Produce processing kitchen in works

PALMER -- The state Division of Agriculture is looking into the possibility of constructing a facility for processing and freezing potatoes, carrots and other Valley-grown produce. The proposed facility could allow Valley farmers to transfer their crops from field to shelf with greater efficiency.

The idea originated with a record crop of potatoes several years ago. Local farmers began to wonder if the yield of edible produce could be increased with a processing facility. "Half of the potatoes consumed in this country are frozen," said Rob Wells for the Farm Bureau. "If we did that in Alaska we could potentially have more production." Wells is pushing to achieve a standard of 50 loads (roughly 20 tons) of raw potatoes processed at the facility per year. Given an industry standard of 40-60 percent loss of material in processing, this translates to about 15 loads of processed and frozen produce, enough to meet the needs of the Valley and points beyond.

The state is searching for farmers willing to commit to the project, but many growers are wary of the scope of the proposed plans. "How big a project this is just boggles my mind," said John Hett, a local farmer. "Some people want this to be a tremendously big thing to compete with some of the outfits from Outside."

Adam Boyd with the Mat-Valley Potato Growers also has mixed feelings about the plans. "Too many co-ops have come and gone in the Valley. I don't want to see another McKinley Meats thing built," Boyd said. "If it was built right now there wouldn't be much of a market for it," said Boyd, who favors a nonprofit organization centered around the kitchen, with each contributing farmer sharing a portion of the proceeds. "I'd like to keep the Valley what it's supposed to be -- a small community of farmers."

One of Boyd's problems with the proposed design is that it would only allow the processing of grade 1 potatoes, which are of the highest quality, and not grade 2 potatoes, which may be too large or slightly green. Farmers can already make a profit by selling fresh grade 1 potatoes on the Alaska market, and would be most aided by an apparatus to increase sales of grade 2 potatoes.

Another large concern is the possibility of selling the processed vegetables to the Mat-Su Borough for use in school lunches and other standardized meals. Currently, the district ships most of its vegetables from the Lower 48 for consumption by Alaskans. The kitchen, with its provision of low-cost vegetables, might provide the means for Valley students to eat Valley produce. With a potential for processing 700,000 meals per year, the kitchen could meet the nutritional needs of all of the Valley's schoolchildren.

"The schools definitely need a new nutritional facility," said Larry DeVilbiss of the Wolverine Farm. The one area of agreement among farmers is that they would like to see Valley children eating Alaska Grown produce in schools, but how to accomplish this is still an object of contention.

A feasibility study by the Division of Agriculture is scheduled to be completed later in the month, but some farmers are skeptical even of the value of this study.

"The people who do the feasibility studies are the real benefactors here," said Hett, "just doing study after study." Hett did, however, say, "I do know that Alaska food is the best there is," and supports efforts to make Alaskan produce more widely available.

A funding session for the proposed project is scheduled to be held in February. The planners are considering using federal and state money to help fund the proposed facility, which is a rarity in Valley agriculture.

"We haven't gone to the feds asking for money for a long time," said Ray Hodge of Ray's Produce. "Neither have we gone to the state."

In any case, the recent propositions and planning spell a period of change -- whether good or bad remains to be seen -- for farmers around the Valley.