Final report for WSP17-001
Project Information
Alaska farms are diverse and spread widely across the state. Alaska is one-fifth the size of the contiguous United States (365 million acres) and is home to roughly 800 farm operations. Fifteen million acres of soil have been designated as suitable for farming, but only about one million acres are currently farmed. While not all acreages are yet being utilized for farming, there is a great potential for agriculture growth within the state, and residents are eager for knowledge. Currently, there are only seven cooperative extension service agents with full or partial agriculture/horticulture appointments to reach all of the communities across the state. In order to be effective, extension agents rely on partnership, collaboration, and cooperation with other agencies and agricultural groups to disperse information across the state. Our goal was to provide an educational conference and workshops/webinars/newsletter to support agricultural professionals and farmers within the state as well as have our WSARE state coordinator attend the annual WSARE PDP summer meeting. In agreement with our goals, we hosted the 14th Annual Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference in Anchorage, Alaska during November of 2018. The conference provided 83 presentations over three days, as well as a pre-conference produce safety workshop and a post-conference Ag in the Classroom workshop. Participants attended from areas spanning the state. Speakers presented on agriculture happening across the state from Juneau to Fairbanks and from Kotzebue to Kodiak on all topics agriculture, including mariculture. A remote and rural agriculture session was featured as a webinar for those who could not attend in person but could call-in or attend online. The conference and workshops had a combined total of approximately 200 participants. Additionally, we provided five livestock workshops during the summer of 2018, with a combined total of 144 attendees across two locations: Palmer and Soldotna. One of the livestock workshops was also provided as a webinar.
• Host the Annual Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference
• Provide workshops focused on sustainable agriculture
• Provide webinars/newsletter focused on sustainable agriculture
• Host and provide access online to conference/workshop presentations and recorded webinars
Advisors
Education
The Alaska SARE PDP is part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Department of the School of Natural Resources and Extension at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Along with SARE, we include programs in commercial agriculture/horticulture, integrated pest management, pesticide safety, and plant diagnostics. Other partners include the USDA NRCS, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and Alaska Division of Agriculture.
Due to the long distances between communities and limited number of extension agents in Alaska, the SARE program is used to build partnerships, collaborations, and linkages with other agricultural groups as well as educate agriculture professionals. We frequently do this by using SARE funds to cosponsor existing agricultural conferences and workshops.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Host the Annual Alaska Host the Annual Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference
Provide a 3-day Sustainable Agriculture Conference
Participants will gain or increase knowledge, skills, awareness about sustainable ag topics, systems, principles, technologies, practices and resources.
Participants will gain or increase motivations and skills to effectively educate farmers and ranchers about sustainable agriculture.
Participants use information learned to conduct educational programs about sustainable agriculture topics, systems, principles, practices, technologies, and resources.
Participants use information learned to incorporate information into products and educational tools.
Participants use information learned to share project materials and/or SARE and other sustainable ag resources with farmers and others.
Participants use information learned to develop and/or strengthen professional collaborations and involvement in teaching, research and demonstration of sustainable agriculture topics, systems, principles, and practices.
Participants adopt sustainable systems, approaches and practices.
Provide workshops focused on sustainable agriculture
Will provide workshops focused on sustainable agriculture.
Participants will gain or increase knowledge, skills, awareness about sustainable ag topics, systems, principles, technologies, practices and resources.
Participants will gain or increase motivations and skills to effectively educate farmers and ranchers about sustainable agriculture.
Participants use information learned to conduct educational programs about sustainable agriculture topics, systems, principles, practices, technologies, and resources.
Participants use information learned to incorporate information into products and educational tools.
Participants use information learned to share project materials and/or SARE and other sustainable ag resources with farmers and others.
Participants use information learned to develop and/or strengthen professional collaborations and involvement in teaching, research and demonstration of sustainable agriculture topics, systems, principles, and practices.
Participants adopt sustainable systems, approaches and practices.
Provide webinars/newsletter focused on sustainable agriculture.
Will provide webinars/newsletter focused on sustainable agriculture.
Participants will gain or increase knowledge, skills, awareness about sustainable ag topics, systems, principles, technologies, practices and resources.
Participants will gain or increase motivations and skills to effectively educate farmers and ranchers about sustainable agriculture.
Participants use information learned to conduct educational programs about sustainable agriculture topics, systems, principles, practices, technologies, and resources.
Participants use information learned to incorporate information into products and educational tools.
Participants use information learned to share project materials and/or SARE and other sustainable ag resources with farmers and others.
Participants use information learned to develop and/or strengthen professional collaborations and involvement in teaching, research and demonstration of sustainable agriculture topics, systems, principles, and practices.
Participants adopt sustainable systems, approaches and practices.
Host and provide access online to conference/workshop presentations and recorded webinars.
Will host and provide access online to conference/workshop presentations and recorded webinars.
Participants will gain or increase knowledge, skills, awareness about sustainable ag topics, systems, principles, technologies, practices and resources.
Participants will gain or increase motivations and skills to effectively educate farmers and ranchers about sustainable agriculture.
Participants use information learned to conduct educational programs about sustainable agriculture topics, systems, principles, practices, technologies, and resources.
Participants use information learned to incorporate information into products and educational tools.
Participants use information learned to share project materials and/or SARE and other sustainable ag resources with farmers and others.
Participants use information learned to develop and/or strengthen professional collaborations and involvement in teaching, research and demonstration of sustainable agriculture topics, systems, principles, and practices.
Participants adopt sustainable systems, approaches and practices.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
Face of SARE
Outreach is coordinated through our University Website as well as Cooperative Extension Service Offices and Statewide Agency Offices. We also release information through our list serves, websites, and social media pages across state agency and University offices.