Two Klondike Valley farms have been recognized by the Yukon government.
Lastraw Ranch and Klondike Valley Nursery received awards for their “leadership and contribution to Yukon agriculture.”
The awards were presented at the North of 60 Agriculture Banquet held the first weekend of November.
Both awarded farms are in the Dawson City area.
Lastraw Ranch, owned and operated by Megan Waterman, is among the largest meat and egg producers in the Klondike. Lastraw operates an online store selling pork, beef, poultry and a weekly or bi-weekly egg delivery subscription.
“Megan is being celebrated for boosting local food security and culinary tourism in the area by developing and growing sustainable agriculture in the North, supporting other Yukon food producers and collaborating on a cold storage network that links producers between Whitehorse and Dawson City. Established in 2012, Lastraw is also the first farm in the Yukon with a transhumance lease, the practice of moving livestock to an off-farm site seasonally,” the statement from the Yukon government reads.
The other recipient of the award, Klondike Valley Nursery, is operated by John Lenart and Kim Melton. They are being celebrated for their success at growing fruit trees in the high latitude and cold climate of the Central Yukon.
“In their 30 years of ongoing and innovative research with hardy fruiting trees, John and Kim have expanded fruit production in Canada’s North, diversified the local landscape and broadened local food production in the Klondike Valley,” states the government release about the awards.
Other nominees for the awards included Meesha Wittkopf for work on the White River First Nation community greenhouse, Tom, Simone and Graham Rudge of Tum Tum’s Black Gilt Meats, Wilderland Botanicals and Alpine Bakery.
“Congratulations to Megan Waterman of Lastraw Ranch and John Lenart and Kim Melton of Klondike Valley Nursery for winning the 2022 Yukon Agriculture Award,” said Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources John Streicker.
“These two Klondike River valley farms show the vibrancy and vitality of Dawson’s growing agricultural community. They are great examples of the Klondike’s expansion and rise as an important agricultural region for producing local foods and contributing to the Yukon’s food security.”
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com