Gardening in Alaska : 2009 Farm Family Of the Year Announced

Talk Dirt To Me

Gardening in Alaska presents big challenges, whether it's the extra effort in finding plants tough enough to survive our Zone 2-4 climate, communicating with like-minded Alaska gardeners, or keeping up with the latest trends, issues and solutions. We'll try to help with that. We'll also tour gardens from Homer to Anchorage to Wasilla to Willow whenever we get the chance, and post the best garden photos around. Presenting a forum about cold-weather gardening and for cold-weather gardeners is what we are all about. We hope you'll join us on the Talk Dirt garden blog.

Photographer and gardener Fran Durner (fdurner@adn.com) writes the blog.

Photos

2009 Garden galleries

Images from a full year of gardening in Alaska.

Post your garden photo

Columnist

Jeff Lowenfels

A member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame, Jeff writes a weekly column on gardening in Alaska.

RECENT COLUMNS

Dirt debuts: Vegetable and petunia you don't dead-head

Catalogs offer fascinating garden tools

Homer nursery's gardening catalog among Web's best

More columns

2009 Farm Family Of the Year Announced

Posted by talkdirt

Posted: August 11, 2009 - 6:39 pm

Comments (0) |

August Garden Calendar
View Garden Gallery
Submit Your Garden Photos!

Carol Kenley and daughter Rachel, 18, at the Wednesday South Anchorage Farmers market. Fran Durner/ADNA press release from the Alaska Division of Agriculture today named the the Oberg-Kenley Family of Palmer as the 2009 Farm Family of the Year. The Palmer family will be honored at the Alaska State Fair Board of Director’s reception on opening day of the Fair, Thursday August 27th, 2009.

Read about a visit to the Kenley Farm during the Farm Tour in the blog post below

June & Clyde Oberg began selling milk to Matanuska Maid from their Fishhook Dairy farm in 1954. On 160 acres they raised their own hay and wet silage, milking an average of 35 cows a day until 1973. Daughter Carol (Oberg) Kenley and her five brothers and sisters all grew up with an appreciation for farm work, home gardening, and family values. They all helped to make the farm successful, from milking cows and driving tractors to weeding the families’ extensive garden.

Carol Kenley during the recent farm tour. Fran Durner photo.Carol and her seven children rejuvenated farming on the Oberg-Kenley acreage in the mid 80’s. When Carol’s daughter Amy was 13 years old she began selling vegetable baskets to nine customers with a weekly delivery route – similar to the Community Supported Agriculture operations of today. Amy carried on this tradition for six years and then younger sister Rachel took over until 2008. Over the years the Kenley Vegetable Baskets were serving up to 30 families with fresh, delicious produce from the family greenhouse and garden.

Click here to read about Rachel in a previous blogpost and watch a video.

Carol Kenley helps a customer at the Wednesday South Anchorage Farmers Market. Fran Durner/ADNIn 2008 Carol & Rachel transitioned to Farmers Market sales, attending the South Anchorage Farmers Market on Wednesday’s and the Palmer Friday Fling. They are known for their wide variety of unique vegetables and their beautiful basket displays.

The family has demonstrated their commitment and passion to agriculture for generations. June & Clyde have had five grandchildren selected as Alaska State FFA President. Carol launched “The Winners Circle” livestock 4-H Club in 1983. They host the Petting Zoo each year at the Alaska State Fair, have had several Master Showman selected from their group, and are known for their talents and successes in the show ring. For years Clyde held popular tractor demonstrations at the fair; his cream separating and ice cream making demonstrations were also a big hit.

Rachel and her alpaca Ollie. Fran Durner photo.The Oberg-Kenley gang is well known and respected in their community; Clyde has been a member of the local Lions Club for over 35 years. The family is also very active in the LDS church. Carol points out that they have never considered themselves farmers in the traditional sense, “we just have a garden that is out of control,” she states. Carol plans to continue with their farmer’s market presence in the near future; she is expanding her greenhouse production even though youngest daughter Rachel is off to Utah State to study Agriculture Communications this fall.