Bell’s Nursery honored as Farm Family of the Year at Alaska State Fair

As hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to come out to the Alaska State Fair over the next three weeks, many may not know that the Fair was initially a celebration of the Matanuska Colony's first harvest, an opportunity to showcase the agricultural achievements and local talent. And while the fair has since grown into a major annual event, featuring diverse attractions like sold-out concerts and carnival rides, the Fair still maintains its agricultural roots, honoring Alaska’s “Farm Family of the Year.”

This year, the honors were bestowed to Mike Mosesian and his family, who own and operate Mosesian Farms of Alaska, Inc. more commonly known as Bell’s Nursery and Gifts.

“Without the people of Alaska supporting us, I wouldn’t be here today. My success builds upon your patronage,” said Mosesian at the Farm Family of the Year presentation on August 15.

He also reiterated the need to support farmers not just here in Alaska, but everywhere, calling farmers the most important resource America has. “Without our farmers, we’re doomed. You can go without oil for a long time…but how long can you go without food?” He also warned that if Americans do not utilize that precious resource, the country could end up reliant on others for food.

Members of the agriculture community nominate their own for this prestigious annual award. Ken Hoffman, the Executive Director for the Mat-Su Chapter of the Alaska Farm Bureau, nominated the Mosesian family, an honor he felt was long overdue.

“I just told them the facts about the family-that they’ve been farming for over 50 years and they’re one of the most successful farms in the state of Alaska, selling tomatoes and cucumbers all over the state.” The Mosesian family produces hydroponic vine-ripened tomatoes and cucumbers, supplying fresh-grown produce to Carrs, Fred Meyer, Walmart, Charlies Produce, DiTomaso, Three Bears, and US Foods.

Hoffman has known Mosesian for about five years, meeting him at the Bell’s Nursery Farmer’s Market that is held every Saturday, where Hoffman is a vendor. He added that sometime during the pandemic, Mosesian opened up his greenhouses to keep the market going year round.

Hoffman praised the Mosesian family, reiterating that the farm is a full family organization, and Bell’s Nursery is a family business through and through, as his daughter Nicole Syren is their accountant, his son-in-law Stefan Schirda is the Crop Manager, and his daughter Marie-Louise Schirda does their social media marketing. Several of his grandchildren work seasonally during summer vacations, making 4 generations of farmers in their family. To Mosesian, family farming is about sustainability and food safety for his community.

The Mosesian farm includes six acres set aside for greenhouses, and an acre-and-a-half is dedicated to grape vineyards as part of the Bell’s Vineyard, using the vines to make their own wines. Eventually, the family would like to expand the vineyard to increase wine grape production for his winery.

“All of the Bell’s Nursery crew, this honors the contributions they make. It commands respect all over Alaska and their contributions in agriculture is really cool. They’ve been a great supporter and promoter of ‘Alaskan Grown’ and challenge all of us to spend $5 a week on Alaska Grown products,” said Bryan Scoresby, Director of the Division of Agriculture during the presentation.

The Farm Family of the Year award was established in 2000 by the Alaska Division of Agriculture and the Alaska State Fair, with sponsorship provided by Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union, to honor an Alaska farm family that best epitomizes the spirit of the industry and to show appreciation for the hard-working Alaskans committed to agriculture.