Over 210 people from around the state attended the Fifth Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference and Organic Growers School March 17-18 in Fairbanks. The conference started with folks yelling out where they came from “Skagway, Haines, Bethel, Ruby, Igiugig, Nenana, Juneau, Anchorage, Palmer, North Pole, Homer, Fritz Creek, Trapper Creek, Fort Yukon, Galena, Ester, Two Rivers, Wasilla, Delta Junction, Copper Center, Talkeetna, Healy, King Salmon, Denali, Chickaloon, Soldotna, and of course Fairbanks.”
A highlight of this year’s conference was national speaker George DeVault, newly appointed president and executive director of the Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. The Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of heirloom varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, and agricultural biodiversity in general. DeVault’s position represents the pinnacle of a career that has included farming, mentoring farmers, and writing about farming. He is also a volunteer fire chief, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Food and Society policy fellow and soon-to-be grandfather.
In addition to the keynote national speaker, the SARE conference featured presenters from around Alaska sharing information on topics such as University of Alaska research on fruit and berry production and fish waste composting; farm soil fertility; weed suppression; year-round CSA’s in Alaska; egg and poultry production for local market; and two panel discussions on composting and value-added agricultural products. Two favorite presentations were Tim Meyers’ “They told me you could not grow this in Bethel” and Allie Barker’s “Food Security and the Modern Day Homestead in Chickaloon.”
There was a unique hands-on demonstration where participants got to get dirty. Tom Zimmer from Calypso Farm and Ecology Center brought a tape and wet soil and got folks involved in soil blocking, an innovative seed starting technique. New this year were three special pre-conference activities that took place March 16. Participants had the option to tour Chena Hot Springs Resort to see the geothermal energy projects and year-round greenhouses, attend a grant-writing workshop, and tour the UAF Cold Climate Housing and Research Center.
The Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Western Sustainable Agriculture and Research and Education Program, and the Cooperative Extension Service sponsored this year’s conference.
SNRAS speakers at the conference were Research Professional Jeff Werner talking about controlled environment research and Associate Professor Mingchu Zhang and Assistant Professor Jeffrey Smeenk discussing composting research.
Contributed by Michele Hebert, the Tanana District agriculture and horticulture agent for the Cooperative Extension Service, a part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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