Cooperative Extension Deputy Director Becky summarized a busy summer of programming and said staff are shifting into fair preparation mode for the Columbia County Fair.
Becky said Extension held an Ag Expo that drew more than 75 attendees, a pasture field day, a poultry workshop and multiple showmanship clinics for youth exhibitors. “We are definitely in fair preparations,” she said, adding that 4‑H committees are meeting and maker spaces are open to enrolled youth who need supplies to enter nonanimal “still” projects at the fair.
The programs are largely outreach and education: Extension ran a “Think Differently” craft night for neurodivergent youth on July 15 and used ARPA funds to host three cooking classes targeted at Head Start families and community participants. Becky described seed‑to‑supper gardening classes, vegetable trials at the Hudson office and Master Gardener volunteer activities at farmers markets and the fair.
She also said Extension is producing waterproof flood guides in partnership with local partners; the guides will include FEMA flood maps, evacuation route and shelter information, and basic preparedness checklists to hand to residents in flood‑prone areas. “They have all the information somebody would need in the event of a flooding,” Becky said.
The presentation included a lighter aside about an escaped pig reported in Canaan and ended with Becky noting she would leave immediately after to run a live staff committee meeting.
The update covered outreach, volunteer deployment and fair staffing rather than formal board action.