Outpost Agriculture

The Case of Alaska

Bibliographic Data

ID4490892
AuthorsKarl E Francis (corresponding author)
Year1967
Volume57
Issue4
Pages496
Publication date1967-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/212929
OpenAlexW2323503311
LanguageEN
Citations received6

GRICULTURE in Alaska is of a peculiar kind that has heretofore escaped valid and effective conceptualization. It is highly commercial and is oriented almost entirely to the supply of certain special items to satisfy the demand of what is essentially a remote colony of government employees and associated service personnel. It is not pioneer agriculture in the classic sense, but rather has an outpost function that we shall attempt here not only to describe but to put in perspective. Agriculture has existed in Alaska since the arrival of the first white settlers. The Russians planted small gardens and kept a few head of livestock to supplement the provisions of their ship's stores, and thereby set the pattern of Alaskan agriculture that has persisted to this day. The function of Alaskan agriculture is and always has been to provide a few fresh products for local consumption to supplement the bulk of food shipped in from Outside. Of the items which it is physically possible to grow, Alaskan farmers have produced those that either could not be shipped at all or were so expensive to ship that they could be marketed more cheaply by Alaskan farmers despite high production costs. Before mechanization, grain and hay for horses formed the bulk of Alaskan farm production, and milk, eggs, and vegetables made up a secondary class of luxury items. Today, catering to a rather sophisticated and exacting population, many of whom are short-term residents

Agriculture · Agroforestry · Archaeology · Geography · Environmental Science · Indigenous Studies and Ecology

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