Planting seeds for future farmers

Plants, trees, seeds, cars, butchers, my mom, the store — these are just a few of the answers we heard when asking Valley children a simple question: Where does your food come from?

By the time they were done checking out all the booths, games and activities at Thursday’s Agriculture Appreciation Day, many had a better grasp on where their food comes from and agriculture’s place in the Valley.

Hosted by the Palmer Center for Sustainable Living (formerly the Experiment Farm), the message was clear that, as an industry, agriculture still plays a vital role for the Valley and has a bright future.

Norm Harris is the center’s administrator, and said events like Ag Appreciation Day are important to make sure children get the message that farming is still a viable and necessary occupation. We couldn’t agree more.

Sure, it’s more electrifying for young minds to consider careers in technology and computers, we know it’s imperative that they realize agriculture is far from a dying industry or way of life. The Experiment Farm has been sending this message since 1917, and continues to show how Alaska and the Valley can be on the cutting edge.

Palmer holds a unique distinction, Harris said, in that it’s the only community in the state founded on agriculture. Colonists settled here specifically to grow their futures and sprout an aspiration of sustainability we still pursue. When listening to state talking heads and lawmakers, the chatter of late has been about how Alaska needs more and more varied agriculture to sustain us in times of natural or man-made disaster. If we were to be cut off from the rest of the world, we’re told that we don’t have the basic food storage or production capability to sustain our population for more than a short time.

We do realize being a farmer isn’t the most glamorous career and one of the challenges of our longtime family farms today is keeping younger generations working the land. Education like that being done by the center and the Agriculture in the Classroom program, which educates teachers about local agriculture, help keep this vital industry relevant and alive in the minds of our youth.

What can you do for your children? It can be something as simple as getting them involved with Future Farmers of America or 4-H, or making sure you check out the animal and agriculture exhibits at the upcoming Alaska State Fair. Make it fun, create a family garden and even challenge them to grow the biggest tomato or zucchini.

Stop by our booth Aug. 26 at the Alaska State Fair and we’ll help you get started. We’ll be there giving out packets of herb seeds to the first 500 people who stop by. We’re pleased to say the Frontiersman supports local agriculture in our pages and on our dinner tables.