If precision agriculture is the process of placing the exact amount of crop inputs needed at the precise time and place that they are needed most, then what is precision marketing? Precision marketing would mean using technology to provide potential customers with timely information most useful to them. One rural Kansas company is on the leading edge of such technology.

During the past two weeks, we have learned about the Mertz family. Today in the conclusion of this three-part series, we’ll meet the younger generation: Abram Mertz. Abram and brother Lincoln are founders and co-owners of LivestockDirect in Manhattan, a printing and marketing company which is essentially using precision marketing to benefit its customers – seed stock cattle producers across the country. Abram and his siblings grew up on the family farm and went to high school at the nearby rural community of Wamego, population 4,372 people. Now, that’s rural.

“Since my own family sold Simmental and SimAngus bulls, I grew up reading bull sale catalogs with my dad after dinner,” Abram said. “When I was in high school, Dad asked Lincoln and me to build a website for River Creek Farms,” Abram said. “We enjoyed working on the challenge together.”

It went so well that other people asked if he and Lincoln would develop websites for them also. During this time, Abram was active in 4-H and the American Junior Simmental Association, serving as national president one year.

One day at the Riley County Fair, Abram met a fellow 4-Her named Dani Devlin. The two eventually married and graduated from K-State. They now have an 18-month-old baby, Madden, and are expecting their second child in November 2018.

Meanwhile, Abram and his brother Lincoln began working on websites for other livestock producers. Many of these customers also printed full-color sale catalogs for their bull sales. “As we heard customers talk about their printers, the need for a high quality, full-color printing option tailored to the industry was clear,” Abram said. The two brothers formed their own company which specialized in producing such products. They named the company LivestockDirect.

Today, LivestockDirect prints and mails high quality sale catalogs and also works to make sure that those catalogs are being delivered most effectively. Abram and Lincoln developed a high-tech system called MailScope which tracks catalog deliveries to customers and enables the seedstock producer to call, text, or email specific customers directly from the MailScope platform. MailScope can be accessed anytime from anywhere, including any laptop, desktop, or mobile device.

In other words, a rancher can mail catalogs, track where they are in the mailstream, know when and where they were delivered to the customer, and follow up with that customer immediately – from a cell phone, for example.

“In the past, it was a shotgun approach,” Abram said. “A rancher might mail sale catalogs to 2,000 names, talk to 100 potential customers and 50 might buy. MailScope takes the uncertainty out of the personal touch,” he said. “Knowing when your customer has received the catalog allows you to perfectly time a follow-up call or email. The platform also reduces uncertainty and stress caused by the USPS.”

In the future, LivestockDirect wants to enable seedstock producers to understand consumer preferences and respond to them in more targeted and efficient ways. “We’re a tech company,” Abram said. “We’re providing our customers online tools to market more efficiently.” In addition to high quality printing services, LivestockDirect helps businesses produce tri-fold mailers and specialty items such as caps, tumblers, mugs, knives, gloves, and much more.

Abram and Lincoln have grown their business. “In our first year, we produced catalogs for 25 breeders in Kansas and Nebraska,” Abram said. “In 2018, we’ll print catalogs for over 600 breeders in 30 states.” The catalogs go from coast to coast and North Dakota to Texas.

For more information, see www.livestockdirect.net.

If precision marketing can have efficiency benefits just like precision agriculture, then we commend Abram and Lincoln Mertz of Livestock Direct for making a difference by applying technology to seedstock sales. In rural Kansas, such innovation and entrepreneurship is precisely what is needed.

By EDWARD CROSS
Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association

Debate continues across the country on our nation’s energy future. What is our best energy policy going forward?

Even during periods when much of the world suffers economic stagnation, most of us would agree that we still have a very high standard of living. Compared to previous generations, we are wealthier, healthier, have better technology, more mobility, and many more opportunities for a better life.

Several factors contribute to a higher standard of living, but one of the most important is access to reliable and inexpensive energy. Affordable energy is essential for almost every aspect of our modern lives. Affordable energy is needed to run the hospitals and laboratories that improve our health. Affordable energy is required to deliver electricity to our homes and put fuel in our vehicles. And it supports the millions of jobs associated with all of these things.

Concerns About Carbon
In general, the most affordable forms of energy come from fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal. Compared to these energy sources, alternative fuels such as solar and wind power are considerably more expensive and less reliable.

Burning fossil fuels to generate electricity or provide power necessarily releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a gas we exhale every time we breathe. Erupting volcanoes, decaying trees, wildfires, and the animals on which we rely for food all emit CO2. This by-product, which is essential for plant life and an unavoidable aspect of human life, is at the center of today’s climate change controversies.

There is vigorous debate about what effects carbon emissions may or may not have on our future climate. Recent studies suggest that future warming is likely to be substantially lower than computer model-simulated projections on which many climate scientists rely. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said eliminating all CO2 emissions in the U.S. would only reduce global temperatures a negligible 0.08o Celsius by 2050. But the damage to our economy and the well-being of American families would be enormous.

Those who believe that increased CO2 emissions inevitably lead to global warming believe this change is directly attributable to the widespread use of fossil fuels. Because they believe further warming will have catastrophic effects, they have waged a war on carbon for many years. They advocate restricting carbon-based fuels in favor of subsidized alternative energy and encourage policymakers to make fossil fuels more expensive in hopes of discouraging their use.

If the goal is really to reduce carbon emissions, it’s worth noting that the U.S. is already doing a good job of achieving that goal. A recent Energy Information Administration study indicates the U.S. emitted 23% fewer energy-related CO2 emissions in 2015 than in 2005. Furthermore, ozone concentrations have dropped by 17% since 2000.

Beware of Crocodile Tears
All too often state and federal proposals to tax carbon directly or launch new carbon tax schemes have much more to do with raising revenue than helping our environment. For those who prefer higher taxation to spending cuts, having an entirely new source of revenue is appealing. However, taxing carbon only takes more resources from the private sector to support swelling state and federal government.

A recent study analyzed probable effects of a U.S. carbon tax that starts at $20 per ton and then rises 4% per year, which is in line with recent proposals. The study suggested that such a tax would decrease household consumption, due to the increased cost of goods. The average household would have to pay 40% more for natural gas, 13% more for electricity, and more than 20 cents per gallon extra for gasoline. Costs would rise even more in subsequent years.

Price hikes like these can only mean lower standards of living and less opportunity. Families that spend a bigger portion of their household income on transportation, utilities and household goods are hurt, not helped, by carbon tax schemes that make traditional forms of energy more expensive.

Fossil Fuels are needed throughout the world to lift people up, which is different than a philosophy of embracing a zero-emissions world. Over 80% of the energy that the peoples of the world use to survive come from fossil fuels, because that is the cheapest, most plentiful, most reliable source ever developed. More than a billion people around the world face challenges for adequate food, clean water and protection from heat and cold due to a lack of access to energy. Anyone who cares about our environment and climate recognize that cheap, plentiful, reliable energy is essential.

A Better Way
As the oil and gas industry has shown, there is a better way. Just a few years ago, no one would have imagined the U.S. could increase production of oil and natural gas while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which are now near 25-year lows. The oil and gas industry has proven that over the long-term it is possible to lead in energy production and in environmental stewardship. By focusing on more efficient use of energy, it is possible to lower emissions without imposing even more environmental restrictions. An American energy policy that values innovation over regulation can turn energy policy challenges into great opportunities for economic growth and energy security. This approach is not just good business, it’s good stewardship and a much better strategy for improving the quality of life for all.

The Kansas Constitution requires all gubernatorial nominees to run on a ticket with their lieutenant governor nominees. Much more fanfare has surrounded the process this year than it has in the past. Why?

The state Constitution and recent history do make one thing clear: the next lieutenant governor may become governor someday. Current Governor Jeff Colyer was elected as lieutenant governor on a ticket with Sam Brownback, then became governor when Brownback resigned for his new ambassador job. Former Governor Mark Parkinson took over when Kathleen Sebelius resigned to join the Obama Administration. In neighboring Missouri, Governor Mike Parson was elected lieutenant governor on a separate ticket, then became governor when Eric Greitens resigned due to scandals.

Parkinson made critical policy decisions during the Great Recession, and also brokered a compromise on the Sunflower Electric Plant which included renewable energy portfolios—quite a record for a two-year governorship. Colyer and Parson are now providing calm hands at the tiller, following tumultuous times under their very different predecessors.

Does all this matter politically, though? This year’s candidates seem to think it does. Political scientists are not buying it.

The most popular trend is to balance the ticket with a running mate from a different part of the state. Consider these candidate pairings:
Jeff Colyer- Johnson County, Tracey Mann- Gove County
Kris Kobach- Douglas County, Wink Hartman- Wichita
Ken Selzer- Johnson County, Jenifer Sanderson- Goodland
Laura Kelly- Topeka, Lynn Rogers- Wichita
Carl Brewer- Wichita, Chris Morrow- Johnson County
Greg Orman- Johnson County, John Doll- Garden City

Two candidates do not fit this region-balancing pattern. Under fire for his anti-abortion votes, Democrat Josh Svaty chose Katrina Lewison of Manhattan, who is pro-choice. Republican Jim Barnett chose his own wife, former foreign service officer Rosie Hansen.

There are other factors, too. A wealthy businessman, Hartman is helping Kobach raise money. Sanderson and Lewison are business professionals who have never before sought nor held elected office. Morrow is a Democratic mayor from a heavily-Republican suburb. Doll switched his affiliation from Republican to Independent for the run, while Lewison went from Independent to Democrat. Lewison is also a decorated Army combat veteran.

Alas, if U.S. vice-presidential politics is any guide, none of this is likely to matter.

Political scientists cannot find any significant relationship in our data, between vice presidential picks and presidential election outcomes. Presidential elections come down to factors like incumbent popularity and the state of the economy—unless the country is also in an unpopular war like Korea or Vietnam.

For example, Hillary Clinton’s VP nominee, U.S. Senator from Virginia Tom Kaine, touted his Kansas-Missouri roots during the campaign. Kaine grew up in Overland Park, attending high school in Kansas City, MO. His campaign stops and trips home did not help–Kansas and Missouri both went for Trump-Pence.

Another example occurred in 1988, when George H.W. Bush nominated the gaffe-prone Dan Quayle for VP. Quayle’s Democratic opponent, U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, had a double-digit lead in the polls. In the end, however, the Bush-Quayle ticket defeated Dukakis-Bentsen decisively, giving Quayle four years to keep late-night comedians busy.

Back at the state level, the lieutenant governor is usually eclipsed not only by the governor, but also by other elected state executives like the Attorney General and the Secretary of State. In fact, some states do not even have lieutenant governors, while others elect them separately from the governor.

These lieutenant governor nominees will probably not sway the election— but take heed: the winner may indeed become governor someday.

Michael A. Smith is a Professor of Political Science at Emporia State University.

Tomato plants can crack when they absorb too much water too fast. They tend to have a root system that is very dense and fibrous and is quite efficient in picking up water. Having said that, there are various times when the size of the root system may be unbalanced with the amount of vegetative growth on top. Early in the season tomato roots may be somewhat undeveloped in relation to the plant size that is above ground resulting in blossom-end rot. And, as was discussed in my article three weeks ago, blossom-end rot is a dark-round, ugly formation located on the bottom of the developing fruit. This usually appears when the weather is hot and dry, and the plant cannot absorb sufficient amounts of calcium.

Later on, however, those same roots may be so efficient at absorbing water that they can actually provide too much water, especially when there is ample rainfall or heavy irrigation after a dry spell. A tomato’s interior grows quickly as it absorbs water from this abundant source, expanding too fast. The tomato skin cannot stretch to accommodate the extra fluid, causing internal pressure. Hence, cracking of the skin alleviates this pressure.

How can you prevent your tomatoes from cracking? One way is to maintain an even and consistent watering schedule throughout the growing season. Tomato plants need 1-3” water a week (including rain.) During dry spells, water tomatoes deeply so that subsequent rain won’t shock skins and lead to unnecessary cracking – use a drip hose or other irrigation system.

Mulching will also help because it moderates moisture levels in the soil. However, you can do everything right and still have problems with cracking in some years.
    Still one more way to prevent cracking is to plant “crack-resistant” tomato varieties that have a more elastic skin (the more pliable the skin the more resistance to cracking). The old variety Jet Star has been the most crack resistant of any we have tested including the newer types. Unfortunately, Jet Star is an indeterminate variety that puts out rampant growth. Newer varieties with more controlled growth are often more attractive to gardeners. Mountain Spring, Mountain Pride, Mountain Fresh, Floralina and Sun Leaper are smaller-vined types that have shown good resistance to cracking.

Rip Winkel is the Horticulture agent in the Cottonwood District (Barton and Ellis Counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or calling either 785-682-9430, or 620-793-1910.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and two U.S. senators enter the room. That sounds like a description of a Washington, D.C. hearing room, but in this case, it refers to what happened recently in the stone barn of a leading farm family in rural Kansas.

Last week we learned about longtime agricultural leaders Jeanne and Harold Mertz of River Creek Farms near Manhattan. Today, River Creek Farms is owned by two of their sons, Joe and Bob, and their wives Kim and Mary, respectively. The Mertz farm recently hosted the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for a meeting with Kansas farm leaders.

As the name River Creek Farm suggests, their farm ground is situated near a river. That means it is good fertile bottomland with water nearby, but it also can be risky during flooding. During the 1951 flood, floodwaters devastated downtown Manhattan and struck the Mertz farm and others. Jeanne and her one-month-old baby son Joe were evacuated from the farm by boat.

After the floodwaters receded, the Mertzes returned to the farm. They built a diversified crop and livestock operation, situated between the rural communities of Zeandale and Wabaunsee, population 517 people. Now, that’s rural.

Harold and Jeanne raised five children: Joe, Tom, Bob, Jon, and sister Jane. Tom is CEO and owner of a company in Gardner. Jon works at the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, and Jane Mertz Garcia is a faculty member at K-State.

Joe came back to the farm after graduating from K-State in agriculture and serving on the livestock judging team. His judging experience and studies in the animal sciences department at K-State led him to suggest to his father that they try something new: He suggested that he would artificially inseminate their Polled Hereford cows with semen from Simmental bulls. His parents agreed and the resulting hybrid vigor was excellent.
Meanwhile, Joe met and married Kim Newell. His parents moved to a neighboring house, so Joe and Kim began their married life in the same house that Joe’s father and grandfather had begun their married lives. Joe and Kim went on to raise four kids on the farm: Asher, Lincoln, Malia and Abram.

In 1985, the Mertzs began offering purebred Simmental bulls for sale by private treaty. They later branched into Simmental-Angus cross bulls and offer a bull sale annually.

Joe’s younger brother Bob also went to K-State and competed on the livestock judging team. After graduation, Bob went to work for the National Livestock and Meat Board in Chicago for six years. Here he met a young lady named Mary. They married and also returned to the farm. Bob and Mary had two children, Lisa and David. Harold and Jeanne were proud that all six of their grandchildren got undergrad and/or post-graduate degrees from K-State.

Today, Joe manages the livestock while Bob has responsibility for the crops. River Creek Farms includes 3,600 acres of crop production which Bob has advanced technologically and sustainably. The Mertzs also have what has been described as one of the premier Simmental and SimAngus herds in the country. As the farm website says: “Our guiding principles throughout have remained the same: calving ease and disposition, a sincere focus on end-product value and harnessing the benefits of hybrid vigor. These cornerstones remain in place to this day and characterize every bull we sell, even if much has changed over the past 125 years.”

In 2018, Senator Pat Roberts, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, was looking for a farm to host the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for a meeting with Kansas farm leaders. The location they chose was River Creek Farms, owned by the Mertz family.

It’s time to leave this meeting of the USDA Secretary and the senators, held on a family farm in a rural valley near Manhattan, Kansas. We commend Joe and Kim and Bob and Mary Mertz and their families for making a difference in Kansas agriculture.

And there’s more. Another generation of the Mertz family is making its mark in the livestock industry in another innovative way. We’ll learn about that next week.

Returning from the summer meeting for presidents of state colleges and universities, I am renewed and reaffirmed in my faith in the mission and effectiveness of Fort Hays State University. We provide accessible, quality education to Kansas, the nation and the world through an innovative community of teacher-scholars and professionals who develop engaged global citizen-leaders.

I am particularly proud of our accessibility; our 17 consecutive years of growth; and the numerous awards, rankings, accreditations and recognitions driven by dedicated and talented faculty – indicative of a high quality education.

FHSU is not, and has never been, about being average. Our grit, innovation, and caring nature have served us well. These characteristics form the essence of our institutional DNA. We aim higher and work harder – especially when it comes to our students. Most importantly, we recognize that behind every enrollment, retention, and graduation statistic is a student, a real person to whom we have an obligation to guide and encourage.

This is why we continue to invest in award-winning programs such as the Hispanic College Institute; work hard to be a vibrant, forward-thinking partner with our community and technical colleges through proactive and creative articulation agreements; “meet students where they are” by providing educational opportunities in multiple formats such as engaging distance learning and community-based education whereby we send faculty to several sites throughout Western Kansas and the world; offer high-achieving high school students the unique opportunity to live on campus, engage in research with Ph.D. faculty, and enroll in 60 credit hours of college study all while completing their junior and senior year of high school; and provide multiple pathways for student engagement from living and learning communities to internships to study abroad opportunities.

We also recognize that we still have work to do in taking more students all the way to the finish line. Not every student who leaves FHSU early is a stop out, however. Some may be enrolled in our pre-engineering program specifically designed for transfer to engineering schools around the country. Others may enroll with a specific goal to complete general education requirements and then transfer to a higher cost college with different majors as a cost saving strategy. But there are students who are not graduating and for whom we need to find more effective ways of helping. That is why we continue to adopt new strategies and evaluate and refine current practices. Our faculty and staff devote an enormous amount of time and energy to getting better at supporting our students.

At FHSU, we have the courage to be introspective and innovative. Universities are called to think deeply and to differentiate between where students fail and where the university fails students – to adopt an “it’s on us” posture rather than simply blame students for not putting forth the effort to succeed. Researcher Robert Pace has long demonstrated that what the institution does can profoundly shape student effort and positively impact success. Even newer research by Robert Putnam indicates that students who are not as well prepared for college often do not lack in intelligence but in savvy. Our outreach and support of students is more critical than we sometimes realize. This is why our new Center for Student Success, which will become a reality in 2021 thanks in part to the generosity of Richard and the late Delores Fischli, will be a particularly exciting addition to our campus.

New research from Gallup indicates that hope is critical to college student success. This makes sense when you think about it. Ever tried to lose weight and got negative feedback from the scale? Motivated to eat more fruits and vegetables? Feel like weighing in the next day? Discouragement steals hope. Encouragement fuels hope, which results in success. I know that when my personal trainer gives me information, shows me what to do, monitors my progress, and continues to encourage me, I am hopeful, focused, excited, and successful. Each week I get stronger and can do more. My trainer reminds me not of what I cannot yet do but of the progress I have made and how much closer I am to accomplishing my fitness goals.

The conference reminded me of how important it is to tell our students every day how great they are, to encourage their hopes and dreams, to instill in them the importance of perseverance, to refuse to accept failure, and to love them to success. After all, this is how we create world class athletes, and it is how we should be creating world class students.

And the best news – this relentless focus on hope and student support – is a virtue alive and well at FHSU. I am renewed and brimming with optimism as August quickly approaches and brings with it the excitement of a new academic year.

In response to Patrick Miller’s “A license to discriminate in Kansas” July 5, 2018

Dear Patrick,

I understand your compassion for LGBT peoples. No one likes to see people suffer, and people with same sex attraction suffer immensely. In the short term, we can alleviate a person’s immediate suffering by giving them license, but by doing so, in the long term, they will generally end up in loneliness, emptiness and a shell of the person they were created to be. It is possible to live joyful and fulfilling lives by having chaste relationships with people you love. ‘Courage’ is a group of Catholics who experience same-sex attractions and who are committed to helping one another to live chaste lives marked by prayer, fellowship and mutual support.

Your article is biased towards the inferred gay rights, over the constitutionally stated right of religious freedom. (That’s o.k., I’m biased in my opinion too). The adoption laws in Kansas, as they stand, do not give one side and edge over the other. As in other states, where anti-discrimination of LGBTQ laws were enacted, private adoption agencies like Catholic Charities have closed down rather than go against their faith or against the good of the children.

I do hope that you can find equal compassion in your heart for children that are being deliberately placed in a situation where they will not have either a father or a mother. I feel that placing them into an artificially constructed homosexual family is not for the good of the child, but rather, to fulfill the fantasy of a homosexual family, which naturally does not exist. Do you really need to experiment on children forty or fifty years for scientific proof, only to show that these children will suffer from such an arrangement? We already have data based on 50 years of easy divorce that shows children from single family households fare far poorer in all areas of life compared to children from a two parent family. Workers experienced with adoption, say it is not in the best interest or good of the child to be adopted into homosexual situations. I cite, the web article, Sexual diversity in the Netherlands – Holland Alumni network (a pro-gay network), summarizing the Health and well – being of LGB study by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), 2012, in English. The reason I use this study is because LGBT has been legal and accepted in the Netherlands for some fifty year, and I didn’t want to hear that the results were from the U.S. where there is bigotry and discrimination against LGBT. So, can you justify putting adopted children into this type of environment where there is: High rate of suicide.. The mental health of bisexuals is worse than that of homosexuals. A large number of bisexuals use drugs and suffer from psychological problems. Gay and bisexual men have a relatively greater risk of falling victim to sexual violence. Gay and bisexual men have an increased risk of STDs and HIV, despite their more frequent use of condoms. This is not in the study, but from my understanding, a homosexual marriage commitment means they stay with their partner, but partner infidelity is common and acceptable..

I also hope you consider the feelings and requests of birth mothers who give up their child to go to a family with a mother and father, because they can’t provide that environment. In states that made homosexual anti-discrimination laws, Catholic Charities had to shut down, denying an avenue for such women to be guaranteed their child is going to a home with a father and mother. Furthermore, Catholic Charities is the most affordable organization to provide adoption. All this would be gone: that which is in the child’s best interest, the mother’s desires for a mother/father family, and affordability for common families.

So, as the adoption laws stand in Kansas, both sides don’t get totally what they want. LGBTs can’t get service at every adoption agency, and religious groups can’t save every child from being adopted into a LGBT artificially constructed family.

Michel Werth, Hays

Villages and towns followed as man no longer needed to follow game and forage for food. Anthropologists speculate that primitive man probably first chewed the raw wheat kernel before he learned to pound it into flour and mix it with water to make porridge.

Approximately 10,000 years B.C., man first started eating a crude form of flat bread baked with flour and water. Since that early beginning, wheat has become known as the staff of life. It has remained a staple in our diets in this country and around the world.

During this year when the Kansas wheat crop will be one of the smallest on record, it seems only fitting to take a closer look at this healthy food source.

For many, our day begins with a slice or two of bread made from wheat. Some people continue to eat wheat in snacks or some other form, throughout the day. Still, most Americans rarely eat more than four or five servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta foods each day. The daily recommended intake is six to 11 servings according to U.S. dietary guidelines.

Today’s well-informed consumer continues to understand the importance of increasing the consumption of whole grains. The convenience and nutrition of wheat makes it a natural for our fast-paced society. Wheat snacks come in an endless variety bound to please nearly every pallet.

Wheat consists mainly of complex carbohydrates that provide a source of time-released energy. The nutrition community recommends 45-65 percent of our daily calories come from carbohydrates.

Nutritionists also advise eating no more than 20-35 percent of our calories from fats and approximately 10-35 percent of our calories from protein.

Wheat foods provide fiber in our diets. Fiber is the carbohydrate in food that humans cannot digest. Fiber acts as a broom and sweeps out the digestive tract.

Eating fiber regularly helps with fewer incidences of colon cancer and some types of heart diseases. Sufficient amounts of fiber in our diet have been related to better control of diabetes and an overall healthy colon, according to nutritionists.

Research also suggests eating wheat bran may help prevent breast cancer.

Wheat foods are good sources of fiber as are fruits and vegetables. The American Dietetic Association recommends eating 20-35 grams of fiber daily. Americans usually consume only about 12 grams.
Kansans use hard red winter wheat in yeast breads and hard rolls. This state also produces the best flours in the world.

Look for ways to serve wheat products with every meal. This may not only improve your health and that of your family, but the economy of Kansas – the Wheat State.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

For you folks who grind your teeth when that little circular arrow is spinning on your computer, or who see the screen on your computer go blank during that Netflix movie, well, help eventually may be on the way.

That help? The Statewide Broadband Expansion Planning Task Force, which is the Legislature’s start on making sure that from border to border there is fast, reliable and affordable broadband Internet access.

And for you folks who by now try to remember where you put your walker before heading out to pick up the newspaper on the driveway, this is a whole new level of “universal access.” The old version? That was when the state’s effort was to make sure that everyone in Kansas had access to a black dial telephone back when phone poles were sparse in areas where cattle outnumbered Kansans and where there were more combines than lawn mowers.

The effort: To first map out the areas of the state where access to fast Internet service is important to Kansans, to businesses and industries and to governments and organizations. That’s going to be tricky, because nobody doesn’t want the fastest Internet available, whether it’s for watching movies, sending e-mails, the kids doing school work at home or competing for contracts for intellectual services.

It’s different than the old days when a paved road was a major boost for economic development, isn’t it?

The issue has turned out to be not just a rural issue where cell towers and cable services are sparse and a hill or a grain elevator can hamper that fast Internet service. There are blocks in major Kansas cities where the skies are obstructed by cable wires and a forest of antennae atop buildings, there are down times when that service isn’t available or your computer or phone can’t get online.

Figuring out where that Internet over wire or through the airwaves is substandard or not dependable is going to be tough. For rural areas, it’s going to require cooperation among providers and some cost sharing between state and federal governments and the providers of Internet access to get that signal everywhere—at a profit.

Because, now that we’ve all got phones, broadband Internet access is joining water, electricity and mail as basic services that Kansans are demanding.

At some point, it’s probably a good thing that the Legislature has decided to jump into the complicated issue of getting that broadband to everywhere in the state, and to some point, it’s going to be interesting to see where the priorities are on that service.

Spend money, or maybe impose a tax on Internet service so that the high-demand areas help finance the rural areas? That’s what happened with telephone service, as your phone bill tells you.

Does that access become a right, like access to public schools, which by the way want more broadband access so that students can study from home and the schools can provide study materials from around the world, not just the occasional e-mail or those textbooks, which once printed aren’t updated?

It’s going to be interesting to watch and important for the state…

But…those little circular arrows are spinning on the task force, because its members haven’t all been designated by legislative leaders, and there’s not a list yet of the non-legislative members who are supposed to figure this broadband business out for us.

Yes, there is this election coming up, and in some rural areas of the state there are candidates talking about bringing high-speed broadband to every acre of Kansas.

But for now, that little arrow is still spinning…

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com

BY JOHN P. TRETBAR

Before I begin this week’s rant, I have offer a big OOOPS pertaining to last week’s column about Tweety the Catbird. Not only did I get the man’s name wrong, (it’s JOHN Paulson, not Don) but I also got the name of his business wrong. It is Gravel & Concrete Inc., at Nickerson, KS.  This week’s column is a repeat from a couple years ago, but given the early and overly hot spring and summer we’ve had, it was just too apropos not to use again.

This week’s column is a repeat from a couple years ago, but given the early and overly hot spring and summer we’ve had, it was just too apropos not to use again.

The only reason I put up with summer in Kansas is… well, because I have to! My only alternatives are to move or die. The first takes too much energy, and the second, well, let’s just say I’ll put up with summer! (Although as I get older door number 2 looks less ominous all the time) I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to complete several outdoor projects, working early mornings and late evening to beat the heat, so I present to you a little trivia about the “dog days of summer.”

The term “Dog Days of Summer” has always intrigued me. This term was long ago given to the hottest and muggiest part of the summer, which someone has determined to be between July 3 and August 11.

Stars and constellations played a big part in the lives of the ancients. Two such constellations, Canis Major and Canis Minor, were said to resemble dogs. The brightest star in Canis Major is named Sirius, “the dog star,” and also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. It is in fact so bright, that ancient Romans believed the earth received heat from it. During our summer, there is a period when Sirius rises and sets with the sun, and it was believed that during this period, the Dog Star actually added its heat to the sun, creating a period of extra hot and muggy weather now known as “the dog days.”

So what can we “dog days haters,” who think it’s even too hot to fish, do to scratch our “outdoor sportsman’s itch” during this time? Frog season started here in KS July 1st and is a great nighttime sport. We hunted frogs a lot when I was a kid and thought nothing of walking a couple hundred yards across someone’s pasture in the middle of the night just to get to a pond full of frogs. Now days it’s not quite so much fun sloggin’ around a pond in pitch black darkness in soaking wet jeans and old sneakers, but the sweet taste of fried frog legs is still the same!

Now’s also a fine time to browse the Cabela’s, Bass Pro, and in my case, trapping supply catalogs to get a jump on your fall hunting and trapping wish list. This begins by going over your equipment and clothing, looking for equipment needing repaired or replaced. You know how clothing seems to “shrink” a little each season! Also order that new equipment you want to experiment with this year. Mail ordered merchandise can take considerable time to receive, and ordering early also gives you time to make returns and exchanges if needed. The large trapping supply dealers are busy with conventions in late summer and when trapping seasons start in the fall, so now is a prime time to get trapping supplies mail-ordered. So carry the catalogs from the bathroom to the easy chair and get started!

I guess when it’s 105 degrees in the shade, it’s hard to think about deer hunting, but the dog days are also a good time to begin garnering hunting and trapping permission. Unless you already have a standing agreement in place with landlords, hunting and trapping permission is often first come-first served. This can be done over the phone, but I prefer a more personal touch and like to drive to the owner’s home and talk to them in person. Remember, the early bird gets the worm (or the pheasant, the deer or the coyote.)

Also this is a great time to start gathering unwanted apples from under people’s trees to feed to the deer by dumping them on the ground in front of your corn feeders. A friend at church tells me his apples are falling very prematurely this year (maybe because of the early heat) and rotting almost immediately.

Now is a great time to brush up on your hunting and trapping skills or learn new ones by reading “how to” books and magazine articles. Think back about the things that didn’t go as planned last season and search out the resources to correct them, be that books, magazine articles, tapes & DVD’s or fellow sportsmen.
So pour a glass of iced tea, settle into your recliner, surround yourself with all your wish books, magazines, DVD’s and the TV remote, and for these next few “dog-day” weeks, continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors, even if it’s from your living room!

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].

Recent heavy rains have done more than make grass grow. Bugs like this moisture, and they’re reproducing at record rates and sponsoring insect gatherings in town and out. Not only are humans swatting and smacking at bugs torturing fleshy landing pads on arms, legs, foreheads, and more, beasts are busy dodging biting and stinging creatures as well.

During a visit to Mom’s in Wakeeney, we decided to drive about to see what effect these downpours have had on roads, streams, pastures, and fields. We didn’t need to look long before we saw washed out rural routes and fields, brush hanging off highest fence lines or dangling from tree branches bordering creeks and streams, shallow ponds drowning once thriving wheat, and cow herds massed tightly into fence corners.

When I first saw those bovines grouped like junior high girls at their first dance, I thought about the old saying that cattle gathering in corners predicted impending storms. I was puzzled because I’d checked the weather channel that morning, and, while it’s not always accurate, it had forecast clear days ahead. Why, then, were these girls and their calves snuggled tight enough you couldn’t count them on a hot day?

I couldn’t imagine that they wanted to be positioned nose to tail or side to side so close that nothing could make its way through that herd without major rearranging. Then a fly bit me at the same time a mosquito announced its irritating presence with an obnoxious whine. Aha, those cows had united to protect themselves and one another from noisy, hungry, flying hordes.

While humans use hands to swat, flatten, or wave away these aggravations, cows don’t have that option. All they have is a tail—a nice switchy device with a knot of hair at the end, but it’s hardly adequate to address swarms of starving bugs. Their problem-solving strategy impressed me. No dumb animals here; these girls did not intend to be passive victims.

Such close proximity might have forced less than hygienic cattle to not only smell but absorb body odors emerging from various, slimy orifices. However, I doubt that’s a real concern for creatures that start life nursing directly underneath their mother’s tails. Nope, these gals and their babes got up close and personal, leaving tails free to swipe and slap each other’s pests.

While making sure I observed at a distance far enough away to avoid inviting their six-legged tormentors to land on me, I noted that mamas and babies chewed cuds, stomped feet, and swished perfectly designed fly swatters in such a rhythm that it kept those blood suckers from landing on them or any nearby bovine. An army of agitated insects hovered overhead in a hangry cloud. I’m sure if I’d been closer, I’d have heard audible complaints.

I enjoyed cruising the countryside to view Mother Nature’s recent activity. Even more, I appreciated watching the wrastling match between cattle and insects. It’s good to know that bovines can deal effectively with airborne forces possessing nasty stingers and sharp chompers. I’m definitely pleased that I come with hands that can use a flyswatter.

Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.

When asked if the First Amendment goes too far in the rights that it protects, more than three-fourths of Americans disagree. That’s fairly good news, but it’s somewhat tempered by the fact that a third of Americans cannot name a single freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment. Another third can only name one. Only one survey respondent out of a sample of 1,009 could name all five. And 9 percent of Americans think that the First Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms. (For the record, that’s the Second Amendment.)

But does it really matter that Americans don’t know exactly what the First Amendment says? After all, while no one’s done a survey on the state of the Third Amendment, I’d wager that most Americans have no clue what rights that one guarantees and I’m not losing any sleep over that. (In case you’re curious, the Third Amendment says that no one can force you to quarter British soldiers inside your home. The issue doesn’t come up much these days.)

But First Amendment issues do come up a lot (just look at the number of First Amendment-related decisions the Supreme Court made this term). And the fact that Americans are generally aware that the First Amendment gives them the right to express themselves but are pretty fuzzy on its actual details is problematic. As any teacher can tell you, a little knowledge can be more dangerous than no knowledge at all. In this case, it leads to people passionately invoking the First Amendment in some circumstances and ignoring its existence in others.

So, for a quick review, the First Amendment grants us five freedoms: religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. All of these freedoms are interconnected. The freedom of religion prevents the government from establishing its own religion, and from favoring one religion over another. It also keeps the government from interfering with the way people practice their religious beliefs. Religious freedom is a powerful thing, even if you yourself are not religious. It essentially grants each individual the freedom to develop their own conscience and their own values. The government doesn’t get to tell you what your values should be — that’s for you to decide.

Freedom of speech protects your right to express those values, even if that expression is critical of the government. Freedom of the press guarantees your right to uncensored information about the world around you and especially information about what your government is doing. And if you don’t like what the government is doing — if its actions contradict the values you cherish — you have the freedom of petition, which is the freedom to ask for the laws you want, and the freedom to assemble a group of like-minded people to give that request some political heft. We need all five of these freedoms to have a democracy that ensures comprehensive protection of the American citizenry.

As a country, we’ll probably always disagree about what the precise limits of the First Amendment should be. People will certainly always invoke the First Amendment in a self-serving manner, championing some of these freedoms while discounting others — think of Milo Yiannopoulos presenting himself as a defender of free speech but calling for vigilante squads to target journalists. Yes, it’s his First Amendment right to make tasteless comments. But hopefully one day Americans will understand the First Amendment well enough to recognize how disingenuous it is to treat it like an a la carte menu.

Lata Nott is executive director of the First Amendment Center of the Freedom Forum Institute. Contact her via email at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @LataNott.