Author: Brian Lieberman

May 27, 2021 Climate Change, General Ag News and Notes, Globel Warming, Ranching Post a Comment

Experts warn Hawaii summer drought ‘could be worse than last year’

KHON2
by Jenn Boneza

Less than normal rainfall and higher temperatures may cause severe drought conditions in summer 2021.

Some places are already seeing the impact and experts say it will only get worse.

Hot, sunny days are great while at the beach, but too much sunshine and not enough rain for prolonged periods of time can cause problems — especially for farmers and ranchers.

Be prepared for another dry, hot summer. Weather experts are expecting below average rainfall.

Hawaii is seeing abnormally dry conditions on every island across the state and some Leeward areas are experiencing moderate drought conditions already.

According to NOAA Hydrologist Kevin Kodama, two counties will be hit the hardest.

“Hawaii County and Maui County would have the quickest impacts and probably the most severe impact, especially early on,” Kodama said. “I would anticipate that based on the climate outlook, climate model projections, that it could be worse than last year.”

Rep. Lynn DeCoite (D) who represents Molokai, Lanai and parts of Maui, says she can see it already.

“It’s bad. And we’re in May,” Rep. DeCoite said. “Pastures are drying up.”

Rep. DeCoite, who lives on Molokai, says it is concerning. She does not want a repeat of summer 2020 when hundreds of axis deer were found dead of starvation along roadways due to overpopulation and lack of food.

The Hawaii Cattleman’s Council managing director Nicole Galase says ranchers are already preparing for the worst.

“Ranchers are monitoring so many factors when it comes to their operation,” Galase said. “So if a drought is coming, they are preparing ahead of time.”

If there is not enough forage on the ground, they purchase supplemental feed, which she said can get very expensive.

“On top of making sure that the cattle are fed, another important factor when drought comes up is that the ranchers are always looking ahead to make sure that that they’re grazing down the forage so that there’s not a big fuel load for when those dry seasons come so they can prevent wildfires before they start,” she explained.

According to Agriculture Committee vice chair Rep. Amy Perruso, some farmers are more vulnerable than others.

“Small farmers are the most vulnerable,” Perruso said. “Because in my experience, their margins are the smallest. And they can’t really afford the kinds of losses that might come with drought.”

Consumers will feel it as well.

“You’re going to see prices jump in vegetables, fruits, beef,” Rep. DeCoite explained. “We will be depending upon our imports more highly.”

Water will also be an issue as Hawaii moves into the summer months.

Experts are suggesting the people who rely on water catchment systems for their water to begin conserving now.

“Stop washing your cars and watering your yards, it needs to be used for the crops at this time,” Rep. DeCoite said.

May 22, 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 in Hawaii for 5/21/2021

Research Entomologist / Research Biologist –
Department: Department of Agriculture –
Agency: -Agricultural Research Service –
Number of Job Opportunities & Location(s): 1 vacancy – Hilo, Hawaii
Salary: $79,901.00 to $123,516.00 / PA
Series and Grade: GS-0401/0414-12/13
Open Period: 2021-05-21 to 2021-06-21
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.

May 22, 2021 Food Security, General Ag News and Notes, Hawaii Maritime Shipping, Jones Act, Transportation Post a Comment

Don’t waive the Jones Act — scrap it, by Bloomberg News

Keene Sentinel –

Another domestic energy crisis, another waiver of the Jones Act. –

In response to the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45 percent of the fuel for the Eastern Seaboard, President Joe Biden’s administration said that it would allow two exemptions to the 101-year-old act, which restricts waterborne commerce between U.S. ports to ships that are built, crewed and owned by Americans. Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. now have permission to use foreign vessels to transport oil products between the Gulf Coast and the East Coast

Hurricanes forced previous presidents to suspend the law to ensure deliveries of food, fuel and other goods. This time, Biden should face reality and bury it under the waves.

As with most protectionist measures, the Jones Act harms the very people it purports to help. Because oceangoing Jones Act-compliant ships are more expensive, and there aren’t that many of them, the law leads to higher prices for goods, more congested roadways and pipelines, and additional pollution from greater reliance on carbon-intensive transportation.

Its market-bending distortions could scarcely be exaggerated. As a direct result of the law, refineries on both coasts can find it cheaper to import foreign oil than to use domestic sources. Refineries in the Gulf Coast choose to send their products to Latin America instead of the East Coast. The U.S. may be a natural gas powerhouse, but it has no Jones Act-compliant liquefied natural gas carriers, which would cost two to three times as much as equivalent ships from South Korea. So Puerto Rico and Hawaii source their LNG from overseas, northeast ports look to Trinidad and Tobago, and U.S. natural gas goes abroad.

The act is even undermining the Biden administration’s vaunted green-energy plans. Offshore wind projects need Jones Act-compliant turbine-installation vessels. Right now, the U.S. has one — under construction, that is, and due to launch in 2023 at a cost of $500 million. Hitting the administration’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind-energy production by 2030 will require more vessels, which the law will only make more expensive.

It would be one thing if the Jones Act met its stated goal of sustaining a robust merchant fleet. But the number of Jones Act-eligible U.S. vessels in 2019 was 99, versus 193 in 2000. From 1960 to 2014, even as U.S. output more than quadrupled, the tonnage of domestic contiguous coastal shipping dropped by 44 percent. America’s few remaining commercial shipyards are expensive and superannuated: Indeed, some companies that shamelessly defend their Jones Act monopolies send their ships to China for repairs, which is cheaper even with the 50 percent tariff that they pay the U.S. government for the privilege.

The Jones Act survives because it supports the narrow interests of a handful of shipping companies and maritime unions, which pump out a reliable stream of campaign cash to the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus. Never mind the costs to all Americans — especially those in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, who depend heavily on maritime commerce.

There are better ways to build up coastal commerce and the maritime industry, from investing in neglected port infrastructure and public shipyards to changing the tax treatment of U.S.-flagged ships. Yet the Biden administration seems committed to preserving the Jones Act, whatever the consequences. Here’s a question for the White House to ponder: If this law is so successful and so vital, why does it so often need to be waived in cases of emergency?

May 21, 2021 Coffee Leaf Rust, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

EPA approves fungicide for coffee leaf rust

The Maui News –

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow Hawaii coffee growers to use a fungicide to fight coffee leaf rust, a devastating pathogen found on Maui, Lanai, Hawaii island and Oahu.

The state Department of Agriculture was notified Wednesday that the EPA had approved its request for farmers to use Priaxor Xemium, a fungicide not currently labeled by the EPA for specific use on coffee plants but allowed for controlling fungi on leafy vegetables, strawberries, tomatoes, soybeans, wheat and other crops. In March, the department filed a request for an exemption to use the fungicide on coffee plants. The emergency exemption approval will allow the fungicide to be used for up to one year or until use on coffee plants is added to the product label by EPA and the fungicide’s producer.

Coffee leaf rust was first detected on Maui and Hawaii island in October and on Oahu and Lanai in January, leading the board to restrict the movement of coffee plants from these islands.

“Hawaii coffee growers now have an added method to combat the coffee leaf rust, which is extremely difficult to manage,” said Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture. “Other efforts to minimize the damage and spread of coffee leaf rust include quarantines on the movement of coffee plants and associated material, the import of disease-resistant coffee plants and the development of integrated pest management strategies.”

Under the emergency exemption, coffee growers must:

• Inform the state Department of Agriculture Pesticides Branch at least seven days prior to using Priaxor Xemium by emailing hdoa.sec18@hawaii .gov.

• Wear personal protective equipment as required by the label.

• Follow all directions on both the container label as well as the dealer-provided Section 18 label.

• Report all use/application to the Pesticides Branch within 10 days of application.

For more information, Maui County growers can call Mitchell MacCluer of the Pesticides Branch at (808) 873-3078.

Two webinars on the use of the fungicide are being planned in June.

For more information on coffee leaf rust and the coffee industry, visit www.hawaiicoffeeed.com or hdoa.hawaii.gov/ pi/files/2021/01/NPA-20-03-Coffee-leaf-rust1-21.pdf.

May 19, 2021 DLNR, Maui Land and Pinapple Company (MLP) Post a Comment

DLNR News Release: Instream Flows Set for Traditional Kalo Farming Communities on Kaua’i and Maui

David Ige, Governor, State of Hawaii –

With support of written and virtual testimony from cultural practitioners, lineal descendants, keiki and kupuna on the importance of stream flow to support their livelihood and the ‘āina, the Hawai‘i Commission on Water Resource Management adopted instream flow standards for Wai‘oli Stream, in Halele‘a, North Kaua‘i, and for Honokōhau, Honolua, and Kaluanui Streams in West Maui.

In April 2018, the Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui suffered considerable damage to their ‘auwai when record-breaking rainfall fell on North Kaua‘i. As the taro farmers worked to repair their ‘auwai with legal and technical support from Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, they also worked with Commission staff to ensure water from Wai‘oli Stream was being properly managed in consideration of instream and non-instream uses.

On Tuesday, the Commission approved a measurable instream flow standard of 4.0 million gallons per day which is based upon the Native Hawaiian custom of keeping half of the stream’s flow remaining in the stream. Commissioner Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer stated that “This is a great example of us working alongside and with a community to help empower and resolve some long-standing issues.”

The Commission also considered instream flow standards for Honokōhau, Honolua, and Kaluanui Streams, the latter being a tributary of Honokōhau Stream, in West Maui. Prior Commission actions approved the abandonment of irrigation system diversions on Honolua and Kaluanui Streams by Maui Land and Pineapple Company (MLP), resulting in the Commission approving of natural streamflow conditions to serve as the instream flow standard (IIFS).

For Honokōhau Stream, the Commission approved a two-phase approach which will establish a Phase One IIFS of 8.6 million gallons per day within 120 days, allowing MLP to make the necessary system improvements. The restored streamflow is expected to meet the existing needs of taro farmers in Honokōhau Valley, while also protecting aquatic life, recreation, and domestic uses on Honokōhau Stream.

The Commission also approved a water reservation by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for 2.0 million gallons from Honokōhau Stream. Upon implementation of DHHL’s Regional Plan, the Phase Two IIFS will be initiated and water from Honokōhau Stream will be mixed with R1 recycled wastewater to meet non-potable water demands for agriculture and communal areas in DHHL’s planned West Maui developments. The resulting IIFS would then vary based on half the available streamflow in Honokōhau Stream.

Following these decisions, Commission Chair Suzanne Case said, “We truly appreciate the efforts of community members, including private water users and other government agencies, in working collaboratively with our staff in seeking balanced solutions to sharing our limited water resources. Working closely with the Wai‘oli Valley Taro Hui resulted in a decision for Wai‘oli Stream that will maintain taro farming there for generations to come, while the West Maui decision represents a win-win solution for the protection of traditional Hawaiian practices and protection of instream uses in Honokōhau Valley while meeting the needs of MLP, DHHL, and the County of Maui.”

May 17, 2021 General Ag News and Notes, Hawaii Maritime Shipping, Jones Act Post a Comment

Don’t Waive the Jones Act. Scrap It

Bloomberg Opinion –

For more than a century it has benefited the few over the many, while failing to maintain a robust maritime industry. –

Another domestic energy crisis, another waiver of the Jones Act.

In response to the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel for the eastern seaboard, President Joe Biden’s administration said that it would allow two exemptions to the 101-year-old act, which restricts waterborne commerce between U.S. ports to ships that are built, crewed and owned by Americans. Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. now have permission to use foreign vessels to transport oil products between the Gulf Coast and the East Coast

Hurricanes forced previous presidents to suspend the law to ensure deliveries of food, fuel and other goods. This time, Biden should face reality and bury it under the waves.

As with most protectionist measures, the Jones Act harms the very people it purports to help. Because oceangoing Jones Act-compliant ships are more expensive, and there aren’t that many of them, the law leads to higher prices for goods, more congested roadways and pipelines, and additional pollution from greater reliance on carbon-intensive transportation.

Its market-bending distortions could scarcely be exaggerated. As a direct result of the law, refineries on both coasts can find it cheaper to import foreign oil than to use domestic sources. Refineries in the Gulf Coast choose to send their products to Latin America instead of the East Coast. The U.S. may be a natural gas powerhouse, but it has no Jones Act-compliant liquefied natural gas carriers, which would cost two to three times as much as equivalent ships from South Korea. So Puerto Rico and Hawaii source their LNG from overseas, northeast ports look to Trinidad and Tobago, and U.S. natural gas goes abroad.

The act is even undermining the Biden administration’s vaunted green-energy plans. Offshore wind projects need Jones Act-compliant turbine-installation vessels. Right now, the U.S. has one — under construction, that is, and due to launch in 2023 at a cost of $500 million. Hitting the administration’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind-energy production by 2030 will require more vessels, which the law will only make more expensive.

It would be one thing if the Jones Act met its stated goal of sustaining a robust merchant fleet. But the number of Jones Act-eligible U.S. vessels in 2019 was 99, versus 193 in 2000. From 1960 to 2014, even as U.S. output more than quadrupled, the tonnage of domestic contiguous coastal shipping dropped by 44%. America’s few remaining commercial shipyards are expensive and superannuated: Indeed, some companies that shamelessly defend their Jones Act monopolies send their ships to China for repairs, which is cheaper even with the 50% tariff that they pay the U.S. government for the privilege.

The Jones Act survives because it supports the narrow interests of a handful of shipping companies and maritime unions, which pump out a reliable stream of campaign cash to the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus. Never mind the costs to all Americans — especially those in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, who depend heavily on maritime commerce.

There are better ways to build up coastal commerce and the maritime industry, from investing in neglected port infrastructure and public shipyards to changing the tax treatment of U.S.-flagged ships. Yet the Biden administration seems committed to preserving the Jones Act, whatever the consequences. Here’s a question for the White House to ponder: If this law is so successful and so vital, why does it so often need to be waived in cases of emergency?