Farmers, ranchers brace for dry times

Published on April 21, 2012 in General Ag News and Notes and Water.

Rainfall levels in Upcountry areas are below normal this year, and there’s a bleak outlook for rain for ranchers and farmers as the islands head into the normally dry summer months, a hydrologist said Thursday.

“We’re headed out of our wet season. The outlook is not too good,” said Kevin Kodama, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service on Oahu.

From January through March, Kula received 5.5 inches of rain. Normally, it gets around 8.7 inches, Kodama said. Pukalani received 4 inches in the same time period while it normally gets around 16 inches. Ulupalakua received a little under 5 inches, and it usually gets about 10.

“We’re in really bad shape,” said Sumner Erdman, president of Ulupalakua Ranch. “The economic impacts have already hit.”

Erdman said this will be the fourth year his ranch has been impacted by dry conditions.

The economic losses amount in the “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.

The ranch has had to sell cattle. It now also sees cattle with lower weights because less rain means cows have less grass to feed on. The ranch also has lower reproduction rates because there are fewer cows to breed, Erdman said.

Over four years, the number of breeding cows has gone from 2,300 to 1,500, as the ranch sells them off to deal with the drought conditions, Erdman said.

The ranch currently has 3,800 head of cattle, with preparations under way to sell more, he said.

Warren Watanabe, executive director of the Maui County Farm Bureau, said the dry weather trend seems to follow the long-term prediction of scientists.

Because areas of extreme drought in Hawaii have increased in the past few months, with the hardest hit being the pasture areas on the Big Island, Maui and portions of Molokai, the farm bureau’s priority during this legislative session has been to fund drought mitigation projects. Continue reading ‘Farmers, ranchers brace for dry times’

Hawaii subsidies cut for livestock feed | HonoluluAdvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser

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

Loss of assistance from state deals another blow to shrinking industry

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
The 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.

Continue reading ‘Hawaii subsidies cut for livestock feed | HonoluluAdvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser’

The efforts to produce Macadamia Nuts in Brazil

Published on September 11, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes and Macadamia Nuts.

by Dan Vallada – FoodBizDaily.com Sao Paulo
The macadamia nut has been cultivated in Brazil for four decades. Researchers are trying to increase its productivity and resistance.

The commercial cultivation of macadamia nuts in Brazil is recent, started only 40 years ago and productivity is still low. The country, the seventh in world production (2,400 tonnes in 7 thousand hectares), has about 250 producers, 160 of them in the State of Sao Paulo. The biggest Brazilian harvest happened in 2006, with 3,500 tons. Therefore, technicians and researchers are joining forces to study its varieties, nutrition, genetic improvement and phytosanitary control.

Continue reading ‘The efforts to produce Macadamia Nuts in Brazil’

Federal aquaculture grants being made available to Hawaii farmers | San Francisco Examiner

Published on September 10, 2009 in Agriculture Grants and General Ag News and Notes.

HONOLULU — Aquaculture farmers in Hawaii are now able apply for federal stimulus money to help offset high feed prices experienced by the industry last year.

The state Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has allocated $150,000 as Hawaii’s portion of $50 million feed stimulus funding.

The Hawaii grants are being administered through the state department’s Aquaculture Development Program.

State officials say reimbursement amounts are limited to available funds. That means if the amount of eligible applications exceeds the grant amount available, recipients will receive a prorata adjusted amount.

Federal aquaculture grants being made available to Hawaii farmers | San Francisco Examiner

Industry fights for inspectors – Starbulletin.com

Published on September 8, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

Agricultural groups fear state layoffs will backlog shipments

By Erika Engle
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 08, 2009

Agricultural industry executives worry that Hawaii businesses will wither on the vine and incoming food will rot on the docks if the state goes through with massive layoffs of agriculture inspectors.

Plans call for laying off 50 of the state’s 78 agriculture inspectors, 64 percent of that specialized work force.

Diminished inspection capacity could also cost hundreds of millions of dollars each year if additional invasive species get established, industry officials say.

State inspectors both certify products to be exported out of Hawaii and inspect food and plants being imported into the state.

Continue reading ‘Industry fights for inspectors – Starbulletin.com’

Agricultural inspector layoffs slammed – The Maui News

Published on September 5, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

KAHULUI – Environmentalists and farmers lashed out Thursday night at the announced layoffs of state agricultural inspectors, arguing that the move planned by the Lingle administration would uproot efforts to preserve the island’s agricultural industry and pristine environment.
Close to 100 people turned out at a Senate Ad Hoc Committee meeting held in the Maui Waena Intermediate School cafeteria. The crowd applauded those who spoke against the layoffs, some even attacking Gov. Linda Lingle.

Continue reading ‘Agricultural inspector layoffs slammed – The Maui News’

Ag inspector layoff impacts topic of talk – The Maui News

Published on September 3, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

KAHULUI – The Hawaii State Senate Ad Hoc Committee will hold an informational briefing today on how the layoffs of agricultural inspectors will impact Maui.

Coordinated by Maui Sens. Roz Baker, J. Kalani English and Shan Tsutsui, the meeting will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Maui Waena Intermediate School.

The Maui office of the state Department of Agriculture Plant Quarantine Branch would lose six of 17 positions in layoffs planned for November. Statewide, more than half the department’s agricultural inspectors would be cut.

The head of the Plant Quarantine Branch said last week that the layoffs could mean long delays for imports into the state and could make Hawaii vulnerable to invasive pests.

Similar briefings were held in Kona, Hilo and Honolulu.

County/In Brief – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News

Inspector layoffs may mean near ‘shutdown’ of imports – The Maui News

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

Positions targeted to balance state budget

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer
POSTED: August 30, 2009

PUKALANI – Plant quarantine officials said last week that laying off more than half the state’s agricultural inspectors would create such a logjam at Hawaii ports that it could cause shortages similar to those seen during shipping strikes.

Carol Okada, manager of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s Plant Quarantine Branch, said she has not been able to develop a plan for how her department will continue its core functions after it loses 52 employees, 50 of them inspectors, to layoffs planned for November.

She said food shipments to Maui and the other Neighbor Islands, which because of staff shortages would now have to be routed through Honolulu for inspection, would have to sit on the docks until the state’s remaining inspectors could look at them, with the risk that some food could spoil in the unchilled containers.

Continue reading ‘Inspector layoffs may mean near ‘shutdown’ of imports – The Maui News’

Hawaii growers urged to clean up exports-The Honolulu Advertiser

Published on August 28, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai’i's $125 million agricultural export industry could be threatened by hitchhiking insects and other pests found on fresh flower, foliage and fruit shipments arriving in California.

Budget cuts have left California with fewer inspectors and made that state more prone to slap sanctions on importers when pests are discovered. Hawai’i may also lose inspectors if the state lays off workers in November as planned to balance its budget.

Five key agricultural officials sent a warning letter this month to hundreds of Hawai’i growers and shippers who sell flowers, foliage, herbs, vegetables, potted nursery products and fruit, alerting them to the potential risk of not cleaning up their shipments.

"Anyone that currently ships to California can be the ‘last straw’ that triggers the decision by California to impose severe restrictions on the movement of all products from Hawai’i into the California market," the letter states.

Continue reading ‘Hawaii growers urged to clean up exports-The Honolulu Advertiser’

Agriculture dominated local scene – The Maui News

Published on August 23, 2009 in General Ag News and Notes.

Statehood & Business: Hawaii Statehood 50 Years
By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer
POSTED: August 23, 2009

In 1959, plantation agriculture was big business in Hawaii. The plantations were branching out into tourism, but sugar and pineapple – and coffee in Kona – dominated.

In August, with the days of the territory numbered, a typical issue of The Maui News advertised a total of half a dozen help wanted ads. The plantations didn’t advertise for help; they had their own labor recruitment system.

It dwarfed the nonplantation labor system. In August 1959, pineapple plantations hired 1,100 Maui youngsters on school vacations, most of them to work in noisy, hot canneries.

The jobs were much sought after. Damien Farias, owner of Maui Toyota, recalls waiting for three days on a labor bench for a chance to work at a cannery on Oahu when he was in school.

Statehood was expected to give a boost to agriculture. The summary of Hawaii agricultural history published by the state Department of Agriculture says that "with statehood, federal funds became available for the development and growth of Hawaii’s agricultural industries with funding for programs such as farm credit, natural resources and statistical services."

It did not, of course, work out that way.

Continue reading ‘Agriculture dominated local scene – The Maui News’

State auditor: Molokai water system mismanaged

Published on February 25, 2008 in General Ag News and Notes and Water.

By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer
Maui News

WAILUKU ? The state auditor issued a blistering report last week charging the state Department of Agriculture with mismanaging the Molokai Irrigation System while simultaneously allowing it to deteriorate over a period of decades.

The irrigation system is crucial to the island?s agriculture-based economy but draws only about 4 million gallons a day ? less than 10 percent of its projected capacity when it was first planned.

?We found that while the Department of Agriculture inherited a broken system, little has been done to learn about system problems or to create a plan to address them,? state Auditor Marion Higa wrote in her 57-page report. ?The department?s flawed management endangers agriculture in Molokai.?

However, state Agriculture Chairwoman Sandra Kunimoto called most of the report?s criticisms ?overreaching? in a telephone interview Friday.

She said she felt as though the report?s dramatic statements weren?t backed up by the actual details contained within it.
Continue reading ‘State auditor: Molokai water system mismanaged’

Hawaii Weekly Crop Weather Report

Published on June 10, 2007 in Banana, Coffee, General Ag News and Notes, Papaya, Vegtables and Water.

Here is the PDF file for the *Hawaii Crop Weather* (crop progress and condition) Report for the week ending *June 10, 2007*

current_hi-061007.pdf

Please visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/ for more information.

USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512
1-800- 804-9514

Weather Review

Weather conditions had a variable effect on agriculture during the week ending Sunday, June 10. High pressure to the north and low pressure to the south resulted in a week of light to moderate trade winds with mostly light, passing showers. Most of the shower activity was limited to the northern islands during the first half of the week and shifted to the southern half of the State during the weekend. These passing showers occurred in windward areas and the higher elevations with some lighter amounts being blown over to the leeward side of the islands. Conditions were particularly dry on the Big Island where temperatures reached new daily highs on Monday and Wednesday. The Mayor of the County of Hawaii declared a State of Emergency on June 5 due to the continuing dry weather. A voluntary 10-percent reduction in water usage was in effect for the districts of North and South Kohala, Hamakua, and Ka`u. A mandatory 25-percent reduction in water usage was in effect for the following specific areas of the Big Island: Waimea Town to Kawaihae, Upper Pa`auilo, and Ahualoa. In addition, the State Department of Agriculture continued to place users of the Honokaa-Paauilo irrigation system under a mandatory 30-percent water conservation notice due to damage sustained from the October 15, 2006 earthquake. Users of the Waimea irrigation system were asked to voluntarily cutback irrigation water usage by 10 percent. Overall, recent weather conditions have had a variable effect on agriculture. Non-irrigated crops, those dependent on natural rainfall, were in fair to poor condition. Crops located in windward areas were faring better than those in the drier leeward areas of the island. Irrigated crops were in fair to good condition. Abundant sunshine and adequate irrigation was ensuring normal growth. Spraying for insects and disease continued on a regular schedule.

Agricultural Highlights

Fruits

Banana
Orchards in eastern sections of the island of Hawaii were in fair to good condition. Mostly sunny days facilitate field operations, but soil moisture was declining. Banana Bunchy Top virus incidences remain isolated in the Puna and Kona areas. Oahu orchards were in fair to good condition. Fields in windward areas remained in fair condition. Banana Bunchy Top virus continued to affect fields. Leeward and central Oahu fields made good progress, but were also slowed by light Banana Bunchy Top virus damage. Irrigation remained at moderate to heavy levels during the week due to the dry days.

Papaya

Big Island orchards were in fair to good condition. Soil moisture decreased and additional rain is needed to raise soil moisture to more satisfactory levels. Mostly sunny days dominated the week, but some light showers were beneficial. Fruit development and ripening were good on Oahu. However, mealy bugs and ring spot virus in some fields kept production lower than anticipated. Orchards on Kauai continued to make fair to good progress during the week. Spraying to contain the insect population was stepped up to contain the increased infestation.

Vegetables

Head Cabbage

The crop in the Big Island?s Waimea area was in generally good condition. Light insect damage on outer leaves was noticed. Irrigation ensured normal crop progress. The Volcano crop was experiencing slow progress due to dry conditions. Maui?s crop continued to make good progress. Warm temperatures stressed some lower elevation fields, but generally those fields were in good condition. Insect pressure and damage was light, but elevated in some fields. Head size was large. On Oahu, insect infestation was at light levels and mostly under control. New plants were in good condition.

Sweet Corn

Young planting in eastern sections of Hawaii County made slow progress. Newly seeded beds have gaps in the rows due to seedlings dying for lack of moisture. Light showers during the week provided some relief. Beneficial weather conditions allowed the plants to make good progress in central Oahu fields. Windward fields made good progress during the week and are expected to be harvested at moderate to heavy levels.

Cucumbers

Pickings from most Oahu fields were at moderate to heavy levels and anticipated to continue increasing as plants were in active harvest. Melon fly infestation and light pickle worm damage has affected crop yields in some areas during the week. Irrigation levels remained heavy as the dry weather continued in most crop growing areas.

Dry Onions

Maui?s crop benefited from the dry weather and regular irrigation. Growth and development was good in most fields, although the warm temperatures have started to detrimentally affect some fields by slowing growth. Quality of harvested bulbs has reportedly been very good.

Alien caterpillars found on Oahu

Published on June 8, 2007 in General Ag News and Notes and Invasive Species.

HONOLULU, June 8 (UPI) — An invasive caterpillar with a nasty sting has turned up on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The stinging nettle caterpillar first entered Hawaii through Hilo via an illegal shipment of seedlings from Taiwan in 2001, KITV-TV, Honolulu, reported.

The problem was brought under control around Hilo, but now the pest has jumped to Oahu, where it was discovered last week in a commercial nursery.

“If you rub against the caterpillar, it has a very strong burn (which) can burn for a few hours,” said Neil Rheimer of the state Department of Agriculture.

The state is setting up traps at the nursery to attract the moths that lay eggs and spread the problem. The caterpillars were discovered on raphis palm trees after workers complained about being stung last week.