A dozen farmers on 87 acres of leased land in the back of Hawaii Kai fear they will soon be displaced by soaring lease rents from Kamehameha Schools.
To call attention to their situation, the farmers and political leaders staged a rally yesterday in the undeveloped Kamilonui Valley.
Tom Yamabe, 87, a founder of the Hawaii Farm Bureau who operates a small farm in the valley, says the farmers worry that if Kamehameha increases their rents too much the farmers will be priced out of the market.
Through quarterly “blitz” assessments, inspectors know that Mexican avocados can harbor an insect not found in Hawaii. In this picture, Wayne Uradomo is inspecting an incoming avocado.
Have you ever wondered if anyone reads those agricultural forms each airline passenger fills out when flying to Hawaii?
Before landing, flight attendants on every Mainland flight hand out forms asking if passengers are carrying fruit, vegetables, pets, soil or fungus.
As time-consuming as the form appears, it is a necessary tool in the fight against invasive species and is only one part of a system to stop invasive species from becoming established on Maui.
Agricultural inspectors at the Kahului Airport carefully review those forms, thereby helping to prevent passengers from unwittingly bringing invasive species into the state.
Elsewhere at the airport, at the Alien Species Action Plan (ASAP) inspection facility tucked away at the end of the runway, inspectors pore over containers of produce, plants and cut flowers.
Any plant material coming through the airport – whether destined for a garden, dinner table or floral arrangement – is screened carefully for plant diseases or hitchhiking bugs that threaten Hawaii’s agriculture or environment.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has a staff of 13 inspectors on Maui. These pest sleuths are tasked with inspecting air freight from early in the morning until the last flight of the day, while also covering maritime shipments and conducting inspections at local businesses.
KAHULUI – John Cho, a researcher in tomato and taro breeding, will speak to the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce at a general meeting Tuesday at the Coconut Grill at the Maui Seaside Hotel.
The event starts with networking at 5:30 p.m., with the program beginning at 6 p.m.
Cho, a professor of plant pathology at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, has spent the past five years focusing on the development of useful commercial products from his 35 years of breeding research as well as developing pest-tolerant commercial plant products suitable for commercial production in Hawaii.
The cost of the meeting and dinner is $20. Make reservations by calling (808) 594-1899 in Honolulu or by sending e-mail to melissab@oha.org.
A Histogram has been added to the 200 Day Comparative Price Performance Charts of Hawaii Agriculture Related Stocks ETFs ETNs and Indexes page. CLICK HERE to view the new chart. This page is published weekly and also includes a Price Performance Line Chart.
Click to View VideoHAWAII KAI (KHNL) – It’s the last large piece of undeveloped land in East Oahu and farmers have been working to prevent its development for the last five years.
The farmers face a big decision come next year involving the fate of their existence there.
Sugar Needs Water! Save HC&S Jobs! Click for Larger ImagePUUNENE – They came out on their coffee breaks and at the end of their shifts, in dust-covered shirts and grease-flecked work boots and with rough hands. A circle of soot rimmed their cheeks where their respirators had been minutes before.
About 20 Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. employees held their own news conference Thursday afternoon, along with a few HC&S supervisors, to make their case to the public that 800 full-time Maui jobs with benefits are at stake if the state Water Resource Management Commission rules against them in the Na Wai Eha streams case.
At issue is HC&S’ current practice of diverting up to 70 million gallons a day from Na Wai Eha, or "the four great waters" – Iao, Waihee, Waikapu and Waiehu streams. Water Commission Hearings Officer Dr. Lawrence Miike, who also sits on the independent board, has proposed reducing that amount by half.
HC&S agronomist Mae Nakahata said that if Miike’s proposed decision stands, about 5,500 acres of sugar cane above and below Honoapiilani Highway in Central Maui would be lost forever.
"If this goes against us, it could be a show stopper," said Robert Lu’uwai, HC&S vice president of factory operations. "Our expenses keep going up, and this year was the lowest sugar production we’ve ever had because of the (three-year-old) drought."
The mill typically produces up to 200,000 pounds of sugar, but produced just 127,000 pounds this year, Lu’uwai said.
Contact: Peter Boylan/Lori Hamamoto (Inouye) 202-224-3934 Jesse Broder Van Dyke (Akaka) 202-224-6361
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON – Hawaii will receive $34,010,000 for agriculture initiatives this fiscal year including funds to eradicate fruit flies, improve the plight of geographically disadvantaged farmers and expand research, Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye and Senator Daniel K. Akaka announced today.
The Senate approved the Conference Report for the Fiscal Year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill by a vote of 76 to 22. It will now go to the President for his expected signature. “Our farmers need all the support the federal government can provide to ensure that our food production and native species are protected,” said Chairman Inouye. “This measure will also fund critical research meant to strengthen our agriculture sector and improve our best practices.”
“This bill will fund programs that meet Hawaii’s unique needs in food and agricultural development, and foster local research that will benefit farmers across the country,” said Senator Akaka. “It includes watershed and flood prevention projects to fight drought on Maui and the Big Island, as well as invasive species control to prevent the spread of termites, brown tree snakes, coqui frogs, and other alien pests and weeds.”
Here are the Hawaii-related agriculture initiatives secured for Fiscal Year 2010:
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) will recognize the following individuals during the scientific societies’ Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA, www.acsmeetings.org, on November 1-5, 2009. The annual awards are presented for outstanding contributions to education, national and international service, and research.
Recipients: Crop Science Society of America Award
James L. Brewbaker, University of Hawaii – Seed Science Award.
James L. Brewbaker has served as a plant breeder and geneticist for the University of Hawaii Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science since 1962. He received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in plant breeding and has served as a visiting scientist in nine countries. His research is on the genetic improvement of tropical crops, with a focus on maize and tropical leguminous trees. He also founded Hawaii’s Crop Improvement Association and Hawaii Foundation Seeds, where he serves as director.
