Tag: Molokai

September 29, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Kelp Waits to Take Its Place in America’s Stomachs

The leaves resemble brown lasagna noodles when they wash ashore on coasts around the world. Like many other seaweeds, sugar kelp has all sorts of uses. The leaves of Saccharina latissima provide a sweetener, mannitol, as well as thickening and gelling agents that are added to food, textiles and cosmetics.

But some believe its most important potential is largely untapped: as an addition to the American diet.

Seaweed is widely cultivated and consumed in Asia. However, in North America, where it sometimes is rebranded as a “sea vegetable,” it is cultivated rarely and eaten infrequently. To proponents, this is the unfortunate oversight, considering it is a crop that can clean the water in which it grows, needs no arable land, and provide a nutritious food with traditional roots.

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September 16, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Mango Season Not Pau

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

Mango is called the King of Fruits for good reason. Nothing could be better than an ice cold mango on a hot afternoon. Native to South and Southeast Asia, mango has been cultivated for over 4,000 years, and was introduced into Hawaii in the early 1800s from Mexico. Molokai has an ideal hot, dry growing climate, and the best area is a belt running from Kalamaula to Kamalo. Unfortunately, the further east you go, the windier it gets, and nothing can be more damaging to a potentially great crop of mango than wind blowing off flowers and fruits. On most islands, mango season runs from June to October with the peak in the earlier half of the season, but for Molokai if you look hard enough, you can probably find mango 9 months of the year especially around the Kaunakakai area.

Mango is not without its problems. Of the tens of thousands of flowers it bears, less than a fraction of 1 percent will actually make it to harvest. With the challenges of four to five months of growing from flower to mature fruit, they face serious diseases and other maladies along the way.

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September 15, 2010 General Ag News and Notes, Organic Ag Post a Comment

Organic Program Chopped

The state’s only organic-certifying body, the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA), will suspend its program this month, forcing organic farmers in Hawaii to look to the mainland for certification.

Rising costs and a limited client pool prompted the Hilo-based group to end certification, which it began in 1993. HOFA certifies a bounty of products – from coffee to herbs to beer.

“Part of the reason HOFA is not surviving is that we didn’t charge enough,” said Sarah Townsend, HOFA’s certification coordinator. “We’re not big enough to sustain ourselves.”

Some organic farmers on Molokai worry certification from the mainland will come at a higher cost.

“It’s hard enough trying to make a living farming and now we have to go to the mainland?” said Rick Tamanaha of Kaleikoa Farms, an organic papaya farm in Ho`olehua.

Tamanaha’s farm was certified organic by HOFA in October 2007, and he has renewed his certification through the organization every year since. The organic label, he said, allows his farm to compete with non-organic farms that sell at lower costs.

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August 13, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Rural Hawaii to be Heard

Hawaii Rural Development Council News Release

As a part of a nation-wide movement, a rural community-improvement council is asking Molokai’s mana`o for how to increase economic opportunities.

The Hawaii Rural Development Council (HRDC) seeks your input, concerns, success stories, and ideas on issues related to rural communities in Hawaii. State Rural Development Councils nationwide are gathering input to be presented to Partners for Rural America and the USDA. This is an opportunity for Hawaii to voice our concerns and successes locally to build on a national action plan to promote enhance rural development strategies.

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August 8, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Costs piling up two years into Molokai water lawsuit

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WAILUKU – Two years into the county’s legal battle with Molokai Properties over who should manage utilities set up by the now-defunct Molokai Ranch, county officials estimate that the parties have spent well over $1 million in legal fees, which could go even higher if a settlement isn’t reached before a planned October trial.

At the same time, some Molokai residents are paying four times as much as they used to for water – a painful burden for a community struggling with double-digit unemployment. And just how much those residents will have to pay in water rates long term is still awaiting final approval by the state Public Utilities Commission.

“You can’t get blood from a turnip,” said Maui County Chairman Danny Mateo, who holds the council’s Molokai seat. “People will suffer.”

But Molokai Properties attorney Jim Bickerton said the company’s proposal is for a “break even” rate in the face of rising fuel and other costs.

He said the company is proposing a rate hike in the 50-percent range, which would come on top of a rate increase last year.

Meanwhile, the county’s suit against Molokai Properties is heading toward a risky – and expensive – trial now scheduled to start Oct. 25 before 2nd Circuit Judge Joel August.

The county has already paid $500,000 for former state Attorney General Margery Bronster to serve as outside counsel, in addition to the time spent by county attorneys on the case.

When asked if the county could reach a settlement with Molokai Properties before the case goes to trial, Bronster said Saturday that she “can’t say anything more, but probably something will happen before the end of the month. It’s premature to talk now.”

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January 17, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Monsanto grants help county schools, 4-H’ers – The Maui News

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KIHEI – Three Molokai and Maui schools plus Maui 4-H’ers received a total of $4,620 from the Monsanto Hawaii Science Education Fund for science and robotics programs.

The Maui County grants were part of $12,000 distributed statewide to 14 schools and organizations.

"It’s gratifying to see how excited our youth get as they learn about their world – how it works, how it touches our lives each day, how much there is to know and explore," said Paul Koehler, community affairs director for Monsanto Hawaii."Through this grant program, we hope to open up wonderful experiences for dynamic learning."

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December 12, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Drought puts Big Isle and Maui on federal disaster list – Hawaii News – Starbulletin.com

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By Helen Altonn

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 12, 2009

Hawaii and Maui counties have been designated primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by drought this year, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials announced.

"President Obama and I understand these conditions caused severe damage to these areas and serious harm to farms in Hawaii, and we want to help," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "This action will provide help to hundreds of farmers who suffered significant production losses to warm season grasses."

Some parts of Hawaii had a lot of rain the past month, but it fell mainly in places that do not have serious drought conditions, says Kevin Kodama, senior service hydrologist at the Honolulu Forecast Office.

DROUGHT IN THE ISLANDS

Hawaii County
» Extreme drought: South Kohala
» Severe drought: Kau, North and South Kona
» Moderate drought: Lower Kona slopes (Honaunau to Kalaoa)

Maui County
» Severe drought: Central and West Maui, West Molokai
» Moderate drought: East Molokai, Lanai

Source: National Weather Service

Portions of the Big Island did not receive much rain, and they are still hurting from drought, said the National Weather Service meteorologist.

Hawaii’s wet season is from October through April, but Kodama and Jim Weyman, meteorologist-in-charge of the Honolulu Forecast Office, said in October it would be drier-than-normal from mid-December through April because of El Nino conditions.

An El Nino is a weather phenomenon in the equatorial Pacific with unusually warm sea surface temperatures that affect climate worldwide.

The Big Island’s South Kohala district had the sixth consecutive month of extreme drought in November, Kodama said. Some improvement occurred with rain in the early part of the month — from extreme drought to severe drought, he said.

Then it got windy, and farm agents said the winds "dried things out quick," Kodama said.

That window of opportunity to pull out of the drought is closing, he said.

Climate models have been pretty consistent in predicting drier-than-nomal conditions through the spring, Kodama said.

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September 22, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Economic Strength of Hawaii Seed Crop Industry Confirmed by Recent Reports

Economic Strength of Hawaii Seed Crop Industry Confirmed by Recent Reports

The seed industry’s significant contributions to the state’s economy were confirmed by two recent economic reports issued by the Hawaii Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and well-known Hawaii economist Dr. Leroy Laney.

When I think about an industry that is providing stable jobs for state residents and continuing to grow during this recession, the only one that comes to mind is the seed crop industry

Seed companies are weathering the recession well and contributing real value to Hawaii’s economy

Economic Forecast/Kauai Edition 2009-2010

Honolulu, HI (Vocus/PRWEB ) September 22, 2009 — The seed industry’s significant contributions to the state’s economy were confirmed by two recent economic reports issued by the Hawaii Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and well-known Hawaii economist Dr. Leroy Laney.

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