Month: April 2011

April 9, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Kia‘i Moku: Rats run amok on isles

Rats have plagued Hawaiians for a very long time, and not just the human residents.

Rats were the first invasive species in Hawaii. The first voyagers to the Hawaiian Islands brought Polynesian rats, Rattus exulans, and they spread quickly, colonizing the islands faster and farther than the people. Ancient Hawaii was a world full of spectacular birds, insects, and plants; the only native land mammal didn’t crawl – it flew – the hoary bat.

These native species evolved without seed-eating, egg-stealing rodents, so when rats arrived, plants were defenseless and birds were naive to this new threat. Compounding the situation, the Polynesian rat was followed by other rodents: the Norwegian ship rat and house mouse – hitchhikers in the European and American ships of the late 1700s and 1800s. Rodents ate their way through Hawaii, overrunning the islands from the shore to mountain top, fueled by a diet rich in plants, birds, snails and insects.

According to Peter Dunlevy, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service biologist with 15 years of experience researching rats, the greatest impact isn’t on any one particular area. Rats hammer numerous aspects of the environment – from the seeds they devour to the nesting albatross they attack. “But everything is on such a small scale with rodents; it’s easy to overlook.”

Continue reading
April 9, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Wind project ‘important’ to self-sufficiency

Gov. Neil Abercrombie would – if necessary – have the state exercise its right to eminent domain to condemn Molokai lands for a wind-energy project, “if residents agree that a project can be done in a pono way.”

The governor’s comment is contained in a March 3 position statement on a potential Molokai wind farm when it looked like First Wind and Molokai Properties were going to be unable to reach a deal on a wind-energy project for the island. After that happened, the landowner announced that it was teaming up with a new company, San Francisco-based Pattern Energy Group, to proceed with the project.

The governor’s spokeswoman, Donalyn Dela Cruz, said Friday that the use of the state’s power to condemn property on Molokai looks moot because there now appears to be a wind-energy project moving forward.

However, “we are watching closely to see what happens,” she said.

The governor’s position statement on the Molokai wind farm project seeks a middle ground between Abercrombie’s support for alternative-energy projects and his desire to be sensitive to the community and its needs.

“Producing our own energy in Hawaii is crucial for our survival,” Abercrombie said in his position statement. “The proposed ‘Big Wind’ project that would produce electricity on Lanai and Molokai can be a crucial part of the equation.

Continue reading
April 9, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Japan bans planting rice in radioactive soil

TOKYO >> Fears of radiation spread to rice as the planting season began in Japan, prompting the government to ban its cultivation in contaminated soil as fallout leaking from a tsunami-damaged nuclear plant dealt another blow to the national diet.

Vegetables and milk were the first foods that sparked concerns about the safety of Japanese agriculture after the March 11 tsunami flooded the nuclear plant and its reactors began to overheat and spew radiation. But those worries intensified when highly radioactive water was spotted gushing from the complex into the Pacific and contaminated fish showed up in catches.

Those concerns have abated somewhat after the leak was plugged and bans on produce from some areas were lifted.

But rice has now come under the microscope as the planting season begins in April and May.

“We had to come up with a policy quickly because we are in planting season,” said Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano, who announced the ban Friday.

The ban will apply to any soil found to contain high levels of radioactive cesium, and farmers who cannot grow rice will be compensated. Rice grown in uncontaminated soil will be screened.

Continue reading
April 9, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

State wants to bring in fungus to control coffee pest

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture is proposing to make it easier to import a fungus used to control a type of beetle that is a major threat to Kona’s coffee bean farms.

The Department of Agriculture said in a news release yesterday the proposal seeks to remove the fungus from the list of restricted microorganisms.

Agriculture officials in February approved using pesticides that contain the fungus only with a permit. The department is proposing to remove the permit requirement but the pesticide would still need to be registered with the state.

The fungus is contained in pesticides Kona coffee farms use to control an infestation of small beetles known as Coffee Berry Borers. The beetle has destroyed 60 to 70 percent of coffee crops at some farms.

State wants to bring in fungus to control coffee pest – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

April 8, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Meetings will gather comments on proposed wind farm

KIHEI – The developer of a wind farm proposed for Ulupalakua will hold two public meetings this month to gather public comments on the project.

Auwahi Wind Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Sempra Generation, is proposing to build a 21-megawatt wind energy and battery storage project on land owned by Ulupalakua Ranch. It would sell electricity to Maui Electric Co., although the deal must be approved by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.

Construction is scheduled to begin next year, with the facility fully operational as early as the end of 2012. Federal, state and county agencies are reviewing the environmental impact of the project, which would be capable of generating electricity equivalent to the amount used by 10,000 Maui homes.

The meetings will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Lokelani Intermediate School Cafeteria and from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 13 at the Ulupalakua Community Center.

Copies of the draft environmental impact statement for the project can be found at hawaii.gov/health/environ mental/oeqc/index.html.

Send comments to:
Auwahi Energy LLC, 101 Ash St., HQ 14, San Diego, Calif. 92101, attention, Mitch Dmohowski.
The Maui Planning Commission, 250 S. High St., Wailuku 96793, attention Joe Prutch.
Consultant Tetra Tech EC Inc., 737 Bishop St., Suite 3020, Honolulu 96813, attention Anna Mallon.

Meetings will gather comments on proposed wind farm – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News

April 7, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Sempra to sell wind energy to MECO from Maui project

Sempra Generation has signed a 20-year contract to sell wind energy to Maui Electric Co. from Sempra’s 21-megawatt Auwahi Wind project on the Ulupalakua Ranch in the southeastern region of Maui.

Sempra said it expects to begin construction on Auwahi Wind in early 2012, creating about 150 local construction jobs at peak and about five positions to operate the facility. The project is currently undergoing an environmental review by Maui County, and state and federal agencies.
When fully operational in late 2012, Auwahi Wind will be capable of generating enough energy to power 10,000 typical Maui homes, the company said.

The project will have a battery storage unit could store as much as 12 megawatt-hours of wind energy generated by the project’s wind turbines. The stored power will help to smooth the fluctuations normally associated with wind power.

The contract between Maui Electric Company and Sempra Generation is subject to approval by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.

Maui already has 51 megawatts of generating capacity from the Kaheawa I and Kaheawa II wind projects developed by First Wind LLC on a ridge above Maalaea.

Sempra to sell wind energy to MECO from Maui project – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

April 7, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Dengue eyed in East Maui

WAILUKU – The state Department of Health is investigating two suspected East Maui cases of dengue fever, a potentially deadly tropical disease.

There is no cure for dengue fever, which is spread through mosquito bites and not human contact. However, most people survive outbreaks in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is investigating the two East Maui cases, and county officials said they are awaiting confirmation from the federal agency on the suspected cases.

The state did not reveal details about the individuals involved or give a specific area. But official sources report that most people survive the symptoms, including sudden onset of fever, severe headaches, eye, joint and muscle pain, minor bleeding and a rash that often appears in the first 24 to 48 hours. The fever usually begins in four or five days after infection. The symptoms can last for up to two weeks and can include vomiting and other stomach problems just before recovery.

The last dengue fever outbreak in Maui County occurred in East Maui from late 2001 to spring 2002, when at least 20 people had the painful fever and up to 100 more were suspected of contracting it.

Continue reading
April 4, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

California firm joins Molokai wind project

Pattern Energy Group is expected to “engage all of the community”

Molokai Properties Ltd. said it is teaming up with a new company to develop a proposed wind energy proj­ect on the island after it was unable to come to terms with its previous partner, First Wind LLC.

MPL joined forces with San Francisco-based Pattern Energy Group on the proj­ect that, as envisioned, would transmit wind-generated electricity to Oahu via an undersea cable. The proj­ect, with 90 wind turbines and a generating capacity of 200 megawatts, represents half of the so-called Big Wind proj­ect that would include the transmission of an equal amount of wind energy from Lanai to Oahu.

Executives from Pattern and Molokai Properties held three community meetings in early March to brief the community on the proposal, said Peter Nicholas, MPL’s chief executive officer. Nicholas said he hoped Pattern’s plan would be better received by the community than what had been proposed by First Wind.

MPL broke off talks with First Wind in November following two rounds of negotiations in which the two sides were unable to reach agreement on a land price and the approach to community involvement. MPL, which also does business as Molokai Ranch, owns 60,000 acres on Molokai, or about 40 percent of the island.

Continue reading
April 3, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Maui shows it cares about ag

A big crowd filled the grounds at the Maui County Agriculture Festival at the Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu.

Farmers of vegetables, flowers, livestock and other local products were on hand to share their goods with the community.

Organizer Charlene Kauhane said the festival drew its largest crowd to date.

“It just ended, and it’s still packed,” she said. “It was a tremendous success, and it really shows us that the community really cares about agriculture on Maui.”

Kauhane said more than 6,500 people attended the festival, an increase of about 1,000 over last year.

Maui shows it cares about ag – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News