K-State Extension - Douglas County

09/04/2026

Our office will be closed Monday, Sept 7 in observation of Labor Day! We will resume regular business hours Tuesday, Sept 8. Have a great weekend everyone~

09/03/2026

Now that the school year is officially underway, we wanted to take a moment to congratulate all of our 4-H Foundation Scholarship recipients! This year, the Foundation was able award over $25,000 in scholarships thanks to the generous contributions of our scholarship donors. Please join us in congratulating these 4-Hers in their achievement and thanking our donors for supporting them. Great job everyone!

09/02/2026

Are you a nonprofit leader looking for ways to help guide your organization? Let us know what sort of training you need! We put together this brief(!) survey to help guide the creation of professional development opportunities in our community for nonprofit leadership. Thanks in advance for your time and please take a moment to share this with anyone who would benefit the creation of these upcoming opportunities!
Take the survey at bit.ly/npleader-survey

09/01/2026

New season = new newsletter! Check out the Fall edition for insights into what livestock can do for your soil, tales of 4-Hers taking on the nation's capital, an introduction to our newest employee, and much more!
Read now at https://conta.cc/4iEI50E 📖

08/31/2026

We had a great time the last few weeks working with Cottonwood, Inc. for a series of classes focusing on healthy habits and nutrition! Thank you to everyone who joined us and shout out to our Master Food volunteers for helping out 🫶

08/27/2026

Earlier this month, Douglas County was proud to welcome food and farm entrepreneurs from across Kansas to Lawrence for the second annual Food Business Start-Up Summit, hosted by the K-State Extension Community Food Systems team.
Over two days, entrepreneurs worked alongside facilitators and more than 20 experts and resource providers to tackle real business challenges, build connections, and identify concrete next steps for growing their businesses. Participants joined us from 10 counties across the state, making it especially meaningful to once again serve as the host community for this statewide gathering.
And, of course, we were excited to show off a little of what makes Douglas County special! Attendees visited the Douglas County Culinary Commons, our shared-use incubator kitchen, for a tour and conversation about the role commercial kitchens can play in supporting food entrepreneurship and local economies.
We also gathered at The Free State Brewing Co. for an evening together, including a wonderful keynote conversation with founder Chuck Magerl about his entrepreneurial journey and the history of building an independent business right here in Lawrence. Special thanks to Chuck and the Free State team for welcoming us so warmly at this iconic Lawrence brewery.
We’re grateful to the entrepreneurs, facilitators, partners, and resource providers who traveled from across Kansas to spend these two days with us—and proud that Douglas County could serve as a gathering place for the ideas, relationships, and businesses helping shape Kansas’ food system.
There’s something special about getting to welcome the rest of the state to your own backyard!
The Summit was made possible thanks to the generous funding of the Patterson Family Foundation 🫶

08/25/2026

Time is running out to RSVP for our open house! Join us next week for the perfect opportunity to get to know your local extension office :)

You are cordially invited to join us for dinner at our annual open house! If you've ever had a question about what we have to offer, please come find out! The Extension Council members and Agents are excited to hear from the community and talk about everything Extension in Douglas County!
This event is free and dinner is being served! Please RSVP at https://bit.ly/dgex-openhouse
Be there or be square 😎

08/21/2026

🌱📝

📣 Mark Your Calendars!

The 2027 Great Plains Growers Conference & Trade Show returns January 7-9, 2027, in St. Joseph, Missouri.

🌱 Workshops: January 7
🌱 Conference & Trade Show: January 8-9

Join growers from across the Midwest for practical education, networking opportunities, and the latest information on specialty crop production and marketing.

Stay tuned for speaker announcements and registration details coming soon!

08/20/2026

Two weeks ago, we had the privilege of hosting the second ever Kansas Food Business Start-up Summit here in Douglas County! The K-State Extension Local Foods Team put together a “two-day summit focused on strengthening food and farm businesses by offering support for those working to start, grow or scale a product-based venture.”
What makes the Summit special? Collaboration. "We foster a mindset of collaboration versus one of competition between our attending businesses," [said Quinlan Carttar, an Extension Local Foods Specialist housed in Douglas County.] “It's our goal as extension professionals to act as the convener of Kansas food businesses. We want them to learn from and build camaraderie with one another; we also want to serve as the connectors between these entrepreneurs and the experts who can provide them with the right resources at the right time."
We’ll be posted our own event coverage soon, but in the meantime check out this stellar feature from Pat Melgares, Extension Communications, for K-State Today
https://www.k-state.edu/news/articles/2026/08/extension-food-business-startup-summit-provides-collaboration-networking-support.html