Public Auction: Pineapple Plant of excess equipment no longer needed for current operations
Auction Date: Tuesday, March 23 at 10am – at Maui Beach Hotel in Kahului Maui
Previews/inspection on Monday, March 22, 9am – 4pm (at 3 locations or by appointment)
– 120 Kane Street, Kahului, 870 Haliimaile Rd. Makawao, 4900 L. Honoapiilani Hwy, Honolua Baseyard
Items for auction: Pineapple Processing & Cannery, Agriculture Equipment, Power Plant Generators, Trucks & Trailers, Facility Equipment, Machine Shop, Lab & R&D Equipment, Distribution Warehouse.
Auction information at www.greatamerican.com or 818-884-3747 ext. 1330
Revitalizing the land of plenty with affordable housing | MIT news
Students in Professor Jan Wampler’s class, Architecture Design Studio, spent eight days designing affordable dwellings for farmers in Hawaii
Hawaii Island is caught in a Catch 22 situation.
Although the island boasts a fertile landscape that can easily support a broad range of agriculture, 85-90 percent of food consumed is imported from the mainland. High real estate costs have been partially responsible for perpetuating this dependency, prohibiting many young families from owning and farming the land as their parents did. Some locals have even left Hawaii in search of work.
As part of a larger effort to revitalize Hawaii’s agricultural economy, MIT architecture students, led by Professor Jan Wampler, have partnered with the local non-profit Kohala Center and the Starseed Ranch to provide young farmers with land and housing.
SG Biofuels Launches World’s First Elite Jatropha Cultivar
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ — SG Biofuels, a sustainable plant oil company specializing in the development of Jatropha as a low-cost, sustainable source of oil, today announced the launch of JMax 100, a proprietary cultivar of Jatropha optimized for growing conditions in Guatemala with yields 100 percent greater than existing varieties.
JMax 100 is the first elite cultivar developed through the company’s JMax Jatropha Optimization Platform. The platform provides growers and plantation developers with access to the highest yielding and most profitable Jatropha in the world, the sequenced genome and advanced biotech and synthetic biology tools to develop cultivars specifically optimized for their unique growing conditions.
"The yields and profitability of JMax100 and the JMax platform far exceed what is currently available through existing varieties of Jatropha," said Kirk Haney, President and Chief Executive Officer of SG Biofuels. "In Guatemala, we have utilized the world’s largest library of Jatropha genetic material and our advanced genetic program to enable exponential increases in productivity and profitability, and establish Jatropha as a large-scale sustainable energy crop."
Chocolate hopes to sweeten up Hawaii agriculture industry – Hawaii News Now – KGMB and KHNL
By Duane Shimogawa
WAIALUA (HawaiiNewsNow) – As the state’s agriculture industry goes through some sour times, a relatively new crop is hoping to sweeten things up. Sugar and pineapple were once the staple crops of Hawaii’s plantation era, but with these industries practically extinct, Hawaii’s ag lands are now returning to a new era of small farms.
An exciting new crop may be the sweet savior to Hawaii’s lagging ag industry. State ag leaders say they aren’t just looking to one crop to replace both sugar and pineapple.
Instead, they’re hoping a variety of crops, including another sweet tasting one will take the lead and help the state’s ag industry grow to new heights.
Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. where chocolate can grow. That’s because it only flourishes in areas close to the equator. So it made sense for Dole Foods to try it out.
Pine land to cost $420K a year | The Honolulu Advertiser
By Rick Daysog
Advertiser Staff WriterA group that plans to restore pineapple growing on Maui will pay $420,000 a year to lease agricultural lands held by Maui Land & Pineapple Co.
Haliimaile Pineapple Co. also will pay $680,000 to purchase ML&P’s farm equipment, supplies and customer lists, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ML&P announced in November that it was shutting down pineapple operations after nearly 100 years of plantation-scale farming on the Valley Isle. The company harvested its final crop last month and laid off 206 workers.
But Haliimaile — whose principals include former ML&P executives Doug MacCluer and Ed Chenchin and Ulupalakua Ranch owner Pardee Erdman — said last week they plan restore pineapple farming on 950 acres of ML&P’s 3,000-acre pineapple operations .
The new company said it also will take over ML&P’s Maui Gold brand and will hire back 66 displaced pineapple workers.
State & County Agencies Funding Sources — Hawaii Department of Agriculture
OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS (OHA): OHA financial assistance program serves primarily the native Hawaiian community. Ag-related-community-based projects targeting the native Hawaiian community may qualify for funding. For eligibility inquiries, contact:
Office of Hawaii Affairs
CBED Specialist
711 Kapiolani Boulevard, Suite 500
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Tel: (808) 594-1752, Fax: (808) 594-1865
SELECTED COUNTY AGENCIES:
- ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, COUNTY OF MAUI, OFFICE OF THE MAYOR: The Economic Development Program grants support to a diversity of economic sectors including agriculture. Grant applications are readily available and will be evaluated by a review team. Contact:
Office of Economic Development
County of Maui
200 S. High Street, 6th Floor
Wailuku, HI 96793
Tel: (808) 270-7710, Fax: (808) 270-7995
E-mail: rbaker@mauicountyoed.com
- COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM, CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development (HUD) provides Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to cities including the City and County of Honolulu. CDBG funds are divided in loans, grants, and technical assistance to economic development projects that benefit low- and moderate-income people. Funded projects have included rural economic, and agricultural development projects. Contact:
Chief, CBDG Unit
Department of Budget & Fiscal Services
City and County of Honolulu
530 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Tel: (808) 527-5067
Fax: (808) 527-6968
- COUNTY OF HAWAII (BIG ISLAND):
The County of Hawai`i Department of Research and Development provides grant awards to non-profit organizations for initiatives that improve the quality of life for the people of Hawai`i County through responsible and sustainable economic, societal and environmental practices in agricultural research that is innovative or urgent in nature, marketing and promotion of products and the collections and dissemination of information.
State & County Agencies Funding Sources — Hawaii Department of Agriculture