Elevating Extension: The Things Never Said
May 12, 2026
Submitted by Gregg Hadley
“How do we communicate about or respond to things we never said?”
I had to think about that question posed to me by one of our Extension Administration Team members. There are three types of information that we as a team do not communicate:
- Ideas that were discussed and tabled or dropped.
- Ideas that are not ready to be communicated.
- Ideas that have been dreamed up by others.
There seems to be a lot of the latter lately. It’s only natural. We have gone through a lot of change the past two years, and our system will continue to evolve. Couple that with the State Finance Council, and there is a lot of understandable concern in our system.
I have been in blue collar, farming, and agribusiness positions in my life, and all have some degree of scuttlebutt and rumor mills. It seems to me that the extension profession does seem to take scuttlebutt and the rumor mill to new levels. A little bit of this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it helps to stimulate deep thoughts about our system.
However, too much of a good thing is never good.
Back when I was a program leader, there was an agent visiting on campus. The agent passed by the office of a specialist who was reading the K-State Today. The door was open and the agent overheard the specialist talking to themselves. They said, “It looked like there was going to be another budget cut.”
The agent thought this was good information. It came from a specialist. Shouldn’t a campus specialist know more about these things? There were also a lot of budget cuts back then. Before the agent made it back to their local unit office, the message spread that there was going to be another budget cut. People became concerned.
There are at least three problems with this true story.
First, being on campus doesn’t enable one to know about what is or isn’t going to happen.
Second, that was one of the few years we did not receive a budget cut.
Third, no one contacted anyone in leadership if there was going to be a budget cut.
All the speculation and angst was for nothing. All of the energy wrapped up in spreading the scuttlebutt and dealing with the rumors was wasted. It also pulled our minds and activities away from what is always our best use of time: Providing Kansans with the education they need to make their lives and Kansas even better.
What should you do if you hear some scuttlebutt that concerns you, or when your own reading of the extension tea leaves seems dark?
First, make sure that you are actively engaged in the communications that are available to you, especially the Extension Update and Tuesday Letter. Both the Extension Updates and the Tuesday Letters are archived.
Second, ask questions. One of my favorite lines from Ted Lasso is from the (highly underrated) character Leslie Higgins who told Ted, “You should find out before you flip out.” Ask your local unit director questions. Ask anyone on the Extension Administration Team questions. Yes, that includes me. There is a reason why I openly give access to my cell number.
While I appreciate it that you do not abuse having my number, I do want you to contact me when you have concerns and when you have great news to share.
So, lets keep focusing on helping and educating the people we serve, and, if you have concerns about what is going to happen, find out before you flip out.
