Author: bigwave

February 18, 2012 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

2,550-unit Wai‘ale project gets hearing

MAKENA – The state Land Use Commission began this week what promises to be a long series of proceedings on Alexander & Baldwin Properties’ proposed 545-acre, 2,550-unit Wai’ale subdivision in Central Maui.

The commission listened to about two dozen residents testify for and against the proposal Thursday and Friday at the Makena Beach & Golf Resort.

“This is very preliminary,” said A&B Properties Vice President Grant Chun. “We are still in the conceptual phase. A lot of the questions asked today are to be answered on the county level.”

Commission members said that they intend to return for more testimony from state and county officials in April, Chun said Friday.

The Wai’ale project is seeking a state land-use district boundary change from agriculture to urban. And, the Maui County Council will take up proposed changes of zoning for the property as well as amendments to the county general and community plans, said county Deputy Corporation Counsel Michael Hopper.

The governor’s Office of Planning and Mayor Alan Arakawa’s Department of Planning support the project. Proponents of the development maintain it will bring jobs, tax revenue and affordable and market-priced homes as Maui’s population continues to grow.

Members of the Waikapu Community Association, conservationists and Native Hawaiian groups oppose the project.

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February 18, 2012 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Green coffee bean bill pits farmers against blenders

KAILUA-KONA >> A proposed bill that would eliminate inspection and certification requirements for green coffee beans shipped from Hawaii is pitting farmers against blenders.

West Hawaii Today reports the bill passed out of the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday. It would remove provisions put in place after a scandal in the 1990s where coffee grown in other regions outside of Hawaii were labeled and sold as Kona coffee.

Blender Hawaii Coffee Co. President Jim Wayman says there are concerns about delays from waiting for a state inspector to grade and certify the coffee.

Farmer Bruce Corker says the Department of Agriculture should hire more inspectors and that buyers on the mainland and overseas won’t have assurances they are getting genuine Hawaii-grown coffee.

Green coffee bean bill pits farmers against blenders – Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser

February 17, 2012 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

HC&S profits offset Matson, property losses

Alexander & Baldwin Inc.’s agricultural sector – led by Maui’s Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. – produced a “strong performance” in 2011 while losses related to Matson Navigation Co. and the real estate sales division put a drag on company profits.

In reporting its 2011 and fourth-quarter financial results Monday, the Honolulu-based company said it logged a net income of $34.2 million, or 81 cents a share, for the year, down 63 percent from the $92.1 million, or $2.22 a share, in 2010 and down nearly 75 percent from the $132 million, or $3.19 a share, in 2008, as the Great Recession began roiling the national economy.

For the fourth quarter, A&B’s net income was only $1.6 million, or 4 cents a share, down from $20.2 million, or 48 cents a share, in the same quarter the previous year.

The company’s ocean transportation sector showed an operating profit of $74.1 million for the year, down from $118.7 million in 2010. This sector of the company suffered losses from the discontinuing of its second China-Long Beach service in the third quarter.

In addition, A&B said that the company continues to make progress on plans to separate its shipping and real estate/agricultural businesses in the second half of this year.

The agricultural sector, which includes HC&S and trucking and storage companies on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, showed an operating profit of $22.2 million in 2011, up 264 percent from $6.1 million in 2010. This is a big contrast from three years ago, when agriculture lost $27 million and the board of directors debated shutting down sugar operations.

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February 15, 2012 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

UH researchers say tea could become specialty crop for Hawaii

University of Hawaii researchers have found Hawaii-grown tea could become a specialty crop for the state.

That’s why the state Senate is looking at ways to enter the multi-billion dollar specialty tea industry. The growing market is expected to double within five years, say the authors of Senate Bill 2957.

Hawaii has the opportunity to take advantage of this boom, proponents believe.

The bill sets regulations for marketing and advertising Hawaii teas, making it clear which are 100 percent Hawaii grown and which are blends that include local teas.

According to the bill, a blended tea can include up to 75 percent of tea from out of state, but must be labeled to make it clear that it is not entirely Hawaii-grown.

UH researchers say tea could become specialty crop for Hawaii – Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser

February 12, 2012 Flowers & Nursery, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Say it with flowers but don’t expect everything to be rosy

AUSTRALIAN flower crops, struggling to bloom through a dark and damp summer, are under threat this Valentine’s Day from foreign imports.

”It’s just about impact,” said Tim Baber, of PoHo Flowers in Potts Point, who will be stocking more Colombian roses this year.

”Most guys almost always opt for the Colombians because the bud is about 3-4 centimetres across and the local is about 2.5.
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”When you multiply across a dozen stems it makes a big difference”.

”They’re [local growers] going to lose out,” said Mr Baber.

An overcast La Nina summer has made flowers bloom more slowly and produce smaller buds. Wet and humid weather also exposes maturing flowers to mould and rot.

”Half our crop isn’t going to flower in time for Valentine’s Day,” said Gabriella Zaia, of T&G Growers in Horsley Park.

”We’ve had constant rain. We’re spraying for fungicide and pesticide. It’s been a really tough time.”

The poor weather has given Colombian exporters a greater foothold in the local flower market over the past year despite their higher price. At PoHo Colombian roses sell for $160 a dozen compared with $120 for local varieties

Colombian roses grow fat in the high altitude of the Andean mountains. The greater exposure to sunlight allows them to bloom over four months,

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February 4, 2012 Gardening, General Ag News and Notes, Vegtables Post a Comment

Allotment thieves caught after vegetable identity parade

Police caught a gang of allotment thieves after holding a bizarre identity parade – of stolen VEGETABLES.

Lawrence Miller, 44, and Steven Randall, 46, were caught carrying a bag of stolen fruit and veg at allotments in Brampton, Cambs.

To get evidence against the duo police lined up the food on the roadside and asked allotment holders to identify their stolen vegetables.

They instantly spotted their crops, including a marrow with a distinctive stripe, rhubarb, leeks and cabbages.

The two offenders were left looking red-faced as beetroot when they were ordered to pay £20 of compensation and £85 costs at Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court.

Miller and Randall, who were both on benefits, were said to be living “in extreme poverty” and stole the vegetables to feed their families.

Both men were granted a conditional discharge.

Prosecutor Penny Cannon said police spotted them run across the road into the allotment and when they stopped and searched them found stolen produce.

She said: “Police carried out a unique investigation by photographing the fruit and vegetables and then putting them on the verge, asking people if they could recognise or identify the vegetables.”

One of the plots had also been damaged on the same night, the court heard,

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