Tag: agriculture

July 30, 2007 Uncategorized Post a Comment

Decisions made with sustainability in mind

The Hot Seat
The Honolulu Advertiser

From politicians to newsmakers to everyday people in the news ? Editorial and Opinion Editor Jeanne Mariani-Belding puts them in the Hot Seat, and lets you ask the questions. So get ready. Let the conversation begin.
Reach Jeanne at jmbelding@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Posted on: July 30, 2007 at 12:02:58 pm

Now on the Hot Seat: Maui Land & Pineapple Co.?s CEO David Cole

Welcome to The Hot Seat! Joining me today is Maui Land & Pineapple Co.?s chairman, president and CEO David Cole.

The closure Maui Land and Pineapple?s canning operation in June marked the end of an era; it was the last canning operation of its kind in the United States. And, as David notes in his commentary in Sunday?s Advertiser, it was also a rite a passage for so many of us here in Hawaii.

David joins us live and will take your questions on his company and the future of agriculture in Hawaii.

With that, let?s chat.

[first question]

Christopher: Can you please explain why Maui Land and Pineapple continues to be a member of the LURF Foundation? Maui Land and Pineapple purports to hold the values of “malama ‘aina, ecology and creating holistic communities.”

With these guiding principles, I have difficulty seeing the association with LURF, which has quietly lobbied against most of the grassroots sustainability issues that have ever come up.

Perhaps with your company’s leadership, you could take LURF in a more modern 21st-century direction?

David Cole: The Land Use Research Foundation has been around since the late ’70s. In recent years, LURF’s focus has become more development-related, although the organization also works with other organizations, such as the Urban Land Institute, Hawai’i Economic Association and the Hawai’i Farm Bureau Federation. One of the goals of LURF is to protect the rights of landowners who are also developers.

As we understand it, LURF has not lobbied, quietly or otherwise, against sustainability issues. In fact, LURF Executive Director David Arakawa has taken a position that is very supportive of sustainability initiatives.

If this not the case, perhaps we should be more engaged in a leadership mode and concentrate more effort another organization?

[last question]

IslandBiz: Aloha, David. I want to say thanks for doing the Hot Seat and talking story with us. I read the article on you recently in Hawaii Business.

Tell us one thing about you that has not been written about that might be surprising, something that would give insight into what kind of a guy you are. Make it a good one!

David Cole: Greetings Islandbiz. My campaign poster for VP of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii (ASUH) back in the 70’s showed me naked on horseback with the slogan “nothing to hide.”

There you have it!!

CLICK HERE to view the full “Hot Seat” conversation

July 22, 2007 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii Crop Weather Weekly Report

Here is the PDF file for the *Hawaii Crop Weather* (crop progress and condition) Report for the week ending *July 22, 2007*

current_hi072207.pdf

Please visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/

USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512
1-800- 804-9514

Agricultural Highlights

Fruits

Bananas

Orchards in windward areas of the Big Island made good progress. Soil moisture was adequate. Sunny, warm days aided orchard progress. Disease incidences were minimized by routine spraying. Bunchy Top disease incidences remained isolated in the Puna and Kona areas. Growers were replanting in the Keaau area. Oahu orchards were in fair to good condition. Fields in windward areas remained in fair condition. A seasonal upswing kept leeward and central Oahu fields in active harvest with heavy supplies. Irrigation remained at heavy levels during the week because of dry conditions. Kauai?s orchards were in good condition. The slightly cooler weather and rains provided good soil moisture which benefited most orchards.

Papayas

Orchards in the lower Puna areas of the Big Island made good progress. Mostly sunny and dry weather during the work week reduced soil moisture levels. Increased moisture from the passing storm system helped boost soil moisture. On Oahu, fruit development and ripening were aided by increased day length and mostly sunny conditions. Mealy bugs were mostly under control while Ring Spot virus lowered harvesting in some fields. Orchards on Kauai continued to make fair to good progress during the week. Pickings were at light to moderate levels from several small fields. Spraying to contain the insect population was slowed as the winds and rains picked up.

Vegetables

Head Cabbage

The Big Island?s Waimea crop was in fair to good condition. Heavy irrigation was required for normal crop progress. Routine spraying minimized insect and disease incidences. New plantings made steady progress. The Volcano crop made slower progress. Maui?s crop continued to show fair and steady progress. Increased irrigation was essential for steady growth and development as well as maintaining quality heads. Farmers were minimizing losses from damage by insects by maintaining a steady and effective spraying program. Insect pressure was a concern, but it has been kept under control. Overall, the head cabbage crop was in fair to good condition. On Oahu, some fields were abandoned to control the increasing pressure from a Diamondback moth infestation.

Dry Onions

Maui?s dry onion crop remained in fair condition. The prolonged hot and dry growing conditions have made it very challenging growers to maintain steady growth and development. Increased irrigation has helped some fields, but older fields have already achieved their potential yield. Most of these mature fields will have a greater percentage of medium bulbs. Overall, the dry onion crop was in fair condition.

Sweet Corn

On Oahu, harvesting was expected to be active with heavy supplies reaching the market. Some reports of light worm damage remained during the week. Isolated windward fields experienced some growing problems and lower than expected yields. Sweet corn plantings in windward areas of the Big Island were in generally good to fair condition. Weather conditions were favorable for crop development. Other Crops

Ginger Root

The Big Island crop made good progress during the week. Soil moisture was adequate and replenished over the weekend by Cosme?s rain. Sunny and warm weather throughout most of the week benefited root development.

July 20, 2007 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

$22 Million Approved For Hawaii Projects

KEY SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES NEARLY $22 MILLION FOR HAWAII-RELATED AGRICULTURAL INITIATIVES
Projects Include the U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Agriculture and Aquaculture Research, Pest Control

Friday, July 20, 2007
For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON ? U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye announced today that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved nearly $22 million for Hawaii-related agricultural projects in Fiscal Year 2008.

?I am especially pleased that my fellow appropriators continue to support the creation of the centralized U.S. Pacific Basin Agriculture Research Center in Hilo by approving $2.5 million for a portion of its second phase of construction, and more than $7.1 million for research by its staffers who are no longer scattered throughout the state, and are now working together in the completed first phase of the facility,? said Senator Inouye, a senior member of the funding panel.

?This facility and its research work benefit not just Hawaii, but all of the United States. At a time when there is heightened concern over the quality of foreign food products entering the United States, the center?s work is consistent with the federal mission to ensure high quality and safe food for consumers. It also ensures a competitive agricultural economy. Moreover, its research supports agriculture in the tropical and subtropical American Pacific, which is generally not available from the U.S. mainland. The challenges our farmers face in our region are far different from those faced by farmers in the temperate zones.?

The funding measure also includes nearly $2.8 million for agriculture pre-clearance quarantine inspections at Neighbor Island airports, and $1.6 million to strengthen Native Hawaiian involvement in agriculture. Projects also include efforts to eliminate or curb agricultural pests.

The Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which was approved by a vote of 29-0 by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, July 19, 2007, now advances to the full Senate for consideration.

CLICK to read complete article

July 20, 2007 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii Papayas Report

Here is the PDF file for the Hawaii Papayas Report.

papaya072307.pdf

Please visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/

————————————————————-
Contact Information:
Mark E. Hudson, Director
USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512

Office: (808) 973-9588 / (800) 804-9514
Fax: (808) 973-2909
————————————————————-
“HAWAII PAPAYAS” reports are available on our website and also PRINTED monthly. Subscriptions for PRINTED copies are free to those persons who report agricultural data to NASS (upon request) and available for $4 per year to all others.

JUNE FRESH PAPAYA OUTPUT LOWER

Hawaii fresh papaya utilization is estimated at 2.1 million pounds for June 2007, 2 percent lower than May 2007 and June 2006. Output for the first half of the year totaled 13.0 million pounds, slightly higher than the same period last year.

Total in crop for June is estimated at 1,735, down 10 percent from March 2007 and 1 percent less than June 2006. Bearing acreage totaled 800 acres, 8 percent below March of this year and declining 47 percent from June of last year. Bearing acreage should increase as new acreage comes into production late summer or early fall.

June weather conditions continued warm and sunny with occasional showers. More rain would be beneficial towards growth and fruit development. Clear weather assisted in field operations and usual orchard maintenance.

Papaya growers are expected to receive an estimated 52.0 cents per pound for fresh fruit in June, 6 percent (3.0 cents) higher than May and 10 percent (4.9 cents) more than last June.

July 19, 2007 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Methods to clean up contaminated soil: Heptachlor Part 3

Molokai Times
By Alexandra Charles
7/19/2007

poison on MolokaiTo restore Molokai’s contaminated soil, University of Hawaii researchers Alton Arakaki and Qing Li, as well as retired Molokai farmer Lonnie Williams, are rooting for a technique called phytoremediation, which consists of growing plants that can naturally accumulate chemicals from soil.

Barbara Zeeb, associate professor of biotechnologies and the environment at the Royal Military College of Canada, said that phytoremediation is “a treatment that shows promise as a safe and cost-effective remediation technology.”

For the past three years, Alton Arakaki, Assistant Extension Agent for the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Hawaii, has been involved in a phytoremediation research project on Molokai that is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Arakaki is testing seven different squash species to determine their effectiveness in extracting heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide from soil. He plans on completing a report of the results by next March.

Many hope phytoremediation will be the answer for acres upon acres of ex-pineapple fields that were contaminated by heptachlor when it was used to kills pests on crops. Such an agricultural practice was commonplace before the Environmental Protection Agency classified heptachlor as a probable carcinogen and before the chemical was banned in the U.S. in 1988.

“Heptachlor is very good at killing insects, which is why it was used so widely,” said Jason White, agricultural scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. “It wasn’t known at the time that it is so persistent and that you find residues of the chemical still around even years after it was banned.”

Click to read complet article

http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/7712135139.asp

Copyright 2007 Molokai Times

July 16, 2007 General Ag News and Notes, Papaya, Vegtables Post a Comment

Hawaii Weekly Crop Weather Report

Here is the PDF file for the *Hawaii Crop Weather* (crop progress and condition) Report for the week ending *July 15, 2007*

current_hi071607.pdf

Please visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/

USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512
1-800- 804-9514

Agricultural Highlights

Fruits

Bananas

Orchards in eastern sections of the Big Island were in generally good condition. Warm days and adequate soil moisture benefited crop and fruit development. Field activities such as spraying, removal of leaves and lateral suckers were active. Black Leaf Streak disease incidences were observed in some fields. Oahu orchards were in fair to good condition. Windward fields remained in fair condition. A seasonal upswing kept leeward and central fields in active harvest. Irrigation levels were heavy. Orchards on Kauai were in good to fair condition. The dry weather and controlled irrigation benefited most orchards.

Papayas

On the Big Island, light showers, warm temperatures, and sunny periods benefited fruit development. Younger fields made good growth in the Kapoho area. Fallowed fields in the Opihikao area were being prepared for new plantings. Field operations such as spraying for weeds and disease control, leaf trimming, harvesting were active during the week. Flowering and fruit set were generally good. On Oahu, fruit development and ripening were good due to increased day length and sunny conditions. Mealy bugs were mostly under control while Ring Spot virus lowered production in some fields. Orchards on Kauai continued to make fair to good progress. Spraying to contain insect populations was stepped up during calm weather to contain the increased infestations.

Vegetables

Head Cabbage

In the Big Island?s Lalamilo area, warm temperatures were not favorable for good head development. Warm days combined with irrigation contributed to an increase in disease incidence. New plantings made steady progress with heavy irrigation. Maui?s crop made steady progress despite the hot growing conditions. Increased irrigation was necessary and so far producers have made efficient use of water. Some fields were showing signs of increased stress especially those in the lower elevation areas. Insect pressure has increased slightly, but so far damage has continued to be minimal due to close monitoring and timely spraying by farmers. There have been reports of some losses due to wildlife feeding. Some fields on Oahu were abandoned to control the increasing pressure from the Diamondback moth infestation.

Dry Onions

Maui?s onion crop continued to make fair progress. Warm growing conditions were taking a toll on the crop. Older fields were struggling to develop good bulb size. In some fields, the heat stress has caused the plant to stop growing. Increased irrigation was helpful for some younger fields, but older fields have many factors to consider.

Sweet Corn

Weather conditions in windward sections of the Big Island were generally good for crop progress. On Oahu, harvesting was light after the holiday in July. However, supplies were heavy and new fields coming into production were making good progress. Light worm damage occurred during the week. Isolated fields in windward areas experienced growing problems and lower yields are anticipated from those fields.