The Government of Yukon is awarding the 2022 Yukon Agriculture Award to Lastraw Ranch and Klondike Valley Nursery. The two Klondike Valley farms are recognized for their leadership and contribution to Yukon agriculture.
Lastraw Ranch, owned and operated by Megan Waterman, is one of the largest meat and egg producers in the Klondike region. 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.
Klondike Valley Nursery, owned and operated by John Lenart and Kim Melton, is Canada’s northernmost research nursery. John and Kim are being celebrated for their extreme horticulture of growing fruit trees in cold climates and at high latitudes. 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.
The Government of Yukon’s 2022 Yukon Agriculture Award winners were announced at the annual North of 60 Agriculture banquet held this past weekend.
Congratulations to Megan Waterman of Lastraw Ranch and John Lenart and Kim Melton of Klondike Valley Nursery for winning the 2022 Yukon Agriculture Award. 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.
Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources John Streicker
Other nominees included:
- Meesha Wittkopf for the White River First Nation community greenhouse;
- Tom, Simone & Graham Rudge of Tum Tum's Black Gilt Meats;
- Wilderland Botanicals; and
- Alpine Bakery.
The Yukon Agriculture Award recognizes a person or a group’s contribution to growing and supporting the Yukon’s agriculture industry.
Renée Francoeur
Cabinet Communications
867-334-9194
renee.francoeur@yukon.ca
Brigitte Parker
Communications, Energy, Mines and Resources
867-667-3183
brigitte.parker@yukon.ca