Month: August 2009

August 6, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

HAWAII MONTHLY LIVESTOCK REVIEW

Here is the complete PDF file for the Hawaii Monthly Livestock Review Report.
CLICK HERE for Livestock Report
Please visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/

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Contact Information:
Mark E. Hudson, Director
USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512

Office: (808) 973-9588 / (800) 804-9514
Fax: (808) 973-2909
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   I own this pasture, bother you?
“HAWAII MONTHLY LIVESTOCK REVIEW” reports are available on our website http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/ and also PRINTED monthly. Subscriptions for PRINTED copies are free to those persons who report agricultural data to NASS (upon request) and available for $4 per year to all others.

Hawaii Monthly Livestock Review Partial Summary

June Egg Production Down 5 Percent
From A Year Ago

Hawaii egg production totaled 5.70 million (15,833 cases) in June 2009, down 5 percent from June 2008 due to a 3 percent decline in layers on hand and a 2 percent reduction in the rate of lay per 1,000 layers.

Cumulative egg production for the first half of 2009 totaled 34.80 million, down 7 percent from the same period a year ago.

Cattle Marketings Increased 3 Percent In June

Cattle marketings (sum of exports and local slaughter) totaled 3,900 head for June 2009, up 3 percent from May’s revised total of 3,800 head. Exports accounted for 77 percent of June’s total marketings with steers making up 53 percent of the exported cattle. Local slaughter totaled 900 head killed in June 2009, unchanged from May.

Cumulative cattle marketings for the first half of 2009 totaled 23,600 head, down 20 percent compared to the first six months of last year. Cattle exports were down 24 percent so far this year compared to last year while local slaughter was down 2 percent from a year ago.

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August 5, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

On the Fairway, New Lessons in Saving Water – NYTimes.com

 

In Georgia, golf course managers have emerged as go-to gurus on water conservation for both industries and nonprofit groups.

…“Look, if you want to learn how to irrigate, these are the guys to ask,” said Garith Grinnell, who recently retired from the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Such accolades are a turnabout for a business that is often faulted for harming the environment through excess use of water and pesticides.

In Georgia, the shift in perspective came about largely because of a crippling drought that peaked in 2007. By that year, 97 percent of the clubs that belonged to the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association had voluntarily adopted what are viewed as best-management practices for water use, reducing consumption, they estimated, by 25 percent in just three years.

On the Fairway, New Lessons in Saving Water – NYTimes.com

August 5, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Howzit Howard

 

November 13th… birthday of Robert Louis Stevenson… anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam War Memorial… and the day 1,100 Hawaii state employees are set to lose their jobs. But despite a specific date, this situation is still fluid.

…

If there is any kind of cutback at all, whether outright layoffs or just furloughs, I predict you will see noticeable disruption of state services even if all affected state workers suck it up and try to provide as much service as before.

For example, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture has more than 120 people slated for layoff including about 70 from the plant industry division, I am told, which will disrupt plant inspections and either disrupt imports or allow imports without inspections.

Howzit Howard

August 4, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Maui Land and Pineapple Company Inc Reports Operating Results (10-Q)

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    I Hope there is Pineapple in                Haiku Hawaii Forever!            Click for Larger Image
Maui Land and Pineapple Company Inc (MLP) filed Quarterly Report for the period ended 2009-06-30.

MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE CO Inc. is committed to the integration of agriculture natural resource management and eco-effective design principles to create and manage holistic communities. MLP’s vision of holistic communities is based on the traditional Hawaiian model of ahupua’a a system of self-reliance based on the artful use of land and water resources to sustain island life indefinitely. MLP is a Hawai’i corporation and successor to a business organized in 1909. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Maui Pineapple Company Ltd. a producer and marketer of Maui-grown pineapple and Kapalua Land Company Ltd. operator of Kapalua Resort a master-planned resort community in West Maui. Maui Land and Pineapple Company Inc has a market cap of $59.1 million; its shares were traded at around $7.25 with and P/S ratio of 0.8. Maui Land and Pineapple Company Inc had an annual average earning growth of 23.6% over the past 5 years.

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August 4, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Maui Land & Pineapple reports 2nd-quarter loss

 

Maui Land & Pineapple reports 2nd-quarter loss

Associated Press, 08.03.09, 10:56 PM EDT

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KAHULUI, Hawaii —

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. has reported a wider second-quarter loss due to hefty charges.

The company posted a loss of more than $54 million, or $6.75 per share, compared with net income of $272,000, or 3 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2008.

The latest-quarter loss included a charge of $21.3 million for the drop in value of the company’s investment in Kapalua Bay Holdings LLC, and charges of $14.2 million to write off development plans the company says are no longer feasible due to changes in market conditions.

The company said Monday that revenue slid 24 percent to $13.3 million from $17.6 million. Declines were seen across all business segments, as less tourist travel to Maui and the state of Hawaii and lower demand for real estate continued to impact operations and pineapple operations were scaled down.

Maui Land & Pineapple reports 2nd-quarter loss – Forbes.com

August 1, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Could the Breadfruit Help World Hunger? | Newsweek Culture

 

For centuries botanists were unable to reproduce and ship the plant, which is native to the Pacific Islands. But a team of researchers led by Diane Ragone of the Breadfruit Institute at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kauai, Hawaii, has discovered how to propagate it en masse to ship to regions in Central America and Africa where it would grow best (and where hunger rates are highest). Now Ragone has 40 requests from governments, NGOs, nonprofits, and farmers across the globe to integrate the fruit.

Could the Breadfruit Help World Hunger? | Newsweek Culture | Newsweek.com