Tag: agriculture

September 3, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Ag inspector layoff impacts topic of talk – The Maui News

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KAHULUI – The Hawaii State Senate Ad Hoc Committee will hold an informational briefing today on how the layoffs of agricultural inspectors will impact Maui.

Coordinated by Maui Sens. Roz Baker, J. Kalani English and Shan Tsutsui, the meeting will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Maui Waena Intermediate School.

The Maui office of the state Department of Agriculture Plant Quarantine Branch would lose six of 17 positions in layoffs planned for November. Statewide, more than half the department’s agricultural inspectors would be cut.

The head of the Plant Quarantine Branch said last week that the layoffs could mean long delays for imports into the state and could make Hawaii vulnerable to invasive pests.

Similar briefings were held in Kona, Hilo and Honolulu.

County/In Brief – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News

September 2, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Funds Located May Prevent Agriculture Cuts – KITV Honolulu

HONLULU — The head of the state agriculture department said Wednesday she’s located funds to cut in half the number of agriculture inspectors who may be laid off because of the state’s budget crisis.

The Lingle administration plans to use money from a new user fee that the governor tried to veto two years ago.

In August, the state notified 50 agriculture inspectors they could be laid off — that’s two-thirds of the staff who check Christmas Trees and incoming produce for invasive pests like snakes and insects.

The farming industry is upset, because a lack of inspectors will slow down outgoing shipments of everything from corn seed to fish grown in aquaculture operations.

The Chairperson of the State Agriculture Department said she plans to use money from two funds to cut the amount of layoffs in half to 25 inspectors.

"That would give us some breathing room as we continue to look for more funds and at least to stave off the initial layoffs during this period," said state agriculture chairwoman Sandra Kunimoto.

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September 2, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Monsanto Hawaii Science Education Grant Fund Applications Now Being Accepted – The Honolulu Advertiser

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Applications are now being accepted for the Monsanto Hawaii Science Education Fund. This Monsanto Fund grant program is open to public schools serving students at the intermediate, high school and college grade levels on the islands of Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai.

Established in 2005, the Fund helps provide Hawaii public schools with programs, tools, supplies and equipment to enhance science education in the schools, and encourage today’s students to consider a future career in the sciences.

Monsanto’s recent round of grants supported a wide variety of educational endeavors such as alternative energy solutions, forensic studies, biotechnology studies, an aquaponics facility, solar powered cars, hydroponic lab, robotics competitions, and supplies and equipment for courses in chemistry, biology, and agriculture.

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September 2, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

There’s something about Ho’opili – Honolulu Weekly


Proposed ‘Ewa development defies snap judgments

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVuo4R3tE4g[/youtube]

Kevin O’Leary
Sep 2, 2009

Last Friday’s daylong meeting of the State Land Use Commission, to rule on a petition by mega-developer D.R. Horton-Schuler to change the current zoning on 1,500 acres of prime ‘Ewa farmland from agriculture to mixed-use residential and commercial, was anything but boring.

Here’s Kioni Dudley, intervenor in the case, whom some have called the leader of the opposition: “In the beginning, over two years ago, this was just a gut feeling I had.” Now, it is more than a feeling, as Mr. Dudley–and everyone else with a sore gut over the proposed zone change–has picked up some unexpected allies, in the form of at least three State agencies and several local politicians.

Listen to Bryan Yee of the Attorney General’s office, speaking for the State Office of Planning: “We now know that if the petition [for the zoning change] goes through, H-I will be a parking lot from Waiawa to Makakilo. And the petitioner (Schuler) isn’t proposing any solutions.”

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September 1, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Further study on irradiator ordered | The Honolulu Advertiser

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ruled that more work needs to be done on an environmental assessment for a produce irradiator that’s proposed for a location near Honolulu International Airport.

The commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board issued a ruling last week saying the NRC staff needs to consider alternate technology and sites in producing the assessment. The board’s decision said it expects the staff to give meaningful consideration to transportation accidents in preparing a final environmental assessment.

The ruling came after almost three years of discussion at the NRC, which has been considering Pa’ina Hawaii LLC’s request to build an irradiator that would use up to a million curries of cobalt-60 to treat local fruits such as papayas, vegetables and other items so they can be shipped to the Mainland insect-free.

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September 1, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Philippines: Banana exports to US seen by next year

This is a terrible time to start importing foreign bananas due to the proposed layoffs of agricultural inspectors. The domestic crop could easily be devastated by invasive pests including banana rasp snail, red palm mite, two-spotted mite, banana root borer, banana aphid and the mealybug.

Philippines: Banana exports to US [HAWAII] seen by next year

Local banana producers will likely be able to export fresh bananas to the United States starting next year, an Agriculture official said yesterday.

"I am optimistic that the process in exporting [bananas] would be fast because the banana industry is organized," Joel S. Rudinas, director of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), told reporters.

"Right now we are in the comment period [proposing procedures to the US Department of Agriculture, or USDA]…until maybe end of August or September," he said, adding that the US banana market is worth over $100 million.

Manila asked Washington in December 2005 to allow fresh banana exports to the US mainland, and followed this request with another in September 2007 to export the same commodity to Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands.

Philippines: Banana exports to US seen by next year