No. 2939
June 11, 2008

CONTENTS:

Comments From the Dean
     - Entrepreneurship
     - Water Web Content Team
Medicare Contact Information
Personnel Changes
UNL Campus Corner
Extension Educator - Crop Production and Natural Resource Systems, Dakota, Dixon and Thurston Counties
Promoting Extension Events in eXtension
Measuring Extension Program Outcomes for Animal Agriculture Programs
Emergency Preparedness Kits
Event Calendaring System Training for County Faculty and Staff on June 25 via Breeze
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory 9th Annual Open House
Insect Photography Workshop: Saturday, June 21
General Distribution Publications
CPI Database Worksheet

Comments From the Dean:

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is an important issue for Nebraska and the future of Nebraska communities. Over the past several months, Beth Birnstihl, Rolando Flores, Mark Gustafson, Connie Reimers-Hild, Marilyn Schlake, Sandy Scofield, and Weldon Sleight have been serving on an NU committee that has been developing outcomes for how the entire university system can be involved in entrepreneurship efforts and best support the long-term growth of Nebraska’s economy. They have presented their work to the NU Board of Regents and will be in on-going dialogue on this effort. Long-term goals being discussed include:

- Investment of dollars in new businesses

- New jobs created

- Retention of Youth

- Startup of Entrepreneurial Businesses

- Students who compete favorably in a competitive workforce

We believe UNL Extension has a strong role to play in the success of these outcomes. A work team led by Kathleen Lodl and Rick Koelsch has began to develop a plan for how extension can best contribute and what our role might be. We wanted to keep you abreast of what is occurring within the system; more information will be forthcoming. Thanks to all of you who are supporting these efforts. It is part of helping individuals and communities develop the “Know How” to be successful.

Water Web Content Team

As many of you know, we have a team developing a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln Web site devoted to water issues. Although this originally began as a UNL Extension site, the site is being expanded to include expertise from elsewhere in the university. That will make this site even more helpful to Nebraskans looking for the most complete information. Already, a number of you are excited about the site and eager to start promoting it to the public. However, we’re not quite ready due to recent expansion developments.

- Please do NOT promote the old working address (nebraskawater.unl.edu). It will be phased out, and we don’t want to create any confusion.

- The Web address for the expanded site will be water.unl.edu – succinct, easy to remember. But, please do not promote this new address just yet.

We still have both technical and content issues to resolve as a result of the expansion, and CIT staff are working on a marketing plan that will roll out in phases. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing previews of the site with some key Extension partners in an attempt to get feedback. Inevitably, word of the site will “get out,” and that’s OK. I’m pleased that so many people already are “talking up” the Web site. One key target event for promotion will be Husker Harvest Days.

If you have any questions about this, please contact Sharon Skipton, leader of the content team.

Elbert C. Dickey

Medicare Contact Information

In partnership with the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), UNL Extension has been providing on-going education to Medicare beneficiaries and their families. During the past three years, Extension has helped over 500 families save an estimated $375,000. Several Extension staff have undergone extensive training in Medicare education; their expertise includes educating beneficiaries and their family members in Medicare Prescription Drug (Part D) comparisons and enrollment, other Medicare benefits, limited income assistance, Social Security and general information about signing up for Medicare. The following is a list of Extension staff currently working with Medicare education. Please forward contact information to clients as necessary: Mary Ann Holland, Cass Co.; Mary Loftis, Burt Co.: Carla Mahar, Deuel-Garden Cos.; Jeanne Murray, Box Butte Co.; Sandy Preston, Dixon Co.; Ann Fenton, Pierce Co.; Nancy Frecks, Chase, Dundy, Hayes, Hitchcock Cos.; Eileen Krumbach, York Co.; Sue Pearman, Central Sandhills; Sonya Glup, Boone-Nancy Cos.; Deb Schroeder, Cuming Co.; and Ruth Vonderohe, Cedar/Knox Cos. Judy Weber, retired Extension Educator, is helping coordinate the Medicare Education Project.

Kathleen Lodl

Personnel Changes

Listed below are Extension personnel changes that have occurred recently. If we have missed someone who is new or who has left our system, please contact Keith Niemann.

New to Extension:

Judson Vasconcelos, Feedlot and Nutrition Management Specialist, Panhandle Research & Extension Center
Judson, a Brazil native, received a degree in veterinary medicine in 1998 and spent several years working for an American nutrition company based in Brazil. Industry connections steered him to Texas, where he received a master’s degree from West Texas A&M in 2004, a doctorate from Texas A&M University in 2006 and a postdoctorate in Beef Cattle Feedlot Nutrition, Health and Management from Texas Tech University in 2008. Vasconcelos will be responsible for conducting extension and research programs focused on feedlot cattle production. He also will be faculty supervisor for the newly expanded Panhandle Research Feedlot at Scottsbluff.

Kaye Mussman, 4-H Assistant, Thayer County
Kay’s past experiences are helping her husband on the farm for 20+ years and 6 1/2 years in food service. Kay’s current position is a part-time 4-H Assistant in Thayer County where her main focus will be school enrichment. Kay is a piano accompanist for Meridian High School and a church organist. Kay and her husband Alan live on a farm near Alexandria and have two grown daughters, Dena (23) and Leah (20).

Twig Marston, District Director, Northeast Research and Extension Center
Twig graduated with a B.S. in Animal Science and Industry from Kansas State University in 1977. In 1991 he received his M.S. in Animal Breeding and Genetics from Kansas State University and in 1993 his Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition from Oklahoma State University. Twig’s past employment experiences include working on the family farm and ranch, ranch manager for a seedstock operation, beef nutritionist for a Midwestern feed company, area livestock specialist in Garden City, KS, and Extension Beef Specialist at KSU.

Leah Sandall, Extension Assistant, Pesticide Education
Leah graduated with a B.S. in Agronomy in 2001 and M.S. in Plant Breeding and Genetics in 2005. Both of these degrees came from UNL. Leah most recently worked with DuctMedic in Lincoln, NE, supporting franchisees and developing training materials. Currently, Leah will assist with the creation of educational materials (curricula, NebGuides and video programs) to support the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP). Leah's primary focus will be the online delivery of the PSEP. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking in the mountains, and spending time with family and friends.

Left Extension:

Kent Been, Red Willow County
Kathleen Pittack, Antelope County
Seth Watson, Plant Pathology

Transferred:

Tim Lemmons from Pierce, Madison & Wayne Counties to Cass County
Lisa Poppe from Extension Assistant to Extension Educator in Dodge County

Keith Niemann

UNL Campus Corner: Promotional Merchandise

If you are interested in ordering promotional merchandise, two offices on campus can help with your needs. The basic information for each is listed below, and a more thorough set of information will be sent to the All County listserve. If you have any questions or need any clarification, please feel free to contact Lila Tooker at ltooker2@unl.edu or 402-472-6680.

1. The N Shop: Carries a variety of standard merchandise, all of which feature the Academic N. If you need a small quantity of gift items or a larger number of items without a departmental identification, please contact the N Shop. The N Shop accepts campus requisitions, check, or credit cards and will ship merchandise if requested. Please send or fax a requisition regardless of payment type, since this will serve as the order form. See www.unl.edu/nshop for more information, pictures of the merchandise and the downloadable requisition. Note that new items are being added, and pictures are in the process of being updated.
Contact: Vi Schroeder
Phone: 402.472.3543
Fax: 402.472.9289

2. Printing and Copy Services: Provides help in ordering promotional merchandise that is to be personalized with the name of a unit or department. Printing and Copy Services can also assist if you want to order mass quantities of an item. They have a showroom at 1700 Y Street where they have samples of promotional merchandise from four vendors and have catalogs on site to review. Need help with finding just the right item and/or finding an approved vendor? Printing and Copy Services can help. Questions can be directed to the contact listed below.
Contact: Charlotte Boe
Phone: 402.472.7824
Fax: 402.472.2144

Lila Tooker

Extension Educator - Crop Production and Natural Resource Systems, Dakota, Dixon and Thurston Counties

Full-time, non-tenure leading, faculty position located in Concord, NE, and serving Dakota, Dixon and Thurston counties. This position will provide strong regional leadership and educational programs of excellence in Crop Production and Natural Resources Systems and will include responsibilities in Youth Development.

Required Qualifications: Master’s degree with one degree in Crop Production, Natural Resources or closely related field. Outstanding teaching skills, excellent oral and written communication skills and experience with computer and information technologies. Criminal history background check will be conducted. Must meet driver standards according to UNL policy and have a valid driver's license.

Review of applications will begin on 7/7/08. Position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found or search is closed. For a detailed job description, additional preferred qualifications and how to apply, go to http://employment.unl.edu and search for requisition #080287.

UNL is committed to a pluralistic campus community through affirmative action, equal opportunity, work-life balance and dual careers.

Trish Dezort

Promoting Extension Events in eXtension

eXtension provides a calendar system for Extension-related educational programs. It is an opportunity to see what your peers are doing around the U.S. as well as promote your own programs in the eXtension environment. From the early indications, eXtension is attracting a large and diverse population. Getting your events on the front page of an eXtension community of practice (CoP) relevant to your subject matter will contribute to an overall marketing effort for your extension programs.

To add an event, go to http://events.extension.org/. Adding an event is very easy. Instructions can be found at http://extension.unl.edu, click on "Employee Resources" (bottom of screen), then click on "Instructions to Add an Event to Calendar" under eXtension. Instructions for a variety of eXtension activities are found at this location.

To view your event on the public site, simply go to http://www.extension.org, click on the CoP to which you assigned your event (right-hand column) and then scroll down to the Calendar heading for this specific CoP.

We hope you are creating links from your Web site to eXtension national resources. Here are two more CoPs to which your Web page might link:

eXtension - Entrepreneurs and Their Communities
The eXtension Web site Entrepreneurs and Their Communities (http://www.extension.org/entrepreneurship), is dedicated to effectively serving the information and educational needs of entrepreneurs and strengthening the capacity of community leaders and citizens to foster and sustain the entrepreneurial dimensions of their local economies.

eXtension - Just in Time Parenting
Finding reliable parenting information can be a challenge. eXtension Just in Time Parenting (http://www.extension.org/parenting) is an outreach innovation that brings quality, research-based information to families at the time it can be most useful and make the biggest difference in their lives.

Sheryl Burbach and Rick Koelsch

Measuring Extension Program Outcomes for Animal Agriculture Programs

The Livestock sub-group of the Food Production and Natural Resources Action Team has developed a statewide evaluation tool for the outcomes identified in our Action Plan. The purpose of this tool is to allow statewide reporting of UNL Extension accomplishment for the outcomes in the Action Plan and to assist faculty in evaluating impact of individual programs. Our plan is to implement this tool starting July 1, 2008.

We will host two information meetings to introduce this tool and answer questions about its potential application. Those meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, at 2 p.m. CDT and Friday, June 20, at 10 a.m. CDT. We ask that all educators and specialists implementing educational programs for animal producers or advisors in 2008-09 attend one of these discussion sessions. Program should require about 30 minutes.

Audio connection: 1-800-562-1577 or 2-0639
Web connection: http://breeze.unl.edu/extadmin
Date: Wednesday, Jun 18, 2 p.m. CDT or
Friday, June 20 at 10 a.m. CDT

Rick Koelsch

Emergency Preparedness Kits
From: Abigail Borron, EDEN Communication Specialist

An important preparedness step, and the first one we will focus on, is Get a Kit. When putting together a kit, it’s essential to plan for a variety of emergencies. Organizations like FEMA and DHS offer planning materials that can be used to create an effective and efficient kit.

Provided are a list of available resources that can be tailored to specific audiences that may seek help from extension during a disaster or emergency. Keep in mind that working with your local Office of Emergency Management or Citizens Corps Council during events could be helpful in educating others most effectively.

Kits for Kids – This material would be appropriate to disperse at back-to-school nights, libraries, after-school programs, club meetings, etc.
Emergency Financial Planning Kit – This is appropriate information for local families, small business owners, Extension educators, and financial planners.
American Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Kits – American Red Cross provides a list of supplies needed to sustain an adult for three days. This information would be helpful to a variety of audiences.
Personal Workplace Disaster Supplies Kit – This kit is great for employees who in the case of an emergency would be forced to stay in the office environment for several hours extra or even overnight.
Animal Safety – A preparedness kit is essential to the health and safety of pets during a disaster situation. Consider working with local shelters or pet stores to inform the community.
Ready America: Get a Kit – DHS provides a resource checklist that is very easy to understand and ensures efficiency of a disaster preparedness kit. This would be appropriate information to many audiences.

Motivation - A Success Story
“Ready ... Pack ... Go” Campaign – A program in Fairfax County, Virginia, in which the campaign used faith-based leaders to engage the community and encourage emergency preparedness.

As I had stated in my last email, please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions about the provided material. In addition, feel free to share with me materials from your institution you would like to make available to the rest of EDEN.

As always, additional materials are available on the EDEN National Preparedness Month Web page
(http://www.eden.lsu.edu/npm).

Rick Koelsch

Event Calendaring System Training for County Faculty and Staff on June 25 via Breeze

We would like to invite county faculty and staff or any others interested to attend the Adobe Connect (Breeze) training on the Event Calendaring System on June 25 from 10-11 a.m. Topics to be covered include:

Creating and Editing Events
     - tips for entering multi-day events and repeating events
Sharing events with another calendar
     - copying events from another calendar onto your calendar
     - requesting your events be placed on another calendar
Tips on calendar settings
Q & A time

To participate in the "Count Event Calendaring System" training, you will need a computer with Internet access and a phone. At the meeting time, simply click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser to enter the meeting:

http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/nebraska/

When you go to that URL. you will find yourself at a login page. Simply click on “Click to Enter” under the “Enter as a guest” heading. You will then be prompted for your name. Enter your name and click “Enter” to enter the meeting space. The instructions that detail how to join the integrated phone audio conference will be on the screen when you join the meeting.

Anytime before the meeting, you can visit the following URL to confirm your ability to connect to the Breeze server:

http://breeze.extension.iastate.edu/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

Pam Peters and Linda Tempel

University of Nebraska–Lincoln Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory 9th Annual Open House

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory 9th Annual Open House will be held on Wednesday, August 27, 2008, at Whitman, NE. The event will feature a wide variety of university-sponsored activities and commercial exhibits geared toward rangeland management and the beef cattle industry. A tentative agenda can be found at the GSL Web site: http://westcentral.unl.edu/GSL/openhouse/index.htm.

Gudmundsen is located three miles north and five miles east of Whitman.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. MDT, with activities scheduled through 3 p.m. There is no charge to attend, but an RSVP by Friday, August 22, 2008, is requested for a complimentary lunch. To RSVP, please call 308/696-6701, 800/657-2113, or e-mail eheil@unlnotes.unl.edu.

Jerry Volesky

Insect Photography Workshop: Saturday, June 21

On Saturday, June 21, 9 a.m.-noon, UNL Extension will present an Insect Photography Workshop at the Lancaster Extension Education Center, 444 Cherrycreek Road in Lincoln. Jim Kalisch, UNL Department of Entomology, will share his knowledge about close-up photography. Jim, a regular on UNL's Backyard Farmer, is an accomplished insect photographer. John Zrust, Rockbrook Camera, will bring cameras and discuss the types of equipment that work best for close-up photography.

Topics covered will include camera features/settings and equipment, basics of close-up photography, lighting, getting insects to cooperate and much more. Attendees should bring their camera to practice what they learn.

Cost of this workshop is $30/person or $40 for couples sharing a reference book. A registration form can be found at: http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/PhotoWorkshop.shtml

It is expected attendees will have a basic understanding of photographic principles but need help taking good close-up photos. Ages 14-17 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Contact Barb Ogg with questions (402-441-7180; bogg1@unl.edu).

Barb Ogg and Jim Kalisch

General Distribution Publications

EC823        2008 Nebraska Farm Custom Rates – Part I

EC826        2008 Nebraska Farm Custom Rates – Part II

CD8            Credit Card Blues at 22

Lisa Jasa

CPI Database Worksheet

DEFINITION OF CATEGORIES

New	--	Publications never listed on database
Revised	--	Publications listed in which content has been changed or updated and will replace older copies
Delete	--	Remove publication record from the CPI database, publication is out of print. Do not discard old copies, use until existing supplies are exhausted.
Destroy	--	Remove publication record from the CPI database, publication is out of print. DISCARD OLD COPIES, CONTAINS OBSOLETE INFORMATION, DO NOT USE
Corrections	--	Lists publication records that exist on current database but require revision of some sort (i.e. title, price code, price, subject, Department corrections, etc.)
Out of Stock Publications (Now Available to Order) -- Publications that have been reprinted with NO CHANGES and are back in stock

# # # # # #

Extension Home Page