the latter; we’ll call it a “healthy respect.” Now, don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want a snake for a pet, to wear around my neck or to curl up on my lap for scratches like our pups, but I’m not afraid of them at all. I have close friends who would make a back-door in a building where there was no back-door, if suddenly faced with a snake. My brother, whom I have always seen as manly-as-they-come, will turn and walk the other way. I have seen grown men twice my size and tough-as-nails run screaming like little girls at the sight of a snake. A recent conversation with a friend who found a big bull snake in her basement reminded me of my first encounter with a big Kansas snake.&nbsp;My first residence in Kansas, years ago, was only one-half mile or less from the Arkansas River, so my place was no stranger to critters. The first summer there, I had a vegetable garden at one end of the yard. Nearby sat a small chicken coup that was home to a few odd chickens and a duck or two. One duck was sitting on a nest of several eggs, on the floor, at the far end of the chicken house. This particular day as I worked in the garden, I could hear the duck squawking and quacking like crazy from inside the chicken house, sort of like a duck’s version of a frenzied 911 call. I peered into the little building and found the momma duck pacing back and forth in front of her nest. “Odd,” I thought, so I stepped up into the building to get a better look, and there coiled up in-and- around her nest was a big bull snake swallowing her eggs. As I remember, a couple lumps in its throat showed the beast had already ingested a few.What happened next will probably make many readers think the butter had dripped off my noodles. Bull snakes are not poisonous and eat many vermin around farmsteads, so if you can tolerate them and give them space, we humans will be the benefactors. Knowing this, I didn’t want to kill or hurt the thing, so with the garden hoe I had in my hand, I scooped the bugger up and chucked it out the door into the yard where I had some maneuvering room. With the snake trying to decide whether to “slither” for its life or whether to turn and take me on, I pinned its head to the ground with the flat blade of the hoe, and carefully grasped the wriggling critter just behind the head. The snake kept wrapping around my arm and leg, so I finally stood on its tail while I hoisted its head to stretch it out; it was as long as I am tall, well over 6 feet. A friend was there, so with me holding the brutes head out the window with one hand, and the rest of its body inside the car with the other, we drove to the river and released it there. I’m sure it paid me many more visits after that we just never knew about.Back to my friend’s snake encounter that reminded me of this story. Her clothes dryer is in the basement, and some time back, the dryer quit working properly. Long story short, they found a big bull snake had somehow gotten into the dryer vent and was completely blocking it. It was pulled out and released near a row of round bales up the road. Now, I’m certainly not advising to release a rattlesnake that is around your home or buildings that might bite someone, but if possible, give bull, rat and garter snakes room and let them do the jobs God equipped them to do, to help rid your property of vermin. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: God’s slithering vermin snatchers

The recent death of Walter Mondale — vice president to President Jimmy Carter, and a presidential candidate himself in 1984 — has reminded me of some old history which may help explain Senator Roger Marshall. The key to that history is one of Kansas’s great political figures, Bob Dole.

In 1976, Mondale debated Dole as President Gerald Ford’s newly picked vice-presidential running mate. Like so many Kansas Republicans of that bygone era (and only a few today; Senator Jerry Moran being one of the few), Dole’s politics were of a practical bent, very much in line with the Eisenhower Republican tradition. While Dole was a product of what became the Big First congressional district and never abandoned the strong conservatism of western Kansas — his early embrace of anti-abortion politics proves that — he also knew how to work across the political aisle, compromising to pass laws defending the rights of minorities and the disabled.

But when Dole was thrust into the spotlight of American politics at the highest level, during that debate with Mondale 45 years ago, what came out was the defiant conservative isolationism of mid-century Russell, Kansas, where Dole was born. In an embarrassing exchange, Dole attacked his opponent by labeling every war of the 20th-century as the conspiratorial work of evil Democrats — including WWII’s struggle against fascism, where Dole himself had been gravely wounded. Dole’s strange rant may not have caused Ford’s loss to Carter, but it didn’t help.

In the decades which followed, Dole sought that spotlight again multiple times, climaxing in his own run for the presidency in 1996, against President Bill Clinton. Clinton was highly unpopular in Kansas, and thanks to national figures like Rush Limbaugh, anti-Clinton conspiracies and accusations were everywhere. Yet Dole touched almost none of them. He’d learned his lesson about the costs of tossing ideological red meat to the applause of core supporters while losing the opportunity for what he called, on the 1996 campaign trail, “honorable compromise.”

How does this history relate to Marshall? Over the past months we have seen a politician from the same deeply conservative Big First district enjoying the attention the U.S. Senate offers — and using that attention to dish out plenty of red meat. Taking every opportunity to grandstand on behalf of “Kansas values,” whether it be the imaginary threat which transgender girls supposedly pose to high school sports, or the imaginary threat that the Biden White House supposedly poses to eating hamburgers, Marshall has fashioned himself as determined cultural warrior, fighting, as his chief of staff put it, “urban/corporate America” on behalf of “everyone else.”

In reality, however, these words are just that: words. Far from acting on his grandstanding, Marshall’s first actual legislation was a compromise with one Democratic and one Republican senator to ease the burden of getting generic drugs to market. Which is exactly the sort of practical legislation that you’d expect a conservative Kansas doctor like Marshall to support.

Today’s Republican party is much different, and what conservatives expect from their politicians has changed post-Trump. But the lesson Dole took from his 1976 debate remains: ideological ranting, while always appreciated by the extremists within one’s party, gets in the way of the hard work of government, and there is a better way to represent voters than by giving vent to cultural paranoia. Perhaps Marshall will eventually come to the same conclusion. As a Republican elected to the Senate from Kansas, he’ll almost certainly be able to take his time thinking about it. Dole’s history, though, suggests that it’s better to grow out of grandstanding sooner rather than later.

Dr. Russell Arben Fox runs the history &amp; politics major and the Honors program at Friends University in Wichita.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583339056495.jpeg" alt="Dr. Russell Arben Fox runs the history &amp; politics major and the Honors program at Friends University in Wichita." />
 <figcaption>Dr. Russell Arben Fox runs the history &amp; politics major and the Honors program at Friends University in Wichita.</figcaption>
 </figure>The recent death of Walter Mondale — vice president to President Jimmy Carter, and a presidential candidate himself in 1984 — has reminded me of some old history which may help explain Senator Roger Marshall. The key to that history is one of Kansas’s great political figures, Bob Dole.In 1976, Mondale debated Dole as President Gerald Ford’s newly picked vice-presidential running mate. Like so many Kansas Republicans of that bygone era (and only a few today; Senator Jerry Moran being one of the few), Dole’s politics were of a practical bent, very much in line with the Eisenhower Republican tradition. While Dole was a product of what became the Big First congressional district and never abandoned the strong conservatism of western Kansas — his early embrace of anti-abortion politics proves that — he also knew how to work across the political aisle, compromising to pass laws defending the rights of minorities and the disabled.But when Dole was thrust into the spotlight of American politics at the highest level, during that debate with Mondale 45 years ago, what came out was the defiant conservative isolationism of mid-century Russell, Kansas, where Dole was born. In an embarrassing exchange, Dole attacked his opponent by labeling every war of the 20th-century as the conspiratorial work of evil Democrats — including WWII’s struggle against fascism, where Dole himself had been gravely wounded. Dole’s strange rant may not have caused Ford’s loss to Carter, but it didn’t help.In the decades which followed, Dole sought that spotlight again multiple times, climaxing in his own run for the presidency in 1996, against President Bill Clinton. Clinton was highly unpopular in Kansas, and thanks to national figures like Rush Limbaugh, anti-Clinton conspiracies and accusations were everywhere. Yet Dole touched almost none of them. He’d learned his lesson about the costs of tossing ideological red meat to the applause of core supporters while losing the opportunity for what he called, on the 1996 campaign trail, “honorable compromise.”How does this history relate to Marshall? Over the past months we have seen a politician from the same deeply conservative Big First district enjoying the attention the U.S. Senate offers — and using that attention to dish out plenty of red meat. Taking every opportunity to grandstand on behalf of “Kansas values,” whether it be the imaginary threat which transgender girls supposedly pose to high school sports, or the imaginary threat that the Biden White House supposedly poses to eating hamburgers, Marshall has fashioned himself as determined cultural warrior, fighting, as his chief of staff put it, “urban/corporate America” on behalf of “everyone else.”In reality, however, these words are just that: words. Far from acting on his grandstanding, Marshall’s first actual legislation was a compromise with one Democratic and one Republican senator to ease the burden of getting generic drugs to market. Which is exactly the sort of practical legislation that you’d expect a conservative Kansas doctor like Marshall to support.Today’s Republican party is much different, and what conservatives expect from their politicians has changed post-Trump. But the lesson Dole took from his 1976 debate remains: ideological ranting, while always appreciated by the extremists within one’s party, gets in the way of the hard work of government, and there is a better way to represent voters than by giving vent to cultural paranoia. Perhaps Marshall will eventually come to the same conclusion. As a Republican elected to the Senate from Kansas, he’ll almost certainly be able to take his time thinking about it. Dole’s history, though, suggests that it’s better to grow out of grandstanding sooner rather than later.Dr. Russell Arben Fox runs the history &amp; politics major and the Honors program at Friends University in Wichita.

INSIGHT KANSAS: What Bob Dole can teach Roger Marshall

Stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) are starting to emerge with the start of spring; you might even have seen a few around already! Stable flies are distinguishable by four black stripes on the thorax, black checkered spots on the abdomen and large, protruding mouthpart. 

These flies are a common pest feeding primarily on cattle and horses but can also target other livestock species, pets (especially dogs) and humans. Both male and female adult flies are obligate blood feeders and their painful bite and feeding causes significant annoyance and blood loss. Stable flies can negatively affect cattle average daily weight gain, milk production and feeding efficiency. Each fly feeds once or twice a day for between two and five minutes each time. Stable flies are routinely found on the legs or underside of large animals such as horses and cattle, on dogs and small ruminants however, they are generally found around the head area. 

When not feeding, adult flies can be found resting on building surfaces or vegetation. Sustainable stable fly control is best achieved through an integrated approach. In her lifetime, a single adult female can lay between 500 and 1000 eggs. Limiting resources available for egg laying and larvae development, especially in the spring and summer months is essential. 

Stable fly larvae develop in decaying plant matter, particularly those contaminated with animal waste. Hay bales are a great breeding site for stable flies, elevating hay and straw off the ground when feeding animals prevents manure and urine contamination. Periodically clear feed storage and animal feeding areas of spilled hay, straw and feed. Large bales for herd feeding are especially able to promote fly populations, be sure to inspect and clean these areas regularly. Separate animal watering from feeding areas and protect stored feeds from weather and water runoff. 

For areas where straw bedding is used, frequently replace the bedding, spreading decomposing waste in thin layers, which allows waste to dry faster and be less attractive to female stable flies. Composting manure increases heat and dries out material making the environment inhospitable for developing fly larvae. If you have to store manure waste in piles, attempt to keep as little fibrous plant material/feed as possible in the pile. Insect growth regulators fed to animals as feed-throughs inhibit stable fly development during the pupal stage reducing adult fly numbers and are a great addition to an integrated pest management program. 

Adult stable flies can be controlled through insecticide application with both pyrethroid and organophosphate products being effective although resistance to both is increasing. For more information on specific products to use, search the VetPestX website for specific product information (<a href="https://www.veterinaryentomology.org/vetpestx">https://www.veterinaryentomology.org/vetpestx</a>).&nbsp;

Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact her by e-mail at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:aboor@ksu.edu">aboor@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp;or calling 620-793-1910.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573141354634.png" alt="Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District." />
 <figcaption>Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District.</figcaption>
 </figure>Stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) are starting to emerge with the start of spring; you might even have seen a few around already! Stable flies are distinguishable by four black stripes on the thorax, black checkered spots on the abdomen and large, protruding mouthpart. These flies are a common pest feeding primarily on cattle and horses but can also target other livestock species, pets (especially dogs) and humans. Both male and female adult flies are obligate blood feeders and their painful bite and feeding causes significant annoyance and blood loss. Stable flies can negatively affect cattle average daily weight gain, milk production and feeding efficiency. Each fly feeds once or twice a day for between two and five minutes each time. Stable flies are routinely found on the legs or underside of large animals such as horses and cattle, on dogs and small ruminants however, they are generally found around the head area. When not feeding, adult flies can be found resting on building surfaces or vegetation. Sustainable stable fly control is best achieved through an integrated approach. In her lifetime, a single adult female can lay between 500 and 1000 eggs. Limiting resources available for egg laying and larvae development, especially in the spring and summer months is essential. Stable fly larvae develop in decaying plant matter, particularly those contaminated with animal waste. Hay bales are a great breeding site for stable flies, elevating hay and straw off the ground when feeding animals prevents manure and urine contamination. Periodically clear feed storage and animal feeding areas of spilled hay, straw and feed. Large bales for herd feeding are especially able to promote fly populations, be sure to inspect and clean these areas regularly. Separate animal watering from feeding areas and protect stored feeds from weather and water runoff. For areas where straw bedding is used, frequently replace the bedding, spreading decomposing waste in thin layers, which allows waste to dry faster and be less attractive to female stable flies. Composting manure increases heat and dries out material making the environment inhospitable for developing fly larvae. If you have to store manure waste in piles, attempt to keep as little fibrous plant material/feed as possible in the pile. Insect growth regulators fed to animals as feed-throughs inhibit stable fly development during the pupal stage reducing adult fly numbers and are a great addition to an integrated pest management program. Adult stable flies can be controlled through insecticide application with both pyrethroid and organophosphate products being effective although resistance to both is increasing. For more information on specific products to use, search the VetPestX website for specific product information (<a href="https://www.veterinaryentomology.org/vetpestx">https://www.veterinaryentomology.org/vetpestx</a>).&nbsp;Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact her by e-mail at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:aboor@ksu.edu">aboor@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp;or calling 620-793-1910.&nbsp;

BOOR: Battling stable flies

By KIM BALDWIN McPherson&nbsp;County farmer and rancher Throughout our farm you can see large, metal grain storage bins scattered about. While many farmers haul their grain to the local elevator while their crop is being harvested to either sell or to pay to have the grain stored for later sales, many also store grain in their own bins.&nbsp; &nbsp; These “big bins” as the kids call them can hold an impressive amount of grain. It allows our family the ability to store grain to sell throughout the year as the market changes.&nbsp; &nbsp; A few years ago, we had a large grain bin built near our house. This new metal “giant” has held some of our corn since last fall. The year before, it was filled with grain sorghum.&nbsp; &nbsp; Just like the stages observed during an annual life cycle of a crop, our newest bin also experiences stages. August generally sees a bin with just a few remnants of the previous crop. It’s swept and cleaned and prepared for fall harvest.&nbsp; &nbsp; September ushers in a cleaned, empty bin, which encourages the family to go for evening walks to the structure and utilize the large chamber to hold impromptu mini-concerts. My daughter prefers singing songs associated with Disney princesses at the top of her lungs, while my son likes showcasing his novice beatboxing skills.&nbsp; &nbsp; While the echoes allowed by the tall, metal walls make it feel like one is singing within a stadium, I’m sure that from outside any observer would question the cacophony of sounds produced from both kids combining their preferred vocal performances. &nbsp; Later in the fall, the concerts end, and we again review our safety rules with the kids before and while we monitor the trucks unloading grain. During this time, the bin ultimately will fill plum to the top. From late fall until early spring will welcome semi-trailers ready to be filled with golden streams of grain and then hauled to local feed yards, ethanol plants or elsewhere.&nbsp; &nbsp; The stairs which curve around the outside of the bin allow the perfect opportunity to take in scenic views and look for wildlife during these storage months. While we take in the views, no one is allowed into the bin until it’s time to start shoveling and sweeping the remains of the grain. &nbsp; Currently there’s only a thin layer of corn covering the floor of the bin. It’s the perfect time for the family to take evening walks over to the silver structure, allowing the kids the opportunity to enjoy the feeling of the kernels between their bare toes. I’ll sometimes do the same.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Later in the evenings following a visit to the bin and after bath times, I’ll come upon a small collection of grain on the floor somewhere — usually making the discovery only after stepping on the kernels. It’s better than stepping on a Lego brick.&nbsp; &nbsp; Soon the bin will be swept and cleaned completely and then sit empty for a few months. During that time, its purpose will change from holding grain to holding mini-concerts.&nbsp; &nbsp; The annual stages of the large structure will reset, and soon more grain will gather within the walls. The levels of the stored crop will slowly lower until a thin layer remains, and the kids will once again relish the feel of grain between their toes. And throughout the year, we will continue to safely enjoy the magic of a grain bin.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573617414005.jpeg" alt="Kim Baldwin" />
 <figcaption>Kim Baldwin</figcaption>
 </figure>By KIM BALDWIN McPherson&nbsp;County farmer and rancher Throughout our farm you can see large, metal grain storage bins scattered about. While many farmers haul their grain to the local elevator while their crop is being harvested to either sell or to pay to have the grain stored for later sales, many also store grain in their own bins.&nbsp; &nbsp; These “big bins” as the kids call them can hold an impressive amount of grain. It allows our family the ability to store grain to sell throughout the year as the market changes.&nbsp; &nbsp; A few years ago, we had a large grain bin built near our house. This new metal “giant” has held some of our corn since last fall. The year before, it was filled with grain sorghum.&nbsp; &nbsp; Just like the stages observed during an annual life cycle of a crop, our newest bin also experiences stages. August generally sees a bin with just a few remnants of the previous crop. It’s swept and cleaned and prepared for fall harvest.&nbsp; &nbsp; September ushers in a cleaned, empty bin, which encourages the family to go for evening walks to the structure and utilize the large chamber to hold impromptu mini-concerts. My daughter prefers singing songs associated with Disney princesses at the top of her lungs, while my son likes showcasing his novice beatboxing skills.&nbsp; &nbsp; While the echoes allowed by the tall, metal walls make it feel like one is singing within a stadium, I’m sure that from outside any observer would question the cacophony of sounds produced from both kids combining their preferred vocal performances. &nbsp; Later in the fall, the concerts end, and we again review our safety rules with the kids before and while we monitor the trucks unloading grain. During this time, the bin ultimately will fill plum to the top. From late fall until early spring will welcome semi-trailers ready to be filled with golden streams of grain and then hauled to local feed yards, ethanol plants or elsewhere.&nbsp; &nbsp; The stairs which curve around the outside of the bin allow the perfect opportunity to take in scenic views and look for wildlife during these storage months. While we take in the views, no one is allowed into the bin until it’s time to start shoveling and sweeping the remains of the grain. &nbsp; Currently there’s only a thin layer of corn covering the floor of the bin. It’s the perfect time for the family to take evening walks over to the silver structure, allowing the kids the opportunity to enjoy the feeling of the kernels between their bare toes. I’ll sometimes do the same.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Later in the evenings following a visit to the bin and after bath times, I’ll come upon a small collection of grain on the floor somewhere — usually making the discovery only after stepping on the kernels. It’s better than stepping on a Lego brick.&nbsp; &nbsp; Soon the bin will be swept and cleaned completely and then sit empty for a few months. During that time, its purpose will change from holding grain to holding mini-concerts.&nbsp; &nbsp; The annual stages of the large structure will reset, and soon more grain will gather within the walls. The levels of the stored crop will slowly lower until a thin layer remains, and the kids will once again relish the feel of grain between their toes. And throughout the year, we will continue to safely enjoy the magic of a grain bin."Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

Kansas Farm Bureau Insight: The magic of a grain bin

We’re seeing some states around the county raising taxes, something President Biden is now looking to do in Washington.&nbsp;

At the same time, we’re seeing Republican leadership here in Kansas looking to return money to the wallets of hard-working Kansas by passing tax cuts. Yes, Republicans believe that your hard-earned money is your money, not the money for Topeka bureaucrats.&nbsp;

Kansas needs to take advantage of a tax environment that grows business and let the rest of the country know that we are open for business and that we are creating the environment that will value your wallet and the wallets of your employees. We need to start going to states that are raising taxes and meet with CEOs and business leaders and pitch why they need to relocate to our state.&nbsp;

We should not let the leadership our we are seeing from our Legislature go to waste, we should use it to grab businesses for overtaxed and overregulated states like New York and California and bring them here to Kansas. This is not uncommon, other governors and lieutenant governors from around the country have routinely gone out and marketed their states, including tax environments to bring more business to the state.&nbsp;

Let’s look at New York. Every day it seems there are reports of state legislative Democrats pushing higher and higher taxes on residents. At the same time there is no one to push back on them. Pretty soon they’ll make the state too expensive to live in.&nbsp;

California has become one of the most over taxed and over regulated states and every year, another ballot referendum makes it harder to cut any tax or regulation. Why would business want to stay there?

This is where Kansas comes in. We have a great quality of life across our state. We have great schools, great communities, no traffic, an affordable cost of living and many things to do. We are the perfect place to relocate your business, especially when you see that we value your money. Now we need a state government that is hyper focused on selling this low tax, great quality of life environment to the nation.&nbsp;

How have other states brought top notch business in? They have used the state’s top leaders to meet with CEOs to recruit business. They travel the state and the world talking about how their state is the right economic environment for new business. As Kansas sees business leave due to the transformation of the aviation sector we need this leadership.&nbsp;

This type of business recruitment, combined with a smart tax and regulatory environment pays off. Oklahoma landed new aviation jobs due to the right tax environment and leadership from the former governor. Florida’s former lieutenant governor may have just lived on Wall Street with constant meetings to sell her state to CEOs as the best location for Wall Street South.&nbsp;

Large companies want to know why they should move their employees to a state. They want lower taxes and they want a good quality of life. Above all they want to hear this from top leaders, not middle managers at the Commerce Department.&nbsp;

Kansas can get that tax environment, now we need the leadership at the top.&nbsp;

Wink Hartman is the CEO of the Hartman Group of Companies in Wichita and the 2018 Republican nominee for lieutenant governor.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576860566850.jpeg" alt="Wink Hartman" />
 <figcaption>Wink Hartman</figcaption>
 </figure>By WINK HARTMANWe’re seeing some states around the county raising taxes, something President Biden is now looking to do in Washington.&nbsp;At the same time, we’re seeing Republican leadership here in Kansas looking to return money to the wallets of hard-working Kansas by passing tax cuts. Yes, Republicans believe that your hard-earned money is your money, not the money for Topeka bureaucrats.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Kansas needs to take advantage of a tax environment that grows business and let the rest of the country know that we are open for business and that we are creating the environment that will value your wallet and the wallets of your employees. We need to start going to states that are raising taxes and meet with CEOs and business leaders and pitch why they need to relocate to our state.&nbsp;We should not let the leadership our we are seeing from our Legislature go to waste, we should use it to grab businesses for overtaxed and overregulated states like New York and California and bring them here to Kansas. This is not uncommon, other governors and lieutenant governors from around the country have routinely gone out and marketed their states, including tax environments to bring more business to the state.&nbsp;Let’s look at New York. Every day it seems there are reports of state legislative Democrats pushing higher and higher taxes on residents. At the same time there is no one to push back on them. Pretty soon they’ll make the state too expensive to live in.&nbsp;California has become one of the most over taxed and over regulated states and every year, another ballot referendum makes it harder to cut any tax or regulation. Why would business want to stay there?This is where Kansas comes in. We have a great quality of life across our state. We have great schools, great communities, no traffic, an affordable cost of living and many things to do. We are the perfect place to relocate your business, especially when you see that we value your money. Now we need a state government that is hyper focused on selling this low tax, great quality of life environment to the nation.&nbsp;How have other states brought top notch business in? They have used the state’s top leaders to meet with CEOs to recruit business. They travel the state and the world talking about how their state is the right economic environment for new business. As Kansas sees business leave due to the transformation of the aviation sector we need this leadership.&nbsp;This type of business recruitment, combined with a smart tax and regulatory environment pays off. Oklahoma landed new aviation jobs due to the right tax environment and leadership from the former governor. Florida’s former lieutenant governor may have just lived on Wall Street with constant meetings to sell her state to CEOs as the best location for Wall Street South.&nbsp;Large companies want to know why they should move their employees to a state. They want lower taxes and they want a good quality of life. Above all they want to hear this from top leaders, not middle managers at the Commerce Department.&nbsp;Kansas can get that tax environment, now we need the leadership at the top.&nbsp;Wink Hartman is the CEO of the Hartman Group of Companies in Wichita and the 2018 Republican nominee for lieutenant governor.&nbsp;

HARTMAN: Business recruitment and taxes in Kan.

Field bindweed is difficult to control, especially for homeowners, but there are options.

Home Vegetable Gardens: Weed control requires taking the treated portion of the garden out of production for a time.

Glyphosate - Glyphosate is sold under a wide variety of names, the most common being Roundup. Take the garden out of production when treating.

1. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that will kill whatever it hits but is inactivated when it contacts the soil.

2. Glyphosate is most effective when applied to bindweed that is at or beyond full bloom. You can treat earlier but don't skip the late summer to fall application.

3. Do not apply to bindweed that is under moisture stress or not growing well.

Turf: Selective herbicides are available. An herbicide with the trade name of Drive (quinclorac) is now packaged in homeowner combination herbicides such as Fertilome Weed-Out with Q, Ortho Weed-B-Gon Max + Crabgrass Control, Monterey Crab-E-Rad Plus, and Bayer All-in-One Lawn Weed and Crabgrass Killer.

Commercial applicators can also use Drive (quinclorac) as well as Q4 (contains quinclorac). Products with Drive work better than glyphosate and are selective. Note that lawns treated with Drive should not use clippings in compost or as a mulch since Drive is very stable on grass clippings.  We recommend clippings be returned to the lawn anyway but if they are bagged, they should be discarded. Do not apply products with Drive over exposed roots of trees and ornamentals. It would be best to avoid spraying beneath the canopy of any trees to avoid possible damage. If there are plans to convert a section of lawn to a vegetable garden, do not use Drive on that area. Eggplants can be damaged if planted within 12 months of areas treated with Drive, and tomatoes can be damaged if planted within 24 months.  Shrub Beds: Use a spray of glyphosate between plants. Use a shield if spraying near plants to keep spray from contacting green plant material. Remember, glyphosate will hurt your shrubs if it contacts green tissue.

It is possible to control field bindweed by pulling, but you must be extremely persistent. I remember reading a study from the 1940s that found that bindweed produces enough energy to start strengthening the roots when it reached the six-leaf stage. So, if pulling, never allow plants to produce more than six leaves.

Lauren Fick is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District. If you have questions, she can be contacted by e-mail at lfick@k-state.edu or by phone at 785-628-9430 or 620-793-1910.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1580750915301.jpeg" alt="Lauren Fick is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District." />
 <figcaption>Lauren Fick is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District.</figcaption>
 </figure>Field bindweed is difficult to control, especially for homeowners, but there are options.Home Vegetable Gardens: Weed control requires taking the treated portion of the garden out of production for a time.Glyphosate - Glyphosate is sold under a wide variety of names, the most common being Roundup. Take the garden out of production when treating.1. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that will kill whatever it hits but is inactivated when it contacts the soil.2. Glyphosate is most effective when applied to bindweed that is at or beyond full bloom. You can treat earlier but don't skip the late summer to fall application.3. Do not apply to bindweed that is under moisture stress or not growing well.Turf: Selective herbicides are available. An herbicide with the trade name of Drive (quinclorac) is now packaged in homeowner combination herbicides such as Fertilome Weed-Out with Q, Ortho Weed-B-Gon Max + Crabgrass Control, Monterey Crab-E-Rad Plus, and Bayer All-in-One Lawn Weed and Crabgrass Killer.Commercial applicators can also use Drive (quinclorac) as well as Q4 (contains quinclorac). Products with Drive work better than glyphosate and are selective. Note that lawns treated with Drive should not use clippings in compost or as a mulch since Drive is very stable on grass clippings. We recommend clippings be returned to the lawn anyway but if they are bagged, they should be discarded. Do not apply products with Drive over exposed roots of trees and ornamentals. It would be best to avoid spraying beneath the canopy of any trees to avoid possible damage. If there are plans to convert a section of lawn to a vegetable garden, do not use Drive on that area. Eggplants can be damaged if planted within 12 months of areas treated with Drive, and tomatoes can be damaged if planted within 24 months. Shrub Beds: Use a spray of glyphosate between plants. Use a shield if spraying near plants to keep spray from contacting green plant material. Remember, glyphosate will hurt your shrubs if it contacts green tissue.It is possible to control field bindweed by pulling, but you must be extremely persistent. I remember reading a study from the 1940s that found that bindweed produces enough energy to start strengthening the roots when it reached the six-leaf stage. So, if pulling, never allow plants to produce more than six leaves.Lauren Fick is the Horticulture Extension Agent for the Cottonwood Extension District. If you have questions, she can be contacted by e-mail at lfick@k-state.edu or by phone at 785-628-9430 or 620-793-1910.&nbsp;

FICK: ​Field bindweed control

U.S. Crude futures prices hovered around $62 a barrel by midday Monday, after dropping below sixty-one dollars earlier in the day. According to MarketWatch, many traders are betting the OPEC+ alliance will delay production increases this week based on the rise in COVID-19 cases in India. The alliance kept its demand forecast unchanged on Monday, but acknowledged that India posed a growing risk to global demand recovery. Settlement prices in New York last week ranged from sixty-one to sixty-two dollars per barrel. Prices in London were just short of $66. Prices in Kansas are holding steady. Kansas Common starts the week at $52.50 per barrel at CHS in McPherson. The Kansas benchmark this month has ranged from $49.50 on April 9, to $53.75 per barrel a week later. The auto club AAA reports national gasoline prices held fairly steady this month, holding within a penny or two of $2.86 per gallon. Analysts say the current 85% use-rate of American refineries is helping balance higher crude prices. Twenty-seven state averages held steady while another 16 saw pump prices change by only one or two cents, according to AAA. The national average was just over $2.88 Thursday. Kansas prices were about 16 cents cheaper. Filling up a 15-gallon tank will cost you over ten dollars more than six months ago and nearly twenty dollars more than a year ago. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports a slight improvement in the weekly Rig Count in Kansas. There are 16 active drilling rigs in Western Kansas, up three from last week. The count east of Wichita is down one at six rigs. Baker Hughes' national Rotary Rig Count notes 438 active rigs, down one oil rig from last week. The count in Texas was down three rigs. Regulators approved the first new drilling permits in Ellis County since early February, among 24 new drilling permits statewide last week. There are two new permits in Barton County, five in Ellis County and one each in Russell and Stafford counties.&nbsp; Regulators have okayed 245 new drilling permits across Kansas so far this year compared to just 171 by this time last year. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports 13 newly-completed wells across Kansas last week, 214 so far this year.&nbsp; Crude inventories rose last week, after three weeks of declines. The Energy Information Administration reports stockpiles increased 600,000d barrels to 493 million. Inventories are about one percent above the five year seasonal average. Refineries operated at 85% of capacity last week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said domestic production increased by 89,000 barrels to once again top eleven million barrels per day for the week ending April 16. Year-ago production totals averaged over 12 million barrels per day. The government reports U.S. crude-oil imports dropped by nearly half a million barrels per day last week to 5.4 million. The four-week rolling average is up about five percent from a year ago. Oil-by-rail was down slightly from a week ago and a year ago. The Association of American Railroads reports 10,829 tanker cars hauling petroleum for the week ending April 17. That's down 597 tankers for the week and a 1.1% drop from a year ago. The year-to-date total is down 13% from the same total a year ago. The government says air travel in the U.S. is picking up, and that could impact crude prices. Air passenger traffic is a barometer of jet fuel demand, which has been in the cellar for the better part of a year. The Energy Information Administration says the tallies in March for passenger traffic reached the highest monthly average since the onset of the pandemic. EIA says the numbers so far this month are even better, but remain at just over half of the totals reported in February of last year. The average fell from 2.2 million air passengers per day in February of 2020, to just 100,000 passengers per day in April, when the impact on air travel was at its highest. Since then, the tally has slowly increased to 1.2 million per day in March. The oil patch in Colorado was beset by low prices and new laws last year. State regulators now say crude production dropped nearly 11 percent in 2020 from the record-setting year the year before. Crude output reached 171.5 million barrels last year according to online totals from the Oil &amp; Gas Conservation Commission. Under a new state law, local communities in Colorado have greater power to block drilling, and state regulators have a mandate to prioritize health and the environment. Output from the number-two crude producing state declined slightly in February. Regulators say production in North Dakota dropped by about 64,000 barrels to just over one million barrels per day. Their gas-capture rate dropped by two percent, but still exceeds the anti-flaring goals set by the state. The Wall Street Journal reported on a major new undertaking by BP to end routine flaring of natural gas in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. The company plans to spend $1.3 billion to build a network of pipelines and other infrastructure to collect and capture the natural gas produced at its oil wells. If all goes as planned, the firm says it hopes to end routine flaring by 2025. The burning of gas in this way is prevalent in the Permian because most producers there drill for more profitable oil and often incinerate or vent into the air the gas that comes as a byproduct. A new government report suggests some big production increases are on the way. The Energy Information Administration predicts output increases in the Permian Basin, which dwarf the declines expected in four other shale-oil plays, some of which will post declines. Total shale production in May is now expected to increase by 13,000 barrels to 7.6 million barrels per day. But Permian Basin production is expected to top 4.46 million barrels per day in May, an increase of 52,000 barrels per day over expected April output. EIA also reported a big drop in the number of drilled but uncompleted wells, reflected in each of the seven major shale plays. That added 177 new completed oil wells to the energy mix last month. Shale production now accounts for about two-thirds of all US crude output. One of the Emirates on the Persian Gulf is challenging the U.S. Justice Department's seizure of crude oil which the government said violated Iran sanctions. A company owned by the Emir of Fujaira filed papers in US court to dismiss a forfeiture complaint. Lloyd's Maritime Intelligence reports the tanker resumed normal trading after the cargo was discharged and seized in Houston. Hundreds of thousands of barrels await a series of US legal challenges. French Oil giant Total has signed a deal with officials in the African nation of Uganda which could make the country a significant crude producer and exporter. The company expects production to peak at 230,000 barrels per day, which would rank it among the top African producers in OPEC. Officials also announced an agreement to build a 900 mile pipeline to connect newly-discovered oil fields in Western Uganda with the Indian Ocean and international markets.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592847975802.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN P. TRETBARU.S. Crude futures prices hovered around $62 a barrel by midday Monday, after dropping below sixty-one dollars earlier in the day. According to MarketWatch, many traders are betting the OPEC+ alliance will delay production increases this week based on the rise in COVID-19 cases in India. The alliance kept its demand forecast unchanged on Monday, but acknowledged that India posed a growing risk to global demand recovery. Settlement prices in New York last week ranged from sixty-one to sixty-two dollars per barrel. Prices in London were just short of $66. Prices in Kansas are holding steady. Kansas Common starts the week at $52.50 per barrel at CHS in McPherson. The Kansas benchmark this month has ranged from $49.50 on April 9, to $53.75 per barrel a week later. The auto club AAA reports national gasoline prices held fairly steady this month, holding within a penny or two of $2.86 per gallon. Analysts say the current 85% use-rate of American refineries is helping balance higher crude prices. Twenty-seven state averages held steady while another 16 saw pump prices change by only one or two cents, according to AAA. The national average was just over $2.88 Thursday. Kansas prices were about 16 cents cheaper. Filling up a 15-gallon tank will cost you over ten dollars more than six months ago and nearly twenty dollars more than a year ago. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports a slight improvement in the weekly Rig Count in Kansas. There are 16 active drilling rigs in Western Kansas, up three from last week. The count east of Wichita is down one at six rigs. Baker Hughes' national Rotary Rig Count notes 438 active rigs, down one oil rig from last week. The count in Texas was down three rigs. Regulators approved the first new drilling permits in Ellis County since early February, among 24 new drilling permits statewide last week. There are two new permits in Barton County, five in Ellis County and one each in Russell and Stafford counties.&nbsp; Regulators have okayed 245 new drilling permits across Kansas so far this year compared to just 171 by this time last year. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports 13 newly-completed wells across Kansas last week, 214 so far this year.&nbsp; Crude inventories rose last week, after three weeks of declines. The Energy Information Administration reports stockpiles increased 600,000d barrels to 493 million. Inventories are about one percent above the five year seasonal average. Refineries operated at 85% of capacity last week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said domestic production increased by 89,000 barrels to once again top eleven million barrels per day for the week ending April 16. Year-ago production totals averaged over 12 million barrels per day. The government reports U.S. crude-oil imports dropped by nearly half a million barrels per day last week to 5.4 million. The four-week rolling average is up about five percent from a year ago. Oil-by-rail was down slightly from a week ago and a year ago. The Association of American Railroads reports 10,829 tanker cars hauling petroleum for the week ending April 17. That's down 597 tankers for the week and a 1.1% drop from a year ago. The year-to-date total is down 13% from the same total a year ago. The government says air travel in the U.S. is picking up, and that could impact crude prices. Air passenger traffic is a barometer of jet fuel demand, which has been in the cellar for the better part of a year. The Energy Information Administration says the tallies in March for passenger traffic reached the highest monthly average since the onset of the pandemic. EIA says the numbers so far this month are even better, but remain at just over half of the totals reported in February of last year. The average fell from 2.2 million air passengers per day in February of 2020, to just 100,000 passengers per day in April, when the impact on air travel was at its highest. Since then, the tally has slowly increased to 1.2 million per day in March. The oil patch in Colorado was beset by low prices and new laws last year. State regulators now say crude production dropped nearly 11 percent in 2020 from the record-setting year the year before. Crude output reached 171.5 million barrels last year according to online totals from the Oil &amp; Gas Conservation Commission. Under a new state law, local communities in Colorado have greater power to block drilling, and state regulators have a mandate to prioritize health and the environment. Output from the number-two crude producing state declined slightly in February. Regulators say production in North Dakota dropped by about 64,000 barrels to just over one million barrels per day. Their gas-capture rate dropped by two percent, but still exceeds the anti-flaring goals set by the state. The Wall Street Journal reported on a major new undertaking by BP to end routine flaring of natural gas in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. The company plans to spend $1.3 billion to build a network of pipelines and other infrastructure to collect and capture the natural gas produced at its oil wells. If all goes as planned, the firm says it hopes to end routine flaring by 2025. The burning of gas in this way is prevalent in the Permian because most producers there drill for more profitable oil and often incinerate or vent into the air the gas that comes as a byproduct. A new government report suggests some big production increases are on the way. The Energy Information Administration predicts output increases in the Permian Basin, which dwarf the declines expected in four other shale-oil plays, some of which will post declines. Total shale production in May is now expected to increase by 13,000 barrels to 7.6 million barrels per day. But Permian Basin production is expected to top 4.46 million barrels per day in May, an increase of 52,000 barrels per day over expected April output. EIA also reported a big drop in the number of drilled but uncompleted wells, reflected in each of the seven major shale plays. That added 177 new completed oil wells to the energy mix last month. Shale production now accounts for about two-thirds of all US crude output. One of the Emirates on the Persian Gulf is challenging the U.S. Justice Department's seizure of crude oil which the government said violated Iran sanctions. A company owned by the Emir of Fujaira filed papers in US court to dismiss a forfeiture complaint. Lloyd's Maritime Intelligence reports the tanker resumed normal trading after the cargo was discharged and seized in Houston. Hundreds of thousands of barrels await a series of US legal challenges. French Oil giant Total has signed a deal with officials in the African nation of Uganda which could make the country a significant crude producer and exporter. The company expects production to peak at 230,000 barrels per day, which would rank it among the top African producers in OPEC. Officials also announced an agreement to build a 900 mile pipeline to connect newly-discovered oil fields in Western Uganda with the Indian Ocean and international markets.

News From the Oil Patch: First new Ellis Co. permits since Feb.

We recently had an opportunity to host one of our first face-to-face events since early in 2020. Our Program Development Committee members in the Cottonwood District gathered to share ideas that will help our team members better serve our communities. Our local extension program is a partnership of K-State Research and Extension and residents of Ellis and Barton Counties. Residents can become active partners by serving as members of a program development committee, or PDC.

The four core areas served by our PDC’s include:

We opened our time together by sharing the results of a survey we had asked members to complete prior to the meeting. Survey questions were developed to help us determine how our participants prefer getting Extension educational information. E-mail ranked first but face-to-face meetings actually came in ahead of Zoom. Like many of you some days I have “Zoom fatigue.” Participants, young and old, prefer to meet in person whenever possible.&nbsp;

Many factors influence how our program participants respond or participate. A busy mom may only have a few minutes at the end of the day when the kids are in bed, to check out information we post on the Cottonwood Facebook page. Or perhaps a farmer has short breaks during their day to respond to something on Twitter. Still others continue to enjoy the articles we send to the newsletter or the post each week. We also have a monthly electronic newsletter, The Cottonwood Connection, that is posted to our web site or sent directly to people who have shared their e-mail address with us.

Here in the Cottonwood Extension District we will continue to seek out the best way to share the research-based information you have come to expect and appreciate. We will continue to identify the needs and issues of agricultural producers, communities, families and youth. We are always looking for audiences in the district who are not being served and will develop a proactive plan to engage them.

Serving on a program development committee is an opportunity for individuals who have an interest in helping their local communities and who would like to develop their personal leadership skills. If you would like to serve on a PDC in the Cottonwood District, please contact me.

Donna Krug is the District Director and Family &amp; Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research &amp; Extension – Cottonwood District. You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or <a href="mailto:dkru@ksu.edu">dkru@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573141404420.png" alt="Donna Krug is the District Director and Family &amp; Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research &amp; Extension – Cottonwood District.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Donna Krug is the District Director and Family &amp; Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research &amp; Extension – Cottonwood District.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>We recently had an opportunity to host one of our first face-to-face events since early in 2020. Our Program Development Committee members in the Cottonwood District gathered to share ideas that will help our team members better serve our communities. Our local extension program is a partnership of K-State Research and Extension and residents of Ellis and Barton Counties. Residents can become active partners by serving as members of a program development committee, or PDC.The four core areas served by our PDC’s include:<ul>
 <li>Agriculture and Natural Resources</li><li>Community Development</li><li>Family and Consumer Sciences</li><li>4-H Youth Development</li>
 </ul>We opened our time together by sharing the results of a survey we had asked members to complete prior to the meeting. Survey questions were developed to help us determine how our participants prefer getting Extension educational information. E-mail ranked first but face-to-face meetings actually came in ahead of Zoom. Like many of you some days I have “Zoom fatigue.” Participants, young and old, prefer to meet in person whenever possible.&nbsp;Many factors influence how our program participants respond or participate. A busy mom may only have a few minutes at the end of the day when the kids are in bed, to check out information we post on the Cottonwood Facebook page. Or perhaps a farmer has short breaks during their day to respond to something on Twitter. Still others continue to enjoy the articles we send to the newsletter or the post each week. We also have a monthly electronic newsletter, The Cottonwood Connection, that is posted to our web site or sent directly to people who have shared their e-mail address with us.Here in the Cottonwood Extension District we will continue to seek out the best way to share the research-based information you have come to expect and appreciate. We will continue to identify the needs and issues of agricultural producers, communities, families and youth. We are always looking for audiences in the district who are not being served and will develop a proactive plan to engage them.Serving on a program development committee is an opportunity for individuals who have an interest in helping their local communities and who would like to develop their personal leadership skills. If you would like to serve on a PDC in the Cottonwood District, please contact me.Donna Krug is the District Director and Family &amp; Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research &amp; Extension – Cottonwood District. You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or <a href="mailto:dkru@ksu.edu">dkru@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp;

KRUG: Promoting the mission of K-State Research & Extension

It was Saturday afternoon several years ago, and Joyce and I were snug in our blind, hoping to harvest her spring turkey. We had seen turkeys each afternoon, gleaning after the cattle in this small patch of feed stalks that now lay in front of our blind. Rows of round bales lined this side of the patch, split into two groups by a driveway left for a tractor. The turkeys got there by way of a field drive through the thick, overgrown fencerow behind the bales, continuing down the tractor drive and onto the stalks. 

Once before, some days ago, we were set up here amongst the bales. The turkeys streamed past, well within gun range, but none would stop or raise their head to offer Joyce a clean shot. We were close enough she could have nailed several turkeys on-the-run with one shot, but besides being slightly illegal since she only had one tag, the prized breast meat would have been so full of pellets it would’ve been like sand blasting the insides of our mouths with each bite. Today we had tried to solve that problem by adding a couple decoys in the drive just before it entered the stalks, in hopes the turkeys would slow down and mill around long enough for a good standing head shot.&nbsp;

What was meant to fix one problem ultimately created another. This was a small lot of just a few acres, so the cattle were never far away, forcing extra caution when shooting. After all, the last thing we needed was to pepper one of the land owner’s heifers in the butt with lead shot. Our county game warden may have been young and a wee bit naïve, but I think he’d still have caught on when I tried explaining the dandy T-Bones we got from this turkey. So the party was about to begin, and here we sat awaiting the guests of honor, when a half dozen of the cattle began to take a shine to our plastic turkey decoys. They gathered just inside the electric fence, exactly where Joyce would need to shoot, and stood there like dumbstruck junior high girls at the Christmas dance! You could almost sense their thoughts. “They look like turkeys,” Clara thought, “But they sure don’t move much.”&nbsp; “But they don’t smell like turkeys,” Elsie added. “Turkey’s stink and these things smell like rubber or something.”&nbsp; “Girls, I have an idea,” Bessie chimed in, “I’ll turn around and try to pee on one and see if it moves like they usually do.” &nbsp;

“This won’t last long,” I told myself… Fifteen minutes later I was fuming! I stuck my arm out the blind window, and waved it franticly, but barely drew stares from our bovine spectators. “Rocks,” I mumbled. “Rocks should do the trick.” I slunk out the back of the blind and scoured the ground. Rats! Nothing but sand and weeds; not a rock to be found! (By now, I think my wife had fast-forwarded through this whole scenario, and already seen the ending.) I tugged on one of the weeds that were as thick as my wrist, and it tore from the ground sporting a wad of dirt around its roots the size of volleyball. Eureka! Just what I needed! I swung the thing over my head like an Olympic hammer thrower and let fly, only to watch it dribble to a halt at the feet of the nearest cow, which looked down at it with disgust. “Stupid cows,” I mumbled. 

Still hidden behind the bales, I jumped up and down and waved my arms frantically like a first-time auction goer trying to bid; still no response.&nbsp; I’m sure the cows were thinking something like “Will you look at that stupid turkey hunter jumping up and down like a first-time auction goer trying to bid.” “That does it,” I thought! Turkeys or not, I WILL walk over there and those cows WILL move! (By now it had become a matter of principle.) I had only taken a few steps when I heard something behind me. Was it turkeys after all this? A dozen scenarios flashed through my mind; What if I spooked the turkeys, causing them to fly everywhere and my wife accidentally shot a cow in the butt in the melee; What if she accidentally shot me in the butt in the melee; What if she PURPOSELY shot me in the butt just to get me out of the way? I stopped to listen, but the sound I heard was not turkeys.&nbsp; No, it was raucous laughter coming from the blind! I squinted to peer inside from where I stood, and saw my wife bent over, howling hysterically. “Who’s the blockhead now,” I wondered. “Cows enamored with plastic turkeys or yours truly?”

We packed up and headed home, once again conceding defeat. “They’re all in cahoots,” I muttered. “Those cows and turkeys have a pack of some sort, I’m sure of it!” “Whatever you say honey,” Joyce replied with a smirk. As we drove away, I imagined that little patch of feed stalks now filled with turkeys celebrating our defeat, however cows and turkeys celebrate. I was sure that off to one side, a group of turkeys had Bessie cornered; the spokesman for the group was asking her “Soooooo, all those times you were really TRYING to pee on us?&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>It was Saturday afternoon several years ago, and Joyce and I were snug in our blind, hoping to harvest her spring turkey. We had seen turkeys each afternoon, gleaning after the cattle in this small patch of feed stalks that now lay in front of our blind. Rows of round bales lined this side of the patch, split into two groups by a driveway left for a tractor. The turkeys got there by way of a field drive through the thick, overgrown fencerow behind the bales, continuing down the tractor drive and onto the stalks. Once before, some days ago, we were set up here amongst the bales. The turkeys streamed past, well within gun range, but none would stop or raise their head to offer Joyce a clean shot. We were close enough she could have nailed several turkeys on-the-run with one shot, but besides being slightly illegal since she only had one tag, the prized breast meat would have been so full of pellets it would’ve been like sand blasting the insides of our mouths with each bite. Today we had tried to solve that problem by adding a couple decoys in the drive just before it entered the stalks, in hopes the turkeys would slow down and mill around long enough for a good standing head shot.&nbsp;What was meant to fix one problem ultimately created another. This was a small lot of just a few acres, so the cattle were never far away, forcing extra caution when shooting. After all, the last thing we needed was to pepper one of the land owner’s heifers in the butt with lead shot. Our county game warden may have been young and a wee bit naïve, but I think he’d still have caught on when I tried explaining the dandy T-Bones we got from this turkey. So the party was about to begin, and here we sat awaiting the guests of honor, when a half dozen of the cattle began to take a shine to our plastic turkey decoys. They gathered just inside the electric fence, exactly where Joyce would need to shoot, and stood there like dumbstruck junior high girls at the Christmas dance! You could almost sense their thoughts. “They look like turkeys,” Clara thought, “But they sure don’t move much.”&nbsp; “But they don’t smell like turkeys,” Elsie added. “Turkey’s stink and these things smell like rubber or something.”&nbsp; “Girls, I have an idea,” Bessie chimed in, “I’ll turn around and try to pee on one and see if it moves like they usually do.” &nbsp;“This won’t last long,” I told myself… Fifteen minutes later I was fuming! I stuck my arm out the blind window, and waved it franticly, but barely drew stares from our bovine spectators. “Rocks,” I mumbled. “Rocks should do the trick.” I slunk out the back of the blind and scoured the ground. Rats! Nothing but sand and weeds; not a rock to be found! (By now, I think my wife had fast-forwarded through this whole scenario, and already seen the ending.) I tugged on one of the weeds that were as thick as my wrist, and it tore from the ground sporting a wad of dirt around its roots the size of volleyball. Eureka! Just what I needed! I swung the thing over my head like an Olympic hammer thrower and let fly, only to watch it dribble to a halt at the feet of the nearest cow, which looked down at it with disgust. “Stupid cows,” I mumbled. Still hidden behind the bales, I jumped up and down and waved my arms frantically like a first-time auction goer trying to bid; still no response.&nbsp; I’m sure the cows were thinking something like “Will you look at that stupid turkey hunter jumping up and down like a first-time auction goer trying to bid.” “That does it,” I thought! Turkeys or not, I WILL walk over there and those cows WILL move! (By now it had become a matter of principle.) I had only taken a few steps when I heard something behind me. Was it turkeys after all this? A dozen scenarios flashed through my mind; What if I spooked the turkeys, causing them to fly everywhere and my wife accidentally shot a cow in the butt in the melee; What if she accidentally shot me in the butt in the melee; What if she PURPOSELY shot me in the butt just to get me out of the way? I stopped to listen, but the sound I heard was not turkeys.&nbsp; No, it was raucous laughter coming from the blind! I squinted to peer inside from where I stood, and saw my wife bent over, howling hysterically. “Who’s the blockhead now,” I wondered. “Cows enamored with plastic turkeys or yours truly?”We packed up and headed home, once again conceding defeat. “They’re all in cahoots,” I muttered. “Those cows and turkeys have a pack of some sort, I’m sure of it!” “Whatever you say honey,” Joyce replied with a smirk. As we drove away, I imagined that little patch of feed stalks now filled with turkeys celebrating our defeat, however cows and turkeys celebrate. I was sure that off to one side, a group of turkeys had Bessie cornered; the spokesman for the group was asking her “Soooooo, all those times you were really TRYING to pee on us?&nbsp;Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: The cows and the decoys

Picture this. Imagine a series of gorgeous images depicting beautiful views of natural landscapes. Today we’ll meet a rural Kansas couple who specialize in producing photographs of beautiful landscapes in Kansas and beyond.&nbsp;

Kevin Kirkwood is the founder of Kirkwood Kreations Photography. Kevin grew up in eastern Kansas and studied farm and ranch management at Colby Community College. In 1996, his daughter was playing club volleyball. As a proud dad, Kevin took photos of her playing. The pictures were so excellent that other parents wanted them.&nbsp;

When it was time for his daughter’s senior pictures, Kevin took those too. They turned out so well that when she showed them to friends at school, her friends wanted Kevin to take their senior pictures as well. This became a side business for Kevin, as he did commercial and sports photography while working in agriculture.&nbsp;

“Rural agriculture has been part of my life for the last 30 years,” Kevin said. He is now plant manager for McGraw Fertilizer in Tonganoxie. His wife Julie grew up in Lawrence, raised her family in Manhattan, and now works at an insurance agency in Lawrence. They live outside Tonganoxie, a rural community of 5,583 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

Kevin has been a contract photographer for the American Royal and Denver Stock Show. Currently, Kirkwood Kreations is the official photographer for EquiFest of Kansas, Kansas Agri Business Expo, the Ranchland Trust of Kansas Pre-Symphony of the Flint Hills event, and the Meriden Antique Engine and Threshers Association. This involves the type of photography that Kevin enjoys most.&nbsp;

“As a farmer, I see every sunrise and every sunset,” Kevin said. He enjoys capturing the natural beauty of rural Kansas. “I love what I do as a farmer, and this is a way of sharing it.”&nbsp;

On weekends, Julie and Kevin like to go on what Julie calls “Boonie Cruizin’ adventures.” That’s her nickname for what we used to call “out in the boondocks.” These adventures include random explorations of the countryside, stopping to take pictures of scenic views along the way.&nbsp;

“A normal 1 1/2 hour drive might become a five-hour trip,” Kevin said. Those trips have resulted in gorgeous and popular pictures.&nbsp;

After a friend purchased Juli’s Coffee and Bistro in downtown Topeka, they asked the Kirkwoods for photos to decorate the walls. The exhibit opened in March 2018. Now a hundred of their photos can be viewed and purchased there as well as at Hazel Hill Chocolate in Topeka. “That has been the best exposure for people to see our photos locally,” Kevin said.&nbsp;

The University of Kansas Medical Center Rural Health Education and Services unit annually sponsors a photo contest for pictures of rural Kansas. Kirkwood Kreations has been a winner in five different categories. Kevin’s photos have been sold and shipped as far away as Massachusetts and California.&nbsp;

What is the key to successful photography? “I believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder, when it comes to art,” Kevin said. He is fond of farm, rural, and natural landscapes. While most of the photography is Kansas-based, he and Julie have also taken pictures of Colorado mountains and other natural scenery.&nbsp;

“I belong to several Facebook forums,” Kevin said. “I’ll post some pictures on Facebook and gauge people’s comments, and that can help me decide which to print.” They also donate photos to groups that are important to them, such as the American Cancer Society in Kansas.&nbsp;

“As long as it pleases the person looking at it, then it’s perfect,” Kevin said. “We want to put art in people’s homes.”&nbsp;

For more information, search for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Kirkwood-Kreations-Photography-192238577475446">Kirkwood Kreations Photography on Facebook</a>.&nbsp;

Picture this: A set of beautiful landscape photographs, taken by a Kansas farmer and earning multiple awards. We commend Kevin and Julie Kirkwood for making a difference with their high-quality photography. It helps rural Kansas look picturesque.&nbsp;

And there’s more. One of Kevin’s photographs would provide inspiration to a New York filmmaker. We’ll learn about that next week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619011299986.png" alt="Kevin and Julie Kirkwood" />
 <figcaption>Kevin and Julie Kirkwood</figcaption>
 </figure>BY RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural DevelopmentPicture this. Imagine a series of gorgeous images depicting beautiful views of natural landscapes. Today we’ll meet a rural Kansas couple who specialize in producing photographs of beautiful landscapes in Kansas and beyond.&nbsp;Kevin Kirkwood is the founder of Kirkwood Kreations Photography. Kevin grew up in eastern Kansas and studied farm and ranch management at Colby Community College. In 1996, his daughter was playing club volleyball. As a proud dad, Kevin took photos of her playing. The pictures were so excellent that other parents wanted them.&nbsp;When it was time for his daughter’s senior pictures, Kevin took those too. They turned out so well that when she showed them to friends at school, her friends wanted Kevin to take their senior pictures as well. This became a side business for Kevin, as he did commercial and sports photography while working in agriculture.&nbsp;“Rural agriculture has been part of my life for the last 30 years,” Kevin said. He is now plant manager for McGraw Fertilizer in Tonganoxie. His wife Julie grew up in Lawrence, raised her family in Manhattan, and now works at an insurance agency in Lawrence. They live outside Tonganoxie, a rural community of 5,583 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;Kevin has been a contract photographer for the American Royal and Denver Stock Show. Currently, Kirkwood Kreations is the official photographer for EquiFest of Kansas, Kansas Agri Business Expo, the Ranchland Trust of Kansas Pre-Symphony of the Flint Hills event, and the Meriden Antique Engine and Threshers Association. This involves the type of photography that Kevin enjoys most.&nbsp;“As a farmer, I see every sunrise and every sunset,” Kevin said. He enjoys capturing the natural beauty of rural Kansas. “I love what I do as a farmer, and this is a way of sharing it.”&nbsp;On weekends, Julie and Kevin like to go on what Julie calls “Boonie Cruizin’ adventures.” That’s her nickname for what we used to call “out in the boondocks.” These adventures include random explorations of the countryside, stopping to take pictures of scenic views along the way.&nbsp;“A normal 1 1/2 hour drive might become a five-hour trip,” Kevin said. Those trips have resulted in gorgeous and popular pictures.&nbsp;After a friend purchased Juli’s Coffee and Bistro in downtown Topeka, they asked the Kirkwoods for photos to decorate the walls. The exhibit opened in March 2018. Now a hundred of their photos can be viewed and purchased there as well as at Hazel Hill Chocolate in Topeka. “That has been the best exposure for people to see our photos locally,” Kevin said.&nbsp;The University of Kansas Medical Center Rural Health Education and Services unit annually sponsors a photo contest for pictures of rural Kansas. Kirkwood Kreations has been a winner in five different categories. Kevin’s photos have been sold and shipped as far away as Massachusetts and California.&nbsp;What is the key to successful photography? “I believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder, when it comes to art,” Kevin said. He is fond of farm, rural, and natural landscapes. While most of the photography is Kansas-based, he and Julie have also taken pictures of Colorado mountains and other natural scenery.&nbsp;“I belong to several Facebook forums,” Kevin said. “I’ll post some pictures on Facebook and gauge people’s comments, and that can help me decide which to print.” They also donate photos to groups that are important to them, such as the American Cancer Society in Kansas.&nbsp;“As long as it pleases the person looking at it, then it’s perfect,” Kevin said. “We want to put art in people’s homes.”&nbsp;For more information, search for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Kirkwood-Kreations-Photography-192238577475446">Kirkwood Kreations Photography on Facebook</a>.&nbsp;Picture this: A set of beautiful landscape photographs, taken by a Kansas farmer and earning multiple awards. We commend Kevin and Julie Kirkwood for making a difference with their high-quality photography. It helps rural Kansas look picturesque.&nbsp;And there’s more. One of Kevin’s photographs would provide inspiration to a New York filmmaker. We’ll learn about that next week.

Now That’s Rural: Kevin and Julie Kirkwood, Kirkwood Kreations 

Anyone following American state politics this spring has witnessed, time and again, bizarre legislative proposals. Most notably and seriously, dozens of state legislatures have put forward an avalanche of initiatives that target trans athletes and impose limitations on voting.&nbsp;

Beyond those, however, lawmakers have pursued a host of off-the-wall actions. Among many others, these include: (1) a Texas bill to allow any adult, regardless of background or mental health, &nbsp;to carry a gun without a permit; (2) Idaho legislation to create a “greater Idaho,” annexing much of eastern Oregon; (3) Iowa proposals to ban the discussion of diversity in schools and to prohibit schools from embarking on diversity planning; (4) Florida legislation that&nbsp;grants immunity from civil legal action for people who drive through protesters blocking a road; and (5) here in Kansas, an unwillingness to force the resignation of state senator Gene Sullentrop, after his wrong-way speeding, eluding police, and driving-while-intoxicated incident that could have ended in tragedy.

Still, state legislatures are notorious for pushing nutty ideas, so we should not be surprised.&nbsp; But why so many such proposals now, and why so much assertiveness by state legislature at present on issues like trans athletes and voting?

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574348610067.jpeg" alt="Burdett Loomis is an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Kansas." />
 <figcaption>Burdett Loomis is an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Kansas.</figcaption>
 </figure>Anyone following American state politics this spring has witnessed, time and again, bizarre legislative proposals. Most notably and seriously, dozens of state legislatures have put forward an avalanche of initiatives that target trans athletes and impose limitations on voting.&nbsp;Beyond those, however, lawmakers have pursued a host of off-the-wall actions. Among many others, these include: (1) a Texas bill to allow any adult, regardless of background or mental health, &nbsp;to carry a gun without a permit; (2) Idaho legislation to create a “greater Idaho,” annexing much of eastern Oregon; (3) Iowa proposals to ban the discussion of diversity in schools and to prohibit schools from embarking on diversity planning; (4) Florida legislation that&nbsp;grants immunity from civil legal action for people who drive through protesters blocking a road; and (5) here in Kansas, an unwillingness to force the resignation of state senator Gene Sullentrop, after his wrong-way speeding, eluding police, and driving-while-intoxicated incident that could have ended in tragedy.Still, state legislatures are notorious for pushing nutty ideas, so we should not be surprised.&nbsp; But why so many such proposals now, and why so much assertiveness by state legislature at present on issues like trans athletes and voting?Much of this trend flows from the nationalization of state politics, with Kansas being no exception. Numerous studies have pegged the start of increased partisanship to around 1980, with a sharp acceleration since the mid-1990s.&nbsp; Over the past 25-plus years, as partisan polarization in national politics has grown, the resulting divisions have filtered down to states and even localities.&nbsp;&nbsp;Almost all congressional districts now elect members who share a partisan identification with the presidential candidate who prevailed there; ticket-splitting has declined precipitously as most voters view politics through partisan lenses.&nbsp;Save for Minnesota, all states currently have one-party control of both legislative chambers. In Kansas, specifically, over the past few years, moderate Republicans have gone the way of the dodo bird.At the national level, severe polarization has often led to policy gridlock, as multiple veto points, most notably in the Senate, block the passage of many proposals that enjoy strong public support, such as immigration reform.&nbsp; When we turn to the states, however, gridlock often vanishes, and legislation gushes through one-party chambers like water through a fire hose.Although California highlights this issue on the left, far more common are highly partisan, overwhelmingly Republican legislatures in perhaps 20 states where party leaders completely dominate agenda-setting and bill passage.&nbsp;In the end, while intense partisanship makes national politics closely divided and contentious, in many states it produces solid red legislative majorities that open the door to: (a) foolish proposals, like a Florida survey of academics’ political beliefs; (b) deeply damaging legislation, as with&nbsp;highly permissive gun laws; and (c) some that are both foolish and deeply damaging, per the wave of anti-trans bills and unwarranted restrictions on voting.&nbsp;&nbsp;With less countervailing power across parties, factions, or branches of government, the most extreme, and even nutty, elements of an already extreme party often go unchecked.&nbsp;&nbsp;In Kansas, this means that the sharp decline in moderate Republicans has eliminated most restraint and compromise as far-right Republicans dominate the process. &nbsp;The traditional moderate-conservative nature of Kansas politics hangs in the balance, and the future does not look good.Burdett Loomis is an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Kansas.

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