The October auction to sell 2,000 acres of land near Nenana has everything to do with the needs of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s reelection campaign and nothing to do with a rational plan for agricultural development, contrary to claims made by the state.

The intelligent way to start this project would be to make sure the process is not a haphazard campaign stunt aimed at winning votes for Dunleavy.

But all signs point to a schedule dictated by the election. It’s a rush job that does not bode well for the long-term future of the dream to get 100,000 new acres of land into agricultural production.

The Division of Agriculture, overseeing the sale, is operating without a permanent director. David Schade, who had held the job since 2019, was removed this summer without public notice. Schade had been in charge of the project June 10 when he appeared with Dunleavy at a campaign event in Nenana promoting the sale.

Mia Kirk, who had been the head resource inspector for the division, has been acting director for a couple of months.

The state website promoting the sale still identifies Schade as the division director and claims this is the “first major agricultural project in America this millennium.”

Meanwhile, the Dunleavy administration is relying on outdated and inaccurate appraisals to set minimum bids below market rates. The appraisals were created before the state committed to spend tens of millions of dollars to improve road access, utilities and other key elements needed to place accurate values on the parcels.

The state transportation department said it received $15 million from the state budget this fiscal year for road improvements and wants up to $15 million more to extend the road to the Kantishna River on a rushed schedule.

The state plans to open sealed bids for the land at 10 a.m. on Oct. 19. That event will be a stop on the Dunleavy campaign, three weeks before the election.

A budget forecast about future state expenses, likely to be in the hundreds of millions, is missing. So are detailed soil surveys. No one can make accurate estimates about agricultural potential without that information.

The intelligent thing would be to sell the land by auction after the soil information is understood.

Successful bidders will need to create a State Farm Conservation Plan by March 16, 2023. But they won’t know enough by then because the state is rushing to meet an artificial deadline.

The land auction brochure promises that when completed, “this new information will be applied to develop a solid, economically viable 30-year development plan for this project area.”

“The Nenana-Totchaket Agricultural project will synergize the latest agricultural technologies with time-tested sustainable production practices for responsible agricultural land development,” the sales brochure claims.

Continue reading and you find that the “detailed soil report” was to have been done in 2021 under a state contract with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

That report “will provide valuable information” about the parcels to be sold, the state claims.

The project will not “synergize” anything by the time the Oct. 19 Dunleavy campaign event rolls around and the governor proclaims he has achieved an Alaska agriculture victory for the ages.