Author: bigwave

September 4, 2013 Ag Tourism, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii County considers agricultural tourism bill

HILO >> Hawaii County lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it easier for small farmers to give tours to visitors, usually for a fee, and to sell related agricultural and nonagricultural products at a gift shop. Large agricultural operations already can do this.

The legislation, which the council is scheduled to hear Thursday, proposes separating agricultural activities into “major” and “minor” operations, West Hawaii Today reported.

Minor operations would be required to limit annual visitors to 5,000, with a maximum 100 visitors per week. Major operations would be allowed up to 30,000 visitors per year.

The Hawaii Agritourism Association and other supporters say the bill will help small farmers survive the vagaries of the economy and weather by providing a reliable supplemental income source.

Opponents worry the measure will distract farmers from their primary occupation of food production, while increasing the value of agricultural land and property taxes.

Freshman Puna Councilman Zendo Kern proposed the bill. He’s been trying to draft a measure balancing the needs of small farmers and would-be “agritourism” businesses with rural neighbors who worry about impacts like increased traffic and noise.

Major agritourism operations still would need to get their plans approved, while minor ones would not. Both types would be required to turn over financial records upon the request of the planning department to verify compliance.

North Kona Councilwoman Karen Eoff hopes the bill can be delayed a little longer to ensure it’s the best it can be before moving it on to its final hearing later this month.

Hawaii County considers agricultural tourism bill – Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser

September 1, 2013 General Ag News and Notes, Sunflowers Post a Comment

Sunflowers offer cheerful blooms and tasty seeds, too

Flowers conjure a variety of emotional and sensory responses as well as memories. Loving sentiments are often attached to roses. Violets are sometimes associated with youthful sweetness and a bouquet of daisies brings cheer into any room. Gladiolas often appear in funeral arrangements and the scent of lavender might stir memories of fields of flowers on a hot summer day. A sunflower’s appearance literally fills the space with sunlight.

Though the sunflower, Helianthus annus, has been widely cultivated to produce flowers with different colors, shapes and sizes, the basic structure of the inflorescence continues to be reminiscent of the sun.

Most varieties maintain an attraction to sunlight with heliotropic buds that move to follow the sun and mature flowers that face the rising sun in the east. The botanical name Helianthus is derived from the Greek words helios for sun and anthos for flower.

Sunflowers are members of the largest family of flowering plants, the Asteraceae family. Like most family members, sunflowers have composite heads consisting of hundreds of tiny flowers clustered in the center of rays of petals that can vary in size and color depending on the cultivar. The flowers on edible varieties produce delicious seeds when pollinated. Many ornamental cultivars have been bred for their long-lasting beauty as cut flowers.

The original sunflower was an oilseed plant native to temperate North America. It was transported to Europe in the 16th century and nearly 100 cultivars, including many ornamental varieties, have since been developed.

Several edible varieties are recommended for West Hawaii gardens. The most popular, and the largest, is the Russian mammoth. Russian breeding in the 1800s produced this giant with bright gold petals and heads that reach 10 to 12 inches across on 8- to 10-foot stalks. The flowers that make up the head result in gray and white seeds.

The edible snack seed hybrid is somewhat smaller, reaching about 6 feet. This variety produces deep golden petals and heads that produce plump seed kernels.

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August 31, 2013 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Source of GMO wheat in Oregon remains mystery – Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser

GRANTS PASS, Ore. » Oregon farmers are moving ahead with plans to start planting their next crop as questions remain about the source of a patch of genetically modified wheat found in a farmer’s field there last spring that threatened trade between the Pacific Northwest and other countries.

Speculation about the origin of the unapproved wheat discovered in northeastern Oregon ranges from saboteurs to a passing flock of geese. The U.S Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said Friday their investigation is ongoing.

Grass Valley wheat farmer Darren Padget says they may never know for sure, but he and other farmers are going ahead with plans to start planting winter wheat in mid-September.

“It’s one of those things where you just scratch your head,” the Oregon Wheat Commission member said as he loaded another truck with seed wheat to haul to a supplier for the local farmers’ co-op. “Everybody’s talking about seeding. We had rains through here the other day that will make seeding conditions good.”

Blake Rowe, the commission’s CEO, said although Asian buyers stopped placing orders for a couple of months, the overall economic impact has been minimal, and markets are back to normal.

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all resumed placing orders for Northwest wheat after tests failed to turn up any that was genetically modified.

The Japanese government tested 1.2 million metric tons of U.S. wheat for GMO material without finding any, according to the trade group U.S. Wheat Associates.

“The customers came back before the harvest was really finished,” Rowe said from his Portland office. “It didn’t really interfere too much with the movement of wheat.”

If there is any more genetically modified wheat growing, farmers won’t know until spring.

Fields that grow wheat this winter will be sprayed with herbicides after harvest in the spring, so they can lie fallow for a year. Any wheat growing after it has been sprayed is likely to have been genetically modified to survive herbicides, which makes it easier to grow.

That’s how the rogue strain was discovered.

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August 27, 2013 Agricultural Equipment, General Ag News and Notes

Trimble Introduces Next Generation Agriculture Display


Trimble Introduces Next Generation Agriculture Display Display’s Modern Architecture Provides Expandable Platform for Precision Agriculture Solutions; Integrates with New Connected Farm Dashboard

Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) introduced today the TMX-2050™ display, a next generation display built on the popular Android™ operating system, which offers an intuitive interface that enables farmers to easily implement precision agriculture solutions as their business grows. Its flexible software platform improves the ability for a customer to seamlessly add applications to their operations while the modular architecture allows for future expandability. The TMX-2050 display is an addition to Trimble’s existing line of guidance displays, which include the EZ-Guide® 250 lightbar guidance system, CFX-750™ display, and FmX® integrated display. Supporting more than 2,000 different vehicle models, Trimble’s wide variety of displays allow farmers to choose the solution that is right for their operations ranging from basic guidance to advanced precision farming applications.

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July 1, 2013 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Vanuatu nut specialist to lead Melanesian stakeholders meeting on indigenous nuts

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Papua New Guinea’s National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI), which is PNG’s leading organisation in conducting and fostering applied and development oriented research in agriculture and rural development has earmarked Vanuatu’s specialist on nuts, Mr Charles Long Wah to lead the upcoming high profile Melanesian stakeholders’ meeting on indigenous nuts in PNG.

Dr Sim Sar- Director of NARI, Dr Moxon and Dr Tio Naveni from PNG’S Kerevat Nangae Centre, Mrs Helen Tsatsia, the Acting Director of Agriculture in Solomon Islands, Mrs Lily Sar of PNG’s University of Technology Communication and Development Studies, the Custom Garden, two female presidents of Papuan Women and Solomon women in Agriculture, representing over 200,000 women are part of this important stakeholders’ meeting.

All are delighted and excited Vanuatu’s Mr Long Wah has accepted to lead the Melanesian Stakeholders workshop on indigenous nuts in Kerevat, New Britain, PNG commencing September 22, 2013.

The training will cover several workshops on value adding, solar crop dryer on fruits, vegetables, spices and nuts and will be immediately followed by a value adding workshop in Solomon Islands the next month.

Hundreds of representatives are expected to convene in Kerevat- from the PNG Government, Universities, Business houses, Research Institutes, potential nut growers, experts and foreign scientists.

NARI has confirmed securing major PNG Government, EU and AusAID funding to assure Mr Long Wah can conduct the training.

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June 28, 2013 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

GMO bill clears first reading

Correction

This online version corrects that Bill 2491 would not stop the commercial production of GMO crops, but rather place a temporary moratorium on the experimental use and commercial production of GMOs until the county has completed an environmental impact statement.

LIHUE — The Kauai County Council unanimously voted to move forward a bill that would allow the county to govern the use of pesticides and genetically modified organisms on the island.

During his closing remarks, Councilman Tim Bynum, who co-introduced Bill 2491 along with Councilman Gary Hooser, described the issue as “serious.”

“We’re talking about people’s lives, people’s livelihoods,” he said. “There are very sincere and passionate people on both sides.”

At 9:30 p.m. Wednesday — after roughly six hours of testimony from dozens of local residents and biotech company employees — the council approved the bill on first reading, sending it to a public hearing July 31.

A location for the hearing is not confirmed. Council Chair Jay Furfaro said he would be looking for a place able to accommodate a larger crowd. About 1,000 attended Wednesday’s meeting but only roughly 100 at a time were allowed in the council chambers.

During his eight years as a state senator (2002-2010), Hooser said he worked on many different and important issues.

“I think at the end of the day this will be the most important one that I’ve worked on, and maybe will work on,” he said. “It has tangible impacts to people’s lives and to our environment.”

The bill calls for Kauai’s largest agricultural corporations — namely DuPont Pioneer, Syngenta, DOW AgroSciences, BASF and Kauai Coffee — to disclose the use of pesticides and the presence of GMO crops. It would also establish pesticide-free buffer zones around public areas and waterways, ban open-air testing of experimental crops and place a temporary moratorium on the commercial production of GMOs, until the county can conduct an environmental impact statement on the industry’s effects on Kauai.

Hooser believes the issue will never be resolved by the state Legislature, which is why he has chosen to fight it at the county level.

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