current issue: ST_08_01

Senior Thesis ST 2008-01: "Alaska's State-Funded Agricultural Projects and Policy - Have They Been a Success?"

Author: Darcy Denton Davies

In the 1970s and 1980s the state of Alaska invested millions of dollars to develop a large-scale agricultural industry. The Delta Barley Project and the Point MacKenzie Dairy Project were created to show that large-scale agriculture was possible in Alaska. This study looks at the major events and policy decisions that occurred and determines how the outcome of the demonstration projects was affected. The author conducted an extensive literature review, focusing on state documents; she also interviewed key people involved in these projects. The projects did not accomplish their original goals for a number of economic and political reasons. The positive aspects of development are that Alaska now has more land in private ownership, more infrastructure to support the industry, and a thriving agricultural community at Delta Junction.