Alaska leads the nation in agricultural growth and there’s no sign of it slowing down. The average age of a producer in Alaska is 2.5 years younger compared to the national average age. Alaska leads the nation in the percent of new and beginning producers. Almost half – 46 percent – of the state's farmers have 10 years or less experience on any farms.

Some of you may not identify with the term "young" and that is why we are leading with "beginning" instead; but the two are nearly synonymous. Whether you're actually young or young at heart- we are including all people who are kicking off a career in agriculture; from a first year farm apprentice to someone pursuing a midlife career change.

With help and support from the Alaska Farmers Market Association we are launching an Alaskan Chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition (www.youngfarmers.org), a national nonprofit whose mission is to "...shift power and change policy to equitably resource our new generation of working farmers." The Chapter will serve beginning and young farmers / ranchers in Alaska.

We are collecting individual information such as contact information, farm types, experience, demographics, and interest levels for participating in the Chapter in order to identify the Chapter's direction, trends, and insights that can help bring the group together.

We will keep your answers confidential and all results produced will be anonymous.

Feel free to contact Kyra Harty at 907-235-4068 ext 20 or email her at Kyra@AlaskaFarmersMarkets.org if you have any questions or would like more information.