Farming in Alaska.

Abstract

An analysis of commercial farming in Alaska has long been needed. This report may supply helpful information. It spans the yea rs from 1949 to 1954, a time of rapid development and growth. T he study analyzes detailed information supplied by 75 to 85 farmers in the Matanuska Valley and by 15 to 30 others in the Tanana Valley. In 1952, records were also obtained from 19 farmers in the Kenai Peninsula. These record s are estimated to cover about 60 per cent of all commercial farming activity in these particular areas during the period. Information on farming in areas outside the Kenai Peninsula and the Railbelt was gathered from mailed questionnaires supplemented by personal observations. Data for 1949 and 1950 were collected by Clarence A. Moore and were first summarized in his Mimeographed Circular 1, Alaska Farms : Organization and Practices in 1949, and Bulletin 14, Farming in the Matanuska and Tanana Valleys of A laska, both published by the Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station. The authors are grateful to the farmers, agencies and others whose help made this work possible.