Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center is still here and going strong

With the spring coming, thoughts turn to turning the soil for gardens or planting summer crops. For more than 100 years, as part of the Alaska Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the Matanuska Experiment Farm has played a key role in the development of agricultural activity and research in Mat-Su, particularly in the development of grain, fruit and vegetable varieties for Alaska’s conditions.

The Cooperative Extension Service also has had a long connection with the area. After the Matanuska colonists arrived in 1935, two Extension agents arrived to show the Midwestern transplants how to farm here and preserve the harvest to feed their families. The first Extension district office in Alaska opened in Mat-Su the following year.

Extension’s Mat-Su/Copper River District office moved to the farm in 2010, and it became the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center.

We’re still here and going strong, despite research funding challenges and restrictions on face-to-face outreach as a result of the pandemic. We value our connection to the community and we’re adapting. Here’s a few things we have going on this year.

Alaska’s climate is changing, and growing seasons have lengthened in many areas of Alaska, including Mat-Su. It’s important to find what vegetable varieties will grow well now. This summer, we will test 61 varieties of beans, beets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, fennel, spinach and winter squash. Look for future results on the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station website at www.uaf.edu/afes.

Beyond vegetables, we’re also working with Washington State University to find a spring wheat variety that grows well here and can be used in flour. We’re also testing feed and malting barley varieties for their adaptability to Alaska. Farmers get higher prices for malting barley, and most of what breweries use to make beer is imported from Outside.

Our staff teach gardening, horticultural, food preservation and food safety training that helps Alaskans provide for their families. Interest in all of these areas exploded this year, and we have reached many Alaskans through distance delivery and social media. We reach out to youth through our 4-H and FFA programs. You might be interested in tuning into our weekly “Walkabout Wednesday” on the center’s Facebook page, where we share science topics of interest with the community.

Beyond support for gardeners and farmers, we’re also committed to strengthening Alaska’s food system and building resiliency in our pandemic-challenged food supply chain. One of the ways we do this is helping those in our community who are unable to grow their own food. Alaska Tilth and Alaska Pacific University use the farm’s greenhouses to grow food for community members who face food insecurity. One of our nutrition educators organizes food donations from the variety trials, farmers and Alaska Tilth and worked with community partners to distribute the food. In 2020, 10,632 pounds of produce was donated to Mat-Su agencies that work with children and adults in need. We also host demonstration and community garden plots and plots for our Garden to Heal program.

Last fall, we invited stakeholders actively involved in Alaska food system work, including farmers, policy makers, government agencies, nonprofits, distributors and others, to focus on strengthening the food system. And this spring, we’re piloting a local food leader certification program developed by Iowa State University that will work with community members to help develop and design local and regional food systems.

We partner with a variety of entities. The Division of Agriculture is studying insecticide procedures to rid harvested peonies of thrips, and the Division of Forestry is testing repellent for spruce bark beetles. Several other agencies and organizations use our facilities. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducts nutrition studies with moose and caribou.

The farm values its proximity to the Matanuska Greenbelt Trail System and the recreational value of the university’s lands. We’re developing an educational forest trail with signage, which should be ready in the fall of 2022.

As part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, we are committed to research not only for its agricultural benefits, but also because it benefits our economy: every $1 of state support for UAF research brings in $6 of external funding. When you consider the value of locally grown food to our economy and food security, the impacts go far beyond that.

We’ve got a lot going on now and we have an abundance of information to share with our community. Summer is just around the corner, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re planting this year!

Jodie Anderson is the director of the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center. Please contact her with any questions you might have about the center, 746-9466 or jmanderson@alaska.edu.