June 2025 Outlook
Note from Jodie
Summer is in full swing here in Alaska, and at the Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, that means field season, magical gardens, peony festivals, summer interns, 4-H camps and all of the swirl of activity that is our work to enrich the lives of Alaskans.
For those of you who are in or near Palmer or Fairbanks, I hope you will be able to join us this July at one of our Field Days. Field Days are our annual events to highlight all of the amazing research that is going on at our farms. This year, the Fairbanks event will be held at the farm on the 日韩无码 Troth Yeddha鈥 Campus on July 29, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Palmer event will take place at the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center on July 31, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Come join us rain or shine, chat with our researchers and learn about the work we are doing for Alaska.
A shout out is also in order for our first round of NextGen interns, who are placed in programs, nonprofits and businesses to gain experience and develop skills while exploring careers in food and agriculture enterprise. This year鈥檚 intern partners include RurAL CAP, Alaska Flour Company, Calypso Farm, Frontieress Farm, OneTree Alaska, Future Farmers of America, Georgeson Botanical Garden, Cooperative Extension Integrated Pest Management, Alaska Harvest Collaborative and even Manoa Chocolate in Hawaii! I can鈥檛 wait to hear about all of their successes this summer.
I hope you all enjoy your summers and wish you a bountiful harvest!
Be well,
Jodie
A welcome sign at Georgeson Botanical Garden
The has a brilliantly designed entrance fence and arch! The renovation of the farm entrance to the garden has been in the works for months. Thanks to the community's generous supporters and the amazing metal work of Thomas Hart, we are seeing some beautiful progress. Photo by Laura Weingartner
Learn about the science that happens at the farms!
Farmers, gardeners and community members are invited to Research Field Days at 日韩无码's Fairbanks or Palmer Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station farms. This free educational event includes a schedule of talks presented by researchers on topics such as vegetable varietal trials, soil response to land use changes, the small grains breeding program, using kelp as fertilizer and more!
Learn through presentations, tours and discussions. Come for an hour, or stay for the whole afternoon.
Fairbanks Field Day: Fairbanks Experiment Farm, 日韩无码 Campus
Tuesday, July 29, 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Palmer Field Day: Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center, Palmer
Thursday, July 31, 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Learn more at our website: /afes/outreach/field-days-2024.php
ulinary program uses tomatoes, peppers grown in 日韩无码 research greenhouse
鈥 Laura Weingartner
Budding chefs got a taste of science this June. With tomatoes grown as part of an
experiment to optimize greenhouse productivity, participants in the University of
Alaska Fairbanks Summer Session programs, Seasoned Chef Camp and Baking Blitz Camp,
made homemade pizza sauce and French tomato galettes.
鈥淭he kids loved it,鈥 said Sean Walkin, one of the instructors for the camp and lead chef and program coordinator for the 日韩无码 Community and Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Program.
Palmer potato plot planting party
The Matanuska Experiment Farm staff planted 130 varieties of potatoes at the farm in Palmer on May 27, a beautiful, warm day. The potatoes were donated by the Alaska Plant Materials Center and will be harvested by the community in the fall.
Since this is a research-oriented project, the potatoes were planted in a specific manner. First, the soil was tilled to loosen it and a straight, 6-inch-deep furrow was dug. Seed potatoes were placed in the furrow about a foot apart and covered with dirt. The crew used PVC pipes marked with red tape to space the potatoes evenly and each variety was marked with a wooden stake. The planting order was carefully planned and recorded on a spreadsheet.
Grain at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm has shrunk over the past century
鈥 Laura Weingartner
When asked why the grain grown on the 日韩无码 Experiment Farm
was so much taller in the early 1900s compared to 2024, Jakir Hasan had a simple explanation.
鈥淧eople were a bit shorter,鈥 he joked.
Hasan, research assistant professor of plant genetics at 日韩无码鈥檚 Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, explained that it had to do with a shift to short cereal grain breeding that began in the mid-20th century, and resulted in dramatically increasing food production globally.
No soil, no problem: Soil building and management options in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands region
鈥 Marisa McKasson
What do plants need to grow? Elementary school science taught us that they need water,
sunlight, air and nutrients. For current or aspiring gardeners, a little more education
about how soil impacts plants goes a long way. Soil is not just the dirt in the ground
鈥 it is a complex physical, chemical and biological environment that can nurture your
plants or limit their growth.
How do we know whether we have good soil for growing? If we have soil, how do we manage it to best nurture our plants? When we do not have a lot of soil, what alternatives do we have to try and grow food in rural Alaska?
Volunteers layor organic material to create a lasagna garden bed in Delta Junction.
Meet the 2025 NextGen interns
The NextGen Internship Program is designed to introduce students to food and agricultural careers. With 14 interns placed across 10 diverse host sites, students ranging from college freshmen to Ph.D. candidates are engaging in hands-on experiences that span field research, marketing and communications, customer service, pest management, education and more.
This internship program is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 national NextGen initiative, which aims to build a skilled, diverse workforce for the future of agriculture. In addition to paid internships, the program offers competitive scholarship opportunities to help students continue their education in the food and agriculture enterprise career field.
IANRE accomplishments
鈥 Santosh Panda
Ph.D. student Sumana Sahoo, had a peer-reviewed research article published on May
4 in the journal Forests. The article, titled marks a significant milestone in her doctoral research.
The study explores vegetation dynamics in Interior Alaska鈥檚 boreal forests, with a focus on how topography, historical fire activity and climate 鈥 especially increasing precipitation 鈥 interact to shape vegetation dynamics. The findings provide important insights into how these factors collectively influence vegetation responses across the landscape.
Upcoming activities
Even though it's summer, with lots of work to do in the fields and forests, IANRE still has workshops and events planned all over the state. You can keep up-to-date with what鈥檚 happening on the IANRE online calendar. Scroll to the bottom of the page and check out what's happening statewide.
In the News
- Lacey Higham, directing manager for Georgeson Botanical Garden, was featured in Alaska News Source on June 17:
- Art Nash's June 15 column in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
- Heidi Rader's June 8 column in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
- Adrian Kohrt鈥檚 June 1 column in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
(Note, if you don't subscribe to the News-Miner, you can read Extension columns on the )