Thursday, January 15, 2026
Home Blog Page 84

Wheat Scoop: Kansas Wheat Variety Guide 2025

By
Guest Columnist
-
0
Kansas Wheat

Contact: Marsha Boswell, [email protected]

For the audio version, visit kswheat.com.

Selecting the right wheat variety is one of the most important decisions a producer makes each season. Variety choice directly impacts yield potential, standability, disease resistance and overall crop success. To help guide this decision, Kansas State University has released the 2025 Kansas Wheat Variety Guide, a resource designed to match varieties with the diverse growing conditions across the state.

 

This annual publication provides updated ratings for agronomic characteristics like maturity, height, drought tolerance and straw strength as well as resistance to different diseases and insects. The ratings are compiled from results of multiple field and greenhouse tests by both public and private wheat researchers.

 

Individual variety analysis includes these ratings along with pedigree, geographic adaptation, strengths and weaknesses. The guide also offers suggestions for how producers can use these ratings to minimize production problems and yield losses. That includes understanding how each variety performs across Kansas’ diverse regions and soil types.

 

To use the variety ratings, wheat producers should consider several factors.

 

Adaptation to geography: The agronomic characteristics of a wheat variety strongly influence its ability to provide consistent high yields. Varieties successful in western Kansas tend to have medium or medium-late maturity, medium or taller height and good drought tolerance. In contrast, varieties with earlier maturity, shorter height and acid soil tolerance are most successful in central Kansas.

 

Disease resistance: The 2025 guide highlights the continued importance of resistance to diseases such as wheat streak mosaic complex, leaf rust and stripe rust in western Kansas, while central and eastern Kansas often face pressure from additional diseases like soilborne mosaic, spindle streak mosaic, barley yellow dwarf, tan spot and Septoria tritici blotch. Wheat streak complex is now noted as an increasing concern in central Kansas. The guide includes a resistance summary that combines historical estimates of disease resistance with individual variety ratings to help producers compare options.

 

Special trait considerations: Growers should evaluate whether herbicide-resistant varieties are necessary. The 2025 guide includes updated details on Clearfield and CoAXium wheat production systems, both of which provide options for managing grassy weed pressure. These systems also come with special management considerations that producers must follow to maintain effectiveness.

 

In addition to management recommendations, the 2025 guide also features several new and notable varieties that may be of interest to Kansas producers. KS Bill Snyder stands out as a broadly adapted variety with strong yield potential in both western and central Kansas. It carries excellent resistance to stripe and leaf rust along with wheat streak mosaic resistance from the WSM2 gene, although it is susceptible to Fusarium head blight and Hessian fly. Another option for the western part of the state is KS Dallas, which offers good drought tolerance and wheat streak mosaic resistance. It has shown strong yield performance and is positioned as a replacement for Oakley CL, though it remains moderately susceptible to stripe rust.

 

For central Kansas, KS Mako has emerged as a variety with above-average drought tolerance, good protein levels and resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus. While it is susceptible to stripe rust and Fusarium head blight, it is one of the few central varieties that carries the valuable WSM2 gene. In western Kansas, KS Territory is another strong contender. This medium-tall variety offers resistance to both wheat streak mosaic and Triticum mosaic virus, giving it one of the strongest virus packages currently available. Its wide adaptability makes it a potential replacement for older varieties such as Tatanka and Oakley CL.

 

SY Monument, a variety from AgriPro, continues to be a popular option across central and western Kansas. Known for its strong straw strength and good test weight, it also carries solid resistance to stripe rust and leaf rust. While it does not have the newer virus-resistance genes, its consistency and broad adaptability have made it a reliable choice for many years. Another variety is WB 4401 from WestBred. This medium-maturity wheat has shown excellent performance in central and eastern Kansas, especially on well-drained soils. WB 4401 brings good standability, competitive protein levels and resistance to several key leaf diseases, though it remains moderately susceptible to Fusarium head blight.

 

These new and updated varieties reflect the growing need for resistance to virus complexes, stronger standability and adaptability across Kansas’ diverse growing regions.

 

The full 2025 Kansas Wheat Variety Guide and other resources are available at kswheat.com/wheatrx. Wheat Rx is a partnership between Kansas Wheat and K-State Research and Extension to disseminate the latest research recommendations for high-yielding and high-quality wheat to Kansas producers. These publications, like the wheat variety selection guide, are funded in part by wheat farmers through the Kansas Wheat check-off and are designed to address key management areas of hard winter wheat.

Peripheral Artery Screening: A Lifesaving Check-Up for Your Circulation

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

While you’ve likely had your blood pressure checked in your arm countless times, you may have never had it measured in your leg. Yet this simple and often overlooked screening can be critical for detecting restricted blood flow. If left untreated, inadequate blood flow could lead to serious complications including limb loss, disability or even death.

Many people are unaware of a common and serious condition known as peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD occurs when the arteries in your legs become narrowed or blocked due to plaque buildup, reducing blood flow to your lower limbs. This condition affects over 8 million Americans and is especially common in those over 60 or with a history of smoking, diabetes or heart disease.

PAD doesn’t always come with obvious symptoms, but when it does, they may include leg pain or cramping during walking (called claudication), numbness, cold feet or wounds on the legs or feet that are slow to heal. Unfortunately, because these symptoms can be subtle or mistaken for other issues like arthritis or aging, PAD is often overlooked, until it leads to serious complications like infections, non-healing wounds or even amputation.

PAD can be detected easily and painlessly with a simple screening called the ankle-brachial index (ABI). Although traditionally completed with a Doppler ultrasound, screening can be completed with an automatic blood pressure cuff. The ABI test compares the systolic blood pressure (the first number) in your ankle to the blood pressure in your arm. The whole process takes only a few minutes and can help identify if blood is not flowing properly to your legs.

Health care providers, including physical therapists, are trained to help identify conditions like PAD early. If we detect signs of reduced circulation through an ABI screening, well refer you to a medical provider for further evaluation. If PAD is diagnosed, treatment often begins with lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, increasing physical activity (especially walking) and managing other health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Physical therapy can play a key role in treatment. One of the most effective approaches is supervised exercise therapy, which has been shown to improve walking distance, reduce symptoms and enhance overall cardiovascular health. In a supervised setting, physical therapists guide patients through structured walking programs, gradually improving circulation and tolerance to activity in a safe, monitored environment. In some cases, medications or procedures may be needed to improve blood flow.

Screening for PAD is especially important because many people don’t know they have it until it’s advanced. Early detection can prevent serious outcomes and allow you to keep moving and living independently.

If you’re over 60, have diabetes, smoke or have a family history of cardiovascular disease, consider asking your health care provider or physical therapist about ABI screening. It’s quick, non-invasive and could make a life-saving difference.

Your legs have something important to tell you. Make sure you’re listening.

Adam Ladwig, Ph.D., DPT, is an associate professor at the University of South Dakota where he teaches cardiovascular and pulmonary physical therapy as well as differential diagnosis. He has 13 years experience as a clinician and maintains practice in rural South Dakota.

Jed Droge, DPT, is an assistant professor at the University of South Dakota, where he teaches a variety of subjects, including differential diagnosis, to entry-level physical therapy students. He has 15 years experience as a clinician, primarily in rural Nebraska. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.orgFacebook, 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 (on SDPB), providing health information based on science, built on trust

KU News: Study finds high levels of social infrastructure lead to healthier communities

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

From the Office of Public Affairs | https://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected]
Study finds high levels of social infrastructure lead to healthier communities

LAWRENCE — The United States spends significant amounts of money on health care every year, yet health outcomes have been declining. Scholars have long known that where a person lives, what they do for a living and other factors influence health, but new research from the University of Kansas has found that high levels of social infrastructure are associated with healthier communities.

Despite declining health outcomes across the country, some counties are consistently healthier than others. Using a social determinants of health theoretical framework, the researchers developed a multidimensional measure of social infrastructure and examined its relationship to public health outcomes. They found that communities with higher levels of social infrastructure — measured as social, human and cultural capital — also had better health outcomes.

Poor health outcomes in the United States are often described as a “wicked problem” in public affairs scholarship.

“This is something the U.S. has been going in the wrong direction on for quite a while. When people think about health, they often think of health care,” said Dorothy Daley, professor in the School of Public Affairs & Administration and the Environmental Studies Program at KU, one of the study’s authors. “That is actually just one small part of how healthy a person is. Where you live, where you work, where you go to school all shape your health, and we’re finding cultural capital can as well.”

For the study, researchers assembled and analyzed data from a variety of existing sources. Local health data was drawn from the County Health Ranking and Roadmap project. Social infrastructure measures were constructed using data measuring a range of civic organizations (social capital), educational attainment (human capital) and density of local arts organizations (cultural capital).

“Social infrastructure matters when it comes to public health outcomes, just like other factors we might think of more often like air quality,” said lead author Alisa Moldavanova, an associate professor at the University of Delaware who earned her doctorate from KU. “There was literature showing that people who engage in the arts form connections and have good health outcomes, but there were not studies on community-level outcomes and social infrastructure or its influence on a macro scale.”

The findings indicated that communities with more cultural capital are also more likely to have a higher percentage of residents in good health. The study’s authors say it both helps develop the concept of social infrastructure and its role in public health as well as testing the relationship among public health and social, human and cultural capital pillars of the concept.

The study, written by Moldavanova, Daley and John Pierce, affiliate professor of public affairs & administration at KU, was published in the journal The American Review of Public Administration.

Overall, the results show that the percentage of people reporting fair or poor health declines as the density of social, human and creative cultural capital increases. Social, human and cultural capital are results of multigenerational public and private investment, and their association with better health outcomes suggest policy should support all three to help achieve better public health, the authors wrote.

Often, especially in times of limited budgets, localities tend to focus on infrastructure like transit, bridges and utilities. And in terms of health care, policy often focuses on numbers of hospitals, beds available and numbers of health care professionals. While all of those are important, the findings show long-term community investment in social infrastructure, including arts and cultural capital, can have long-term, wide-ranging benefits, including improved public health.

“We should be mindful as policymakers of supporting cultural infrastructure,” Moldavanova said. “It provides a sense of well-being at the community level. Even in communities without top-notch hospitals, the connection has positive effects. We shouldn’t be only looking at hospitals and physicians when thinking about health outcomes.”

-30-

————————————————————————

 

KU News Service

1450 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence KS 66045

[email protected]

https://www.news.ku.edu

 

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Poolside Summer Beverage

By
Debbie Dance Uhrig
-
0

This column began with a good cup of decaf, (it is late in the evening) and a day of total rest. I can’t say I accomplished a great deal over my weekend, but restful, it has been.

I’ll start by saying it has been a remarkable week. I had the privilege of being a part of the entourage to accompany my son’s fiancée, as she chose her wedding dress. It was an honor, and one that I will always remember. Seeing the smile on her face when she put on what became ‘the dress’, was a memory maker, in the journey towards marriage.

Ervin and I have been lucky to have a son that has blessed out lives to the utmost. Now he is adding to his life with a wonderful mate, and a daughter we have loved since he first brought her home. Indeed, a week to cherish.

During the heat of summer it is rather fun to bring a refreshing beverage to a gathering,

especially when the ingredients are simple and easy to prepare. I got a chuckle at myself when I read the note in my own cookbook saying this recipe came from one of my Baptist friends! Perhaps it’s a good thing that I have no idea who that friend was at the time.

I’m sure you could switch out the Sprite soda for another white sparkling drink. For the pineapple coconut rum I would probably reach for the Rum Chata brand. If you make a full batch of this beverage you will have enough for 13, 8-ounce cups. The one thing you will want to remember is if the soda pop is put in from the very beginning you won’t be able to save the leftovers. So; I’m thinking I’ll type out the full recipe for you and then only a quarter of the recipe. Remember the pineapple juice can be purchased in small cans too. With many warm days left ahead I’m sure you’ll have no problem using

up the remaining dry lemonade mix.

How do we make this into a non alcoholic beverage? Probably implement some coconut milk and rum extract. You can also use a product called Coco Vana which would solve the alcohol free issue. Another nice entertaining tip would be to freeze some of the first 3 ingredients: pineapple juice, lemonade and water. This is like freezing ice tea cubes, it keeps the beverage from diluting.

For an easy garnish I would consider a pineapple spear with toasted coconut on the rim, perhaps a cherry for a pop of color.

Summer Poolside Drink Summer Poolside Drink

13 Servings 3 servings

48 ounces pineapple juice 12 ounces pineapple juice

1 cup dry lemonade mix ¼ cup dry lemonade mix

2 cups cold water ½ cup cold water

2 cans of sprite soda (12oz ea.) ¾ cup sprite soda pop

Pineapple Coconut Rum Pineapple Coconut Rum

Start with 1 ¼ cups 3-4 ounces to start/6-8 tablespoons

Single servings

½ cup pineapple juice

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dry lemonade mix

2 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons sprite

2-3 tablespoons of Pineapple Coconut Rum

Do the sip and taste method on the addition of the alcohol. I started the recipe with 1 ¼ cups of rum chata but you could increase to as much as 1 ¾. One last tip, don’t use diet soda, you will be disappointed.

Farm youth ingenuity

By
Milo Yield
-
0
Thayne Cozart
Milo Yield

A farm lad going to the nearby land-grant university wuz majoring in agribusiness. and marketing. He earned an internship at a well-known implement dealership and on his first day wuz placed with the company’s finance manager to learn the ropes about financing and collections.

The finance manager told the kid, “The fastest way to learn is to get right into the middle of collections. Collections is the only way our financing plans work. I like you and your grade point indicates that you’ve got smarts, so I’ll make you a deal. Here’s the address and phone number for one of our roughest past due accounts. He’s way behind on his payments. If you can collect on this one, I’ll let you spend the rest of your internship helping me make loans. That’s a lot more fun than collections.”

So, the manager tossed the kid the keys to a company pickup and said, “Good luck. Come talk to me when you get back.”

Three hours later the kid came back and reported to the finance manager, “I got him to pay his entire back bills in full. Here’s the certified check.”

The amazed finance manager said, “Just how in the heck did you do that? I’ve tried every trick in the book and made every kind of threat on that deadbeat — to no avail.”

“Easy,” the kid replied. “I told him that if he didn’t pay up, I’d tell all his other creditors that he paid us!”

***

A kindly reader from Colorado helped me out with this column. She ranches somewhere in the Rockies and she sent me a list of the ways “a wife knows she’s married to a rancher when…..”

Here’s her list:

• You know you’re married to a rancher when a stranger comes to ask directions and that stranger is now a friend who sits at the table for supper.

• You open the door in the truck and even the dog dashes for the middle seat — and you’re left to open the gates.

• Your husband has the car, gets home late, and you have to get to town before the bank closes and pick up a few things at the grocery store. So you jump in the car before he can say a word, and off to town you go, but when you open the trunk to put in the groceries you find a road kill that hubby plans to skin and sell the hide.

• After a hard spring day of stone picking, as he dozes off to sleep you ask, “Do you have a suggestion for a name when the new baby arrives. He sleepily answers, ‘Rocky for a boy and Pebbles for a girl.

• Your gifts are all useful and all tax deductible, too.

• You send your daughter down to the freezer for the frozen orange juice you froze in the pop bottle and she thaws the colostrum for supper.

• Your kitchen utensils disappear one by one.

• You find the slow cooker in the mud room warming up the colostrum.

• You find the hand cleaner for the kitchen sink in the sinkdownstairs.

• You put up the back seat of your little car, but it just doesn’t fit right and you find out it’s because of the oxygen tank hubby decided to pick up in town.

• You can never find the car seat for the little one. It’s either in the 4230 or the ATV.

***

While mowing the grass in our yard and around my gardens, I’ve come to realize the awesome powers of giant foxtail.

First, it thrives in drought.

Second, it also thrives in saturated soil.

Third, it grows as fast as asparagus.

Fourth, it never needs fertilization and will flourish in any soil.

Fifth, it’s has astonishing reproductive powers — producing heavy seed heads at least bi-weekly.

Sixth, it must be highly nutritious because I’ve cleaned wild turkeys with their craws filled with foxtail seed and I’ve watched geese and their goslings gobble up foxtail by stripping the seed heads with their bills.

And, seventh, by letting giant foxtail go to seed before frost, it very predictably re-seeds itself every year and isn’t fazed by repeat harvests on the same soil.

So, then I got to thinking how modern agriculture could harness all those magnificent giant foxtail traits to benefit farmers and consumers.

With all the successful genetic manipulations of plants I read about regularly, why can’t some genetic research team slice the good genes from giant foxtail and splice them into wheat?

What we’d end up with is wheat varieties that have multiple harvests each season, that produce in both drought and wet periods, is highly nutritious, re-seeds itself every year, and eliminates the need for crop rotation. It would be the perfect profitable crop for farmers that helps feed a hungry world, too.

***

Words of wisdom for the week: “Ya’ gotta do what ya’ gotta do now to eventually do what ya’ wanna do.”

Take care. Be safe. And, have a good ‘un.

1...838485...4,776Page 84 of 4,776

Kansas News, Auctions & Classifieds

Trending

Categories

© Rural Messenger