Lettuce Eat Local: We had a fair time
“I love you when you go to the fair, Mommy.”
Fortunately I know Benson loves me all the time, but I’m glad he clearly enjoyed our experiences at the Kansas State Fair last week. We went for a couple hours on two different days, and I was afraid it would end up just being a lot of noise, walking, and waiting for a two-year-old. To be fair, it was all those things…but apparently the animal encounters made it all worth it.
We have cows literally 200 feet out our front door, yet Benson is still quick to mention how he saw cows at the fair. We even visited a couple of our expectant mama Holsteins in the birthing center, trying to heed the “do not pet the animals” sign. I enjoyed seeing the two sets of tiny (for now) pink piglets, although my explanation to my son that this is a fence only served to make him think he was supposed to carefully duck under it instead of stay on this side of it.
The place where you are supposed to pet the animals went much better — we spent a good portion of time in the petting zoo getting up close to the llamas, zebra, and potbelly pigs. The feisty wallabies and prickly porcupine got plenty of personal space, but Benson walked right up to the two pygmy goat kids sticking their heads through the fence and gave them a double hug. (Unfortunately even that sweetness hasn’t convinced Brian we need some of our own…yet.)
The poultry barn would have been a big draw, except he’s had a lot of noise sensitivity since his concussion, and chickens, ducks, and geese make not only loud sounds but sometimes oddly disconcerting ones. Rabbits, however, tend to be delightfully nonverbal, so we inspected approximately every single one in their building.
But in between animal adventures, Mommy made him come along with her to the Domestic Arts Building for a couple food special contests. Every year I tell myself I’m not investing the time, effort, expense, and disappointment to enter any more of the fair competitions…and every year I win just enough to keep me coming back. For real though, this was my last year for a while; it’ll be too hard to drag a baby plus a three-year-old around for all of that. Right?
I actually don’t know the results of my last contest, but right now I placed on three out of five entries. Which, like I said, is just enough blue-ribbon and cash-prize appeal to keep me feeling like it was worthwhile.
By the time judging was complete on the first da, both my son and the leftover first-place popsicles were done. (I was too, but I’m hoping it wasn’t quite as visibly obvious.) When I first started entering the three categories of the soy foods special contest a few years ago, Brian was fairly offended. We’re dairy farmers, after all! While he still doesn’t eat my soy-full experiments, as a matter of principle of course, he’s at least given in to the fact that I’m going to try some things. I enjoy finding my creative space within some different parameters than usual, and honestly I really like tofu, soymilk, miso, and other soy-based products.
These popsicles — or rather, pop-soy-cles — actually include all three of my favorite soy elements. I missed the judges’ actual comments due to the doneness of the aforementioned two-year-old, but I was delighted to hear they found the flavor and texture all very appealing. I mean, I thought they were delicious, but we know that’s not always a good criterion.
So here’s the recipe for you to make your own judgments. I’d say you should at least try and give them a fair chance.
PBB Pop-soy-cles
My poor (or lucky?) child thinks popsicles are fruit and yogurt, and I love that I can give him such healthy, refreshing treats. These are definitely richer than our norm, but also chock full of protein and plant fats, so still a win — and so tasty and easy. If you don’t have a popsicle mold, you can try freezing these in dixie cups with a wooden craft stick down the center.
Prep tips: Clearly I won’t be mad if you use cow milk and regular granola, but the tofu really belongs here. If you have leftovers after filling your popsicle molds, just refrigerate the extra and enjoy a rich, nutty pudding!
1 [16 oz] package of firm tofu
2 ripe bananas
¼ – ½ cup unsweetened soymilk, as needed
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ teaspoon white miso
¼-½ cup brown sugar, to taste
½ cup soy-based granola
In a high-powered blender, blend tofu, 1 banana, soymilk, peanut butter, salt, and sweetener to taste, until completely smooth. Pulse in remaining 1 banana so that it’s incorporated but still chunky. Spoon into popsicle molds, layering in granola. Freeze until firm, at least a couple hours. Remove from molds whenever you want, and store popsicles in freezer.
When ready to serve, let popsicles sit at room temp for a few minutes, or microwave for a few seconds, to soften.
KU News: KU series on wellness in democracy resumes, centering Ogallala Aquifer and human decision-making
From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
Headlines
Contact: Emily Ryan, 785-864-6293, [email protected]
KU series on wellness in democracy resumes, centering Ogallala Aquifer and human decision-making
LAWRENCE — A collaborative series at the University of Kansas that centers misinformation, disinformation and the wellness of democracy resumes in fall 2023 with a program about the Ogallala Aquifer, the center of substantial research and public debate because of its increasingly limited supplies and the reliance upon the aquifer for much of western Kansas’ agricultural success.
A webinar at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 28 titled “Wellness in our Democracy — Ogallala Aquifer: Seeing the Full Picture” will feature award-winning author and anthropologist Lucas Bessire and Kansas Reflector reporter Allison Kite.
In his book “Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains,” Bessire confronts this issue with a compassionate lens that seeks to reveal a more complex understanding of the situation – one that relates some of the many different experiences surrounding decisions to irrigate and thus, continue to draw upon the aquifer, interwoven with the realities of diminishing water and climate change.
Kite has written about the complexities of environmental regulation in Kansas, which is deeply divided across political lines around many of these challenges. She has also illuminated the effects of irrigation on not only the Ogallala’s water levels, but also the habitats downstream, including the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.
The conversation, including short presentations by Bessire and Kite, will offer access to a richer understanding to this complicated Kansas issue.
“Through these events, we want to move beyond a false dichotomy of fact-versus-fiction and toward a deeper understanding of the pressures to act in accord with specific worldviews – even when those things seem to be at odds with what is best for individuals or society,” said Emily Ryan, director of The Commons. “Further, we hope to bring into question the ways in which propaganda plays a role in these behaviors.”
In an effort to couple this work of community understanding and healing with this year’s KU Common Book, “Parable of the Sower,” by Octavia E. Butler, each event will feature short readings of relevant passages, as well as breathwork led by Reggie Hubbard, founder and chief serving officer of Active Peace Yoga.
In its first year, the Wellness in our Democracy series examined the roots of misinformation and disinformation campaigns in the United States, many of which author and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois sought to delegitimize in the early 1900s. It also explored the extension of the misinformation campaigns’ legacy into areas such as race, climate and gender identity as well as the role of local journalism in helping to prevent misinformation. The Wellness in our Democracy series is led by Najarian Peters, associate professor of law and faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School; Patricia Weems Gaston, Lacy C. Haynes Professor of Journalism; and Ryan. Events in this series are supported and presented by The Commons, the School of Law, the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications and the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging.
Events will run 75 minutes each, with time dedicated to intentional breathwork. To attend, register at https://bit.ly/WellnessinOurDemocracy.
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Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]
Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs
Wheat Scoop: September signals the start of Kansas wheat planting
Contact: Marsha Boswell, [email protected]
For audio version, visit kswheat.com.
As the calendar flips over to September and more seasonal fall temperatures are in the forecast, it is time to start planting wheat. As planting kicks off, producers and researchers alike are cautiously optimistic about next year’s harvest potential.
Winter wheat planting in Kansas was at four percent complete for the week ending September 10, 2023, according to the official statistics provided by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in its weekly crop progress report. That pace is near three percent for last year and the five-year average – a welcome return to a more normal-feeling pace for producers.
“We were behind all year last,” said Brian Linin, Kansas Wheat Commissioner who farms near Goodland. “Planting season was way behind, and then everything came up. Harvest was really late, so we were starting harvest around the time we would have normally finished. So, we feel like we’ve been behind the eight ball here all spring and summer.”
Linin started planting wheat on Tuesday in northwest Kansas. His ground received just a few hundredths to a short quarter inch of rain over the past week, but he reported even where the ground is dry on top, there is moisture further down. Moisture – received or expected – impacts where and when producers will start to plant wheat, with some waiting for that September shower and others willing to “dust it in” if there’s the potential for rain in the forecast.
Having that moisture available to get the wheat stand established is critical to the success of next year’s harvest, according to Brian Olson, head of K-State’s Western Kansas Research-Extension Centers.
“Hopefully, there’s enough there to get it up and get it going,” Olson said. “The last few years that has been a big problem – getting that establishing rain in the fall. And now we’ve got it in some areas, so farmers will hopefully capitalize on it.”
In addition to timing with moisture, producers also need to control volunteer wheat and weeds to prevent yield loss and disease, which will be especially important this year after failed fields and late summer rains that brought on substantial weed issues and late flushes of volunteer wheat.
“That canopy was open, and then the rains came on, and now we’ve had some weed issues out there – and that is a challenge,” Olson said. “We do have to stay on top of those weeds because they’re just robbing the moisture.”
Olson pointed to research being conducted by K-State at Tribune, Garden City and Hays on the benefits and tradeoffs of occasional tillage, about one pass every three or four years to try and control problematic weeds.
Linin noted his operation has had to make many adjustments during the last three years of drought, explaining they mixed up their management practices to include light tillage, chemical applications, and other practices to address different concerns in different fields. He also has been growing organic wheat, meaning he must think even more creatively about addressing those concerns. In turn, however, those solutions bring management ideas back to the conventional side of his farm.
“In some respects, I’d like to have our ground a little cleaner than it is – there are some of those annual weeds up out there, just real spotty, and I don’t like the way that looks,” Linin said. “We’ve got fields of all different stages, but we’re ready to go.”
Managing wheat fields for weeds and disease benefits not only next year’s yields, but also the other crops in the rotation.
“Wheat is a foundation for farmers to plant their summer crops into,” Olson said. “I’m a firm believer that wheat is the basis, and when we got good wheat residue out there, we have a good chance of raising the summer crop that next year.”
That rings true for Linin’s operation in northwest Kansas, who also noted wheat’s value in an overall crop rotation.
“There’s a lot of time between now and when we make a crop, but wheat is one of our most profitable crops,” Linin said. “It’s profitable not just in terms of dollars and cents, but also in terms of providing a good seedbed for whatever we’re going to do next year.”
Overall, as Linin and fellow Kansas wheat producers fire up their tractors to plant wheat, he is excited and optimistic about the upcoming growing season.
“I just hope everybody has good conditions and gets a good stand and a good start to this year’s crop,” Linin said. “Wheat is a good crop for us, and it really fits our rotation in our program well – and I wish the best of luck to everybody else.”
For the latest in K-State’s planting recommendations during the current year’s conditions, visit eupdate.agronomy.ksu.edu/. Producers can also access the latest resources for variety selection and performance data information from K-State at kswheat.com/wheatrx.
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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat
“Breast Cancer Can Affect Anyone”
My mother had 6 siblings, 16 aunts and uncles, and innumerable cousins. She was the first of them all to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
I think of my mom every time one of my patients tells me they aren’t concerned about breast cancer because it doesn’t run in their family. Unfortunately, that is true of most people who are diagnosed with the disease.
I also think of my mother every time I do a breast exam, or teach someone else how to do a self exam. Her breast cancer was one not detectable by the mammogram technology available in the early 2000s. Even today, with 3D mammograms, not all breast cancer can be seen on routine screenings. She found her cancer herself, by noticing a change in her breast. Her diagnosis was delayed, however, because, having had multiple previous biopsies that turned out to be “nothing,” she prioritized all the other things she had to do that spring over going to her doctor.
The importance of being vigilant for these changes is not limited to one gender. Although most breast cancer patients are female, approximately 1% are male. Anyone who notices a change in their breast should be seen by a clinician.
Breast cancer detection has changed dramatically since my mother was diagnosed. 3D mammograms, which present clearer images to the radiologist, are routine. Contrast Enhanced Spectral mammography and breast MRI offer new tools to high risk individuals, women with abnormal screening mammograms, and their health care teams. People known to be at high risk might take medication to reduce that risk, and might undergo more frequent imaging and exams. Genetic counseling and genetic testing help us identify those who could benefit from this close follow up.
Breast cancer treatment has also changed dramatically. Advances in surgical treatment have reduced the risk of post operative complications, such lymphedema: chronic swelling caused by the disruption in the flow of fluid through the lymph nodes. Specialized testing of a person’s cancer lets oncologists identify those patients most likely to benefit from chemotherapy. Conversely, it also lets them identify those who might skip it. New classes of medications offer hope even to people whose cancer has spread, and improve the tolerability and effectiveness of old medications. We’ve gotten better at helping patients, and their families, navigate the challenges that come with the disease and its treatments.
Many things in medicine have changed over the 25 years I’ve been practicing. The advances in cancer treatment may well be some of the most exciting. But some old wisdom still holds true: If you notice a change in your breast, please get it checked out. Even if you had a normal mammogram a few months ago.
Debra Johnson, M.D. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices family medicine in Brookings, South Dakota. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org and on Facebook featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show providing health information based on science, built on trust for 22 Seasons, streaming live on Facebook most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.
