Cheese, please

Move over pork bellies. Here in Alaska we are trading in a much-more appealing future — cheese.

The new Southcentral Dairy Joint Venture and Alaska Farmers and Stockgrowers Inc. have hit upon a plan to tide over dairy farmers as the new cheese plant and milk processing facility gets up and running.

AFSI is pre-selling gift packs of aged cheese to be produced by the new dairy. It’s like pre-ordering a good book or getting in an early order for holiday giving. The difference is that the buyers of the futures won’t just be getting some great cheese, they will be helping support Alaska agriculture.

Money from the sales will be used to offset losses local dairy farmers are experiencing because a good portion of their milk has been dumped on fields as fertilizer or otherwise lost to food production since the state-owned Matanuska Maid Dairy closed in December. With less than half of the locally produced milk headed to Northern Lights Dairy in Delta Junction for processing, dairy farmers are struggling to survive.

A trio of mining companies have already stepped up to purchase $75,000 worth of cheese futures, a great example of an Alaska industry helping look out for another.

With so few Alaska dairy farms left, supporters of Alaska agriculture are trying to bolster this portion of the industry. It isn’t just altruistic for those in the industry. The collapse of the state’s dairy industry will have a tsunami effect on other aspects of agriculture, from grain and hay production to 4-H projects. It makes sense for the ag community to get involved.

But clearly you don’t have to have an interest in farming to have an interest in food.

The cheese futures campaign is patterned after the community-supported agriculture movement, usually associated with vegetables, where customers purchase weekly deliveries for the full season in advance.

Buying the futures is a way the general public can get involved, and all it involves is a little delayed gratification. The cheese must be aged for at least 60 days. Writing a check today will mean you will be enjoying some fine Alaska Grown cheddar as the days lengthen and the temperature warms. There are $30, $90 and $150 packages available. See today’s story on A1 for details.

So grab your checkbook or credit card and contact AFSI by writing P.O. Box 871765, Wasilla, AK 99687, or by calling 746-2223.

And just say, “Cheese, please.”