Alaska Ag...The Crisis 2.0 UPDATE

The USDA slaughter plant, aka as MMM&S, has a notice:

"Closed 30 to 90 days for repair"

When, or even if, it will reopen, no one seems to know.  Since MMM&S is the sole location in Southcentral with the USDA stamp for resale cuts, this will no doubt cause problems for some producers. Livestock can still be processed using the "custom exempt" section of USDA permitting. 

Alaska Ag....The Crisis 2.0

In yet another huge challenge facing Alaska livestock owners, comes the rumor floating all over:

MMM&S might close, in as little as three weeks or so.

No one really seems to know the true cause of what might be happening there-despite the bargain basement price for the plant, it may not be viable for anyone, ever. Or it could be internal squabbles, or personnel, or personal reasons, or any combination of them. The State's continued poor economy no doubt contributed, as did the State's historical ag choices-Directors, BAC members, policies, the whole shebang.

Whatever the cause, this is of grave concern to those Alaskans hanging on by a thread, producing locally grown livestock for discerning buyers. For without a functioning USDA plant with it's all important "stamp", there will be no Southcentral grown lamb chops, pork butts, or beef pot roasts for sale locally. 

This will cripple Alaska food production for quite some time, should it come to pass.

Just think about this issue, the next time you are in a chain grocery store, and select the imported products, instead of the Alaska grown. And how dependent you are, upon the continued stream of shipping containers making their way through the Port of Alaska.

Alaska Ag.....Surprise!

It seems the Palmer chains on agriculture, in the form of Arthur Keyes, have been broken.

Just posted today, on the Alaska Grown Facebook page, was an entry describing the success of the $5 Challenge.  

The link to the Facebook page for Alaska Grown is:  Alaska Grown

If you follow the link to the DNR press release about the program, you will find that DNR's David Schade is "acting director" of the Division of Agriculture.

What, exactly, does this mean for Agriculture in Alaska?  

Well, Mr Schade may become the permanent replacement for Keyes, that is unknown.

But what is known, that whoever ends up assuming the title and duties, will no doubt be a step forward for agriculture here. 

Alaska Ag.....In crisis

A crisis has been carefully crafted and let loose upon Alaska agriculture.  There is no knowing how this saga will end, but this is truly a "the little guy vs. the big money" fight...and fight it will be.

On the one hand, there is the big money. That would be the Wild Sheep Foundation, whose pockets are very, very deep, and their paid lobbyists and supporters who can work the halls in Juneau at will. 

On the other, the hobbyist, fancier, 4-H family, homesteader, rancher, farmer.  Who will be forced to rely upon their elected representatives for assistance, during what is sure to be a contentious legislative session. 

Do not be fooled, this entire situation was created on purpose, by the Wild Sheep Foundation. The aim was to remove domestic sheep and goats from the clean list (as established by the Board of Game) permanently.  

When MOVI was first brought to light, most Alaskan livestock owners had never heard of it, or what the track record of the WSF in the L48 looked like. Concerned about the risks, testing was proposed and then performed on domestic animals. Testing was also performed on wild sheep, goats, caribou and moose. Bear in mind that the science is not settled, the testing is not settled as to method and type, and that there are 400 strains of this opportunistic beastie known so far. And yep, you guessed it, it can be found in them all. A very small percentage of domestics, however. So then the question becomes: Who infected who, first? 

Common sense has been scarce in the whole WSF fiasco to date, as the WSF and their followers, cannot even seem to see, that tracking, hunting, darting, tagging, and sampling these wild animals, causes them stress. Stress is the main factor in triggering MOVI into the pneumonia that kills them.

But hey, taking hundreds of wild animals every year is perfectly fine, right? >sarcasm< 

Naturally, this is not an emergency to the Golden Boy heading the Division of Ag. While they do have a representative present at the working group meetings, Director Keyes is awaiting a "report" on the issue.  Seriously?  Waiting for a report?  What in the heck is so pressing about marketable crops in January, that he cannot attend a meeting and learn firsthand, the threat facing Alaskan livestock owners? Who knows what his excuse is. And as upset as these producers are, his one public letter does not prove he supports livestock production in full, no matter the threat. Shame on him for taking the "plausible deniability" route, because it was expedient. Pffft!  Whether Keyes is concerned about continued employment or not, it is his responsibility to be on top of this. Period end.

This is a crisis indeed, for our friends, family, and neighbors who own domestic sheep and goats. Since that nasty MOVI seems to be pretty much everywhere, and so are the wild animals, their removal from the clean list spells crisis, loud and clear.

Alaska Ag....a camel named Kehoe

So, those concerned about the future of Alaska's food security should already be aware of the blitzkrieg taking place against Alaska's sheep and goat owners. If you do not, here's the quick and the dirty:

There exists a disease called "m.Ovi" which is basically a pathogen that has devastated wild big horn sheep and mountain goats in the L48. Ongoing research suggests that co-mingling of domestic and wild herds may be the root cause for the presence in the L48 herds (perhaps!), although one should consider this particular pathogen an opportunistic one, that kills animals already stressed by other factors such as habitat loss, pre-existing disease, hunting pressure, drought, and scarcity of natural forage. So, the takeaway is that m.Ovi is generally considered to be the cause of the two species steep decline in the L48, particularly by the wildlife preservation groups, such as the WSF (Wild Sheep Foundation).  A few years back, the Alaska sheep and goat owners were quite surprised by a suggested regulation (submitted by Kevin Kehoe of the WSF) to our own Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game, to remove sheep and goats from the clean list in Alaska. 

See these blog posts for more information:

https://suvalley.blogspot.com/2017/08/alaska-agthe-prop-64-problem.html

and more here:

https://suvalley.blogspot.com/2017/11/alaska-agwill-adf-outlaw-domestic.html

Since that time, a working group was put together (which was supposed to equally be weighted between advocates (WSF, guides, etc) the state agencies, and producers, but ended up being majority WSF) to find solutions to the threat of m.Ovi to our marvelous wild sheep and goats. After a year and half of hard work by the Alaskan livestock owners, agreement was reached in principle for a variety of measures, to prevent contact between domestic and wild populations. 

Yesterday, Mr. Kehoe decided to leave after a fancy presentation. He will take all his proposed regulations/rules direct to the legislature, without any input from the domestic owners. They are the same demands he made at the outset, and the WSF has millions of dollars in the bank to pay for lobbyists and to coerce state acceptance of their demands.

In short, the talks, meetings, concessions and working group itself, were nothing more than a stalling tactic for the benefit of WSF's political plan. Here's the kicker:  Hunting statistics prove that the biggest threat to the wild populations of sheep and goats, are hunters themselves.  Nearly 800 were taken 2017 alone.  

This blog warned that the presence of m.Ovi would be confirmed in the wild herds and it was indeed proven to be present.  

The WSF and Mr. Kehoe are not waiting for more testing, not waiting for solid science, and is not willing to accept accommodations from our beleaguered livestock owners-homesteaders, 4-H, hobbyists, ranchers and farmers, period.   They have no inclination to work with anyone, least of all the state vet's office, the producers, or anyone else except their frightened base. 

And how does this situation pose a threat to Alaska's food security?  

While livestock production here is limited due to a number of factors, they still represent a significant portion of available food. There are more sheep and goats than cattle, and their numbers can be quickly increased should the need arise. There have been domestic sheep and goats here within the state of Alaska for over a century, with no disease die off of the wild populations, as is feared. If they are successful in eliminating domestic sheep and goat herds in Alaska, this will set a precedent to use in other areas. 

Removing these historically beneficial species from Alaskan plates, does not and will never serve, to improve our food security. 

Alaska Ag.....2019 and beyond

Well, here she is, a brand new year. 

What will the coming year bring for Alaskan agriculture?

If the past is our guide, we know what there won't be.

There won't be a land rush to turn muskeg, black spruce, dead birch and thickets of alders into growing food for Alaskans. Because politics and statute take precedence over the state's responsibilities (if any) to provide opportunity to develop a new resource.

There won't be loans for entrepreneurs whose expertise falls outside the confines of row after row of crops whose markets are already established.  There won't be money for processing facilities, creating pathways for the true "farm to market" infrastructure so desperately needed.

There won't be an explosion of greenhouses, or gardens, or raised beds, popping up like a long dormant seed brought to life, across Alaskan back yards and homesteads.

There won't be an abrupt return to small dairies, cattle producers, or flocks of sheep and goats. Having weathered decades of no support from the Division of Agriculture, livestock will continue to limp along, hamstrung by ignorance and incompetence.

There won't be a unified "call to grow food" since one has never taken root, not within the poisoned atmosphere that is the Division. They have salted the ground so thoroughly, that new ventures resolve and if fully committed, will eventually do it sans their nod of approval.

There won't be a handy encyclopedia of Alaska agriculture, because there exist dozens of programs and groups, both federal and state, that comprise the wealth of knowledge garnered over decades of study after study, program after program, experiment after experiment. Alaskans are expected to stumble around long enough to become discouraged, before finding the information they seek on food production. Thanks to entrenched bureaucracy, this will never be corrected.

Yeah, there are a lot of things that won't be.

Given enough time, ag itself might become one of them.

Alaska Ag.....The Food Security Thing

The gnarly issue of feeding the residents of  Alaska is never far from mind.  


It's only taken four generations to nearly sever the ties between food production, and the modern consumer. Prior to that time, most rural homes had gardens, and generations of family who were skilled and experienced at home food preservation.  They had root cellars, kitchen gardens, drying and smoking sheds, ice houses and shelf upon shelf of carefully preserved fruits and vegetables. They held over their own seeds, traded for what they didn't have, and sold or bartered excess with neighbors. There were no grocers, no supermarkets, no rapid transit to whisk the crops away to large centers for processing and distribution. The extensive interstate highway system did not exist, and what was moved around was done so by rail and barge. The birth of mega farms, monoculture production, and conglomerates was decades away from the lifestyle of the previous centuries.

Today, most kids believe food is contained only in brightly colored boxes their parents pull from the freezer and cupboard.  There is a large disconnect between what they are served, and where it comes from. Today's urban child may know what animals are "farm" animals, but have never seen or laid hands upon one. They've never collected eggs, raised poultry or livestock for 4-H, or helped with family gardens.  They've never been in a barn, let alone cleaned one, and never walked fields with bucket in hand, to round up that blasted loose calf. They've never picked an apple, or a berry, or a tomato. For most of them, there is too much outside out there, and it's smelly, disgusting, and scary.

For this, we can thank the urbanization of the workforce in no small part.  From family farms and small towns, to the bustling hordes of large cities, the move was slow, steady, and allowed America to expand its business and economy, into one that most of the developed world envies even today.  There are entire libraries devoted to this flight from farm to city, so there is little need to revisit the details.  But Alaska remains a unique state, with a unique set of circumstances.

We are fortunate indeed, to have regular shipments from the western ports of the US. These shipments are absolutely crucial to feed Alaskan residents and visitors.  Thanks in no small part to the invention of "just in time" ordering, Alaska grocers and retailers enjoy a steady supply of product for their customers. Even in the Bush, orders are regular (if subject to delivery conditions i.e: frozen rivers or break up of same) if costly. Back in the 60s, my own Mother used to sit down with a calendar and plan out meals to the ingredient. Why? Because we only got to town about every four months or so.  Back then, every grocery store had a warehouse with additional inventory-just in case. If not, our trek to the grocery store would cause my Mother to hastily rework the menu calendar, due to empty shelves caused by barges lost at sea. Thankfully, a hand spaded large garden was very successful for the family.

The regular port arrivals of behemoth ships carrying hundreds of shipping containers, is Alaska's literal lifeline. Any serious disruption in the supply chain will have immense consequences, a ripple effect not well thought out by most residents. I have spoken to those in emergency management, who say it plain: Alaska is 9 meals away from anarchy. There are any number of scenarios which might cause that critical chain to snap (earthquake, tsunami, EMP, solar flare, other natural disaster down south, war, to name a few) so you'd think that the Division of Agriculture might be a logical place to find solutions to this risk we all face.

Well, good luck with that. The State of Alaska, if the Division of Agriculture is any indication, could care less about the state's inability to feed itself. They share no information freely about their activities, you must submit a FOIA that they will run before their state attorneys first. Their land offerings, as few as they are, are expensive, restrictive, and seldom successful with food production. They have a lot of payroll tied up in "marketing", which most advertising professionals would see as marginally effective.  Yay, AlaskaGrown!  Yay, Alaska State Fair!  Yay, monster veggies!  Yay local produce in season at grocery stores! Yay! The Alaska Grown Source Book! Yay, yay, yay!  Right? Pffft!  Wrong, oh so wrong.

Still no solution to the insurance problem.
Still no lands for a modern day land rush.
Still no progress in getting Alaskans to feed themselves.
What do they do at the PMC?  Well, who knows for sure. Except that hemp is not happening any time soon, they test grow a lot of stuff, but how are they proving their results? Answer:  They don't. 
A repository for all things relating to Ag in Alaska? Not hardly.

All of which, and a lot more contained on this blog, begs the question:

Does the State of Alaska need a Division of Agriculture at all?