Ag Appreciation Day to be hosted Aug. 3 in Palmer

The Matanuska Experiment Farm in Palmer will host Alaska Agriculture Appreciation Day at the Farm from noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 3.

A participant at last year's Agriculture Appreciation Day
at the Farm shows off a radish she harvested.
Steve Brown photo

The free annual event has the atmosphere of a country fair with educational presentations, hayrides, animals, and a number of kids’ and family activities.

“It’s just a country event to bring awareness of agriculture in the Mat-Su Valley,” said coordinator Theresa Isaac. The event draws more that 1,000 visitors every year.

This year's event will include presentations on edible berries and wild edibles, small grain trials, building a hoop house and the new meatpacking process at Mike’s Quality Meats, as well as an experiment farm update from its new director, Susanna Pearlstein. Demonstrations will feature search and rescue dogs, spinning and weaving wool, a biomass gasifier and a cabbage stir-fry. Kids’ activities will include vegetable bobbing, searching for “gold nuggets” in a haystack and a dunk tank. Continuing a popular tradition, kids may harvest and dig for several vegetables, including potatoes.

Mike’s Meats will provide free pork samples, and new and returning vendors will showcase a variety of food and nonfood products.

The farm, at 1509 S. Georgeson Drive, provides research facilities, classroom space and offices for University of Alaska Fairbanks research and Extension. Call Isaac at 907-746-9450 for more information.