Produce growers to gather in Palmer

The Alaska Produce Growers Conference,  to be held Feb. 21 at the Matanuska Experiment Farm in Palmer, will highlight production tips for small-scale growers.

Palmer Cooperative Extension agent Steve Brown said the conference is geared to individuals who sell vegetables, fruit and other produce at farmers markets.


Alaska farmers markets will be a topic of discussion at the Alaska Produce Growers Conference.

Several sessions will focus on potatoes, including seed potato certification and bacterial ring rot. Bryan Bowen, a potato expert and new agronomist with the Alaska Plant Materials Center, will talk about the potato industry. Other topics will include applying for U.S. Department of Agriculture farmers market grants, weed control, math for pesticide applicators, Rhodiola rosea production and farm agency updates.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension and the Alaska Division of Agriculture will host the conference, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the farm’s Kerttula Hall, 1509 S. Georgeson Road.

The $30 registration fee includes a hamburger lunch with beef grown on the farm. Register at http://bit.ly/ces-workshops. For more information, see the agenda at www.uaf.edu/ces or contact the Palmer Extension office at 907-746-9450.