The USDA Farm to School Program has issued a new, two-page fact sheet, Local Meat in Schools: Increasing Opportunities for Small and Mid-Sized Livestock Ranchers and Fishermen. The fact sheet presents examples, tips, and information for putting local meat on school menus.
Click here to see fact sheet.
Adult Co-ed Volleyball League
Get your friends, co-workers, family, church members, etc. for CRC’s Co-ed Volleyball League. T-shirts are awarded to the winner of league play. Teams must submit entry fee by the deadline & rosters before first game.
Game Dates: Sunday Afternoon/Evenings, November 2-December 14
Location: Cheney Middle School Gym
Fee: $90.00 team
Age: High School & older
Deadline: Friday, October 17
Photo Credit: Dean Jackson
Rader is recognized for his significant contributions to bird conservation, education
PRATT – If you’ve ever cracked open an issue of Kansas Wildlife & Parks magazine and read the “Bird Brain” column, you’ve learned about birds from Mike Rader. If you’ve ever attended an EcoMeet or Kansas Archery in the Schools event, Rader played a pivotal role in that. If you’ve ever teamed up on a bird count conducted by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), chances are Rader showed you the way. It’s these contributions and so many more that make it no surprise that Rader, Wildlife Education Coordinator for KDWPT, was named Avian Conservationist of the Year by the Kansas Ornithological Society (KOS). Rader received the award at the fall meeting, Oct. 3-5, and if you ask his nominator, Chuck Otte, there couldn’t have been a more deserving person to recognize.
The KOS’s Avian Conservationist of the Year Award is given each year to an individual who has made significant contributions to bird conservation and/or education; Rader has done this and more.
“Conserving our avian resources has become Mike’s life long, all-consuming work,” said Otte, Geary County KSU extension agent and past KOS president. “Certainly, Mike’s birding is his passion, but making sure that we still have birds to watch has become his driving force.”
“Mike spends considerable time working on projects that will benefit birds and all wildlife, and helping other people learn more about the wildlife around them,” said Otte. “He has turned us into better conservationists.”
Apart from KOS, Rader also serves a member of the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education.
For more information on KOS and the Avian Conservationist Award, visit ksbirds.org.
For more information on KDWPT’s wildlife education programs, visit ksoutdoors.com and click “Services,” then “Education.”
Source: Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
Nutritious meals are available and you don’t even need to cook.
Plan to join others for a balanced lunch at the Cheney Senior Center.
Pre-registration is required and Meals on Wheels is available for those that cannot come to the Center.
Fee: $2.00
Contact: Reservations the day before requested. Call 542-3721
cover photo – David Saddler
Fulbright Distinguished Chair John Pluske is studying antibiotic-resistant bacteria in swine.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Imagine you’re a scientist and have spent your career looking for answers to mysteries that affect animal health. And then you have the opportunity to share your findings with peers in another part of the world, as well as learn from their research.
That is where John Pluske is, as he works with Kansas State University’s Department of Animal Sciences and Industry and College of Veterinary Medicine as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Pluske, a professor in the Murdoch University School of Veterinary and Life Sciences in Perth, Australia, is the first Fulbright Chair to study in K-State’s animal science department. His time at K-State began in August and extends into January, 2015.
Working with K-State researchers and extension specialists, he is studying antibiotic resistant populations of selected bacteria in the gut of swine associated with the use of alternative microbial feed additives.
At Murdoch, his research interests include swine nutrition and the digestive physiology of pigs, particularly piglets and weanling pigs, the interrelationships between nutrition and enteric diseases of pigs in the absence of antimicrobial compounds, and the roles that nutrition and the environment play in modifying immune function and the gastrointestinal bacterial ecosystem.
The cultural exchange and opportunity to have a world-renowned researcher in K-State’s swine group, as well as in the department and at the university, is providing tremendous insight about Australia, its swine industry, and research and funding mechanisms, said Mike Tokach, swine extension state leader with K-State Research and Extension.
“That’s a huge benefit,” Tokach said. “The Fulbright also provides the opportunity to interact with Dr. Pluske as a researcher and involve him in our work. We have involved John in our research planning meetings and plan to develop proposals to continue working together after he finishes his Fulbright and returns to Australia.”
During his time in Kansas, Pluske is presenting seminars to different groups, sharing information about his professional experiences, Australia, and the pork industry.
He will present Livestock Agriculture: Perspectives, Challenges and the Australian Experience http://www.k-state.edu/provost/enrichment/lecture/2014-15/pluske.html on Oct. 24 as part of K-State’s 2014-2015 Provost Lecture Series.
Story By: Mary Lou Peter
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