Month: August 2009

August 31, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii Seed Crops

Here is the PDF file for the Hawaii Seed Crops report.
Please visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/
Hawaii Seed Crops
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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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Seed Crop industry valued at record high $176.6 million

Monsanto Corn on Maui<br />Click for Larger Image
Monsanto Corn on Maui
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The Hawaii Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates the value of Hawaii’s seed industry at a record high $176.6 million for the 2008/09 season. This preliminary estimate represents a 26-percent increase from 2007/08’s revised estimate of $140.7 million. Seed corn is expected to account for $169.3 million, or 96 percent, of the total value in 2008/09. A variety of other seed crops will account for the remaining 4 percent.

Outshipments of seed are anticipated to total 10.1 million pounds during the 2008/09 season, up 20 percent from the revised 8.4 million pounds shipped during the 2007/08 season.

Acreage harvested for all seed crops is expected to total a record high 5,930 acres during the 2008/09 season, up 12 percent from the 2007/08 season.

seed

August 31, 2009 General Ag News and Notes, Vegtables Post a Comment

Washington wants RP to allow entry of US vegetables – GMA News and Public Affairs

This is a terrible time to start importing foreign bananas due to the proposed layoffs of agricultural inspectors. The domestic crop could easily be devastated by invasive pests including banana rasp snail, red palm mite, two-spotted mite, banana root borer, banana aphid and the mealybug.

Bannana Crop could be ruined?<br />Click to View Larger Image
Bannana Crop could be ruined?
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Manila may agree to Washington’s proposal to allow the entry of cold climate vegetables in exchange for the export of Philippine bananas in the US.

Agriculture officials said this may be the only way to secure the approval of the US Department of Agriculture for the Philippines’ formal request to penetrate the lucrative US market for fresh bananas.

“They are asking us if they can export temperate vegetables to the Philippines. We haven’t responded yet, but the arguments will always lead to a counter-trade arrangement," said Bureau of Plant Industry director Joel Rudinas.

The US government, Rudinas said, has expressed its interest to export temperate vegetables such as broccoli and asparagus.

He said the Philippines must submit its position on the findings of the import risk assessment (IRA) conducted by the US government on Philippine bananas as a protocol in the processing of requests for fruit exports.

In its IRA last month, the USDA said Philippine bananas may be allowed entry into the US market if mitigating measures be undertaken to address the issue of the danger of potential pests.

An IRA reviews existing quarantine policy on the import of animals, plants and their products, identifies and classifies potential quarantine risks and develop policies to manage them.

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August 31, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

The People’s Dialectic – Development and Local Awareness

August 30th, 2009 by peoplesdialectic

I’ve always been impressed with the quality of events Kanu Hawaii puts on to help the community and raise awareness about important issues.

The Eat Local Challenge is no exception. In fact, it strikes at the heart of possibly one of the most immediate and important questions for our islands. Eating local is beneficial on both an economic and environmental level. And the light the Challenge shines on food channels couldn’t have come at a more crucial time.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin featured on Wednesday, August 12, an article discussing plans to develop 1,500 acres of some of ‘the best ag land’ on Oahu for a 12,000 home community. The loss of this prime agricultural land to tract housing, shopping centers, and business parks will be a significant loss of our ability to grow food for ourselves.

There was a day when the economy of our islands didn’t depend on visitors from around the world. While no one suggests we return to the plantation culture, we do need to diversify our economy away from tourism. With a revenue stream that is so fundamentally tied to the vacation plans of people around the world, Hawaii is particularly vulnerable to economic hard times and recessions. We can no longer afford to depend so heavily on the disposable income of others. Hawaii must once again become self-sufficient.

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August 30, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Oahu gobbles resources as other isles make do – Columnists – Starbulletin.com

By Cynthia Oi

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 30, 2009

Maggie Cox makes a good point. If public libraries on rural islands are to be closed to save the state some money, it’s only fair that libraries on Oahu share the pain.

Cox represents Kauai on the Board of Education and though none of the libraries at the top of the list for shuttering are on the Garden Island, Cox speaks in defense of the stepchildren of the state.

They are the Cinderella regions of Hawaii, exploited for the natural beauty they have largely retained while most of Oahu has been so disfigured it is no longer eligible for the tourism image of unspoiled paradise.

They are expected to do the heavy lifting for undesirable projects like prisons and military training grounds, but stand at the back of the line for the good stuff like technologically top-grade schools and medical facilities.

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August 30, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

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

maui-news-ad

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.

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August 29, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

State land use panel rejects plan for 12,000 homes on Ewa farms – Starbulletin.com

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State land use panel rejects plan for 12,000 homes on Ewa farms

By Susan Essoyan

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 29, 2009

In a rare move, the state Land Use Commission rejected yesterday a developer’s push to urbanize 1,500 acres of prime agricultural land in Ewa to create a new community of nearly 12,000 homes.

The commission voted 5-3 to declare the petition by D.R. Horton-Schuler Division "deficient," saying the developer had not followed the rules by spelling out an incremental development plan for its Ho’opili project. But it said Horton could fix its petition and try again.

"Hallelujah!" Kioni Dudley, president of Friends of Makakilo and leader of the opposition, declared after the vote. "It’s a great victory. It’s a victory for the aina. I hope the setback to the developer is permanent."

Dudley had some powerful support at yesterday’s hearing, including the state Office of Planning, which argued forcefully against the project, and the heads of the state Transportation and Agriculture departments. The commissioners also heard hours of testimony from members of the public, most of them pleading to keep the land growing fruits and vegetables for local consumption.

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August 28, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Maui Land and Pineapple Looks Interesting Despite Its Share of Issues — Seeking Alpha

If there’s anything we like to cover besides net/nets here at Cheap Stocks, it’s real estate, more specifically, companies that own relatively large amounts of raw land, commercial property, or a combination of the two. My portfolio is chock full of these companies, from retailers such as Cabela’s, to restaurants (Cracker Barrell, Denny’s) to shipping companies (Alexander and Baldwin) to agriculture (JG Boswell and Limoneira), to name just a few.

Over the years, I’ve also sold out of some names as well. Maui Land and Pineapple (MLP) is a great example. I continue to follow the company, however, looking for a re-entry point, or making a determination of whether I want to take a new position.
MLP, which owns 24,500 acres primarily in Maui, Hawaii, including 10.6 miles of ocean frontage with 3300 of lineal feet along sandy beaches, has fallen on hard times during the recession. The company recently reported a $54 million loss for the second quarter, which included more than $37 million in writedowns, $21.3 million of which represented a decrease in value of the Company’s investment in the Kapalua Bay resort. Clearly, the downturns in real estate prices and resort visitors has been a double whammy for MLP. The stock now trades at $6.22, down 79% from its 52 week high of $29.69.

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