Agriculture conference registration opens

January 29, 2020

Marmian Grimes

Registration is open for the 15th annual Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference, which will take place in Anchorage Feb. 20-22.

Photo by Edwin Remsberg. Livestock production is one focus area at this year's Sustainable Agriculture Conference in Anchorage. These cattle are at the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center.
Photo by Edwin Remsberg. Livestock production is one focus area at this year's Sustainable Agriculture Conference in Anchorage. These cattle are at the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center.


More than 50 presentations will cover diverse agricultural topics. They include farm management, potato production, food businesses and issues to consider before starting a peony farm. Special focus areas are raising livestock, creating sustainable agriculture in rural and off-road Alaska, and producing Rhodiola rosea, an herb valued for its medicinal qualities.

Researchers will talk about soil health, the nutritional quality of locally grown produce, vegetable variety trials and rhodiola diseases.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will host the conference at the BP Energy Center at 1014 Energy Court.

The conference will also feature an eight-hour training for farmers and business owners who are interested in value-added food processing. The certification course requires online coursework beforehand and a separate registration fee. An eight-hour produce safety training will also be offered.

The Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program sponsors the conference. The registration fee is $100 for three days or $50 for students. More information is available at http://bit.ly/AKsareconf or from conference coordinator Casey Matney, an Extension agent in Soldotna. He can be reached at camatney@alaska.edu or 907-262-5824.

ON THE WEB: http://bit.ly/AKsareconf