Loss of assistance from state deals another blow to shrinking industry
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff WriterThe state has spent about $3.8 million since November 2007 on a program aimed at revitalizing Hawai’i’s struggling livestock industry and improving the state’s self-sufficiency.
Despite the cash infusion, Hawai’i’s livestock industry has continued to shrink.
Now those subsidies, which were scheduled to run through 2010, have been canceled because of the state’s budget shortfall.
That doesn’t bode well for livestock producers.
The subsidies "stopped some of the decline," said David "Buddy" Nobriga, president of Nobriga’s Ranch, which is a cattle feedlot in Waikapu Town on Maui.
Nobriga’s Ranch received $83,616 in feed subsidies, according to state records. Without the subsidies, "We’ve got to tighten up our belts and see if we can survive," Nobriga said.
Although Hawai’i’s farm sector remains relatively small compared with the $12 billion tourism industry, agriculture plays an important role in diversifying the state economy, preserving greenbelt lands and reducing the Islands’ dependence on imported food. The loss of food-producing livestock businesses makes Hawai’i more dependent on the Mainland and other sources to meet basic needs.
