The 2025 Women Managing the Farm Conference will be held in Manhattan, KS on February 12-14, 2025. The theme is Forging the Future.
This conference is for women to gain resources and training for todays farm or ag business. It is a great opportunity to make connections with like minded farm women.
Learn more and sign up for email updates at https://womenmanagingthefarm.com/.
North Dakota State University Extension has just launched two new online courses that are FREE!
It is well documented that raw flour has been linked to several foodborne illness outbreaks. This also includes baking mixes, such as cake mix or cookie mix. Anything with raw flour as an ingredient must be baked to be safely consumed.
Social media has circulated another fad called ‘fluffy popcorn’ which uses raw cake mix to flavor popcorn. The instructions say to melt butter and marshmallows on low heat, then add a box of dry cake mix and the popped popcorn, remove from heat and it’s ready to eat. While it may seem the cake mix is being cooked, the temperature of this mixture may not reach 160°F to be safe for consumption.
While this may be a fun snack, it may not be fun if it makes you sick! Raw flour has been linked to E. coli and Salmonella infections which cause diarrhea, stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting. Some infections can become even worse, leading to kidney failure, chronic health problems, and even death. Avoid eating any raw flour product such as cookie batter or even licking the mixing spoon!
For some home canners, the canning season is coming to a close. Here are some tips to store equipment so it is in good working order for next season.
Learn more tips on storing equipment at https://extension.psu.edu/storing-canning-supplies. Resources for replacement parts can be found at https://www.rrc.k-state.edu/preservation/index.html.
Many people learn visually, such as by watching videos. If you have a Presto® pressure canner, they have videos that may help you learn how to use the canners properly and safely. These are from the Presto® Appliances YouTube channel.
Canning mixed vegetables is a great way to use end of garden vegetables and have a colorful side dish or easy addition to soup.
A variety of vegetables can be used except for leafy greens, dried beans, cream-style corn, winter squash and sweet potatoes.
Do not include any vegetable that does NOT already have pressure canning procedures. Examples include celery, eggplant, and cauliflower.
Mixed vegetables can be canned in pints or quarts. No matter the combination of vegetables, the processing is 75 minutes for pints or 90 minutes or quarts, adjusting for altitude.
Learn how at https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/canning-vegetables-and-vegetable-products/mixed-vegetables/.
The 2025 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference will be March 13-14, 2025 in Houston, TX. This is the only conference dedicated to consumer food safety education. It is hosted by the Partnership for Food Safety Education.
The conference brings together federal, non-profit, higher education and industry professionals together to address today’s food safety challenges.
Registration is now open and more conference details will be announced soon.
Hunting season has begun! Wild game provides wholesome, nourishing food, but food safety is key for preserving the meat.
To retain the quality of the meat, it is important to handle and preserve the meat safely and efficiently. The most popular methods to preserve the meat are freezing, dehydrating, or canning.
Pressure canning is the only method to can meat. Be sure you canner is in good working order and remember to adjust the processing pressure for you altitude of residence.
Dehydrating meat into jerky makes a quick snack that is easy to store and is portable. The ideal dehydrating temperature is 140°F. But the meat must be heated, either before or after dehydrating, to 160°F.
Learn more at https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/topics/animal.html#game.
Global Handwashing Day is October 15, 2024. Why is this important? Handwashing with soap and water is one of the simplest, most effective ways to stop the spread of germs and stay healthy. Keeping hands clean can help prevent diarrheal illnesses and respiratory infections, such as the common cold or flu.
In five easy steps, you can help prevent the spread of germs and disease.
Learn more at https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/about/index.html.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia has updated their curriculum Put it Up! Food Preservation for Youth. These educational lessons are written for youth, from 4th to 12th grade, but could be used for anyone to understand the science of safe food preservation.
This curriculum can be used for schools, summer camp instructors, parents, 4-H agents, other Extension educators, farm to school programmers, and classroom teachers…anyone who is comfortable with food preparation and food preservation, or is willing to learn!
The series is composed of six different food preservation methods: boiling water canning, making jam, pickling, freezing, drying, and pressure canning. Each method is divided into a beginning hands-on activity and an advanced hands-on activity. Activities may stand alone or be sequenced for cumulative learning. In addition to step-by-step procedures, reflection questions, and ideas for experimentation, each method also includes additional activities: a science-based fill-in-the blank challenge, a history-based word search, a glossary, a resource list, a knowledge test, and more. Each preservation activity is also accompanied by a legal-sized “poster” with simplified step-by-step instructions to be printed and posted as a checklist to help keep everyone on track and working together.
