Farragut Farm named Alaska's Farm Family of the Year

Reprinted from the Petersburg Pilot--This was in the 8/24/23 paper, but I've had farming on my mind again, or at least gardening, so here you go.

Bo Varsano and Marja Smets of Farragut Farm won Farm Family of the Year at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer last week, the first Southeast farm ever to do so. Smets says they were surprised to hear they'd been nominated and selected for the award. "I think it's super cool to bring awareness to agriculture down here. People in the interior are like, 'Wow, there are farms there?'"

In the Alaska State Fair announcement, Alaska Division of Agriculture Director Bryan Scoresby said, "Bo and Marja being recognized with this award is especially impressive when you consider that they're first-generation farmers who only started Farragut Farm in 2010."

Smets is especially pleased to earn the award coming from Southeast Alaska. Not only are they first-generation farmers, but their land is first-generation farmland. "Compared to Palmer and the Mat-Su Valley, farmers in Southeast do a lot of extra work to build up the soil from scratch." Farming in Southeast has its advantages too though, says Smets. "The growing season is longer than up there. Shorter than down south, but longer than up north."

One of the criteria of the award is community involvement in organizations such as schools, so a likely contributor to Farragut Farm's successful nomination is their goal is to provide carrots to schools across Southeast.

"We really think we can do well with carrots." Smets says. "They're sturdy, and durable, and there's nothing like a locally grown carrot. Now it's just about refining our production techniques."

Carlee McIntosh, Food Service Director at the Petersburg School District has fought to get more healthy local food served to students and has partnered with Farragut Farm since the near the beginning, according to Smets. Building relationships with other schools is their aim for the future.

Since starting in 2010, Marja admits that there have been some hard lessons. "It's a balance of producing as much as we can without working ourselves into the ground ... choosing the right crops, and the right amount of labor." They had found summer volunteers through a national program, but there was a lot of work involved in the process of training new people every season along with introducing them to the area. The past few seasons, they've had one local gal come out and work as a farmhand during the peak harvest season.

The number of crops they provide to the community has fluctuated as well, having offered a wider variety for a few seasons, then going back to basics with only garlic, they have expanded some again to offer garlic and carrots.

As for the award criteria of involvement in agriculture industry organizations, Bo and Marja basically started their own, founding the Southeast Alaska Farmers Summit in 2015 and organizing it biennially, with last winter's event in Petersburg attracting around 100 farmers and gardeners from around the region.

And for the criteria of 'farm family image, farming history, and unique or special production,' while the Farragut Farm family appears small at first glance, consisting of Bo and Marja, and the farm only starting in 2010, Marja says the community of Petersburg has provided amazing support. "We're so grateful and appreciative that everyone has always come out and been so enthusiastic about what we bring to town."

In attendance at the opening day reception of the Alaska State Fair in Palmer were US Senators Sullivan and Murkowski, Governor Dunleavy, and ranking member on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry John Boozman of Arkansas who stated that federal farm aid legislation must recognize the challenges of farming in Alaska.

Bo and Marja chose to stay close to the farm instead of traveling to receive their award at the reception, but their remarks went out over the PA system. Marja had her hands full processing and drying garlic, while Bo made a run to Petersburg with a boatload of garlic and carrots.