Final report for WSP19-031
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 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 Alaska.
This project provided an educational farm convention 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 meetings. The primary deliverables for this project were: 1) hosting the Alaska Farm Convention and Trade Show, 2) providing workshops focused on sustainable agriculture, 3) providing webinars/newsletter focused on sustainable agriculture, and 4) hosting and providing access online to conference/workshop presentations and recorded webinars
Desired objectives of the Alaska SARE PDP included: 1) Increase the knowledge of agricultural professionals about sustainable agriculture practices and achievable goals that they can adapt and implement in Alaska, 2) Increase the emphasis on sustainable agriculture practices that agricultural professionals incorporate into educational programs and publications, 3) Facilitate the transmission of knowledge of sustainable agriculture principles from agricultural professionals to agricultural producers, and 4) Promote the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by agricultural producers and assist them in developing the skills necessary to make these practices successful. These objectives were achieved through the offering of the Annual Alaska Farm Convention and Trade Show. Newsletters and webinars were offered throughout the span of the award period.
While Alaska is expansive and diverse, there are few cooperative extension service agents with full or partial agriculture/horticulture appointments to reach all of the communities across the state. At the time this project was being developed, Alaska’s governor had released a budget that suggested a 40% cut in state funding to the University of Alaska in addition to other extensive cuts to Alaska’s Division of Agriculture. These cuts did not develop as drastically as predicted, but now, more than ever, Alaska needed to rely on partnership, collaboration, and cooperation with other agencies and agricultural groups to disperse timely and research-based agricultural information across the state. To foster these relationships and to increase training opportunities in sustainable agriculture, SARE PDP funds were be used to cosponsor the first ever Alaska Farm Convention and Trade Show, provide travel for extension agents to attend workshops and training programs, and to provide travel for guest speakers from within Alaska as well as the lower 48 states in order to provide residents with new knowledge, research, and ideas. In 2021, the Alaska Farm Convention and Trade Show hosted over 200 farmers, state agency/entity representatives, non-government organizations, tribal village members, and interested community members from over 20 diverse communities and villages from across Alaska. Convention training and educational topics were developed with the input of an active and interested advisory committee. This SARE PDP grant enabled the cosponsoring of this event with partners and collaborators. Additionally, funds were used to maintain an Alaska SARE listserv, printed materials, Zoom meeting platform, and Alaska webinar/newsletter which is integral for connecting over 1,400 Alaskans with innovations and information regarding sustainable agriculture. The Alaska SARE webinar and newsletter platform is dedicated towards sustainable farming operations, research, and projects occurring around the state and abroad. Lastly, the PDP grant funds were used to support the state WSARE state coordinator to attend the annual WSARE PDP meetings.
Advisors
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Education
The Alaska SARE PDP is part of the Institute of Agriculture, 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 Alaska Farm Bureau, 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 first Alaska Farm Convention and Trade Show.
Provide a 3-day state Farm Convention and Trade Show.
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.
We will provide workshops focused on sustainable agriculture as stand alone events or in coordination with the Alaska Farm Convention and Trade Show.
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
On November 12-14 of 2021, we held the first ever Alaska Farm Convention and Trade Show (AFCTS) at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. This event was an expansion of the Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference that been occurring previously. This was one of the first large events for Alaskan farmers after the Covid pandemic. Normally, the Farm Bureau had been having an annual one-day meeting that competed with farmer attendance of the Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference, and so the AFCTS was a larger combined event with the Farm Bureau to provide the first state agriculture convention. Alaska Western SARE was a major partner of the event.
Approximately one hundred registered participants attended in-person and virtual technical sessions and workshops, with over 50 other participants, as well as youth, being involved in the event. The event consisted of opening ceremonies and four tracks of workshops all day on Friday and Saturday, as well as youth activities, including 20 trade show vendor booths. Alaska's governor and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski were speakers at the event. The event was a huge success for the first of its kinds, especially for one of the first in-person farmer events occurring post-Covid. The success of this event spurred the Alaska Farm Bureau to commit to partner for future farm convention events with the Alaska Western SARE program.
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.