Saturday, January 31, 2026
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The Good Nature of Humanity

By
Dylan Yoder
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Sometimes life can get us down. It can stress us out and put a little bit too much on our plates. But that doesn’t mean it’s all bad things. In reality, there are a lot of great things that happen throughout our lives, whether or not we’re paying attention. Feats of human ingenuity that enable people to live better, longer, and more healthily. If you focus on all of the bad things, that’s all you’ll see. But if we spend a little bit of time looking for the good in humanity, we’ll find that there’s quite a lot of it. With that being said, let’s list a couple of examples of goodness to get you started.

First of all, with some good news from our very own communities. In Wichita, a number of first responders have headed south to Florida, where hurricane relief efforts are being held. These brave souls traveled from different parts of Kansas to mobilize personnel in order to provide relief for individuals affected by Hurricane Helene. Over 220 individuals have died as a result of this storm and there’s little time to breathe afterward as Hurricane Milton barreled through Florida. All that being said, it doesn’t sound like a ton of good news. But despite the damage and the incredible amounts of risk at play, these brave individuals have chosen to travel into the Storm aftermath and help pick up the pieces for locals. Our wonderful EMS services are not only helping here at home but also helping people in places far off. That, to me, sounds like some mighty good news. I know that if I were ever to need it, there would be someone willing to help.

The good news doesn’t stop there though. In light of the recent increase in hurricane activity, engineers and architects alike have had to get creative. Developments of housing that is capable of withstanding a category 5 hurricane are not only underway, but also being put into place. We’re talking foundations of incredibly tough combinations of steel and concrete, and building the houses so that they can withstand wind that any tropical storm could throw at them. The only downside of this is that it is a little bit pricier, however, hopefully, such prices can be offset perhaps by the construction of apartment complexes, or lower cost of insurance.

It’s important to know that Florida is not the only victim of hurricane damage, North Carolina has received unprecedented levels of destruction on account of Hurricane Helene. But there’s also good news in that destruction too. Companies and organizations offered donations and volunteers as they began to clean up the wreckage of the storm that left over 200,000 people without power. Not only that, sports organizations like the Carolina Panthers have made incredible donations to hurricane relief efforts in their community. Many NFL teams in general have donated to the efforts. Teams such as the Atlanta Falcons, the Houston Texans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the NFL Foundation itself. Such efforts to restore other people’s places are admirable, and wonderful to say the least.

Overall these stories may bring some sadness to you with the destruction of so many homes and lives. But the sense of community and restoration truly shows the good nature that all of us have within us. In light of these stories, take some time today to help a friend in need. For it is in the darkest hours where we shine the brightest.

Urban lad’s cow description

By
Milo Yield
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0
Thayne Cozart
Milo Yield

It’s encouraging that many urban schools are making an attempt to introduce their students to agriculture, farming, ranching, natural resource conservation, and the ins and outs of their food supply.

Recently an urban school took a sixth grade class on a field trip to a local dairy farm. They were told in advance that each student had an assignment to write a short essay about what most interested him or her on the field trip.

One lad became fascinated with the Holstein dairy cows. He absorbed up every tidbit of information he heard from the dairy farmer about the dairy cows in his herd.

The next day when the lad turned in his essay, it wuz about what he learned about a dairy cow. Here’s his essay”

“A dairy cow is a completely automatic, living, breathing milk-manufacturing machine. It is encased in untanned leather that can be in varying colors or in black and white. It is mounted on four vertical, movable supports, one on each corner.

“The front end contains a food cutting and grinding mechanism, as well as the headlights, air inlet and exhaust, a bumper and foghorn.

“At the rear is the milk dispensing apparatus. There is a flexible main milk container. Hanging down from it are four milk dispensers that are mechanically manipulated to extract the milk two times a day — which flows automatically into a stainless steel refrigerated tank for cold storage.

“The central portion of the cow houses a hydro-chemical conversion plant. It consists of four fermentation and storage tanks connected in series by an intricate network of flexible plumbing. This section also contains the heating plant complete with automatic temperature controls, pumping station and main ventilating system. The waste disposal apparatus is at the rear under the tail, which serves as a built-in fly swatter.

“In brief conclusion, the externally visible features are: two lookers, two hookers,

four stand-uppers, four hanger-downers and a swishy-swishy.

“There is a similar critter known as a bull, which should not be confused with a cow. It produces no milk, but has other interesting uses involved in enabling the cow to produce baby cows — better known as calves.

“All things considered, the dairy cow is a marvelous animal that produces nutritious milk for humans to consume.’

***

A couple of weeks ago, I started naming and describing the multitude of friends I’ve written about in more than 50 years of writing this column. I received enuf favorable comments that I’m going to mention more friends in this column. Here they are:

A. C. Doocey, a gambler and electrician from Asbury, Mo.

The Reverend Raveon, a passionate minister to a rural congregation.

Oral Slick, an attorney.

Jacque Cass, a horse and mule trader.

Joe Blough, a rancher with a reputation as “windy.”

Cliff Hanger, a farmer just making it from year to year.

Pete Moss, an organic farmer

E. Z. Duzzitt, a friend of mine who mainly fishes in retirement.

Bass Ackwards, a farmer who is always a day late and a mile behind his neighbors.

Rollin P. Rarey, a Flint Hills cattleman.

Dan D. Akkers, a rural real estate agent

Dr. Gene Netics, a university animal breeder

Cullen Heavee, a dairy farmer breeding high performance cows

Early Wryser, a dairy farmer.

Noah Count, a politician

Salty Block, a feed store owner

Mrs. Fancy Stiles, a clothing store owner

Blackie Diamond, a watermelon farmer

Joe K. Stirr, a practical joke specialist

Herbie Gayshun, an irrigation farmer who applies weed killer in the water.

Ty T. Wadd, a rural banker

Gyde M. Childs, an FFA instructor

B. S. Moore, a farmer who always one-ups the conversation

Les N. Candid, a used car and truck dealer

And, lastly for this list, my uncle Bump R. Yield

***

Well, I’ve finally got another major project going at Damphewless Acres. A metal shop building on the back of our acreage got started last week. The concrete for the foundation and floor got poured. And, the framing for the sidewalls is about complete. Prior to the start of construction, our son-in-law, Harley Ryder, got a gravel road build to the building site.

My grandson and a friend are working on the shop on weekends, so it will be awhile before that shop/man cave is completed.

***

My fall second-gardening effort is turning out better than I expected, thanks to the warm weather and a late frost this fall. I’ve picked second-crop green beans, spinach, tomatoes, kohlrabi, Japanese radishes, yard-long beans, and peas. Plus, last week I picked and shucked about 50 ears of new-crop sweet-corn roasting ears. Yum. Yum. And, my fourth crop of regular radishes will be ready in about a week.

I’m about done with my dry beans. The pintos and the excess green beans are done and shelled. The yard-long beans are still producing. My only planting of okra is still producing and I’ve given a ton of it away to friends and neighbors.

***

Time for words of wisdom for this week. It’s a question. Here it is: “How did we old folks survive our childhoods when our mothers wiped our faces and ears with their spit on a hanky, not an antibacterial wipe. Plus, we drank water from a garden hose and rode in the back of pickup trucks with no safety harness?” Have a good ‘un.

Wheat Scoop: Warm, Dry Weather Dampens Kansas Wheat Planting Hopes

By
Guest Columnist
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Kansas Wheat

For audio version, visit kswheat.com.

Parched soil and warmer-than-average temperatures, combined with low prices, have dampened the hopes of Kansas producers who are dusting in their wheat crop. The climatic conditions don’t provide much hope for a change in the weather through the winter, leaving growers praying for spring showers.

 

“Last year, the state of Kansas planted 7.6 million acres of wheat. Early indications point towards this year being similar to slightly lower due to the challenging dry conditions and low cash prices,” said Justin Gilpin, Kansas Wheat CEO. “The dry fall has sped up fall harvest, extending the window for double-crop wheat behind corn and soybeans. Even if that is just for ground cover, it is going to need some fall moisture for any hope of establishment. “

 

Kansas producers have planted 52 percent of winter wheat acres, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service crop progress report for the week ending October 6, 2024. That planting progress is on pace with last year and the five-year average. Emergence was rated at 21 percent, near 24 percent both last year and on average.

 

Jason Ochs, who farms near Syracuse in Hamilton County, reported that they received moisture two to three weeks ago and all the wheat has emerged and has very good stands. Acres in the area appear to be pretty consistent with last year. However, it’s been hot, 80 to 95 degrees in October, and dry, so it’s going backwards fast.

 

“The wheat is coming on way too strong, in my opinion,” he said.

 

Temperatures that are 10 to 15 degrees warmer than average are a big concern. In addition to agronomic concerns about the wheat crop’s emergence, which is dependent on temperature, these higher-than-normal temperatures have additional impacts on the stressors for an emerging wheat crop.

 

“Temperatures are obviously warmer, so we have a higher moisture demand,” said Chip Redmond, K-State assistant meteorologist and Kansas Mesonet Manager. “We still have active growth in summer grasses and trees and that depletes overall residual soil moisture. With a late freeze, then we see an increase in insect stress because we’re not able to kill the pests off, force hibernation or help them migrate south out of the area. That increased stress leads to more damage potential as well.”

 

Insects were a major factor in the delay in planting in Barton County for Dean Stoskopf, who farms near Hoisington.

 

“We held off planting for several weeks because there was a high number of grasshoppers and armyworms,” he said. “That, with the hot, dry weather, has not made for the best planting conditions. In early planted wheat, folks used insecticides to try and suppress that pressure, but the extremely high number of grasshoppers would try and clean out fields as soon as it emerged where they did not.”

 

Stoskopf is about two-thirds done planting wheat, around 10 days behind average pace. Elsewhere in the county, some folks are done and others have barely started. That includes folks who are double-cropping behind soybeans and continuing to wait for moisture. Overall, acreage is steady compared to previous years.

 

Redmond noted a cooler period coming next week around October 14 or 15 could bring brief freezing conditions that would help with that pressure and bring in some cloud cover and maybe a couple of sprinkles to the far edges of the state. Still, those showers would be an anomaly, and he does not forecast any real moisture through the end of October. Additionally, opportunities for moisture appear limited even into the early winter months.

 

“And as we go into a period where we don’t get much precipitation – winters are when we climatologically average the least amount of moisture – we are unlikely going to recharge soil moisture for potentially the next three or four months,” he said. “We are definitely started to get concerned, not only on the agriculture side but also on the public water side, with drought expansion likely to continue with above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.”

 

This extension of drought conditions is driven by a combination of factors, namely the transition from El Niño to La Niña and the ongoing negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation. The El Niño Southern Oscillation, which is characterized by water temperatures in the East Equatorial Pacific, was warmer than normal last winter, in an El Nino status. This often means moisture for Kansas – like that observed last spring.

 

Redmond noted that those timely spring showers helped recharge soil moisture when and where they came. Now, however, those supplies are running low. NASS reported that, as of the week ending October 6, there is no surplus topsoil moisture with overall supplies rated at 25 percent very short, 24 percent short and 28 percent adequate. The same is true with subsoil moisture with no surplus, 23 percent very short, 48 percent short and 29 percent adequate.

 

Tanner Brown from Colby in Thomas County was waiting for the rain three weeks ago before starting to plant wheat, but they didn’t get much, so they started dusting it in. They’ve finished all the dryland wheat, but very little has emerged, and when you dig down, most hasn’t even sprouted. There is very little to no soil moisture and the top 1.5 feet is completely dry.

 

“The wheat will be pretty spotty when it does come up,” he said. “Overall, we have had pretty poor planting conditions.”

 

He expects acres in the area to be consistent with last year, but he has seen some wheat stubble going back into wheat and some fields with harvested corn stalks going into wheat, which is a bit surprising because of the continued dry conditions.

 

Those dry conditions are expected to continue in the near term, according to Redmond. El Niño waned with cooling water over the early summer with “neutral conditions” now observed. A transition into La Niña, cooler than normal waters in the same east Pacific region, is expected into the early winter. This usually signals dry conditions for Kansas and the central and southern United States. This La Niña period, however, is expected to not be as potent as previous episodes.

 

“But thankfully, La Niña is going to be weak and rather short-lived, expected to wane as we get into the spring and return to neutral conditions,” Redmond said. “So that’s good for us, meaning that maybe these conditions will be short-term in the climate realm. It’ll only be four or five months instead of years.”

 

While the weak La Niña event is expected to be short-lived, Redmond is more concerned with the negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which has persisted for 10 years. This means that waters in the north central Pacific Ocean are warmer than normal with cooler conditions in the eastern extent of the north Pacific, which will likely contribute to warm and dry conditions throughout the winter. His only hope – a strong typhoon forms in the far West Pacific, amplifies the jet stream and brings moisture back to the Midwest.

 

But until the pattern breaks down, there will not be a change to the warm, dry weather in the forecast. Still, Kansas producers will continue to meet these challenges the same way they always have – rely on proven genetics and agronomic practices, dust in the crop and pray for rain.

 

Track the latest developments on the Kansas wheat crop from planting to harvest at kswheat.com.

“Sometimes Your Hip Pain isn’t Your Hip”

By
Guest Columnist
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0

“Doc, my right hip has been bothering me. Do you think I need a new hip?”

“First, tell me more about your hip pain.”

 

Hip pain is a common complaint which can have a variety of causes. The first thing that comes to mind is arthritis of the hip joint. The hip is a ball and socket joint. The main upper leg bone, the femur, has a rounded top called the head. Under the head of the femur is the neck, which can often be what breaks when someone suffers a hip fracture. Arthritis and wear and tear over time can cause the cartilage in the ball and socket joint to break down and become thinner and irregular. This can cause pain especially with movement and walking.

 

A simple x-ray of the hip can help show signs of arthritis of the hip joint. Sometimes one can try physical therapy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, or perhaps a steroid injection to help calm down the inflammation and pain. Over time, if those efforts do not help enough or if the arthritis is advanced enough, sometimes a hip replacement may be beneficial.

 

However, when someone reports hip pain, it may not actually be their hip joint that is the problem. Arthritis of the low back, degenerative disc disease, sciatic nerve pain, lumbar stenosis, and other problems with the back can cause pain that feels like it is in the hip. Sometimes that pain is felt deep in the buttocks. Sometimes arthritis or inflammation of the sacroiliac joint, where the low back connects to the pelvis, can cause pain. This may often be felt as low back pain, but can present as hip pain.

 

Another cause of hip pain is bursitis or inflammation of the bursa sac located on the greater trochanter of the hip, the large upper outside edge of the femur where the neck connects to the shaft of the femur. You may be able to feel this hard area of your hip at your side. This is a common area for pain. While this pain is located at the hip, it is not coming from the hip joint. Our body has bursa sacs near bones in many places, essentially fluid-filled pads that can help protect the nearby bone and tendons and reduce friction between tissues of the body.

 

Greater trochanteric bursitis can result from a fall, repetitive motion, weakness of muscles, or be associated with some diseases. Usually rest, NSAIDs, time, and physical therapy can help it to improve. Exercises can help by strengthening the surrounding muscles which can decrease the rubbing and friction over the bursa sac. A steroid injection can often be helpful. Surgery is rarely needed.

 

Other causes of hip pain can be from a pelvic bone fracture, tendinopathy, a muscle strain, a labral tear, other musculoskeletal problems, constipation, infection, and rarely cancer. Thus, if you are suffering from hip pain, it may be time to see your medical provider, and start figuring out whether your hip is really the problem.

 

Andrew Ellsworth, MD. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices family medicine at Avera Medical Group in Brookings, South Dakota. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Threads. Prairie Doc Programming includes On

Call with the Prairie Doc®, a medical Q&A show (most Thursdays at 7pm streaming on Facebook), 2 podcasts, and a Radio program, providing health information based on science, built on trust.

Honey Bun Coffee Cake

By
Debbie Dance Uhrig
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0

This week calls for simplicity in my book of life. A little slower approach to the week, and a dish you can make for the office staff, before you go into work. Everyone enjoys a morning where another employee brings in a warm coffee cake or a batch of cinnamon rolls. It creates a good start for everyone, from the maintenance staff to the CEO. Plus, it has the ability to create a feeling of family or community, which aides in bringing people together.

The first time I enjoyed this yummy coffee cake was when one of my student’s mothers brought it in for me, while I was teaching school. When I realized how simple it was to create, plus a cinnamon brown sugar crumble, I was in hook, line and sinker. I’d like to see this young man again, perhaps I’ll try reaching out through messenger. He even created some of my cooking class covers when I was first getting started in the culinary field. His first name was Lane, and I can see he and his mom like it was only yesterday. Now everyone knows what I’m doing after the column.

When you approach your baking remember not to over stir the ingredients. I never had to worry about this issue because most of my cakes were always stirred by hand. I remember mom telling me how you don’t need to get out a mixer! Why dirty if up? When I first started using cake mixes the back of the box stated to stir it about 50 times or until things were well blended. If you take 50 strokes to the modern ‘KitchenAid’ we’re talking about a ‘few’ seconds in the mixer. When we walk across the room and leave it running; we are actually drying out the cake, by bringing in too much air.

I’ve had friends through the years whose baked goods were always dry. For a long time, I thought it was because they overbaked, in the oven. In reality it was dried out during the mixing, at the very beginning.

By the time you serve the cake you’d better have a big dollop of ice cream to accompany each serving.

When I was teaching; I remember a terribly dry chocolate cake, from the cafeteria. I poured a bit of Dr. Pepper over the cake & got it wet enough to swallow. I freaked out a couple teachers who thought I was nuts! The cake was so dry the only way to moisten it was to pour on a little liquid. In my grandma Lucy’s day, grandmother would make a little vanilla sauce to pour over a dry cake. when a cake became dry after sitting around a few days, Grandmother would make a little vanilla sauce to pour over the cake. The sauce was good, and we never wasted the cake!

Many of you are aware that I do a great deal of research both in my job and with my cooking. This week I was starting the preparations for a fall cooking class with our clients. The setting is a fall campfire and the simple foods that make cooking and the outdoors so much fun. The first thing most of us think of are roasting hot dogs. I don’t care how healthy we all try to be, there are times when I need a good hot dog with fried onions, relish and mustard. I sorta’ have a feeling a great deal of people feel the same way. Thus; the study on the preverbal hot dog began. The biggest things we need to watch in our hot dogs is the use of nitrates. We don’t want these nasties going into our bodies, you’ll find there are leading hot dog makers who still have nitrates in their products. I compare this to using store bought liquid smoke, which is filled with nitrates or purchasing an organic version, (on line) with absolutely no nitrates. Other things you may be seeking in a hot dog besides good flavor is texture, sodium, protein and about a zillion other issues. With so many people suffering from alfa-gal these days, you may be reaching for a chicken or turkey dog. Be very careful, and read the label thoroughly. You want to make sure you are eating real turkey or chicken. Your best choice would probably be to use the Oscar Meyer label or another label called, Applegate Naturals. If you need chicken or turkey hot dogs. Petit Jean hot

dogs and Nathan’s are also great all beef hot dogs. These hot dogs are ‘uncured’ another thing you are looking for in quality. If you have a Trader Joe’s near, you also might consider their products. The key thing I’m leading up to is watching for what is called MSM, mechanically separated meats. You don’t want this low-ball ‘sludge’ in your food. They pressure cook the bones after the quality meat has been rendered and actually pulverize it down, before they will use it in things like sausage, brats, hot dogs and canned meats. So, you are watching for Mechanically separated meats, uncured and nitrate free hot dogs. A few years ago, I had the most wonderful hot dogs, and I asked the cooks if they would tell me the brand. The hot dogs were Sam’s quarter pounders, wow, they were good. As the night progressed I could not quinch my thirst, I kept drinking all night. Today when I researched this hot dog, I can tell you the label had more sodium than any hot dog I have ever eaten, it crested to slightly over 1000 mgs. So now take a look at the sodium before purchasing your hot dogs! I would recommend all-beef franks as long as you can eat beef, over the turkey or chicken.

What happened here? I planned on a normal column, I started in on the hot dog research and poof, look where that went. Next time you’re invited to a campfire, volunteer to bring the hot dogs! You can even take the coffee cake because it’s so yummy it would also work for dessert. Happy Fall- Simply Yours, The Covered Dish.

Honey Bun Breakfast Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup oil, your choice

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon-

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix first 3 ingredients well. Pour into a greased 9 x 13- inch baking dish. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Swirl into the batter. Bake at 300 degrees for 40-60 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Mix the glaze together and pour over the cake while still warm. Serves 10-14 people.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Recipe shared by Carey Buckler

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