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Columbia County 4-H Enrollment Materials Are Ready

Columbia County 4-H Enrollment Materials Are Ready The “new” 4Honline 2.0 (the 4-H enrollment program) was released by the State 4-H Office and now the Columbia County Extension Office has finished the 2020-2021 Project Guide. New this year, youth will enroll in projects, but not in project units. Columbia County 4-H volunteers directed this change […]

Columbia County

Columbia County 4-H Class of 2020 With the end of September comes the opportunity to recognize youth who are graduating out of the Wisconsin 4-H youth development program. These new Columbia County 4-H alumni have participated in 4-H for 1 – 14 years of their lives. It is important to take a moment and celebrate […]

Safe Preserving Tips in the time of COVID-19

Whether you are new to canning, returning to canning because of the pandemic, or have always canned the bounty of your harvest, there are certain tips that will help ensure that your time and efforts lead to safe, healthy food for your family. Use recipes that are up to date. Some canning recommendations have changed dramatically […]

Experts Affirm: Coronavirus ‘highly unlikely’ food risk

An international group of scientists has declared that it is highly unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 is a food safety risk.The International Commission for Microbiological Specifications of Foods (ICMSF) is a non-governmental organization and represents top food safety experts from around the globe. The ICMSF members believe it is highly unlikely that ingestion of SARS-CoV-2 will result in illness […]

4-H Idea Sharing

The Columbia County 4-H Leaders Council asks all county 4-H clubs to share out their successes as the 2020-2021 4-H year is here. Club meeting ideas, project meeting ideas, family projects, check-in techniques and more. Share ideas to pat.wagner@wisc.edu and all will be added to this list. Click this link https://columbia.extension.wisc.edu/4-h-youth-development/the-impact-of-4-h/ to see what awesome […]

Food Safety & COVID-19: Do we need to worry about food packaging?

Stories in the news have prompted consumers to ask questions about the survival of the coronavirus on food packaging surfaces. Laboratory studies have shown that the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on surfaces for up to several days and China recently banned food imports from several counties after finding viral RNA on food packaging. Is this cause for concern? Even as […]

An update on safe use of steam canners

Back to Basics steam canner The University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted research showing that an atmospheric steam canner may be used to safely can naturally acid foods such as peaches, pears, and apples, or acidified-foods such as salsa or pickles. The steam canner uses only ~2 quarts of water (compared to 16 quarts, or more, in a boiling […]

Extension Snapshot

The Extension Snapshot provides a brief overview of happenings the Columbia County Extension Educators have been participating in. Click on the link to see the latest edition. Extension Snapshot – Oct 2, 2020 (PDF, 2 pages)

Extension is following the guidance of the CDC, Wisconsin DHS, the Governor, and the UW-Madison Campus. Our priority is the health of ourselves, our coworkers, our neighbors, and everyone in our communities. We are telecommuting and limiting events to virtual or no-contact in our efforts to protect those around us.

Food safety at farmers’ markets this summer

Spring is a time when we prepare gardens for new seedlings, clear pots for new flowers, and enjoy fresh, locally produced fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs and much more. While there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted by food, take some commonsense precautions and help keep everyone safe and healthy this summer. At the […]