Monthly Archive for December, 2009

Maui Pineapple Saved With Newly Formed Company: Haliimaile Pineapple Company, Ltd. | Maui Now

Published on December 31, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Haliimaile Pineapple.


Valuable agriculturable jobs rescued
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January 1, 2010 marks a new day for pineapple production on Maui, as a team that includes five former Maui Pineapple Company executives assume operations of Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc.

The five join Ulupalakua Ranch’s Pardee Erdman in running the newly named Haliimaile Pineapple Company, Ltd. The new company will officially assumes operations tomorrow, January 1, 2010 and will continue to grow and market fresh pineapple under the established Maui Gold® Brand.

HPC has purchased and licensed key assets, and leased farm land, equipment and buildings from ML&P with plans to serve the Hawaii market.

“We are proud to continue the 100 year legacy of pineapple on Maui,” said Darren Strand, president and CEO of the new company.

“Haliimaile Pineapple Company brings new hope for a new year by immediately saving 65 agricultural jobs with an expectation of adding more in the future,” said Strand.

Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares responded to the announcement this afternoon saying, “I am extremely grateful to the company for their commitment to continue Maui Gold pineapple on Maui. I was excited to hear that nearly 70 employees will retain jobs associated with Haliimaile Pineapple Company and I’m confident that the new company will find success.”

“The company founders, shareholders and directors are to be commended for their work in making this happen. Since first learning about this effort, I’ve been very excited about the possibilities. The fact that jobs are saved and pineapple farming continues is absolutely great news for our county,” said Mayor Tavares.

Governor Linda Lingle also welcomed the news saying, “I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year than with preservation of 65 agricultural jobs and the prospect of creating more jobs for our residents in the long-term. The new company and the ongoing cultivation of pineapple on Maui will help stimulate our economy and also inject a boost of confidence in what has been a challenging year.”

Key shareholders and directors in the new company include Pardee Erdman, owner of Ulupalakua Ranch; Doug Schenk, former president of Maui Pineapple Company; former vice presidents of MPC, Doug MacCluer and Ed Chenchin; and current operating directors for MPC, Darren Strand and Rudy Balala. The group brings over 150 years of combined expertise in growing and packing premium pineapple on Maui.

HPC will consolidate its plantation, fresh fruit packing facility, cold storage, and shipping operations in Haliimaile to maximize efficiency and product quality. Company officials say they will continue to provide the highest quality of fresh pineapple to local hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets while increasing its direct consumer business.

ILWU Local 142 Maui Division Director, Willie Kennison said, “We are grateful to Haliimaile Pineapple Company for saving these jobs to make this a happy New Year for so many Maui families.

In a news release today, company officials said they would hire existing ML&P employees and the ILWU will continue to represent the company’s workers.

ML&P Chairman and Interim CEO, Warren H. Haruki said, “We are gratified to see the continuation of pineapple farming on Maui. The new company’s simplifie3d business model and targeted local market, along with the flexibility and cooperation of the ILWU are key ingredients for their future success,” Haruki said.

(Posted by Wendy Osher)

Maui Pineapple Saved With Newly Formed Company: Haliimaile Pineapple Company, Ltd. | Maui Now

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New pineapple company to rise from ashes of Maui Land subsidiary – Starbulletin.com

Published on December 31, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Haliimaile Pineapple.

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New pineapple company to rise from ashes of Maui Land subsidiary

By Star-Bulletin staff

POSTED: 01:32 p.m. HST, Dec 31, 2009

Pride in Island!
Pineapple on Maui FOREVER!
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A group of Valley Isle residents plans to start operating a new pineapple company tomorrow to serve whole fruit customers of Maui Land & Pineapple Co.

The last pay day for Maui Land’s subsidiary Maui Pineapple Co. Ltd. was today.

The new business Haliimaile Pineapple Co. has purchased some of Maui Land’s pineapple equipment and leased 1,000 acres with an option of leasing more land, said Doug Schenk, one of the investors.

Schenk, an investor and a former president of Maui Pineapple Co., said the new company will be employing about 68 people, including about 60 who formerly worked at Maui Land and were ILWU members.

A group of Valley Isle residents plans to start operating a new pineapple company tomorrow to serve whole fruit customers of Maui Land & Pineapple Co.

The last pay day for Maui Land’s subsidiary Maui Pineapple Co. Ltd. was today.

The new business Haliimaile Pineapple Co. has purchased some of Maui Land’s pineapple equipment and leased 1,000 acres with an option of leasing more land, said Doug Schenk, one of the investors.

Schenk, an investor and a former president of Maui Pineapple Co., said the new company will be employing about 68 people, including about 60 who formerly worked at Maui Land and were ILWU members.

New pineapple company to rise from ashes of Maui Land subsidiary – Starbulletin.com

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GOVERNOR LINGLE STATEMENT ON HALIIMAILE PINEAPPLE COMPANY’S PLAN TO SAVE PINEAPPLE ON MAUI — Office of the Governor

Published on December 31, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes, Haliimaile Pineapple and Pineapple.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle issued the following statement regarding Haliimaile Pineapple Company and the plan to continue pineapple operations on Maui:

“The formation of Haliimaile Pineapple Company and its plan to assume pineapple operations from Maui Land and Pineapple Company is welcomed news for Maui and the entire State of Hawai‘i.

“I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year than with preservation of 65 agricultural jobs and the prospect of creating more jobs for our residents in the long-term.  The new company and the ongoing cultivation of pineapple on Maui will help stimulate our economy and also inject a boost of confidence in what has been a challenging year.

“I want to thank the individuals who remained committed to finding an innovative way to revive pineapple operations on Maui. Their collaborative efforts will help preserve an important part of our culture and heritage, while charting a new course for the future of the pineapple industry in Hawai‘i.”

GOVERNOR LINGLE STATEMENT ON HALIIMAILE PINEAPPLE COMPANY’S PLAN TO SAVE PINEAPPLE ON MAUI — Office of the Governor

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New company to take over pineapple operations – The Maui News

Published on December 31, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes, Haliimaile Pineapple and Pineapple.

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New company to take over pineapple operations

Pineapple is BACK!
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POSTED: December 31, 2009

The newly formed Haliimaile Pineapple Co. Ltd. announced today it would immediately take over 1,000 acres and related facilities from Maui Pineapple Co., under an agreement signed Thursday with Maui Land & Pineapple Co.

The new company’s first day of work will be Saturday, when employees will start picking Maui Gold fruit, said Doug Schenk, one of the six local partners in the venture.

Maui Pine’s last harvest was Dec. 23. The company had announced it was leaving the business earlier this year after recording continuous, large losses.

The owners and directors of the new venture are Pardee Erdman, owner of Ulupalakua Ranch; Schenk, Doug MacCluer and Ed Chenchin, all retired Maui Pine managers; and two men who were operating directors of Maui Pine until it closed, Strand and Rudy Balala.

Haliimaile Pine has licensed and purchased assets notably the Maui Gold patented variety and leased land, equipment and buildings from Maui Pine.

Haliimaile Pine will do its own marketing, targeting local retailers, hotels and restaurants.

Continue reading ‘New company to take over pineapple operations – The Maui News’

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Hui takes over operations of Maui Pineapple Co. | The Honolulu Advertiser

Published on December 31, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Haliimaile Pineapple.

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We can't all clean Condos for a living
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Five former Maui Pineapple Co. executives have teamed up with the owner of Ulupalakua Ranch to take over the pineapple operations of Maui Land & Pineapple Co.

The new company, Haliimaile Pineapple Co. will continue to grow and market fresh pineapple under the established Maui Gold Brand.

HPC has purchased and licensed key assets, and leased farm land, equipment, and buildings from ML&P with plans to serve the Hawaii market.

Maui Land & Pineapple in November announced that it would exit the business after close to 100 years of plantation-scale pineapple farming on the Valley Isle. The company last week harvested its final pineapple crop.

"The formation of Haliimaile Pineapple Company and its plan to assume pineapple operations from Maui Land and Pineapple Company is welcomed news for Maui and the entire State of Hawai’i.

Continue reading ‘Hui takes over operations of Maui Pineapple Co. | The Honolulu Advertiser’

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ML&P viability in doubt – The Maui News

Published on December 30, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

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WAILUKU – Maui Land & Pineapple Co.’s unrelenting losses and deep debts could sink the company, according to auditors.

In a report filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ML&P said auditors found the company’s future jeopardized by its financial losses, weak cash reserves, an inability to meet certain financial obligations and an overall balance sheet that shows the company’s liabilities exceeding its assets by more than $60 million.

ML&P is counting on being able to sell some of its real estate in order to meet its financial obligations and raise cash, but in a down real estate market that plan’s success is uncertain, the report says.

"There can be no assurance that the company will be able to sell real estate assets at acceptable prices, or at all, or that it will be able to maintain compliance with financial covenants, which raises substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern," the report says.

Maui Land & Pineapple also hopes to raise up to $25 million in the form of new investment from existing shareholders. In a separate registration statement filed Monday with the SEC, the company announced its intentions to register a secondary equity offering that would allow current shareholders to buy additional shares of common stock.

The offering is pending approval by the SEC.

Continue reading ‘ML&P viability in doubt – The Maui News’

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Audit: Maui Land & Pineapple’s future uncertain – Yahoo! Finance

Published on December 30, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Pineapple.

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Audit: Maui Land & Pineapple future uncertain as liabilities exceed assets by $60 million

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On Wednesday December 30, 2009, 5:14 pm EST

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Maui Land & Pineapple Co. says its auditors have found the company’s liabilities exceed its assets by more than $60 million, raising doubts about its ability to survive.

The property developer, one of Maui’s biggest landowners, said in a report filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it’s counting on being able to sell some of its real estate to raise cash and meet its financial obligations. But the weak real estate market may thwart those plans.

The uncertainty about real estate sales "raises substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern," the report said.

Maui Land provided the report on Deloitte & Touche’s audit to the SEC Monday, the same day it submitted a registration statement announcing plans to sell more stock to current shareholders.

The auditors found the company’s future was jeopardized by its financial losses, weak cash reserves, an inability to meet certain financial obligations and an overall balance sheet showing the company’s liabilities exceeded its assets.

Maui Land has had to write off all the money it initially invested in the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences at Kapalua Bay, a luxury condo and hotel development that’s suffered from higher-than-expected default rates and lower revenue forecasts for future sales.

Continue reading ‘Audit: Maui Land & Pineapple’s future uncertain – Yahoo! Finance’

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Hawaii seeks lessees for state ag land – Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

Published on December 30, 2009 in Agriculture Grants and General Ag News and Notes.


The Hawaii Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it is accepting applications for lease negotiations on five parcels of ag land.

Two parcels are located in Hanapepe, Kauai, and three are in Waimanalo, Oahu. They range in size from 1.4 to 6.7 acres.

Potential lessees must be U.S. citizens who have been Hawaii residents for at least three years, and bona fide farmers as defined in Hawaii Administrative Rules.

The leases are for 35-year terms and are limited to diversified agriculture use.

The deadline to submit applications for the parcels to the state’s Agricultural Resource Management Division is Jan. 14.

For more information, visit hawaii.gov/hdoa/info.

Hawaii seeks lessees for state ag land – Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Okolehao – The Maui News

Published on December 27, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

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Okolehao

Maui distillery serves up a sip of history
By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

POSTED: December 27, 2009

MAKAWAO – Hilo Hattie sang about the cockeyed mayor of Kaunakakai, who "drank a gallon of oke to make life worthwhile."

But it couldn’t have happened recently, since genuine okolehao has not been distilled (legally, anyway) for at least 40 years and probably longer.

Haleakala Distillers, Maui’s only rum-maker, is introducing Maui Okolehao Liqueur, made from ti root grown in East Maui, and enhanced with evaporated cane juice from Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.

Only 200 cases were made, and master distiller Jim Sargent said it may take nine months before another batch comes through.

His wife and managing director, Leslie Sargent, said it has been so long since anybody made "oke" that there was no information to be found about how to do it.

"The whole process had to be derived from scratch," said Jim Sargent, a.k.a. Braddah Kimo. "We have taken quite some time to distill an authentic, 100 percent Maui-made all natural spirit."

Because of federal liquor regulations, the tipple is a liqueur, rather than the skullbuster that was invented in the 19th century.

Continue reading ‘Okolehao – The Maui News’

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Fields of gold – Hawaii Business – Starbulletin

Published on December 26, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Seed Crops.

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Fields of gold

Pioneer Hi-Bred grows sunflowers on Oahu, one part of the isles’ rapidly growing seed industry

By Nina Wu

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 26, 2009

Drivers passing by a stretch of Farrington Highway in Waialua on Oahu’s North Shore likely have seen a field of sunflowers reminiscent of a Van Gogh painting.

Pioneer Hi-Bred International of Iowa, a biotech seed company, planted the bright yellow sunflowers on 85 acres for a three-month period this year as part of its operations.

The sunflowers were planted in mid-October and likely will finish blooming this week, according to Pioneer Hi-Bred spokeswoman Cindy Goldstein. It is the fifth year in a row Pioneer has planted the sunflowers, which include up to 28 different hybrid varieties.

The sunflower seeds are evaluated for quality standards in Hawaii, and if approved, the same varieties are grown and harvested in California.

"Hawaii serves a vital role because we can do a very quick grow-out here as part of quality production and get quick results to report back," said Goldstein.

Hawaii has the ideal climate and growing conditions for sunflowers year-round.

The seeds, according to Goldstein, are then sold to Midwestern farmers, who crush them to make sunflower oil, which is in high demand in European markets.

Continue reading ‘Fields of gold – Hawaii Business – Starbulletin’

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The Amazing Maze of US Health Care » Pay according to ability

Published on December 26, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

Amazing seems a most appropriate word to describe the financing and delivery of health care services in the United States of America.

James L. McGee, CEBS--On Health Care Reform


Pay according to ability

I think 6% of income is too high. I don’t think it should be based on income. It makes more sense to base it on age, just like younger drivers pay more for car insurance, it makes sense that older people pay a little more.

This comment was offered in a conversation at the web site, Change.org in response to a post by Gillian Hubble.

I can’t disagree more.

Premiums absolutely should be based on income and absolutely should not be based on age.  I say that not just because I am in the 60+ age bracket and you likely are not.  I say that because of my 25+ years in employee benefits.  However, I do agree that there should be a penalty for delayed enrollment similar to what Medicare Part B imposes.

When you come right down to it, the whole health care debate boils down to two issues.  How do you expand health care coverage and how do you pay for health care.

Expanding coverage is important because it spreads the risk among the sick and the healthy equally.

Make it straightforward and uncomplicated

Please Click Here to Read the Complete Article by Jim McGee » The Amazing Maze of US Health Care » Pay according to ability

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Farm subsidies: the dirty little secret of the right

Published on December 26, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Health Care Reform.

The next time you hear a Republican or a teabagger complain that President Obama is moving the United States closer to "fascism and socialism" (despite the two philosophies being ideologically opposite of one another), remember this: some of these same people are taking thousands of dollars in a form of "socialism" that we usually don’t think about: farm subsidies.

For those not in the know, farm subsidies are when the government pays farmers and businesses in the agricultural field to (a) supplement income, (b) manage commodity supply, and (c) influence commodity cost.

Here’s the dirty little secret: some politicians, mostly Republicans but also a few Democrats, figured out how to make tons of money off of this "socialism for the wealthy."  It also comes as no coincidence that most of these particular politicians come from largely rural states.

Continue reading ‘Farm subsidies: the dirty little secret of the right’

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FINAL HARVEST: Sun sets on ML&P cultivation of pineapple – The Maui News

Published on December 24, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Pineapple.

Deal in works for new, smaller company to farm golden fruit

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

POSTED: December 24, 2009

WAILUKU

Fieldworkers picked their last pineapples Wednesday as Maui Pineapple Co. ceased operations after 100 years of farming.

About 285 Maui Pine workers are being laid off in the shutdown, with their last official day of employment Dec. 31. Another 133 employees were expected to be offered positions at Maui Land & Pineapple partner companies.

Some remained hopeful a startup company would take over Maui Pine land, equipment and operations to continue pineapple farming on Maui and hire back some of the laid-off workers.

Continue reading ‘FINAL HARVEST: Sun sets on ML&P cultivation of pineapple – The Maui News’

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Bo a no-go for Hawaii trip – PATRICK GAVIN | POLITICO

Published on December 24, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

Sorry Bo. The first family may be vacationing in Hawaii this holiday season, but the first dog will be stuck in cold, snowy D.C.

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture said that the Portuguese water dog will not be allowed into the state thanks to strict anti-rabies quarantine rules.

Had the family elected to bring Bo, he would have had to either spend 120 days in quarantine or endure two rounds of rabies vaccinations and a 120-day waiting period.

The Honolulu Advertiser also notes that Bo "would have been subject to Hawai’i’s sometimes contradictory leash laws. City ordinances require dogs to be leashed on Kailua Beach — and their owners to clean up their feces. But the State Department of Land and Natural Resources — which has jurisdiction over the ocean — allows dogs to swim in the water without leashes, Laura Stevens, DLNR’s education and outreach coordinator, said today."

Bo a no-go for Hawaii trip – PATRICK GAVIN | POLITICO CLICK

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American’s Crazed Corn Habit – Mises Institute

Published on December 22, 2009 in Biofuels, General Ag News and Notes and Sugar Cane.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 by Justin Rohrlich

According to a recent Congressional Budget Office report, the increased use of ethanol is responsible for a rise in food prices of approximately 10 to 15 percent.

Why?

We’re turning corn into fuel — a highly inefficient one, at that — instead of food.

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy points out that "mixing food and fuel markets for political reasons has done American consumers no discernable good, while producing measurable harm."

However, perhaps summing up the issue most succinctly is Mark J. Perry, professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan-Flint:

Anytime you have Paul Krugman agreeing on ethanol with such a diverse group as the Wall Street Journal, Reason Magazine, the Cato Institute, Investor’s Business Daily, Rolling Stone Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, John Stossel, The Ecological Society of America, the American Enterprise and Brookings Institutions, the Heritage Foundation, George Will and Time magazine, you know that ethanol has to be one of the most misguided public policies in US history.

But Brazil seems to have made it work. Using just 1 percent of its arable land, Brazil produced 6.57 billion gallons of sugar ethanol last year, roughly half the annual oil production of Iraq. Ethanol accounts for about 50 percent of Brazil’s automotive fuel. General Electric and Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer are working to develop ethanol suitable for powering commercial aircraft, with a test flight possible by early 2012. Most importantly, Brazil relies on imported oil for only 10 percent of its energy needs today — due in large part to its ethanol industry.

So, what’s Brazil doing right?

The answer is simple. Unlike the United States, Brazil makes its ethanol from sugar, which yields over eight units of energy for each unit invested, whereas corn-based ethanol yields a paltry one and a half units of energy for each unit invested. Continue reading ‘American’s Crazed Corn Habit – Mises Institute’

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French body says Monsanto maize needs more study – Yahoo! News UK

Published on December 22, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Seed Crops.

Tuesday, December 22 06:38 pm

More research is needed into Monsanto’s genetically modified maize MON 810, the only biotech crop commercially grown in Europe, to assess its environmental impact, a French advisory body said.

The opinion given by biotech committee HCB, published on Tuesday, was requested by the French government, which last year banned cultivation of MON 810 citing environmental concerns.

In an debate about whether to renew the license for the maize type, France and other European Union states have criticized as insufficient a favorable opinion in June from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

HCB called for further studies to evaluate potential drawbacks in MON 810, such as damage to non-targeted insects or the development of resistance to the crop among targeted pests.

"The only way to highlight … a significant increase or decrease in populations of non-targeted invertebrates is to implement monitoring over several years," the HCB said.

Continue reading ‘French body says Monsanto maize needs more study – Yahoo! News UK’

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