Supporting Small-Scale Agriculture on Kodiak Island, Alaska

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KODIAK ISLAND, ALASKA - Food security is a concern for all Alaskans, considering its remote location, high import and shipping costs, infrastructure limitations, and short growing season.

About 95 percent of the food purchased in Alaska is imported and the food supply chain is vulnerable to disruptions, especially for residents off the road system and on remote islands.

Fortunately, motivated individuals, organizations, and communities on Kodiak Island are addressing this issue by expanding local agriculture, with assistance from multiple partners including the Kodiak Soil and Water Conservation District (Kodiak SWCD) and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

A Partnership for Local Growers

Both Kodiak SWCD and NRCS have entered into a cooperative partnership agreement to provide technical and financial assistance to growers on the island to support local food production.

Through this partnership, Ian Zacher (pictured), agricultural outreach and education coordinator for Kodiak SWCD, helps connect residents to technical resources and information about growing food. He coordinates workshops and events to educate residents on how to grow vegetables in Kodiak's cool, rainy, maritime environment by using resources easily available to them, such as beach peat, kelp, spent grain from the brewery, and compost.

Ian Zacher enjoys integrating his children into farm work, shown here prepping the soil inside a hoop house. Photo courtesy of Ian Zacher.

Feirme Béar Donn Farm (Brown Bear Farm)

Ian is a model steward of the land, and his farm is an ideal example of what intensive vegetable farming can look like on Kodiak.

He and his wife Leah, with help from their two children, operate Feirme Béar Donn Farm, a thriving vegetable operation that sells produce to over 1,000 customers each year. Their produce is sold to the Kodiak Harvest Food Cooperative and the Kodiak Food Hub. They are also donating food to the local women's shelter. Their farm is currently the largest vegetable producer in the town of Kodiak.

A native of Humboldt, California, Ian moved to Kodiak in 2018 and started farming there in 2020-a critical time for growing local food with supply chain disruptions from the pandemic.

Over the years, he has added onto the farm, from a chicken coop, to a greenhouse, to raised beds, to two high tunnels (also known as hoop houses). His future plans include installing an irrigation system with NRCS assistance, a high tunnel, and four more hoop houses.

"I farmed in Humboldt where you could grow just about anything," he said. "I never grew in a hoop house before moving here; I've had to teach myself everything."

Ian farms intensively on about 3,000 square feet and in one season can yield about 800 heads of bok choy, 400 pounds of potatoes, 200 heads of broccoli, 180 cauliflower, 400 bunches of radishes, 200 bunches of turnips, 200 bunches of beets, 60 pounds of spinach, and pounds and pounds of lettuce. He also produces cut flowers and other crops in his greenhouse, and chicken and duck eggs.

Ian Zacher builds a soil bed using compostable materials on his farm in Kodiak, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Ian Zacher.

Adopting NRCS Conservation Practices

Ian is piloting NRCS conservation practices on his farm and using his experiences to help guide other growers through the process. This year he installed low tunnels using the NRCS' Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

"This is the best paying practice for small farmers," Ian said. "They are easy to build, and they help me control moisture and manage the soil temperature. I can open and close them easily to manage air flow. And by putting them inside a high tunnel or hoop house, I can manage better for the wetter and colder climate in Kodiak."

In just his first season with the low tunnels, Ian noticed a significant improvement in pest management. This year he had not one single root maggot in his harvest of garden turnips because they were grown inside the low tunnel.

"From the 100 or so bunches this year, we've only had three turnips with light damage, normally it's around 10 percent of my turnips," Ian said. "These low tunnels work."

Ian is taking this experience and working with other growers on the island to connect them to NRCS programs. Multiple residents have installed seasonal high tunnels, also known as hoop houses, with NRCS assistance. The high tunnels allow them to manage crop production in a controlled environment and improve crop quality and yield.

"Crops grow three times faster in the high tunnel than outside of it, and you have to manage it three times more intensely," Ian said.

Ian works with local growers to do soil testing and to help them use the test results to refine their nutrient applications to achieve healthy soils and improved crop quality. Through the NRCS partnership, Kodiak SWCD is initiating a pilot program to provide and distribute soil amendments to growers which can be difficult to get shipped to the island in suitable quantities.

Low tunnels used inside a hoop house significantly improves crop quality in Kodiak, Alaska. NRCS photo by Tracy Robillard.

A Rise in Community-Led Farms

The demand for local food on Kodiak is growing. Interest is growing, and more people are producing local food. The Kodiak SWCD and NRCS are working with other partners on the island including the Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute and its member farms. Village farms are expanding on the island including hydroponic facilities and mariculture operations through the Alutiiq Grown program.

"We need more farmers in Alaska," Ian said. "My goals are to bolster the community gardens, advocate for raised beds, get people growing in small spaces where they can, and foster the idea of subsidizing people's food costs with growing a small lettuce crop. And practices like mini tunnels and raised beds are an easy tool to get people to buy in," he said.

There are some inherent challenges to farming on Kodiak. Land availability is limited and expensive, and the island has limited soils suitable for farming. Growing food requires some creativity in building up soils using organic materials available on the island. Additionally, zoning changes may need to occur to allow high tunnels and hoop houses on parts of the island.

The partnership with Kodiak SWCD and NRCS is working toward solutions by working with partners, listening to the unique needs of local growers, and building on lessons learned and shared successes.