Growing number of produce farmers cropping up throughout the community

Wrangell is seeing some positive growth.

The number of farming operations is on the rise throughout the community, and it's contributing to a healthier economy.

There are two farms in Wrangell that grow a variety of fruits and vegetables and sell to residents and businesses, no less than nine residents that grow for their own consumption, and even Evergreen Elementary has a small farm.

According to the Alaska Farmland Trust, the number of farms in the state increased by 30% from 2012 to 2017, going against the national trend of a 3% decrease. Only 5% of the food consumed in the state is grown here, the rest is shipped in.

Forty-seven percent of Alaska's farmers are women, whereas the national average is 27%. Alaska is also No. 1 in the nation for new farmers. In the same five-year study, the Farmland Trust reported produce sold directly to Alaska consumers from growers in the state doubled.

Dwane and Laura Ballou, owners and growers at Oceanview Gardens, started the business with the intent of growing peonies for profit when COVID-19 hit. "We had multiple people approach us in town and they said, 'Why aren't you growing vegetables?' And it's like, 'OK. Fine,'" Laura Ballou said while taking a break from working on the farm. "So, the peony beds are in formation, they'll get planted this year, but we ended up taking the first year and planting some fruits and vegetables for people."

Since starting the farm, the Ballous have grown cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, corn, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, romaine lettuce, cabbage, parsnips, flowering kale, onions and strawberries.

"We'll probably get 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of potatoes this year," Laura Ballou said. Preparation for fruit trees and blueberry bushes is underway, as is asparagus, she said. Located at 6 Mile Zimovia Highway, Oceanview Gardens will eventually use four out of its 8.5 acres to grow.

"If we can keep the deer out of it," Dwane Ballou said.

Farming and its challenges aren't foreign to the couple, who had a small, organic farm in Indiana, including cattle, chickens and other animals. Having been in Wrangell for four years, they started a new farming endeavor with retirement in mind, as they both work full-time at Wrangell Medical Center, Laura as a nurse practitioner and Dwane as the director of facilities.

If they're not working at their day jobs, the Ballous are farming, with a "seven to 10-year plan to have a decent farm," Laura Ballou said.

The work they are putting in now is already starting to yield results, not only with produce, but with connections within the community. Oceanview Gardens sells to the Stikine Inn. Another longtime local grower, Ivy Patch Produce, operated by Katherine Ivy, sells produce to Zak's Cafe and directly to consumers during harvest.

"[Local farmers] are a great asset to us in the future. If they're able to develop, then we can supplement with quite a bit of [produce] from the season. It's really great for Wrangell," said Jake Harris, the operational partner for North Star Ventures, which owns the Stikine Inn, restaurant and café.

Harris said using local growers helps with logistics and planning, since he's typically planning the restaurant menu a week out. When produce has to be shipped in, especially now with supply-chain problems, planning has to be a few weeks ahead to account for delivery times. Locally sourced produce helps ease some of those burdens, like costs, which can be as much as 35% higher when buying from a distributor in a place like Seattle.

"It's been my focus to move as much product from [Laura Ballou] as much as possible this year because she's doing big batches of everything when she does it, so it's been my goal to get it in and move it as quickly as possible," Harris said. "But I've worked with Ivy Patch's produce this year, primarily through the Bear Fest event this July, and I've worked a little bit with the ... program at the school."

The Twisted Root, a downtown shop specializing in organic products, is another business that takes advantage locally source products where it can.

"We do get some of our local produce from people who farm around town," said Sierra Roland, owner of The Twisted Root. "We carry Sweet Tides Bakery's bread, local chicken and duck eggs, all kinds of things."

Roland, who has a background in nutrition and dietetics, sits on the board for the Alaska Farmers Market Association. She said there has been an increase in consumers wanting access to locally grown produce, which her store tries to provide when it can.

"For produce, we do get it from out of town but source others as local as we can," she said. "We believe in access to real foods."

Along with the private and commercial growing operations, there is an effort to restart the community garden, located just past Heritage Harbor.

Valerie Massie, the IGAP coordinator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association, said the organization received CARES Act money last year, most of which was allocated to traditional foods programs. Volunteers from Alaska Crossings helped Massie and IGAP technician Kim Wickman rototill the community garden, and WCA donated 13 new garden beds.

"There definitely seems to be an interest in growing more food locally; knowing what to buy and plant can be daunting, but our goal has been to help tribal households and anyone who is interested see that it doesn't have to be expensive to fill up a planter with quality soil, and make use of our food waste," Massie said.

Though there is a great deal of work that goes into growing produce on the local level, the outcome yields better results.

"You get a much better product when it's literally five miles away than 800 miles away, sitting in a warehouse for who knows how long," Harris said. "You can absolutely 100% taste the difference in the product locally versus ... the mega-corporation product."