September 2024 Outlook
From Director Jodie Anderson:
We recently had the privilege to host Gov. Mike Dunleavy at our beautiful Georgeson Botanical Garden at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm. We took advantage of the meeting to highlight some of the work our small grains breeder, Jakir Hasan, has recently accomplished.
Jakir shared his knowledge about the breeding characteristics of barley and wheat and spoke with the governor about how he is choosing particular characteristics of these varieties based on the feedback he receives from Alaska鈥檚 producers. We also took advantage of the opportunity to introduce the governor to Jim Vinyard, our brand-new livestock nutritionist. Jim has recently arrived in the state and is already at work building a program to support Alaska鈥檚 livestock producers.
These relationships with you, our local producers and supporters, inform and fuel our work. We鈥檙e continuing to do everything we can to ensure we listen to and respond to your needs and communicate those needs to decision-makers and funding agencies so that we can all work together to increase food security in our state.
Please reach out if you want to share your ideas or speak with us about our goals as an institute. Our work is fueled by relationships, cultivated by success and strengthened by supporters like you. We appreciate you helping us improve the lives of Alaskans.
Be well,
Jodie
Governor signs bill announcing Alaska State 4-H Day
In February, participants of the 4-H Youth in Governance program traveled to Juneau, where they talked to legislators about setting aside a day every year in honor of 4-H.
Rep. Donna Mears, a former 4-H鈥檈r from New Jersey who represents the South Muldoon neighborhood in Anchorage, sponsored House Bill 33, which would establish the first Wednesday in October as Alaska State 4-H Day. The bill was approved by the House and Senate. Gov. Mike Dunleavy chose to sign the bill at the Alaska State Fair on Aug. 24 with 4-H youth in attendance, in honor of their hard work.
Marla Lowder said, 鈥淚t was a great day and we all look forward to our first official State of Alaska 4-H Day on Wednesday, Oct. 2. Thanks to Rep. Mears for all of her hard work on behalf of the youth and 4-H.鈥
Gasch an awardee in USDA alfalfa project
A University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist will study alfalfa in Alaska as part of a multistate effort to improve production in northern climates.
IANRE's Caley Gasch will screen alfalfa varieties in Palmer and Fairbanks. As a co-principal investigator on the project, she will identify winter hardiness traits, potential varieties for Alaska cover crops and forage production, and soil benefits of alfalfa.
"" is a three-year, $924,037 U.S. Department of Agriculture project. It will be led by North Dakota State University, with collaborators at USDA鈥檚 Agricultural Research Service and the University of Missouri.
Alfalfa is the third-most widely produced crop in the United States. It provides environmental benefits such as improving soil health, fixing atmospheric nitrogen and enhancing biodiversity, but is prone to winter injury, which can be costly for growers.
The research project will evaluate alfalfa in Alaska, North Dakota and Minnesota to determine how well the crop grows in cold climates and which types of alfalfa best adapt to challenging growing conditions. The goal is to provide farmers with research-based information that could improve production.
Fairbanks Experiment Farm, Georgeson staff begin weeding out chokecherries
鈥 Julie Stricker
In late August, another step was taken in the long process of weeding out popular but invasive chokecherry trees on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Troth Yeddha鈥 Campus.
Seven chokecherry trees (Prunus padus and Prunus virginiana) were removed from Georgeson Botanical Garden and the Fairbanks Experiment Farm, including a tree planted in 1993 in honor of Arbor Day. Georgeson Directing Manager Lacey Higham said two of the trees were already dead and the others were in rough shape.
Syrphid flies as pollinators and pest control
鈥 Laura Weingartner
Have you ever seen what you thought was a yellowjacket flying from flower to flower in your garden?
Chances are you were looking at a member of the syrphid fly family. This black and yellow striped insect hovers like a hummingbird over flowers in search of energy-rich nectar.
In the process of feeding, its hairy body gets covered in pollen, which will transfer to another flower, aiding with the important role of pollination
Heidi Rader develops free online gardening class
Heidi Rader has developed a free online course offered through Alaska X/Ed X (). The four-week syllabus includes personalized garden planning; hands-on skills;
soil and fertilization lessons; benefits of drip irrigation; how to extend the growing
season; and more.
Plant breeding workshops attract participants in three communities
Over the week of Aug. 25, 34 participants attended three seed-saving and plant-breeding workshops held in Fairbanks, Palmer and Homer. The workshop instruction was led by Oregon State University plant breeder Jim Myers and sponsored by the Alaska Variety Trial program directed by Glenna Gannon.
The participants included farmers, agricultural educators, home gardeners, seed libraries and tribal conservation district employees. Teaching was split into the classroom and hands-on field sessions, so participants got to practice the seed-saving and plant-crossing skills they learned about in the classroom.
Want to express 黑料黑历史 Farm Pride? Here's a link!
Check it out! You can now buy 黑料黑历史 farm logo shirts on the .
Upcoming events
- Heidi Rader will lead a webinar, 鈥淕rowing Garlic and New Ways to Cook It,鈥 on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at noon. .
- A webinar discussing the potential for using natural materials to replace plastics titled "Turning off the Tap on Plastic Pollution with Mycelium Materials" is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. .
- Four lumber grading certification workshops are coming up: Oct. 2 in Soldotna; Oct. 16 in Aniak; Oct. 23 in Sitka; Oct. 30 in Haines. Visit the website for more information and to register.
- Free "spooky science" webinars are on tap for Wednesdays in October, hosted by the Anchorage Outreach Office. The webinars will be from noon-1 p.m. . - Oct. 2: "Carnivorous Plants of Alaska" with Alaska naturalist Bob Armstrong. - Oct. 9: "Bats of Alaska" with wildlife ecologist Jesika Reimer - Oct. 16: "Spiders of Alaska" with arachnologist and Cooperative Extension integrated pest management technician Jozef Slowik. - Oct. 23: "Creepy Crawlies" with entomologist and Cooperative Extension integrated pest management technician Alexandra Wenninger
- The 25th annual Alaska Invasive Species Workshop is scheduled for Nov. 12-14 in Fairbanks. Participants can or they can .
In the News
- Anchorage entomologist Alex Wenninger was interviewed on Alaska Public Media's "Hometown, Alaska" program:
- Check out this
- Amanda Byrd at Alaska Center for Energy and Power talks about possibilities for agriculture in a radio interview about the agrivoltaic project with Jenn Miller, co-founder and CEO of Renewable IPP.
- Laura Weingartner's Sept. 22 column in the News-Miner:
- Heidi Rader's Sept. 15 gardening column in the News-Miner:
- Reina Hasting's Sept. 8 column in the News-Miner:
- NPR ran a story about Katie Spellman鈥檚 Aug. 28 webinar hosted by the Anchorage Outreach office on
- The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner wrote about the Aug. 28 webinar with Katie Spellman:
- Adrian Kohrt鈥檚 Aug. 25 column in the News-Miner:
- KTVF interviewed Jakir Hasan about his grain breeding research:
(Note, if you don't subscribe to the News-Miner, you can read Extension columns on the )