NRCS Alaska News

August 24, 2007

In This Issue

Organic Farm Thrives in Bethel

Tim Meyers runs a successful garden in Bethel.  Kohlrabi, radishes, turnips, spinach, watercress, artichokes and other vegetables sprout up in over 5,800 feet of rows that he shapes, plants and tends to with his tractor. 

“It gets pretty easy with a tractor,” Meyers recently told the Tundra Drums. “You can get a brand new tractor like the one I have for about the same price as a snow machine. My gardens are 24,000 sq. feet, so that’s a half acre.”

Mr. Meyers learned about gardening in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, home to the Yup’ik tribes who practice a subsistence lifestyle and have the highest per capita consumption of wild caught fish and game in the nation.

“Cooperative Extension got me going,” said Meyers. “I took the Master Gardeners course from them about three years ago and got all these ideas. They have the technical knowledge. People can be producing so much food.”

Through trial, error and hard work, Meyer’s farm now produces enough for his family’s needs and for a growing local market.  In Bethel, 400 miles away from the nearest outside road, many are hungry for fresh, organic local produce. 

“I have been so successful the last three years with this gardening. I’ve been able to grow and produce all my food for my entire family and some of it we sold last year. This year I’m sure I’m going to make money and produce more food than I can eat.  With what I’ve learned now with the root cellar, I can sell this stuff all fall, store lots of it in the root cellar, and I should be able to box up and sell produce to the villages all winter long. We could have fresh produce up here year round. If we really got serious about this and started farming up here, we wouldn’t have to be bringing any of this stuff in.”

Recently Meyers requested NRCS assistance to improve irrigation, and nutrient and pest management on his farm.  Meyers is also interested in creating a farming education program to share what he has learned about farming with others in the region. Last month Chet Fitzgerald and Ryan Maroney visited Meyer’s farm to discuss NRCS technical and financial assistance programs. 

We were impressed with the ingenuity and resourcefulness Meyers has applied to grow crops in this region. Because one of the objectives Meyers has for his farm is improving efficiencies, he has requested on-site farm conservation planning. He has also asked to work with the RC&D program and other local partners to create a working group to develop his farming outreach ideas.

We hope to see NRCS assistance to Mr. Meyers’ farm grow in the coming seasons.

Photo: Tim Meyers and Chet Fitzgerald inspect produce from Bethel's organic farm. Photo by Ryan Maroney.

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Invasive Grass Researchers Carry Message, Knowledge to Kenai Area

Meg Mueller, District Conservationist

The Kenai Peninsula Cooperative Weed Management Area (KPCWMA ) hosted two visiting Reed canary grass control researchers in mid-August. Dr. Susan Galatowitsch from the University of Minnesota and Dr. Tim Miller from the University of Washington Mount Vernon Research and Extension Center spent a week visiting sites and offering control and eradication strategies for different patch sizes in different habitats. 

The group visited several infestations on the Kenai Peninsula representing roadside, riparian, and agricultural settings. The concern of the KPCWMA and its sponsoring SWCD's is that Reed canary grass has the potential to dominate wetland vegetation to the point of excluding native species – a potential that has been realized in both Minnesota and Washington. In Washington, Miller said the grass is having an impact on salmon habitat by choking waterways with vegetation residue and captured sediments. 

Both researchers agreed that the Peninsula is at a point of departure and that there is an opportunity to eradicate many infestations. Treatments are labor intensive and extend at least two growing seasons.  The CWMA will be conducting a trial next summer whereby treatments are assessed for effectiveness, efficiency, and cost.

Photo: Scoping for Reed canary grass. Photo by Marcus Mueller.

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Helping Our World Forward  

With the coming of cooler weather we find ourselves preparing for another campaign season. No, it’s not politics. Instead it’s a campaign to provide one simple convenient method for all of us to “Help Our World Forward.”

This campaign will enable each of us the opportunity to donate to our favorite charity, whatever it might be, in an easy, painless manner. By simply filling out an 8.5”x 4” form, we can show our support for any one or a combination of thousands of worthwhile nonprofit organizations.

From the Boys and Girls Club around the corner to the national and worldwide organizations, there is at least one organization everyone can support. Organizations that feed the hungry to organizations that protect our ecosystems and wildlife species are listed here to provide you this one stop shopping opportunity.

Yes, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is beginning to gear up. The logistics have been under way for a week or two, and the campaign materials are expected to arrive soon.

What can you do to prepare for this once a year event? Start thinking about the organizations that have a meaningful impact on things you consider important. You can see the complete list at www.cfc.ak.org

Consider being the key worker or POC in your field office, so you can help your co-workers take advantage of this opportunity. Talk about this opportunity with those around you and discover how very simple this entire process is. Be watchful for more information as the campaign draws closer.

If you would like to help your co-workers take advantage of this opportunity by being a key worker. Please contact Jim Hazlett in the Wasilla field office.

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CFC Quick Fact

Can you give $5 a week to “Help Move Our World Forward?” Last year the average charitable gift from federal employees in Southern Alaska was $268 – or $5.15 per week. Your CFC pledge can be set up as a payroll deduction to begin in January. Consider what you can do – payroll deduction makes it easy to make a big difference in small pieces.

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Personnel Actions

•  Kristi Hicks – to GS-201-11

Departure

•  Lindsey Moritz – Bio Tech (Soils) – Delta Junction Survey Crew – 9/1/07

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