Out Here Erin McKinstry

On season two, agriculture in rural Alaska and what climate change could mean for its future. Here you’ll get some of the complicated story of Alaska agriculture from the perspective of Alaska farmers. It’s a story full of failure and innovation, one that defies stereotypes and looks quite a bit different from the mono-crop agriculture that dominates the lower 48.

On this episode, we'll travel to the southeastern Alaska town of Haines, where farmland is scarce. There we'll meet two beginning farmers using all the persistence and optimism they can muster to start farms and nudge a budding local food movement. We'll talk about the lessons farming teaches about the natural world--for children and adults. And we'll discuss what it's like to farm in a place without a strong agricultural tradition.

On this episode, we'll meet Nasugraq Rainey Hopson. She and her project Gardens in the Arctic live in Anaktuvuk Pass, about 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle. There isn’t exactly a lot of farming going on here. But Rainey Hopson is not the kind of person who cares about what’s normal. We’ll talk about climate change, food security, the Inupiaq connection to plants and so much more. We’ll hear all about Rainey’s project and the agricultural revolution she’s plotting up there in the Arctic.

The state has more land and a lower population density than any other. Dreams to clear swaths of it, feed the state and export crops to Asia have come and gone over the years. On this episode, We'll travel to the Fairbanks Experiment Farm to meet the researcher growing wheat. We’ll hear more about the history of those ambitions, the obstacles they’ve faced and what climate change could mean for their future. Then, we’ll meet a cattle rancher and farmer who’s doing his best to keep that dream alive.

On this week’s episode, we’re heading in a different direction toward one of Alaska’s niche markets. We’ll look inside a commercial outdoor marijuana operation outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. And we’ll hear about one farmer's evolution from ecologist to vegetable farmer to pot grower.

Then, we’ll talk about how Mike Emers of Rosie Creek Farm has seen Alaska’s agricultural scene evolve in the 22 years since he started farming. And of course, we’ll hear his thoughts on how climate change is influencing his work.

On this episode, we’ll touch on an important piece of agriculture in Alaska: the legacy of homesteading and how it’s changed with the times. The harsh climate, extra expenses and nutrient-lacking soils make homesteading in Alaska particularly gritty sometimes. On episode five, we’ll meet two women who’ve proved up for the challenge. Tenley Nelson is a New England transplant who homesteads on property inherited from her husband's grandparents in Strelna, Alaska. Ina Jones farms peonies, raises horses and puts up hay with her husband Speck outside of Homer, where they've lived all their lives. On this episode, we’ll talk about climate change, subsistence, peonies, land access and so much more.