Ben Vanderweele
VanderWeele Farms

Began farming in Valley: July 1967 Size of farm: 160 acres Crops and Livestock: Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, onions, potatoes, radishes and zucchini

It was the curiosity of Alaska that brought the VanderWeele family to Alaska, but it was Alaska soil that kept them here.

Why does a man and his wife from the Netherlands choose to immigrate to Alaska? Simple, a young farmer needs wide-open spaces and fertile land in order to grow. Ben VanderWeele and his wife, Suus, came to Alaska to begin their farming business in 1967 because farmland in the Netherlands was not widely available. Farming must be in their blood, as the VanderWeele's parents were farmers in the Netherlands and all of their children have come back to farming as well.

Today, VanderWeele runs the 160-acre VanderWeele Farms with the help of his three children and 25 to 30 seasonal employees. The variety of crops is diverse, with most of his farm yielding potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, zucchini, radishes and onions. The VanderWeeles have their own trucks that they use to deliver their produce to wholesale customers such as Carrs/Safeway, Fred Meyer and the NANA Native Corporation.

Everyone in the Valley agrees that Alaska is a great place to farm because of the cooler temperatures. VanderWeele said this is because the climate reduces the amount of pesticides necessary, there is less disease, and the land is cleaner overall. With these benefits, the VanderWeele Farms are able to emphasize the care "that grows into VanderWeele crops."

VanderWeele has been a part of the AlaskaGrown Program since the beginning in 1986. The sense of Alaska pride and freshness of the products is why the VanderWeeles have been supporting the AlaskaGrown program for so long. VanderWeele Farms would like to see more support from local wholesalers, but regardless, he says it is very "satisfying to grow crops for fellow humans."