2016 marks my 49th anniversary of immigrating to Alaska from Holland. My wife Suus and I came here with very little, but we were fortunate to have the opportunity to be sponsored by Max and Dorothy Sherrod, a Palmer colonist and longtime farming family who took us under their wing and taught us everything they knew about farming in Alaska. They even let us experiment with our own lettuce growing operation on their property. Without their support, guidance and land, we never would have gotten our start.
Our Alaska story began with the generosity and open heart of true Alaskans looking to pass their agricultural knowledge to the next generation. With that in mind, as president of the Alaska Farmland Trust, I’m proud to introduce our new program, Alaska FarmLink, which will help connect beginner farmers with landowners looking to rent or sell their land. With increasing land prices and a lack of available good farmland, this program hopes to tie new agriculturalists with the resource they need the most — land. To learn more, visit www.akfarmland.com/farmlink. I look forward to helping the next generation of farmers and can’t wait to see where this program goes.
— Ben VanderWeele
owner, VanderWeele Farms
Palmer