June 2023 Outlook
Golden Anniversary
The Tanana Valley Farmers Market is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Right, Brad St. Pierre, manager of the farmers market, strikes a pose with IANRE Director Jodie Anderson. Above, you can find Extension publications and a lot of Extension history at the market.
Vegetable variety trials and Permafrost Grown projects in full swing
— Glenna Gannon
It has been an extremely busy and productive month for the Alaska Variety Trials and Permafrost Grown projects!
The Variety Trials have been planted in Fairbanks and Palmer.
This year we are evaluating over 130 cultivars of 17 different vegetable crops in Fairbanks and a subset of those in Palmer.
The trials in Fairbanks now include a high tunnel, and we will be comparing cultivar maturity rates and yield to field-grown plots. This month we also launched Arctic Berry Trials in Anaktuvuk Pass.
These trials are in collaboration with Gardens in the Arctic, where cultivars of haskaps (6), tart cherries (4) and currants (6) are being evaluated.
The Permafrost Grown team including myself, research tech Amber Agnew, INE faculty, Melissa Ward Jones and Ben Jones also were in Anaktuvuk Pass. The goal of the project is to evaluate the interactions between agricultural activities and permafrost and help inform best practices for high-latitude agriculture.
The team was able to help set up and instrument a high tunnel at the new home of Gardens in the Arctic, as well as, build and plant raised beds with local youth. As part of this project, four new weather stations have been installed around the state, including in Anaktuvuk Pass, the Fairbanks AFES farm and in Bethel.
Additionally, the Permafrost Grown project is also funding what we've dubbed "The Great Mulch Study" to evaluate the thermal impact of 11 kinds of plastic and organic mulches on soil at three depths (surface, 15 centimeters and 1 meter). This study will serve to both inform best cultural practices for farms and gardens with permafrost present, as well as fill in gaps on agricultural mulch research done by the AFES and Cooperative Extension in the past.
$18 million NextGen grant goes to IANRE, partners
A five-year $18 million grant awarded to the University of AV Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension will help prepare the next generation to take active roles in the country’s agricultural sector.
Hawai’i Pacific University, University of Guam, Arizona State University and FoodCorps are partners with UAF in the grant, which is part of a $262.5 million investment in higher education funded by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The project, funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is called “”&Բ;
Read the press release
Community Educator Award
Darren Snyder recently was recognized by Sealaska Heritage Institute for his .
SHI said, "Snyder teaches through the University of AV Cooperative Extension Juneau District. He has worked on many different projects with the community and in many diverse organizations. His input on the South Douglas West Juneau Area Plan Steering Committee exemplifies values in protecting land inclusive of recognition of traditional¬ ownership for Mayflower Island and promoting community gardening for local food independence. He has worked on many educational projects, including through Tlingit & Haida and SHI’s STEAM projects."
He also is an intern for the Western Extension Leadership Development (WELD) program.
SNAP-Ed Policy, System and Environmental work shines at the Mat-Su Food Bank grand opening
SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator Adair Harman has been working with the folks at the Mat-Su Food Bank to help implement Policy, System and Environmental (PSE) changes to help make the healthy choice the easy choice in their new building.
Some of her work included updating the volunteer manuals, training volunteers, food demos, helping with the building layout, creating slides for their TV display, product placement and incorporating the Every Bite Counts Social Marketing Campaign.
Some partnerships in the efforts consist of UAA Dietetics & Nutrition, the Food Bank of Alaska and the UAF Cooperative Extension SNAP-Ed program. The grand opening was held on June 15. Adair Harman and Reina Hasting both attended to help celebrate with community partners and stakeholders.
Food Policy Council update
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced finalists for the USDA Regional Food Business Centers (Regional Food Centers). Twelve groups of organizations, including the Alaska Food Policy Council (AFPC) - as part of the Islands & Remote Areas Center, have been selected as finalists to establish Regional Food Centers that will provide coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses access new markets and navigate federal, state, and local resources, thereby closing the gaps to success. In September 2022, to fund this initiative.
Got potatoes?
— Ann Kowenstrot
A great crew turned out to plant the potato demonstration field at MEFEC. A total of 139 varieties of potatoes were planted, donated by the Plant Materials Center. In addition, we planted a row of Tlingit and Haida potatoes for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium for its meal program. We had amazing farm staff, community, and a crew from ANTHC help!
Board of Regents Research Showcase
— Julie Stricker
A special Research Showcase, "America's Arctic University: Our Journey to R1," was held on May 25 to show the University of Alaska Regents and other dignitaries what UAF research units are accomplishing. This was a different focus from the public Arctic Research Open House the previous week.
Vice Chancellor of Research Nettie LaBelle-Hamer organized the event to talk about UAF's progress toward becoming an R1 research university. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Higher Education has classified approximately 146 U.S. institutions as having R1 status, which are at the forefront of research and innovation. UAF is currently classified as an R2 university, but hopes to move into the top tier by 2027.
The showcase gave us, and other units, a chance to talk to Regents face-to-face about our work. Jan Dawe of OneTree Alaska, Glenna Gannon, Jessie Young-Robertson, Sam Dempster and Anushree Badola also were on hand, while Mingchu Zhang, Santosh Panda, Jenn Wagaman and Katrina Paul were instrumental in getting things put together. Special thanks to Kaytan Kelcar, who helped Anushree with the GIS images display.
"Pojeng = peonies in Estonian. How cool is that!"
Peonies abroad
Pat Holloway said she was contacted a couple of months ago by Marju Lina, a reporter from Estonia about peonies in Alaska. Pat wrote a very short essay on peonies, and Marju wrote an article comparing them with Estonian peonies, which are blooming now.
Later in June, an article Pat wrote for the International Horticultural Society was translated by Marju and will appear in their magazine with lots more Alaska peony farms.
Pat said, "I can't read most of it, but it sure is fun to get a bit more publicity for Alaska peonies. This follows a similar article in Finnish last year. I have no clue where they pick up the original information."
4-H Update
Local 4-H youth projects to make a positive impact
The 4-H Lead to Change experience prepares youth to develop an action plan to address a local community challenge.
— Reina Hasting
In a rapidly changing world, teens are the next generation of leaders that will solve
systemic challenges in global food production, sustainability and equity. A team of
4-H teens was awarded $2,000 to address a community issue after attending the Ignite
by 4-H Summit hosted by National 4-H Council.
Earlier this year, with the support of the 4-H Healthy Habits Walmart Foundation Grant, this team attended Ignite by 4-H in Washington D.C. The immersive three-day experience challenged them to be bold and holistically address challenges in their communities.
Teens representing more than 40 states were able to enhance their skills in workshops led by industry leaders and build community with other 4-H'ers. Together with adult mentors, each team developed a plan and then pitched their ideas, live, to mentors from the agriculture industry.
Locally, Paeden Lane, Alito Sobarzo, Erika Sobarzo and Ian Hasting from Fairbanks and Jaleen Gattenby from Kenai, aim to release a social media marketing campaign in the fall to bring more awareness to the importance of recycling in Alaska.
A chilly, but fun evening with the Tanana District 4-H
Tanana District 4-H hosted Tennessee youth for an evening bonfire and barbecue on June 14. Although we had a bit of a cold snap, everyone kept warm by the fire with a delicious Alaska-themed supper, line dancing, lots of laughter and the best of company!
Happy trails, Tennesee 4-H, and we hope our paths cross again someday!
Bethel 4-H
Teens in Bethel went through leadership training this month and made . Check it out!
Bristol Bay 4-H
June has been a busy month with good participation in all three weeks of camps. Youth learned about plants, picked medicinal plants and made salve. They made beaded headdresses, learned about healthy foods, visited the library and learned about the salmon cycle, among many other activities. Check out the .
Kenai Peninsula 4-H
Kenai Peninsula 4-H clubs attended the ’s Spring Festival and the Kenai Animal Shelter Animal Fair. Youth met people from the many organizations in the community that help local people and animals. Youth also competed in the Alaska 4-H State Livestock Contest. See the .
In the News
- Alaska's new ag director stresses . (News-Miner story behind paywall.)
- Marla Lowder's June 18 column:
- Heidi Rader's June 11 gardening column:
- Leslie Shallcross' June 4 column:
(Note, if you don't subscribe to the News-Miner, you can read Extension columns on
the )
Events
Check out the rolling calendar at the for the most up-to-date schedule of events.
Find out more about AFES and Extension and keep up with Extension news by "liking" us on .Check out the Extension Blog at or the AFES Science & News blog at .