The Southwind Extension District 4-H Livestock Judging Team of Jillian Keller (Piqua), Brody Nemecek (Iola), Haydon Schaaf (Uniontown), and Clay Brillhart (Fort Scott) recently participated at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO.  By the narrow margin of only one point, these youth were named Reserve National Champions to a team from Texas. They were selected as the only team to represent Kansas 4-H because they were the State Champion 4-H Livestock Judging Team in August, 2018. With 24 teams and 97 youth in the contest, this group had to work hard to receive national recognition.

In addition to being the second team overall, they were also 3^rd in Reasons, 2^nd in Sheep and 2^nd in Goats. Individually results include: Brody Nemecek – 3^rd in Swine and 8^th Overall; Clay Brillhart – 4^th in Hogs, 8^th in Goats and 9^th Overall; Jillian Keller – 2^nd in Sheep and 2^nd in Goats; Haydon Schaaf – 7^th in Sheep and 8^th in Reasons. The team continues to be coached by Carla Nemecek, Southwind District Director. John Emmerson, a former member of a Southwind team who participated at the National Western, served as Assistant Coach.

As a reward for their talents, the top two teams were awarded an invitation to compete internationally at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland and at the Charleville Show in the Republic of Ireland, June 19 – June 3, 2019. The contests are only a small piece of the international trip that will include agriculture seminars and opportunities to enhance leadership skills through interaction with the citizens of the UK and Ireland. The trip is limited to only nine American teams each year, and this is the first time a combined Southwind District team will participate. In 2005, a Neosho County 4-H team – Ryan Page, Trent Page, Clem Neely and Bailey Shaw were able to participate in the Scotland contest.

Although exciting for Southwind 4-H members, this opportunity comes with a price tag of about $6500 per person to attend. Fundraising efforts will soon be underway to send these youth on an international trip of a lifetime. Should you be interested in investing in this unique 4-H opportunity, please contact the Southwind Extension District at 620.365.2242.

Fast Food or Healthy Food? You Can Do Both with Planning and Smart Choices

Many commit to healthy eating as a New Year’s resolution and halfway into the month of January, they may be finding it a challenge. Time to cook and busy schedules top the list of what make healthy eating hard. In the rush of daily life, eating at fast food restaurants is often the default choice for getting through the to-do list.

The concern, says K-State Research and Extension nutrition specialist Sandy Procter, is that many fast food choices can lead to unhealthy eating.

In October, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released results of a study from 2013 to 2016 concluding that more than one in three adults consume fast food on any given day.

“It’s not the fast food that’s the problem,” Procter said. “It’s the net result of portions that are too big and sometimes contain unhealthy ingredients.”

Convenience is the No. 1 reason why most people choose fast food. The relatively inexpensive cost, the fact that we like it and a lack of alternatives are other top reasons.

“I don’t think we are going to change the fact that many adults on many days of the week take fast food as an option, but I think if we look into it a little more deeply, we can all be better in control of what that means to our health and our diets in general,” Procter said.

She added that one key to avoiding unhealthy choices at fast food restaurants is to plan ahead. That could mean packing your lunch – or even part of the meal — the night before to avoid rushing out without food in the morning.

“When I say part of a lunch, that really helps,” Procter said. “If you do have to grab some fast food, you don’t have to accept what they offer as sides. You don’t have to get the full meal deal. You can order a small, single sandwich or wrap…and add those foods that you chose to bring along with you.”

Plus, planning ahead saves money and helps control the amount you eat.

“A lot of times, you can get those less expensive sandwiches,” Procter said. “They may cost less, and the portioning of those is going to be a lot healthier. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with fast food, but it becomes a problem when the portions are so large and the choices we make contain unhealthy aspects. We can do a lot about those just as wise consumers.”

Procter noted that consumers also can check out nutrition information online for many restaurant chains.

“So even if it’s not posted at the point of sale, you can find out about those choices that you automatically make,” she said, adding that knowing nutrition information could help you cut calories and eat more healthfully.

“It’s about taking control of the way I would like things to be, and finding a way to make it work for me. I think that is part of my job as a responsible consumer.”

Additional tips that Procter provided for avoiding unhealthy choices when eating on-the-go include:

• Split meals with a family member or friend. Portion sizes are often too large for one, but just right for two.
• Pack snacks or parts of a meal for traveling, especially when flying. You can supplement with small, healthy choices in the airport.
• Choose water instead of sodas or other high-calorie drinks.
• Consider purchasing a ‘Kids Meal,’ even if you have to pay a small up-charge.
• Go light on the add-ons, such as dressing, cheese, macaroni salad, heavy sauces and other toppings.

For more ideas on healthy eating, contact Kathy at [email protected] or by phone at 620-365-2242. Check out the Southwind Extension District website at www.southwind.ksu.edu.

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy Strength Training Program for Older Adults,

Your Ticket to Better Health

Our bodies are made for activity, but modern conveniences allow us to be increasingly inactive. Building strength promotes quality of life and independence, especially for adults over 50. Here’s the good news, Stay Strong, Stay Healthy strength training program is being offered in your community.

This eight week program can help you get started on the road to better health. Stay Strong, Stay Healthy is built on simple, strength- building exercises that will improve balance and flexibility, too. No one is too inactive to participate. You’ll start at a level that’s right for you. Instruction is provided by Joy Miller, Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent with K-State Research and Extension Southwind District.

The class meets for one hour, two times each week at Buck Run Community Center on Monday and Friday at 8:30 a.m. The fee is $20 for the eight week series. Registration and first session will be held Monday, January 21st. Call Joy Miller at 620-223-3720 for more details.

Bagworms are a yearly pest in our area and can cause considerable damage. Most homeowners typically don’t get too concerned about bagworm control until they see large bags present on plants. By then it is too late and the damage is already done! Now is the time to get your treatment game plan ready.

Bagworms overwinter as eggs deposited in the female bags. From mid-May through mid-June, larvae hatch from the eggs and exit from the bottom opening of the old bag. Larvae begin constructing their miniature silk-lined bags immediately. Only after the bags have been completed do the larvae begin actual feeding activities. And as the larvae grow, so do their bags. By mid-to late August when feeding activities are complete, larvae firmly anchor their bags to the twigs and branches on which they were feeding.

Bagworms are most commonly found on eastern red cedar and junipers. However, bagworms can attack arborvitae, spruce and pine. Broadleaf trees, shrubs and ornamentals can also serve as a host to bagworms. After bagworms have defoliated a host plant, they are capable of migrating in search of additional food sources. They may attack the same species from which they came or a completely different species.

The damage caused by bagworm feeding can be minimal to severe. As larvae enter their later development stages, they require greater amounts of food. Sometimes in what seems to be just overnight, bagworms can completely defoliate a tree. Several successive years of heavy foliar feeding can result in the death a tree, especially with conifers.

There are two ways to control bagworms – cultural and chemical. Cultural practice is used by those who do not want to utilize insecticidal sprays to control bagworms. Instead, bagworms are eliminated by handpicking individual bags from plants. This is best done in the winter months when bags stand out against a trees background color. Keep in mind that a single missed bag could result in a thousand new bagworm larvae. Of course handpicking becomes impractical when a host is literally covered with bags or it is too tall to make handpicking possible.

Chemical control is most effective when larvae are in their early developmental stages. Generally, bagworm larvae will begin emerging from the overwintering bag by mid-to late May. Hatching does not happen overnight. Instead, hatching can continue for 4 to 5 weeks. Controls applied in late summer are often a waste of time and expense because the larvae are large, tough and may have stopped feeding. Now is the time to find the correct insecticide and get the sprayers out and ready for the job ahead.

For more information on bagworm control, please contact me at one of our Southwind Extension District office locations.

KOMA Beef Conference will be coming back to Kansas –

Girard, KS – The KOMA (Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas) Beef Cattle Conference will be coming back to Kansas on January 24, 2019 after a long hiatus. The 4-State area’s premier beef cattle conference is designed to help cow-calf producers make better managerial decisions. Next year’s hosts include The Southeast Area Research and Extension Center of Kansas State University, Southwind Extension District, Wildcat Extension District, and Cherokee County Extension.

The conference will take place at Greenbush Education Service Center in Greenbush, KS (947 W. 47 Hwy. Girard, KS), beginning at 10:30 am with registration, and the chance for producers to visit with sponsoring agricultural businesses. Educational sessions will begin at 11:00 am and end at 3:45 pm, with a free catered lunch included.

The focus of this meeting will “From Grass to Cash”. Precentors from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri will address forage management, cow-calf management, cow herd diseases, and economics of production.

The day will begin with Dr. Glynn Tonsor of Kansas State University. Tonsor is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics. Tonsor’s current research and extension efforts focus on cattle and swine industries. Tonsor’s interests span areas of production supply issues to end-user consumer demand issues in regards to the meat supply chain. The title of Tonsor’s presentation will be “Feeder Cattle Marketing Outlook”. He will address marketing strategies for 500 to 800 pound calves.

Dr. David Lalman of Oklahoma State University will be the next speaker with the presentation titled, “Matching my cows to my environment”. Lalman is a professor and Extension Beef Cattle Specialist at Oklahoma State University. Lalman holds the Harrington Endowed Chair with split extension and research appointment. He works primarily in the beef cattle industry focused on cow/calf and stocker cattle production. His extension and applied research program includes beef cattle nutrition and management with emphasis on beef cattle grazing and genetic by environment interactions in beef production systems. His program goals are to provide producers with information and decision tools to facilitate production system profitability, improve cow herd efficiency and to improve product quality. Lalman will discuss the historical changes in cattle phenotype we have been observing and discuss the benefits and possible pit-falls of this changing herd population.

Dr. Gregg Hanzlicek, DVM of the Kansas State University Veterinary School will provide the health component of the program. Dr. Hanzlicek is the director of Production Animal Field Investigations within the Veterinary College. Hanzlicek works with pathologists and microbiologists within the laboratory to diagnosis bovine health events. Hanzlicek’s research activities include disease surveillance and monitoring systems for beef and dairy health programs and disease surveys. For the KOMA Beef Conference, he will specifically be addressing blood-borne diseases of the cattle herd such as anaplasmosis.

Dr. Jordan Thomas from The University of Missouri will discuss, “Optimizing reproductive performance”. Jordan Thomas is an Assistant Extension Professor and State Beef Reproduction Specialist in the Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Missouri. Dr. Thomas is a Missouri native and University of Missouri alumnus, having earned his Ph.D. in Animal Sciences with an emphasis in Reproductive Physiology in 2017. In addition to extension and education programming associated with the National Center for Applied Reproduction and Genomics, Dr. Thomas maintains an active applied research program in reproductive management of beef cattle. The primary research focus of the Thomas lab is control of the bovine estrous cycle, specifically to facilitate use of reproductive technologies such as timed artificial insemination and embryo transfer. 

The final speaker will be economist Wesley Tucker who is a field specialist in agricultural business from the University of Missouri. Tucker’s work currently focuses on farm transactions and productivity and profitability of beef cattle. The title of Tucker’s presentation is “Keys to profitability for beef producers”. He will address forage production with the goal of economically maximizing grazing.

Sponsors of the event include Ag Choice of Hepler, Frontier Farm Credit, Girard Coop, GNBank, MultiMin, and Zoetis. These sponsors will have trade show style booths. Bring your questions and thank them for their sponsorship and support of beef cattle production.

Please register with the Southeast Research and Extension Center by January 18, 2019. To register please contact Karen Walters, 620-820-6127 or [email protected] or Jaymelynn Farney, 620-820-6125 or [email protected]. You may also RSVP on the Southeast Research and Extension Website, https://www.southeast.k-state.edu/animalscience/index.html.