From gardener to commercial food grower is a common transition. Making it smoother was one of the goals of last weekend’s Farmer’s Summit, which included three days of presentations at the Chilkat Center.
Experts from Alaska and the Lower 48 spoke on topics ranging from increasing crop production to small-farm finances. About 80 people attended.
The summit was right on the money for Tonya Clark of Haines, a 19-year resident and longtime backyard gardener who is planning to expand her plot to an acre in order to sell her surplus crops.
“How cool is it to have this conference here? What a deal for all of us who are interested in commercial farming,” Clark said Sunday, as the summit was winding down. The conference was helpful both in terms of answering questions and for making connections to successful growers.
“I had a lot of gaps, but thanks to this conference, I’m ready to go,” Clark said.
According to a 2016 study by Juneau’s McDowell Group, 38 percent of Southeast Alaska households grow food. Of the volume produced, only .4 percent is sold. (Fifteen percent is shared and 85 percent is consumed by growers.)
The study found 30 commercial food growers in Southeast producing 30,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables at a combined sale value of $180,000.
Nearly all commercial operations are offshoots of gardens started for household consumption. “While currently at a small scale, commercial growing in Southeast Alaska has experienced increased attention in recent years, and demand appears to be much higher than supply,” the study reported.
According to the study, Clark’s planned operation would be on the large side for the region. Most commercial operations average between one-quarter and one-third of an acre, and nearly all use tunnels or greenhouses to increase production.
Resident and summit participant Laurie Mastrella said high tunnels – a form of scaled-down greenhouse – have helped revolutionize agriculture here by “enormously” extending growing seasons and allowing for cultivation of items such as winter squash, tomatillos, peppers, basil and eggplant.
“(Tunnels) increase the opportunity to make money off your garden and ensure you’re going to get results,” said Mastrella, who has used one for four years. “I never thought we’d be able to grow the tomatoes that we grow here.”
Mastrella and friends operate Sunshine Farm at 1 Mile Haines Highway. To cover their expenses, they sell some of their harvest at the weekly Farmer’s Market at the fairgrounds.
The remainder is shared between several families. Mastrella figures the operation produces as much as half of her family’s vegetables. Sunshine Farm is on a scale that it could be a for-profit business, and Mastrella said there’s an opportunity to add to the three or four commercial farms here.
“My feeling is there’s room for and potential for more, based on our climate and soil conditions,” she said.
Commercial food growers from Homer and near Petersburg spoke during the conference, providing useful information including models of different-sized commercial operations. That’s a big question for gardeners who are considering expanding to sales, Mastrella said.
There are many options for agriculture in Haines, including raising livestock, supplying restaurants, hosting greenhouse dinners and giving tours of farms.
Local gardener Vija Pelekis said the conference was valuable for hearing from growers who’ve advanced from gardeners.
Pelekis, who sells some of her vegetables at the farmer’s market, said she’d like to get into a more commercial operation and also is interested in working on the education side with youths. She pointed to a presentation on “aquaponics,” a soil-free technique for growing that employees fish and bacteria.
One of the weekend’s presentations was on such an operation in place at a school on Prince of Wales Island.
“There are tons of really neat people here. It was interesting just to hear their stories,” Pelekis said.
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