Legislative Session Ends with Changes for Energy, Healthcare, and Resource Industries
Lawmakers finished a $6 billion operating budget and enacted new legal frameworks for energy, health insurance, and natural resources industries.
Agriculture
New Tech for Talkeetna Birch Sap Harvest
Hammers Family Birch, which acquired Alaska Wild Harvest and Kahiltna Birchworks last year, is introducing a state-of-the-art automated vacuum tubing system for this spring’s sap collection.
Blue Market AK Wins 2023 Alaska Grown $5 Store Challenge
Spenard Blue Market AK store has won the Alaska Division of Agriculture’s 2023 Alaska Grown $5 Store Challenge.
Long-Sought Alaska Grain Reserve Launches
The State of Alaska is investing $1 million for an Alaska Feed Grain Reserve Program to improve food and animal feed security for Alaskans. The money will be used to purchase feed grains grown in Alaska, by Alaskan farmers, to be stored, sold, and replenished in perpetuity.
DNR Releases Updated Regulations, Opening the Door for Industrial Hemp Production
The state recently updated regulations that open the door for industrial hemp production in Alaska and create a state-directed “endorsement” program through which industrial hemp products can be made and sold in Alaska.
Petersburg Veggie Growers Honored as 2023 Farm Family of the Year
Alaska’s 2023 Farm Family of the Year title goes to Marja Smets and Bo Varsano of Petersburg, who own and operate Farragut Farm.