Author: bigwave

March 8, 2021 Agriculture Grants, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

MICRO-GRANT PROGRAM FOR SMALL-SCALE AGRICULTURE OPENS

State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture –

$1.9 million available under program –

HONOLULU – The Hawai`i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is now accepting applications for the Micro-Grants for Food Security Program, which provides support for small-scale gardening, herding and livestock operations to help produce food in areas that are insecure.

In August 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded Hawai`i a total of $1,938,556.80 for this grant program which was established under the 2018 Farm Bill.

Information on the Request for Proposals may be found at the Hawai‘i State Procurement website at: https://hands.ehawaii.gov/hands/opportunities/opportunity-details/20023 . The maximum award for an individual is $5,000 for a project of 12 months, $2,500 for a six-month project. Under the grant program rules, religious organization, food banks and food pantries may also apply. Applications/proposals must be emailed to hdoa.addrfp@hawaii.gov and received by noon, April 23, 2021.

“Through the pandemic, there has been an increase in backyard and small-scale farming which has helped families to economically supplement their basic food needs,” said Gov. David Ige. “This grant program presents a unique opportunity to support subsistence agriculture in Hawai`i.”

“Small-scale farmers and food gardens are often left out of federal funding programs,” said Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, chairperson of the Hawai`i Board of Agriculture. “In these cases, we know that a little support can go a long way to help food security for our families and communities.”

Examples of the types of activities that may be funded under this grant include

  • Small-Scale Gardening – purchase tools or equipment, soil, seeds, plants, canning equipment, refrigeration, composting equipment, towers, hydroponic and aeroponic farming.
  • Small-Scale Herding and Livestock Operations – purchase animals, buy, erect or repair fencing for livestock, activities or supplies associated with setting up or equipping a slaughter and processing facility, including purchasing mobile slaughterhouses.
  • Expanding Access to Food and Knowledge of Food Security – create or expand avenues for the sale of food commodities – includes paying for shipping of purchased items related to growing or raising food for local consumption.

Additional information, including Frequently Asked Questions, are available at the grant portal at: https://hands.ehawaii.gov/hands/opportunities/opportunity-details/20023

To assist interested parties with the application requirements, a Zoom webinar has been scheduled for:

Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.

https://zoom.us/j/98372262871?pwd=MklnZWFMTXlsbXhjLzFIYXZLMHVEQT09
Meeting ID: 983 7226 2871
Passcode: HDOAMDB

Information and a recording of the webinar will also be posted at: http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/add/md/
Eligible proposals will be reviewed by a panel in each county and awards are expected to be announced in May 2021, with first disbursement of funds expected in July 2021.

Questions regarding the application process may addressed to HDOA’s Market Development Branch at (808) 973-9595 or email: hdoa.addrfp@hawaii.gov

March 8, 2021 Employment/Jobs, General Ag News and Notes, Hawaii Agricultural Employment, Hawaii Agriculture Jobs Post a Comment

USAJOBS Daily Saved Search Results for Agriculture jobs for 3/8/2021

Agricultural Program Manager –
Department: Department of Agriculture –
Agency: Farm Service Agency –
Number of Job Opportunities & Location(s): vacancies – Honolulu, Hawaii –
Salary: $95,012.00 to $123,516.00 / PA –
Series and Grade: GS-1101-13
Open Period: 2021-03-08 to 2021-03-22
Position Information: Permanent – Full-Time
Who May Apply: Internal to an agency

Some jobs listed here may no longer be available-the job may have been canceled or may have closed. Click the link for each job to see the full job announcement.

March 5, 2021 Employment/Jobs, General Ag News and Notes, Hawaii Agricultural Employment, Hawaii Agriculture Jobs Post a Comment

USAJOBS Daily Saved Search Results for Agriculture jobs for 3/5/2021

Plant Protection Technician (Pre-Departure) –
Department: Department of Agriculture –
Agency:Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service –
Number of Job Opportunities & Location(s): vacancies – Kahului, Hawaii –
Salary: $36,363.00 to $47,274.00 / PA –
Series and Grade: GS-0421-5 –
Open Period: 2021-03-05 to 2021-03-11
Position Information: Permanent – Full-Time
Who May Apply: Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL), Open to the public

Research Biologist, ZP-0401-3 (Direct Hire)
Department: Department of Commerce
Agency:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Number of Job Opportunities & Location(s): 1 vacancy – Honolulu, Hawaii
Salary: $66,662.00 to $103,875.00 / PA
Series and Grade: ZP-0401-3
Open Period: 2021-03-05 to 2021-03-11T00:00:00Z
Position Information: Permanent – Full-Time
Who May Apply: Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL), Open to the public

Some jobs listed here may no longer be available-the job may have been canceled or may have closed. Click the link for each job to see the full job announcement.

March 3, 2021 General Ag News and Notes, Globel Warming Post a Comment

Nonprofit moves forward with lawsuit to protect Hawaiian honeycreeper

Star Advertiser –
By Nina Wu –

The Center for Biological Diversity today filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to designate critical habitat and develop a recovery plan for the iiwi, a cherished forest bird in Hawaii.

The move comes five months after the national nonprofit filed a formal notice of intent to sue due to lack of progress. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for Hawaii.

“The beautiful iiwi needs our help and it needs it now,” said Maxx Phillips, the center’s Hawaii director and staff attorney, in a news release. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s foot-dragging is unacceptable. Without the protections provided by critical habitat and a valid recovery plan, iiwi will continue down a heartbreaking path towards extinction.”

Iiwi, or Drepani coccinea, are medium-sized honeycreepers with bright, red plumage, black wings and distinctive, curved bills used to drink nectar.

The iiwi was listed in 2017 as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to extensive threats from mosquito-borne diseases such as avian malaria, as well as loss of habitat due to rapid ohia death and climate change.

Once abundant across the state — from the coastal lowlands where they foraged for food to the high mountain forests where they nested — the iiwi today can only be found in a narrow band of forest on East Maui, and elevated windward slopes of Hawaii island, and on Kauai.

They are now gone from the islands of Lanai, Oahu, Molokai and West Maui, the center said, and the Kauai population is likely to go extinct within 30 years.

Under the act, the agency is required to designate critical habitat with its listing determination and develop a recovery plan for the bird — but has failed to do so, according to the suit.

Phillips said there are measures the USFWS could take right now — including the restoration of upland forests at higher elevations, fencing off of potential breeding areas, and eradication of ungulates such as pigs, which create breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

The USFWS, in a December letter to Phillips after receiving the notice of intent to sue, said development of a recovery plan for iiwi is underway under the leadership of its Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, and that a draft should be available for public review in the Federal Register by October.

The USFWS said, however, that it could not offer a timeframe for designating a critical habitat for iiwi due to its “national workload within the limited budget Congress has set.” The agency already has a 5-year National Listing Workplan for 12-month petition findings and status reviews, and will need to prioritize its workload.

Among those priorities, the agency said, are the designation of critical habitat for 14 Hawaiian species, including the picture-wing fly, by Feb. 28, 2023 as a result of a settlement with the center following an earlier lawsuit.

The center says Hawaiian forest birds are in crisis, with 68% of Hawaii’s known endemic bird species have already gone extinct because of habitat loss, disease and invasive predators.

“The longer that the service drags their feet, the closer these species come to a tipping point of going extinct,” said Phillips. “Time is of the essence. Any delay is really inexcusable.”

March 3, 2021 General Ag News and Notes, Stock Market Post a Comment

Maui Land narrows loss while it awaits land sale

Star Advertiser –
By Andrew Gomes –

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. generated less revenue last year amid the coronavirus pandemic but reduced its bottom-line loss from 2019. –

The company, which developed Kapalua Resort and once farmed pineapple but now mainly leases former plantation lands to tenants, lost $2.6 million last year, compared with a $10.4 million loss the year before, according to an annual report released Tuesday.

Maui Land said disruptions to tourism on Maui because of COVID-19 hurt company revenue from real estate leases as well as a club membership program that contributed to revenue falling 25% to $7.5 million last year from $10 million the year before.

However, the company’s 2019 loss was bigger because of two extraordinary items: a contested $5 million tax refund allowance and a $3.6 million noncash charge for reducing the value of some real estate.

Last year Maui Land offset some of its leasing revenue decline with the sale of 5 acres of agricultural land for $600,000. The buyer, Maui County, plans to use the land to expand its Lahaina wastewater system. Maui Land also received $900,000 as returned cash collateral from an insurance program of dissolved timeshare joint-venture development firm Kapalua Bay Holdings.

Maui Land anticipated selling 46 acres at Kapalua Resort for $43.9 million last year, but the deal didn’t close as expected in September because of COVID-19 restrictions. The company said selling the property, which has long been planned for residential and commercial development, is now expected to happen in mid-August.

The Kapalua-based company with 17 employees also tried to improve its finances last year with a potentially forgivable $246,500 federal Paycheck Protection Program loan but decided to return the loan proceeds based on guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration that intended for the program to help small businesses that lack significant access to capital.

Maui Land’s financial results last year included a $740,000 fourth-quarter loss on $2.1 million in revenue that compared with a 2019 fourth-quarter loss of $9.1 million on $2.5 million in revenue.

Shares of Maui Land stock on the New York Stock Exchange closed Tuesday at $11.73. Shares over the last 52 weeks have closed between $13.50 on March 4 and $8.92 on March 23.

March 2, 2021 Agricultural Science, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

High-tech detection determines pineapple harvest needs

UH News

In a new study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Small Business Innovation Research program, researchers in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, IntelinAir, Inc. and Columbia University are investigating whether remote sensing and computer vision can help pineapple growers carry out regular inspection of the field and automated counting of flower intensity.

The natural flowering of pineapple was the basis of the industry up until the 1960s. Now, pineapple fields are forced in blocks to flower, with a chemical that releases ethylene and induces flowering, making the fruit available year-round. Since pineapple is hand-harvested, a grower’s ability to harvest all of the fruit of a field in a single pass is critical to reduce field losses, costs, and waste, and to maximize efficiency.

“Our work used deep learning-based density-estimation approaches to count the number of flowering pineapple plants in a field block,” said Robert Paull of the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences. “This enables growers to optimize their planning and management practices for getting optimum fruit harvest.”

Paull explained that drones are being used worldwide to monitor crop growth, disease and weeds, and to apply fertilizer and crop protection products. The tool allows growers to be more flexible, efficient and highly targeted, with lower costs and input application. They are also able to service hard-to-reach areas and where weather prevents access by heavy equipment.

“New technology and management strategies are critical for the economic success of farming in Hawaiʻi,” added Paull. “Drones are used widely, though less effort has been devoted to tropical agriculture systems. In the tropics, drones offer the ability to enhance precision agriculture, improve crop management, and reduce environmental impacts and costs.”

The full study appears in a recent edition of Frontiers in Plant Science.

This work is an example of UH Mānoa’s goal of Excellence in Research: Advancing the Research and Creative Work Enterprise (PDF), one of four goals identified in the 2015-2025 Strategic Plan (PDF), updated in December 2020.