About ABG

The Alaska Berry Growers is an Alaskan Non-Profit Organization focused on supporting the Alaska Berry Growing industry and is headquartered on the Kenai Peninsula. 

Mission

The mission of Alaska Berry Growers (ABG) is to assist in the creation of a berry industry that will result in sustainable jobs in rural Alaska through the harvest, ranching, and processing of truly “Wild Alaskan Berries” meaning that pesticides and herbicides have not been used and they are certified disease free.

Vision

To enable this new Alaskan agricultural industry, ABG will develop repeatable models with sustainable methodologies to establish rural production, harvest and processing sites and provide outreach, training and education to ensure a substantial and growing annual harvest throughout Alaska. ABG will become a key facilitator of a vibrant workforce that fuels the berry industry growth of Alaska well into the future.

To enable this vision, ABG will work with local communities to:

• Ensure a target harvest is achieved commensurate with customer demand.
• Recruit and train harvesters
• Develop harvesting agreements with landowners
• Assist in starting blueberry-growing operations

ABG will also provide the following services:

• Development of blueberry ranching model
• Installation, testing, and management  of localized processing facilities..
• Develop and maintain a quality control program and certification standards
• Establish additional markets for berries and other Alaskan biological products  

In addition to supporting activities directly related to producing the annual harvests and getting them to market, ABG will be working to develop training and community related activities to enhance the penetration of the Alaska Berry opportunity for all Alaskans. These type activities include:

• Community Outreach – Develop successful methods of general community education and involvement to ensure all know what is available. Conduct outreach and look ahead for future communities.

• Harvester orientation and training. Open to all. Required training to harvest berries for ABG. Safety, quality control, procedures.

• Classroom/field training - Target audience 16-24 year olds, Open to anyone wishing to leverage this type of education and experience to pursue higher education, or job opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing processes, Life sciences, management, or business fundamentals.

• Web based training/information components