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Interior Alaska Farm Forum Schedule

Pike's Waterfront Lodge: Friday, Jan. 31 — Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025

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Friday, Jan. 31, 2025
8 – 9 am	Registration Table Open - Coffee and Tea Available
9 am	Opening and Welcome	Grier Hopkins, FNSB Mayor Brian Scoresby, AK Division of Ag Jodie Anderson, UAF IANRE
10 am – noon	Bus Leaves for Tour of Offbeet Farm (pre-registration required)
	Binkley Room	Upstairs Meeting Room
10 – 11 am	AFFECT Food Security – Farmer Training, Land Access, and Shared Infrastructure – Callen Christensen, Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District Golden Heart Grown – Killian Felt, FEDC IAFN & the $5.00 Challenge –Cindee Karns, Interior Alaska Food Network and Mel Sikes, Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District	Foraker Grant Writing Workshop – Laurie Evans Dinneen,  The Foraker Group
11 am – noon	Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Presentation – Heather Branfold-Faber, Alaska State Vets Office
Noon – 1:30 pm	Lunch and Topic Table Discussions
1:30 – 1:45 pm	Break
1:45 – 2:15 pm	Farmers Market Association Update – Brad St. Pierre, Alaska Farmer's Market Association	Flower Growers Meet and Greet
2:15 – 2:45 pm	Applying for AgWest's New Producer Grant – Abby Lutmer, Heartspace Community Farm and Clay Venetis, Fairbanks Farm Access	Using Ozone in the Chiller for Season Extension – Ron Illingworth, North Pole Peonies
2:45 – 3 pm	Break
3 – 4 pm	5-minute Lightning Round Presentations – Farmers Update on their Farms
4 – 4:30 pm	Improving Soil Quality & Productivity – Mingchu Zhang, UAF Agricultural & Forestry Station	Farm Service Agency Programs – Deb White, Farm Service Agency
4:30 – 5 pm	Our High Tunnel Story: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – April Smurda, Growing Roots Farm	Foraker Grant Writing Workshop Follow-up

 

Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
9 am	Opening and Welcome Coffee and Tea	Fritz Wozniak, Fairbanks Farm Bureau
	Binkley Room	Upstairs Meeting Room
9:30 – 10 am	USDA Programs - Braden Pitcher, Natural Resources Conservation Service	New Growers School – Marji Illingworth, North Pole Peonies
10 – 10:30 am	Buyer's Panel – Erica Moeller from Roaming Root, Christopher Hutchquist from Coop Market and Deli, Brad Spitz from Walmart, Steve Davilla from Alaska Feed, Chris Beks from North Pole Peonies
10:30 –10:45 am	Break
10:45 –11:45 am	5-minute Lightning Round Presentations – Farmers Update on their Farms
Noon – 1:30 pm	Lunch and Topic Table Discussions
1:30 – 1:45 pm	Break
1:45 – 2:15 pm	5-minute Lightning Round Presentations – Farmers Update on their Farms
2:15 – 2:45 pm	Planning and Starting a Farm in the Nenana Totchaket Ag Lands - Tam and Adrianna Coffey, Coffey Farm	Flower Growers Meet and Greet
2:45 – 3:15 pm	Farm Labor Panel Discussion: John Dart from Dart-AM Farms, Cindee Karns from IAFN, Marji Illingworth from North Pole Peonies	Farm Tax Breaks – Clay Venetis, Fairbanks Farm Access
3:15 – 3:30 pm	Break
3:30 – 4 pm	Small Diversified Farming in Alaska – Megan Schulze, Frontieress Farm	Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA): Produce Safety Presentation – Heather Branvold-Faber, AK State Vets Office
4 – 4:30 pm	The Cost of the Last Mile: Lessons Learned at Manley – John Dart, Dart-AM Farms	Cultivating a Forest Garden: Turning Challenges into Opportunities – Zach Yates, Arctic Eden Farm
4:30 – 5 pm	Wetland Regulations for Farmers – Irene Wood, Golden Heart Gardens	Becoming a Producer in Alaska – Kasha Ostbloom, Moosetard
5 – 7 pm	After Forum Mixer with Appetizers and Drinks – Sponsored by AG West and Ursa Major Distilling

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