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Category: January 2020

Rhoades to Serve as Post Rock District Director

Posted on by Marci Metz

Nora Rhoades has been named the Post Rock District Director, effective December 15, 2019. She will also serve as the Youth Development Extension Agent overseeing a comprehensive positive youth development program for the District. You can reach Nora by contacting any Post Rock District Office or by emailing nrhoades@ksu.edu.

Nora has served our five counties as a Family and Youth Development Extension Agent since 2014. Prior to that appointment, she served as a Post Rock District 4-H Program Coordinator. Nora lives in northern Smith County with her husband, Wyatt, and their three sons, Ty, Rence and Eldon. Wyatt operates a hay farm and cattle operation.

Nora is thrilled to continue serving K-State Research and Extension’s Post Rock District through her administrative leadership and by extending her passion for developing tomorrow’s difference makers.

Follow Post Rock Extension on Facebook as we work to fill other professional positions in the Post Rock District.

By: Nora Rhoades

Do You Have a Plan for Passing Down the Farm?

Posted on by Marci Metz

Join us for learning the strategies for farm family success in the shark tank of “WHAT IF!” The event will feature nationally recognized speaker, Dr. Ron Hanson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Harlan Agribusiness Professor Emeritus. The event is January 8, 2020 in Downs, KS beginning at 5:30PM. For complete details and to register visit https://www.postrock.k-state.edu/. Registration is due January 3. Contact Sandra Wick, District Crop Production Extension Agent, at 785-282-6823 or swick@ksu.edu.

By: Nora Rhoades

Stay Social This Winter!

Posted on by Marci Metz

Maintaining social activities and relationships is important to our health and wellbeing. Engaged people are often healthier, happier, less depressed, and demonstrate enhanced brain vitality. Although it may be more challenging in the winter months to stay socially active, make a point to find creative ways to stay connected with others to boost self-esteem, maintain connections, keep a positive attitude, maintain brain health, along with many more benefits!

By engaging with people and participating in activities you enjoy, social activity can be easy, fun, and fulfilling.  Examples of social activities include:

  • Playing cards
  • Joining a community center, club, or committee
  • Organizing or attending get-togethers with friends, family, or neighbors
  • Going to a theater, movie, sporting event, or festival
  • Traveling
  • Eating out
  • Taking classes
  • Volunteering
  • Visiting with a friend at their home, over the phone, or by email

Challenge yourself to be social even when you don’t want to. Some individuals struggle with social activity because they are depressed. In a case of depression, a person may feel like being alone, but social isolation can actually feed the depression. Even though it can be a challenge, the benefits of seeking social activity, including with a close friend or even a therapist, are worth the effort and can help ease depressive symptoms. This winter go ahead and try something new to get social! Take a class, volunteer, participate in support groups, and reach out to special friends to let them know you care and are there for them.

For more information on increasing social activity please visit The Keys To Embracing Aging: Social Activity Publication

By: Ashley Svaty

Using a Planting Calendar

Posted on by Marci Metz

If you start vegetable plants indoors, it is often helpful to list seeding dates on a calendar so that plants are ready for transplanting at the proper time. To do this, choose your transplant date and count back the number of weeks necessary to grow your own transplants. For example, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower are usually transplanted in late March to early April. It takes 8 weeks from seeding to transplant size. Plants should be seeded in early February.

For a chart of how many weeks in takes seeds to grow to transplant size visit: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/starting-seeds-indoors

Below are examples of some common vegetables grown for transplants and a recommended date for seeding. Dates are on weekends as this is when many homeowners have the most free time. The dates are not set in stone, and a week earlier or later will not ruin the plants. Keep notes on how well the transplants did so you can tweak the planting schedule. Your conditions may result in plants that need a bit more or a bit less time.

 

 

 

 

 

By: Cassie Homan