Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund Fosters Industry Growth.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy

Alaskans who need financing to grow a farming business can tap into the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund (ARLF). Farming requires a tremendous up-front investment, and ARLF can provide funding to cover a variety of expenses-often with more speed and ease than a traditional lender, according to Arthur Keyes, director of the Division of Agriculture, part of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

ARLF offers short term, chattel, farm development, irrigation, product processing, and clearing loans with favorable interest rates. ARLF made six loans totaling $460,000 in fiscal year 2016 and eleven loans totaling $1,067,000 in fiscal year 2017. Many of those loans went to farmers in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and Delta Junction area. There is great potential in Alaska to feed people through agriculture, and Alaska's agricultural industry is growing, Keyes says. "Fifteen years ago, we had a dozen farmer's markets in Alaska, and today we have over forty," he says.

That's a welcome...