Survey seeks to quantify amount of locally grown food
October 1, 2010
907-474-5042
10/1/10
Alaska鈥檚 agriculture experts want to know how much food is grown and how much is imported into the state.
In order to get the facts, 性欲社鈥檚 School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences is conducting a survey of Fairbanks-area vegetable and fruit producers. Eventually, the survey will expand throughout the state but it is starting Oct. 1 in Fairbanks.
鈥淲e know that everyone bandies about the 5 percent figure, that 5 percent of Alaska鈥檚 food is produced in-state, but that鈥檚 really a guess,鈥 said Carol Lewis, SNRAS dean and Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station director. 鈥淎laskans have been saying they import 95 percent of their food for so long it鈥檚 become an urban legend.鈥
To start solidifying the numbers, SNRAS will mail a survey to 60 local producers next week. They鈥檒l have a month to return their paperwork or have the option to go to .
Natural Resources student Charles Caster and associate professor Joshua Greenberg are leading the project. Caster visited the Tanana Valley Farmers鈥 Market many times over the summer and even volunteered to help at local farms in exchange for information.
鈥淚鈥檝e pulled carrots and hung garlic,鈥 he said. He is hoping for a high percentage of return for the surveys and is even offering an extra incentive. Three survey participants will win packages of Alaska-grown beef from the Matanuska Experiment Farm.
Agricultural Development in the American Pacific funded the project.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Charles Caster at 907-455-3890 or cdcaster@alaska.edu. Marmian Grimes, 性欲社 public information officer, at 907-474-7902 or via e-mail at marmian.grimes@alaska.edu.
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