?hi-crop-weather
Here is the PDF file for the *Hawaii Crop Weather* (crop progress and condition) Report for the week ending *January 28, 2007*.?
Hawaii Weekly Crop Weather Report
Please visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/? for more information.
?USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512??
Land and Pineapple Co. (MLP)? HUH? That’s what I said, too, when I stumbled across the company a few months ago. Who would want to own this thing? A pineapple company? I hate pineapples.
Then I dug some more. Not surprisingly, the company’s pineapple business is mediocre at best. The company also operates another subsidiary, Kapalua Land Company, which manages the company’s scenic Kapalua Resort community. As per consolidated results, the company is generally profitable (although erratic in its earnings) and boasts AOL founder Steve Case as a large shareholder. But that’s not why I’m writing this.
It turns out the company currently owns around 27,500 acres (or 1.2 billion sq ft.) on the Hawaiian island of Maui. That’s a lot of land. And here’s the best part: all of that land is recorded at cost between – you’ll never believe it – 1911 and 1930! Just to remind you: Hawaii wasn’t even close to being a state around that time.So what does that mean? How much is the land worth today? Well, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that land values in Hawaii have gone up at least a little bit in the past century. Unfortunately, the vast majority (around 22,500 acres) of the land is either mountainous, preserved, or used for agriculture, so it’s not [necessarily] easily salable or, for that matter, developable (if this use of “developable” is not a word, credit me for coining it).
Nonetheless, I’d quite precisely estimate the value of the land somewhere between a little and a whole lot (how’s that for perfection?), but still far more than its cost. Investors can also take solace in the fact that the company still owns an additional 9 miles of beachfront (read: prime) real estate, several PGA toured golf courses, a happening resort community, and who knows what else.
A very good post on the company and some valuation metrics can be found here if you scroll down, so I’ll save you from the technical discussion. The author, Clyde Milton, does as good a job as any in describing the company, and I highly recommend the reading (and the whole blog, for that matter).
Maui Land & Pineapple Co.: Look Past the Pineapple — Seeking Alpha
Hawaii?s agricultural hired work force totaled 7,000 during the October 8-14 2006 survey week, 3 percent more than a year ago, but unchanged from the previous survey week of July 9-15, 2006. Diversified agricultural workers accounted for 77 percent of all farm labor and at 5,400 workers, it was up 1 percent from July 2006. The sugarcane industry employed 650 farm workers (does not include mill workers) during the survey week, unchanged from July 2006. Farm workers in the pineapple industry decreased 5 percent from the previous quarter to 950 (does not include cannery workers).
Average wage rate up 6 percent
The average wage paid to all hired workers during the October survey period was a record high $12.47 an hour, 74 cents more than October 2005. The combined average wage for field and livestock workers also set a new record high at $10.69 an hour, 51 cents above a year ago.
Farms employing from 1 to 9 workers paid an average of $11.16 per hour for all hired workers, while the combined average wage for field and livestock workers was $9.78 an hour.
Full Report Here
http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/speccrop/aglabor.pdf ?
U.S. SUGARCANE
Production of sugarcane for sugar and seed in 2006 is forecast at 29.8 million tons, 3 percent above the October forecast and 12 percent above 2005. Sugarcane growers intend to harvest 908,800 acres for sugar and seed during the 2006 crop year, unchanged from October but down 1 percent from last year Yield is forecast at 32.8 tons per acre, 0.9 ton above the previous forecast and 4.0 tons above the 2005 yield.
The acreage, yield, and production forecasts are unchanged for Florida, Hawaii, and Texas. In Louisiana, the acreage forecast is unchanged, but yield is forecast at 2.0 tons higher than the previous month due to beneficial rainfall during October.
U.S. SUGARCANE
Production of sugarcane for sugar and seed in 2006 is forecast at 29.8 million tons, 3 percent above the October forecast and 12 percent above 2005. Sugarcane growers intend to harvest 908,800 acres for sugar and seed during the 2006 crop year, unchanged from October but down 1 percent from last year Yield is forecast at 32.8 tons per acre, 0.9 ton above the previous forecast and 4.0 tons above the 2005 yield.
The acreage, yield, and production forecasts are unchanged for Florida, Hawaii, and Texas. In Louisiana, the acreage forecast is unchanged, but yield is forecast at 2.0 tons higher than the previous month due to beneficial rainfall during October.
?387-1 Definitions. As used in this chapter:
?Agriculture? means agriculture as defined in section 3(f) of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, or as the same may be amended from time to time.
?Department? means the department of labor and industrial relations.
?Director? means the director of labor and industrial relations.
?Employ? includes to permit or suffer to work.
?Employee? includes any individual employed by an employer, but shall not include any individual employed:
(1) At a guaranteed compensation totaling $2,000 or more a month, whether paid weekly, biweekly, or monthly;
(2) In agriculture for any workweek in which the employer of the individual employs less than twenty employees or in agriculture for any workweek in which the individual is engaged in coffee harvesting;
Electronic File Date: 11/14/2006
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol07_Ch0346-0398/HRS0387/HRS_0387-0001.htm