Alaska Report

SARE Professional Development Program Annual Report for Alaska
January 1 – December 31, 2010

State SARE Coordinator:

Summary of 2010 PDP Activities and Results

2010 Alaska SARE PDP funds were used to support conferences, a statewide SARE newsletter, website and agent travel. Training topics included: season extensions, weed management, food security, CSAs, food safety, seed saving, value added and direct marketing, etc.

Twenty University of Alaska CES and SNRAS employees and 12 NRCS and SWCD employees attended the Annual Statewide Sustainable Agriculture Conference.  Over 215 people attended the Sixth Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference and Growers School March 16-17, 2010, in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Attendees came from communities across Alaska: Skagway, Haines, Bethel, Ruby, Igiugig, Nenana, Juneau, Anchorage, Palmer, North Pole, Homer, Fritz Creek, Trapper Creek, Fort Yukon, Galena, Ester, Two Rivers, Wasilla, Delta Junction, Copper Center, Talketna, Healy, King Salmon, Denali, Chickaloon, Soldotna, and of course Fairbanks. Evaluations and suggestions for next year’s conference are coming in with interesting ideas and comments. Fifty percent of participants traveled more than 40 miles to attend. Over 75 % of those individuals who filled out evaluations attended past SARE conferences and reported making changes in their practices i.e. fertilization, marketing, pest management, grant writing, and weed management. Everyone mentioned a desire to attend next year and hot on the topic list is information about goats, dairy productions and more presentations from rural folks.

Context and Overview

The Alaska SARE PDP is part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Program, within the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Agriculture and Horticulture includes programs in commercial agriculture, commercial horticulture, integrated pest management, pesticide safety education program and western plant diagnostic program that interface with the objective of the SARE program. Within the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, we also work collaboratively with the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and the USDA Agriculture Research Service (housed on the UAF campus) on sustainable agriculture projects. Other state partners and audiences for SARE programs include Alaska NRCS, Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Alaska Division of Agriculture.

Alaska is a large state. Due to the long distances between communities and limited CES personnel, the SARE program relies heavily on partnerships, collaborations and linkages with other agricultural groups. It is also integrated into other agriculture programs.  We frequently do this by using SARE funds to cosponsor existing agricultural conferences and workshops.

In addition to meeting audiences where they are gathering for pre-existing, agriculture-related events, we attempt to overcome the geographical isolation of Alaska agriculture by utilizing a quarterly newsletter and website to promote sustainable agriculture in the state.

PDP-funded Publications/Educational Materials and Products

Sustainable Agriculture for Alaska Quarterly Newsletter: available on line. The publication is mailed to 500 individuals, including federal agencies (NRCS, ARS, FSA), state agencies (Division of Agriculture, Plant Material Center), university personnel (CES, SNRAS) and interested individuals and producers.

Sustainable Agriculture in Alaska website.

Alaska SARE website has been on line for several years. This site is maintained and updated using SARE funds. This Alaska SARE website allows online access to contact information, newsletters, educational concepts, educational publications, funding sources, other resources and a link to the Western Region SARE website. It is a one-stop shop for Alaskans that is not available in any other format. Today the Internet is one of the most powerful tools for building awareness and increasing access to information. It has the potential to reach audiences not normally reached. It also allows viewers to get a quick glance of the total Alaska SARE program, proposal deadlines and educational resources.

Alaska Sustainable Agriculture List serv.

The Sustainable Agriculture list serv is used to share information on upcoming educational events and grant proposal deadlines. It also can be used to improve communication for agriculture producers and educators across the state of Alaska.

Changes in Ag Professionals’ Knowledge, Skills and Action

2010 Alaska SARE conference evaluations reported that 45 of the participants filling out the conference evaluations have made changes in production practices.

Unintended Outcomes

The most notable outcome was the overall strong participation and number of rural producers at the annual Alaska SARE conference. There are several possible factors; the development and use of the SARE list serv and the broader participation of the conference planning committee. There is also a renewed interest in food security driven by high fuel costs resulting in higher food costs and obesity driven by poor food quality.

Involvement of others in state PDP planning and implementation

In 2010 the planning committee for the annual Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference met via conference call and in person in Fairbanks. The invitation to participate in the planning committee was through the Alaska SARE list serv. This also included selecting the national and local speakers and preconference activities. Food security, goat production, poultry production and energy efficiency were some of the identified topic.