Publ'shed every Friday at Palmer, Alaska, for the Matanuska
Valley Farmers Cooperating Association for the purpose of giving news
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PALMER ALASKA ^ DOROTHY M. BELL, Editor
SHOULD ALASKA EE A DUMPING GROUND ?
Ted Carter, Assistant in Food Production under the War Food Ad—:
ministration, Dept, of Agriculture, Extension Service and University of
Alaska Cooperating, held the interest of the Truck Gardeners last Friday
evening after the Show on a discussion and demonstration of grading
vegetables. He maintains that the farmers' of the Matanuska Valley
have an established reputation t*o livo up<to for superior products.
This gives us all the more reason for closer grading of products thr t
leave the Valley. Those who listened to his discussion of soil fertil
ity and its effect upon vegetables know full well that truck gardening
is not merely throwing a few seeds in the ground, doing a little cul
tivating, then reaping a bountiful harvest. Gardening is a science
and it takes intelligent planning and much hard work to put quality
products on the market.
One often hears the comment, as some vegetables are discarded *s i
inferior that products shipped here from the states during our winter
months are inferior to those that we discard. That is correct* Mr.
Carter told us why. There are no laws prohibiting shipping of poor
produce to Alaska from the States or prohibiting our shipping out such
products. Th.ecefore, Alaska has become a dumping ground. After the
U.S. No.l products have been taken from the field to send to Chicago
or New York, the pickers are told that the next picking need not be so
particular as it will be sent to Alaska, Think of itJ
What can we do about such conditions? Plenty. In the first place,
Alaska should have stricter laws regulating the shipment of produce in
or. out of its ports. Second, we can pu % suoh high quality products
on the market that outside produce cannot compete with us. Eventually
the public will demand, local products and merchants will have to supply
it for them regardless of any predjudice they might have. Were we not
told when we cams here by some old timer s that they preferred storage
eggs to fresh ones because they had more flavor, Now they try to buy
the eggs before the hens lay them. Last but not least, if we are to
influence legislation in our favor and put our best quality products
on the market, we must pull together. Who was it who said, “We must
all hang together, or we shall all hang separately.”?
Editor
There has been much written about Alaska and especially the Mat
8nuska Valley during the past few years. Each writer starts with a
statement to the effect that previous articles have not given a true
picture of the Matanuska Colony. Dean F. Sherman in "Alaska Cavalcade"
gives his version of it i‘tf a Chapter which he has named "The Matanuska
Mix-up"* Much of what he says is true, but one often wonders where hesc
writers get their information or do they get things a little twisted'
themselves. Quote: "At the end.of two years, less than 12 acres per
farm average had been cleared and the average debt was between $6000 and
$7000--some running as high as $17,000. ----less than five percent were
making any payments whatever on their loans.-All the while the few
real farmers who came here expressly for the purpose of building and
operating successful farms, did just that--This handful of men paid off
their indebedness and were soon making real money--" On their farms???