HFD

The Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Thu., May 9, 2019 in the area of Vine St. to Ash St. between 27th St. and Pine St., the area of Hall St. to Pine St. between 18th St. and 7th St., and the area of Hall St. to Fort St. between 27th St. and 15th St.

This is part of a coordinated effort by the city of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.

Grazing system that has benefitted steers can boost cow-calf operations too 

Researchers at the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center in Hays have found that a grazing system shown to be beneficial for the performance of steers also has great potential for cow-calf producers.

For several years, beef producers have capitalized on modified intensive early stocking, a grazing strategy that focuses on double-stocking steers in pastures for the first half of the summer and pulling the heavier steers off the grass later in the grazing season.

John Jaeger, a beef cattle scientist in Hays, said much of the research points to the fact that when steers were managed this way, producers reported a 26 percent increase in pounds of beef produced per acre, and their net returns increased by nearly 19 percent.

So Jaeger, range scientist Keith Harmoney and their research team set out to see if modified, intensive early stocking could similarly benefit cow-calf pairs.

“We’ve just completed our fourth year of data collection,” said Jaeger, noting that the project focused on weaning calves from the cow at an average of 150 days of age (the traditional time is 200 days), and increasing the early-summer stocking rate of cow-calf pairs to 1.45, compared to the normal 1.00 rate.

The results were astounding.

“The first and most obvious thing is that we continue to see those early-weaned cows being about a half body-condition score better in October compared to conventionally weaned cows,” Jaeger said.

And, he adds, “the really good news from all this is that they are carrying that added body condition through the winter and they still have an advantage at calving. The following May, when they are being turned back out, they are still three-tenths of a body-condition score better than the cows that were conventionally weaned in October.”

The bottom line, he notes, is that the research is showing an economic advantage for cow-calf producers who are willing to adjust their stocking rates early in the summer, much like what has been shown for many years with steers.

Jaeger notes that early-weaned calves in the modified early intensive stocking system “had about a 10 pound, 205-day adjusted weight advantage compared to the season-long stocked calves. And we are getting 1.45 times more calves off the same amount of pasture compared to season-long stocked animals.”

The researchers also noted a benefit in pregnancy rates; cows in this system had a 10 percent greater first service conception rate and a 5 percent greater rate of conception compared to conventionally weaned cows.

“Perhaps one of the largest benefits of utilizing this system is that there was almost no incidence of bovine respiratory disease in calves weaned in late July and early August, compared to calves weaned at the more traditional time in October,” Jaeger said.

He added that the researchers believe that warm, dry days and more consistent temperatures in late July and early August play a significant role in helping avoid the higher rates of bovine respiratory disease normally observed during fall weaning.

The results are “something that can be beneficial if a producer is retaining ownership on those calves,” Jaeger said. “Early-weaned calves that get a higher energy diet early in life tend to grade better, so if the cow-calf producer is retaining ownership, they should see those benefits in their grid payouts.

“In addition, by weaning late July or early August, if a producer is not retaining ownership, they have the potential of selling those calves before we see the traditional dip in the market when the majority of calves are being weaned.”

Many factors are involved, including weather and the availability of forage, but Jaeger said the research points to an economic opportunity for beef producers.

He encouraged cow-calf producers to contact their local extension agent to learn more on how to incorporate this into their operation, or the benefits of adjusting their stocking rates for cow-calf pairs.

USPS

Every second Saturday in May, letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America collect the goodness and compassion of their postal customers, who participate in the NALC Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive — the largest one-day food drive in the nation.

This year the drive will be Saturday, May 11.

Led by letter carriers represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO), with help from rural letter carriers, other postal employees and other volunteers, the drive has delivered more than one billion pounds of food the past 25 years.

Carriers collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes and in post offices and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries and shelters. Nearly 1,500 NALC branches in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands are involved.

The United States Postal Service, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, AFL-CIO, United Way, Valassis and Valpak Direct Marketing Systems are all supporting this year’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive.

To donate, just place a box or can of non-perishable food next to your mailbox before your letter carrier delivers mail. The carrier will do the rest. The food is sorted, and delivered to an area food bank or pantry, where it is available for needy families.

With 42 million people facing hunger every day in America, including 13 million children, this drive is one way you can help those in your own city or town who need help.

FHSU University Relations

Fort Hays State University’s Dr. Pauline Scott, professor of English, and graduate students Stacie Rupp, Vanessa Schumacher and Karel Webster presented their research at the College English Association 2019 national conference in New Orleans.

Scott’s paper, “ ‘Stars, hide your fires’: Hallucinations and Hidden Things in the Shakespeare/Nesbo Macbeths,” compares Shakespeare’s classic play with a modern work of noir fiction by Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo.

The 16th/17th-century playwright, she says, produced work intended to honor a new king and at the same time warn him about the “corruptive potential of great power.” Nesbo’s work, though a “depiction of the hidden machinations of power within a polluted, economically bleak urban landscape,” yet makes Shakespeare’s work “more relevant than ever.”

Rupp’s presentation, “Operating in the Dark: Blinding Consequences in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ ” is a study of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” She finds in the novel another story of the corruption of power.

Victor Frankenstein, having found a way to create life, is blind to the monstrous nature of his creature and thus “is rendered powerless.” The monster, however, realizing its own power, “begins taking life rather than conceiving it.”

Schumacher’s “Operating in the Dark: Literal and Figurative Blind Spots in Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ ” focuses on themes of blindness, especially the physical blindness in the case of Gloucester and a failure of perception in Lear. Each, operating out of his own infirmity, makes tragic errors of trust and are led to doom.

Webster’s study of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel “The Great Gatsby,” “‘Start Him? I Made Him!’: Blindness of the Mentoring Tradition in The Great Gatsby,” analyzes the dynamics of mentoring as depicted in the feelings of love, family and sexuality in the relationship between Jay Gatsby and his mentors and then between Gatsby and his guidance for the novel’s narrator, Nick Carraway.

EMPORIA — Hats off to the nearly 1,100 candidates for graduation at Emporia State University.

They will be honored in three separate commencement ceremonies on May 10 and 11 in White Auditorium, 111 E. Sixth Ave., in Emporia:

All students earning graduate degrees will be honored at 6 p.m. Friday, May 10.

Students earning bachelor’s degrees from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will be honored at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 11.

Students earning bachelor’s degrees from the School of Business and The Teachers College conferring degrees at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 11.

Students from the Hays area, their honors and degrees, include:

Dustin Allen Bittel of Ellis, Magna Cum Laude Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a minor in Journalism

Margaret Rose Burke of Hays, Master of Library Science with a concentration in Archives Studies

Layne Merle Downing of Hays, B.S. in Business in Management with a minor in Information Systems

Vera Haynes Elwood of Hays, Master of Library Science

Carly Jean McCracken of Hays, Master of Library Science

Alex R. Muirhead of Hays, Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Rachel Ann Muirhead of Hays, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre

Sara Renee Schoenthaler of Hays, Master of Library Science

Students who are finishing their degrees in May and August are eligible to walk during spring exercises. There are nearly 600 undergraduates and more than 500 graduate students who are candidates for degrees.

Allen Schmidt of the Kansas Board of Regents will give remarks at all three ceremonies.

Thursday Rain likely, mainly between 10am and 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 51. Breezy, with a north wind 16 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday Night  Mostly cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 34. North northwest wind 11 to 16 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph in the evening.

Friday Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Northwest wind around 7 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.

Friday NightA 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. South wind 5 to 7 mph.

SaturdayMostly cloudy, with a high near 65.