This is not the time to cut Alaska’s growing agriculture industry

I grew up in Wisconsin, one of the heartland and agriculture meccas in the United States. As a restaurateur, and consumer, I’ve always been a supporter of locally grown vegetables, fruits and produce. Robust agriculture matters.

Like many, I remain of the belief farmers and the agriculture industry are the lifeblood of our culture. President Thomas Jefferson once said, “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.”He’s still accurate.

Since I moved to Alaska in the 1970s, I’ve witnessed our state’s farm land steadily grow in production, quality and distribution. We read about farming in national and local news, good and bad. Recently, even data from the USDA agriculture census has been filling my Facebook news feed. Statistics show Alaska is leading the way, per capita, in farming output measures, which is yet another testament to how special we are. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that during the past five years, Alaska agriculture has led the nation in new farmer growth. The number of farms has also elevated by roughly 30% while the national trend has been a loss of American in the farm industry. The percentage of female farmers in Alaska is at 47%, again leading the rest of the country — the national average is 27%.

Agriculture products grown in Alaska’s high-latitude environment are certainly sweeter and taste better. Our food production is of strategic importance because of our distance from the production centers in the Lower 48. It only took a day after the Nov. 30 earthquake in Southcentral Alaska for store shelves to become bare. The rush to buy food and stock up after such an event was starkly demonstrative of how tenuous and limited our food supply delivery chain is with fragile air, ship, rail and road transportation.

My belief in “Alaska Grown” products has never wavered. As the president of Anchorage CHARR, the former regional hospitality industry trade association, I tried to maintain loyalty to local farmers. I’ve owned and operated restaurants and establishments across the state, and nearly always leaned towards local vendors and farmers through distribution channels.

Agriculture production is a local economic driver. One dollar spent on Alaska Grown products filters through the community as many as seven times before leaving the state.

In these tight fiscal times, Alaskans know they need to support their neighbors, and that is exactly what the USDA data shows. There are more than 50 farmers’ markets in the state where consumers can connect with the farmers; just 10 years ago, there were only 15 markets spread across the state. The national retail chains have recognized consumers’ desire to connect with local food producers, hence the wild success of the Division of Agriculture "$5 Challenge.” The national chains competed, with Safeway (2017) and then Walmart (2018) winning the coveted “Golden Carrot” Award.

I’ve spoken with Alaska farmers, regularly patronize farmer markets in Anchorage, and learned in my conversations that farmers reported a 20% increase in demand for products in 2017 because of the “$5 Challenge” spurring increased investment and production for the following seasons. I researched number though my contacts for this article and found in 2012, the value offood sold directly to consumers (at farmers’ markets, farm stands, etc.) in Alaska was $2.2 million. In 2017, that number had grown to $4.5 million. No other industry can boast that kind of growth in the past five years.

Agriculture is more than just a pea pod or egg or jar of honey. It’s a quality of life. Nothing has a greater impact on the quality of a person than their health; and beyond fitness and avoiding toxic substances, the food we consume is integral to longevity – and, by extension, health care costs, taxes, lifestyle, vibrant communities and workforce and so much more. And lucky us, Alaska has one of the cleanest growing environments in the world. That, combined with the impact of high-latitude growing conditions and impeccable soils, nearly pure aquifers of water and abundant daylight, we continue to create the sweetest crops with the highest sugar content of any growing region in the nation. This translates to the most rudimentary outcomes like health. Your and my kids and grandkids eat better, feel better, and thrive.

Alaska food production is of strategic importance to all of us, in good times and bad. In the long term, what good do our vast non-renewable resources offer if we give up the ability to feed our people. When it comes to regulations and oversight, and governance,do Alaska’s lawmakers support local economies, good health, sustainability of our resources and local communities? Agriculture is inextricably linked to all of theseoutcomes.

As a supporter of candidate Mike Dunleavy last year, upon his victory, I hoped to see him address the functional issue and inefficiencies in state government before proposing such sweeping, massive cuts, particularly in the Division of Agriculture. In February and March of this year, business journalist Tim Bradner, print publications and TV news stations reported the Division of Agriculture could be eliminated. I was puzzled when I heard this news. I recollect the achievements of the Division’s staff under former Gov. Bill Walker’s administration, seemingly one of his few accomplishments, and fondly recall the efforts made by past management of the Division to work with the State Fair, hospitality industry, grocery stores and produce centers, local business and media, and even the public on tours, one of which I made several years ago.

I’ve only met the former Division of Agriculture Director Arthur Keyes once, but from what I researched, he reminds me of myself in the hospitality industry. He was the federal delegate to our state’s farm industry. He led the Mat-Su Farm Bureau. He owns a farm in the Mat-Su area and is married to farmer’s daughter, so farming and agriculture is in his blood. I know from my purchasing days that he even managed a produce section at Safeway in his younger years. I met him at one of his three farmer’s markets to purchase some agriculture products for my daughter’s birthday. Why, I ask our Governor, is an all-star, green thumb, get-the-job-done farmer and manager like Arthur not still running Alaska’s Division of Agriculture?

I’m a 50+ year entrepreneur. I’ve employed hundreds, perhaps more than a thousand people. I’m a fiscal conservative of the Ronald Reagan ilk. I voted for Gov. Dunleavy. However, if his agriculture industry cuts are intended for cost savings and budget reduction in a fiscal “prudence” sense, they will actually impact the newest and lowest-paid state employees long before the highest wage earners feel the cuts and Alaskan enjoy smaller government. The cuts need to be balanced and shared by all state employees, not just the least protected in the agriculture industry – and by extension, hospitality trades.

Granted, I’m no expert on the internal dynamics of our state’s Alaska Grown marketing budget, or of the Division of Agriculture’s plant materials center, or of the farm land subsidies and loans to support young farmers and inspire new ones. I’m neither a budget wonk nor a farming professional. I do, however, understand balancing budgets, payrolls, income, revenue and expenses. I know in my heart that government can emulate private sector methodologies to achieve efficiencies. Conversely, the fundamental building blocks that tether to a multitude of occupations, programs and supply-and-demands in agriculture are vital to our well-being, security and sustenance.

I implore the governor: Don’t cut the Division of Agriculture! And while you’re at it, bring back visionaries like Arthur Keyes and the knowledgeable farmers and agriculture professionals who will keep growing our state and its farming infrastructure.

Frank Dahl is a 50+ year restaurateur and hospitality industry consultant. He started and served as the first President of Anchorage CHARR.