By PAUL A BAUER JR.
Alaska Rep. Kevin McCabe and several Republican gubernatorial candidates have floated the idea of creating a stand-alone Department of Agriculture. It’s an idea worth debating, because the issue isn’t just about farming. It’s about how Alaska defines its priorities and manages its resources.
Currently, agriculture sits inside the Alaska Department of Natural Resources as one of six divisions, alongside Forestry, Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Mining, Land and Water, Parks and Outdoor Recreation, and the most prominent: Oil and Gas. Most of these divisions focus on managing and regulating natural resources that exist without human intervention, including timber, minerals, water, land, and energy.
Agriculture, by contrast, is different. It is not simply “discovered” in nature. It’s created. It’s the product of human labor, planning, and investment. Alaska’s Division of Agriculture works to open land for farming, finance farmers and processors, develop plant materials, educate on conservation, assist with marketing, and certify farm products. This is more akin to an economic development and marketing agency than a traditional resource-management division.
And that raises a key question: What is a natural resource? Most definitions agree that a natural resource is something that exists in the environment without human involvement—sunlight, water, soil, fish, forests, minerals. These resources are valuable because they are essential to life and economic activity, and they come in diverse forms. Agriculture uses these resources, but it is not one itself; it is a human-driven system that transforms those raw materials into food.
This distinction matters. Food and economic security are among Alaska’s most critical needs. Yet under the current structure, agriculture is housed within a department whose core mission and culture are focused on managing unaltered natural resources. The result? Agriculture risks being an afterthought, competing for attention and funding against the heavyweights of oil, gas, and mining.
Suppose we accept that agriculture is not merely a subset of natural resources but a vital pillar of Alaska’s economy and survival. In that case, it deserves its own seat at the table.
A Department of Agriculture would not be “just another bureaucracy.” It would be an investment in Alaska’s ability to feed itself, grow its rural economies, and reduce dependence on imported food.For a state with vast land and untapped agricultural potential, the stakes are clear.
The question is whether we’ll treat agriculture as a side note in the resource playbook or as the strategic priority it truly is.
Paul A Bauer Jr. is a former Anchorage assemblyman and Alaska political advocate.