In the heart of Alaska’s rich agricultural region, the Alaska Farmland Trust Corporation (AFTC), in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), permanently protected the 115.22-acre Grover Farm through a conservation easement that ensures the land will remain in agricultural use forever.
Established in 1948 by Clifton and Vera Grover, the farm has stood for over seven decades as a pillar of family farming in the Matanuska Valley. Originally a dairy operation, they shifted over time to running cattle and began to lease portions of the property to other local farmers— continuing a legacy of local food production and stewardship.
“We came up in November of 1948 the first year we plowed all the land in oats and peas and vetch that we used for silage and hay. It is excellent soil. It is very important to learn how wonderful this soil is, this land here is excellent farmland,” said Wesley Grover, longtime valley resident and farmland owner, who worked hard over the past five years with AFTC to see his land stay farmland. “You need the land to plant the crops, you can’t get that any place, they don’t make any more of it. We need to save this good farmland.”
With the Matanuska-Susitna Valley facing increasing development pressure as the region’s population grows, AFT is stepping up its efforts to safeguard productive farmland.
Source : usda.gov