Alien caterpillars found on Oahu

HONOLULU, June 8 (UPI) — An invasive caterpillar with a nasty sting has turned up on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The stinging nettle caterpillar first entered Hawaii through Hilo via an illegal shipment of seedlings from Taiwan in 2001, KITV-TV, Honolulu, reported.

The problem was brought under control around Hilo, but now the pest has jumped to Oahu, where it was discovered last week in a commercial nursery.

“If you rub against the caterpillar, it has a very strong burn (which) can burn for a few hours,” said Neil Rheimer of the state Department of Agriculture.

The state is setting up traps at the nursery to attract the moths that lay eggs and spread the problem. The caterpillars were discovered on raphis palm trees after workers complained about being stung last week.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

Biofuels News

May 21, 2007
Hawaii: a return to the land, for fuel
By Matt Villano
LAHAINA, Hawaii – Here on the West Side of Maui, where lush mountainsides and the warm waters of the Alalakeiki Channel juxtapose increasingly crowded roadways and a spate of new luxury hotels, the push for renewable energy has found an unlikely advocate: the chief executive of one of the most aggressive developers on the island.
The real estate maven, David Cole, has used his position as head of Maui Land and Pineapple, a land holding and operating company, to promote sustainable development. The effort harks back to Hawaii?s past, with plans to return some farmland to production ? this time for energy rather than food ? after so many years in which the state turned its back on its agricultural history in a headlong rush into tourism and real estate.

Perhaps the most notable effort is Hawaii BioEnergy, an international consortium that includes two other local landowners, Tarpon Investimentos, an investment company in Bermuda, and Brasil Bioenergia, an energy company in S?o Paulo.

The consortium, which also involves the co-founder of America Online, Stephen M. Case, and the venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, took form last July with the goal to make Hawaii, which has long had to pay high prices for imported fuel, largely energy-independent.

?As islanders, we?ve had to provide for our own survival for hundreds and hundreds of years,? said Mr. Cole, 55, who was raised on Oahu but spent most of his adult life on the mainland before coming to Maui in 2003.

?Now that the technology exists to turn some of our natural resources into energy, there?s no reason we should be getting energy from anywhere else,? he said.

While companies on the mainland are subsidized to produce ethanol from corn, Hawaiian companies and Hawaii BioEnergy are turning to other materials, particularly sugar cane, which are potentially far more efficient sources of ethanol per input of energy and raw material than corn.

Statistics from the Department of Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington and evidence from Brazil?s experience indicate that ethanol from sugar cane is considerably cheaper to produce than ethanol from corn, a savings that potentially could trickle down to consumers in the form of lower energy bills.

Even without these numbers, the business case for investing in alternative energy in Hawaii is compelling. The Hawaiian archipelago relies on imported oil for nearly 90 percent of its energy needs, making it one of the most expensive places in the nation to buy gasoline and pay for electricity and heat.

In May 2006, Hawaii passed a bill requiring that 20 percent of all highway fuel demand by 2020 must be provided by renewable fuels like ethanol, biodiesel or hydrogen. Another bill under consideration in the State Legislature would allow biofuel processing centers to be permitted in agriculture districts and would develop a baseline percentage of energy feedstock to be grown in the state.

Charmaine Tavares, mayor of Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe, said the goals were ?admirable,? but noted that more immediate changes were necessary as well.

?Every time we pay our energy bills, we?re all aware of the need for renewable energy,? Ms. Tavares said. ?The year 2020 just seems pretty far away.?

Mr. Cole, whose company is one of the largest landowners on Maui, agreed. Last summer, after an eye-opening trip to Brazil, he took matters into his own hands.

With the help of Mr. Case, whom he met during a stint at America Online in the 1990s, Mr. Cole signed up Hawaiian landowners like Kamehameha Schools, an independent school system and the largest landowner in the state, and the Grove Farm Company, a 22,000-acre sugar cane plantation in eastern Kauai that is owned by Mr. Case.

The pair also enlisted help from companies overseas, and recruited Mr. Khosla, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems in 1982 who has become one of the biggest backers of renewable energy in the world. Hawaii BioEnergy was born.

Since then, these founding partners and Maui Land and Pineapple have invested nearly $1 million in cash and put a number of full-time employees to work running the business. They expect other investors to help raise an additional $50 million to $80 million to get the operation off the ground.

?When you consider the tropical weather and all the sun Hawaii gets, it is a perfect place to prove that fuels made from biomass can be cost-competitive,? Mr. Khosla said of the project.

Still, the real heart of this consortium is land. The three landowners own about 10 percent of the arable soil in the state: 450,000 acres in all.

Though most of this soil is fallow today, Mr. Case wrote in a recent e-mail exchange that the partners plan to combine contiguous parcels, coordinate planting, harvesting and processing operations, and maximize economies of scale.

?These efforts are not without risk, but anything important has risks,? he wrote of the Hawaii BioEnergy plan. ?Hawaii?s first act was agriculture, and the second act was tourism. Now it is time for the third act, Hawaii 3.0.?

By some accounts, this new era is already under way. From a conference room at the understated Maui Land and Pineapple headquarters in Kahalui, Mr. Cole recently reviewed a new Hawaii BioEnergy feasibility study for producing ethanol from sugar cane on Maui, noting that the consortium could begin plant construction as soon as 2010.

Ultimately, he said, the plant would produce 27 million to 28 million gallons of ethanol a year, and would use the fuel to defray its own energy costs and to sell elsewhere in the state. He added that the group has explored other potential sources for ethanol, including soybeans, switch grass and a type of elephant grass called miscanthus.

Mr. Cole noted that the consortium also looked into producing ethanol from potential ?co-products? of the fuel-making process, including electricity from bagasse (the residue produced after crushing sugar cane), biodiesel from algae nourished by carbon dioxide off-take in the distillation process and animal feeds from the residual algae stream. All together, burning this additional ethanol could add another 25 to 30 megawatts of sustainable power capacity, Mr. Cole said.

?Part of our conception is that we get the most out of the project by making all waste streams into food streams for something else,? Mr. Cole explained. ?Before we invest in a particular technology, we want to be sure we?re investing in the technology that will give us the biggest and broadest return.?

To be sure, Hawaii BioEnergy is not the only partnership interested in renewable energy; elsewhere, the state?s two remaining sugar cane companies are exploring renewable energy efforts of their own.

On Kauai, for example, the cane producer Gay & Robinson recently received a state permit to build a $36 million ethanol plant in the town of Pakala as part of a joint venture with a local energy company. The other concern, the Maui-based Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar, is also investigating renewable fuels.

Because these companies currently combine to harvest 270,000 tons of sugar cane each year, they may be closer to actually producing renewable energy than Hawaii BioEnergy is. Alan Kennett, president and general manager of Gay & Robinson, suggested that his company could begin ethanol production as early as next year.

David Pimentel, professor of ecology and agricultural sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said the fact that there would soon be various options for renewable energy in Hawaii was a step in the right direction.

?Any investment in renewable energy is a good investment,? he said. ?Beyond that, Hawaii should be practicing general conservation with smaller cars, less air-conditioning and decreased consumption over all.?

If anybody understands the need for conservation in Hawaii, Mr. Cole does. A stocky man with a graying goatee, he grew up in Kailua, a suburb of Honolulu, hiking through tropical forests and hanging out on beaches with friends. His first job on the island was delivering copies of The Honolulu Advertiser. He attended the University of Hawaii as an undergraduate.

Mr. Cole left Maui for law school on the mainland in the 1970s. Though he spent almost 30 years there before returning to head Maui Land and Pineapple in 2003, his love for the local environment still runs deep; he regularly rhapsodizes about the beauty of dawn, the sweet sounds of birds and the annual migration of humpback whales.

He also serves as chairman of the Hawaii Nature Conservancy.

Mr. Cole has extended these pro-environment ideals to many of his business decisions. This year, when construction crews dismantled the former Kapalua Bay Hotel, which is owned by a subsidiary of Maui Land and Pineapple, Mr. Cole required them to reuse 97 percent of the material in the company?s new offices.

Instead of recycling, he called the process ?upcycling,? and noted that his desk was a door in its former life.

Planning the next development ? an upscale neighborhood on the slopes of Mount Haleakala called Haliimaile (pronounced hah-lee-ee-my-lee) ? Mr. Cole has commissioned architects to design the enclave to minimize vehicle use, create a natural water filtration system, and incorporate solar and wind energy so residents generate more power than they consume.

Though the neighborhood is still in the permitting process and probably years away, Mr. Cole said he hoped this kind of forward thinking, together with the efforts of Hawaii BioEnergy, would eventually inspire outsiders to look to Hawaii for ideas about responsible and sustainable development.

?The whole world is looking for models,? he said. ?Years from now, when people think about renewable energy, I want them to look here and say, ?If it worked for Hawaii, it can work for us.? ?

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

Source: New York Times

HAWAII MONTHLY LIVESTOCK REVIEW

Here is the PDF file for the *Hawaii Monthly Livestock Review *Report.

lvstk040507.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 MONTHLY LIVESTOCK REVIEW” reports are available on our website http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/ 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.

February Egg Production Down 19 Percent From A Year Ago

Hawaii egg production totaled 6.4 million (17,778 cases) in February 2007, down 19 percent from February 2006. The average number of layers on hand during February 2007 was estimated at 395,000, down 2 percent from January and down 17 percent from February 2006.

The average rate of lay during February 2007 was 1,620 per 100 layers (57.9 percent rate of lay), down 3 percent from February 2006.

February Cattle Marketings Down 32 Percent From 2006

Total cattle marketings for February 2007 is estimated at 2,300 head, down 32 percent from February 2006. Cumulative cattle marketings for the first two months of 2007 totaled 8,100 head, down 15 percent from a year ago.

February exports down 42 percent from year ago

Exports of steers and heifers totaled 1,500 head in February 2007, down 42 percent from a year ago. During the first two months of 2007, 6,400 head have been exported, down 19 percent from the same period a year ago. A breakdown of February 2007 exports shows that both categories of cattle experienced a decline. At 700 head, February 2007 exports of steers were down 42 percent from February 2006. Exports of heifers also totaled 700 head in February 2007, down 50 percent from last February. Exports of other classes of cattle were not included.

Average live weight up 4 percent

The average live weight of steers and heifers exported from Hawaii in February 2007 was 446 pounds, up 16 percent or 61 pounds from a year ago. Commercial Beef Production Up 7 Percent Hawaii commercial beef production (local slaughter) during February 2007 totaled 478,000 pounds, up 7 percent from February 2006. Cumulative beef production (local slaughter) for the first two months of 2007 totaled 1.0 million pounds, up 13 percent from a year ago. Commercial kill totaled 800 head in February, unchanged from the February 2006?s total of 800 head. Average live weight per head increased to 1,093 pounds in February 2007, 3 percent heavier than in February 2006.

Commercial Beef Production

Up 7 Percent Hawaii commercial beef production (local slaughter) during February 2007 totaled 478,000 pounds, up 7 percent from February 2006. Cumulative beef production (local slaughter) for the first two months of 2007 totaled 1.0 million pounds, up 13 percent from a year ago. Commercial kill totaled 800 head in February, unchanged from the February 2006?s total of 800 head. Average live weight per head increased to 1,093 pounds in February 2007, 3 percent heavier than in February 2006.

Commercial Pork Production Down 8 Percent

Hawaii commercial pork production during February 2007 totaled 254,000 pounds, down 8 percent from February 2006. Cumulative pork production during the first two months of 2007 totaled 535,000 pounds, down 8 percent from a year ago. Total hog kill was 1,500 head in February 2007, down 12 percent from a year ago. Average live weight per head was 219 pounds in February 2007, down 2 percent from the 224-pound average a year ago.

Hawaii County

Hilo and Puna districts saw an increase in new grass growth as temperatures slowly began to rise and days lengthen. Ranchers reported adequate water supplies in streams as well as in stock ponds. Cattle and calves were in good condition with no unusual losses being reported.

Ka`u district pastures were in fair to good condition as soil moisture was adequate. Lower elevation pastures were fairly green, but growth was slow. Pahala pastures were beginning to show stress from low moisture. Further south, rainfall was more plentiful and grass growth was evident in the Kahuku and South Point areas.

North and South Kona districts received good showers early in the month, but new grass growth could not be sustained due to the rapid decrease in soil moisture due to dry weather. Pastures in the upper slopes experienced cloudy skies, cool afternoons, and showers which helped to spur re-growth. Coastal and low elevation pastures were very dry with only dry feed available for grazing. Prospects for new grass growth were poor. Stock water supplies were low.

North and South Kohala districts experienced heavy showers in isolated areas at the start of the month. The Puukapu and Mana areas had new grass growth and available feed supplies were good. Cooler temperatures had a slight slowing effect on grass growth. Increased soil moisture in thenormally dry Lalamilo pastures boosted new grass growth. Leeward Kohala mountain pastures, that were brown from a lack of rain, were observed with new grass growth. Adequate soil moisture in the Kapaau and Hawi pastures helped to produce adequate feed supplies. South Kohala coastal areas had only dry standing feed and were in poor condition. Pastures below Waikii received good showers and had fair new grass growth. Upper Waikii and Kilohana pastures remained very dry. A brush fire blackened about 50 acres of dry rangeland in the Kilohana area.

Hamakua district pastures were in generally good condition. Warmer temperatures and increasingly longer days have spurred grass growth. Stock water supplies are mostly adequate as streams were flowing at near normal levels.

Maui County

Maui Island:

Pastures on the east side of Maui received beneficial showers, but cool temperatures prevented optimal growth. Some pastures have been re-seeded to increase the quality of forage. Overall, these pastures were in fair to good condition. Lower pastures in Ulupalakua were drying out and mice have become a concern. Upper elevation pastures were in fair condition, but rainfall is needed. Pastures in Keokea were still able to provide feed, although there is a greater percentage of dry forage. Lower elevation pastures in Kulawere drying out. There was still a good amount of dry forage available, but green forage was of inferior quality. Haiku pastures were in fair condition. Previously irrigated pastures in the central area of the Maui were drying out and did not appear to be receiving irrigation. Pastures in Kahakuloa were able to maintain steady re-growth due to occasional showers and decreased grazing pressure.

Honolulu County

Except for some interior sections, rainfall was below normal on Oahu. Pastures were in fair condition with some supplemental feeding being supplied.

Kauai County

Windward areas record near or above normal rainfall while leeward sections were below normal. Pastures were in fair to good conditions with lots of weeds in some areas. Livestock conditions were generally good.

1/ Rainfall stations were selected from the National Weather Service?s Hydronet system of automated rain gages. Featured stations may vary each month. All rainfall data has not been quality controlled, and therefore is not certified by the National Weather Service. A complete listing of Hydronet stations, rainfall gage location maps, and other rainfall data may be found at the National Weather Service?s hydrology homepage: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/pages/hydrology.php

February Milk Production Down 23 Percent From Year Ago

Hawaii?s dairy cows produced 3.7 million pounds of milk in February 2007, down 23 percent from a year ago. Cumulative milk production for the first two months of 2007 totaled 8.1 million pounds, down 20 percent from the same period in 2006.

February?s Cow Herd

Down 16 Percent From Year Ago Hawaii?s cow herd, both dry and milking, numbered 3,700 head in February 2007, down 3 percent from January 2007 and down 16 percent from February 2006. Average milk per cow is estimated at 1,000 pounds for February 2007, down 8 percent from last February?s average of 1,090 pounds per cow.

Livestock Prices Higher Than Year-ago

Steers and heifers

The average dress weight farm price for steers and heifers is estimated at 99.0 cents per pound for February 2007, unchanged from January. Compared to a year ago, the February 2007 average dress weight farm price was 2 cents higher.

Cows

The average dress weight farm price for cows is estimated at 54.0 cents per pound in February 2007, unchanged from January. Compared to a year ago, the average dress weight farm price for cows was 2 cents per pound higher in February 2007.

Market hogs

The average dress weight farm price for market hogs is estimated at $1.30 per pound for February 2007, unchanged from January. Compared to a year ago, the dressed weight for market hogs was up 15 cents per pound this February.

Milk

The average farm price for milk was $26.90 per hundredweight during February 2007, up 10 cents per hundredweight from January. February 2007?s farm price for milk was 3 percent higher than a year ago.

Eggs

The average farm price for a dozen eggs was $1.05 in February 2007, unchanged from January. Compared to a year ago, the farm price for a dozen eggs was 7 percent higher in February 2007.

Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 3.62 billion pounds in February, up 4 percent from the 3.49 billion pounds produced in February 2006.

Beef production, at 1.95 billion pounds, was 7 percent above the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.56 million head, up 9 percent from February 2006. The average live weight was down 10 pounds from the previous year, at 1,274 pounds.

Veal production totaled 12.2 million pounds, 7 percent above February a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 66,900 head, up 27 percent from February 2006. The average live weight was down 50 pounds from last year, at 307 pounds.

Pork production totaled 1.64 billion pounds, down slightly from the previous year. Hog kill totaled 8.12 million head, down slightly February 2006. The average live weight was down 2 pounds from the previous year, at 269 pounds.

Lamb and mutton production, at 14.4 million pounds, was down 2 percent from February 2006. Sheepslaughter totaled 204,400 head, 1 percent above last year. The average live weight was 140 pounds, down 4 pounds from February a year ago.

U.S. egg production totaled 6.91 billion during February 2007, down 1 percent from last year. Production included 5.92 billion table eggs, and 998 million hatching eggs, of which 937 million were broilertype and 61 million were egg-type. The total number of layers during February 2007 averaged 347 million, down 1 percent from last year. February egg production per 100 layers was 1,992 eggs, down slightly from February 2006.

All layers in the U.S. on March 1, 2007 totaled 347 million, down 1 percent from last year. The 347 million layers consisted of 288 million layers producing table or market type eggs, 56.5 million layers producing broilertype hatching eggs, and 2.82 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on March 1, 2007, averaged 71.6 eggs per 100 layers, unchanged from March 1, 2006.

Excerpts from Livestock Slaughter (March 23, 2007) and Chickens and Eggs (March 23, 2007) releases.

Cattle/Beef: Low forage reserves continue to result in heavy cow and calf slaughter. Weekly year-to-date total calf slaughter is almost 28 percent above last year?s cumulative year-to-date total for the same period, while production is up only 6 percent. Farm-to-retail price spreads are increasing seasonally, along with increasing fed cattle and retail prices, and byproduct values are nearing record levels. Forecast beef exports for 2007, while up from the 2006 total, were reduced somewhat due to slow growth in shipments to major Asian markets.

Hogs/Pork: The USDA forecast for first-quarter 2007 commercial pork production was lowered 50 million pounds, to 5.325 billion pounds, due to slightly lower than expected slaughter and lower average dressed weights. First-quarter prices of live-equivalent 51-52 percent lean hogs are expected to range between $46 and $47 per hundredweight (cwt), more than 9 percent above first quarter a year ago. Hog prices will likely belower in the second half of this year as pork production accelerates seasonally and broiler production expands. U.S. packers and hog finishers are expected to import 9.35 million head of hogs from Canada this year, an increase of almost 7 percent over last year.

Dairy: Rapidly rising feed prices have limited production increases. The smaller production expansion in light of strong demand should boost prices for milk and dairy products in 2007. Exports of dry products continue to sharply raise prices in that segment of the market.

Poultry: With a decline in broiler meat production in January 2007, the estimate for first-quarter 2007 meat production was lowered by 75 million pounds to 8.75 billion pounds and the estimate for the second quarter was lowered by 50 million pounds, bringing the 2007 estimate to 35.9 billion pounds. Prices for almost all broiler products have strengthened considerably and are much higher than in the first 2 months of 2006. Turkey meat production in first-quarter 2007 isestimated at 1.41 billion pounds, up 4 percent from a year earlier. Even with the higher production and increased stock levels, prices for many turkey products were higher than at the start of 2006.

Poultry Trade: U.S. broiler exports finished strong in 2006, while turkey exports fell short. Broiler shipments were down, while turkey shipments were up, for January 2007. Broiler exports in January totaled 396 million pounds, a decline of 7 percent, while turkey exports totaled 42 million pounds, an increase of 13.3 percent from a year ago.

Sheep/Lamb: Typically, lamb demand exhibits some seasonality and is highest during the Passover/Easter holidays. As a result, production increases are expected in the weeks leading up to the holiday season. However, production for the first quarter 2007 is forecast 2 percent lower than for the same period last year. Choice Slaughter lamb prices at San Angelo have not seen significant increases despite lower production. Imports of lamb and mutton are expected to continue to increase, offsetting U.S. production declines.

Papaya Report

FEBRUARY SALES LOWER

Hawaii fresh papaya utilization is estimated at 2.1 million pounds for February 2007, down 14 percent from January of this year and 8 percent less than February of last year. Cumulative sales for the first two months of 2007 were down 13 percent from the same period in 2006.

Weather conditions for February were generally favorable for papaya orchards. New growth and steady flowering benefited from sunny days and intermittent showers. Growers cleared fallen trees left by previous high winds. Field activities were delayed by heavy rain during the last week of February.

Papaya growers are expected to receive an estimated 41.0 cents per pound for fresh fruit in February 2007, up 8 percent (3.0 cents) from last month and 14 percent more (5.0 cents) from a year ago.?

Click Below for complete pdf report

papaya.pdf?

USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/
1421 South King Street Honolulu, HI 96814-2512
Office: (808) 973-9588 / (800) 804-9514 Fax: (808) 973-2909
?

?

?

Hawaii Taro

Hawaii taro production is estimated at 4.5 million pounds in 2006, up 5
percent from 2005?s revised estimate of 4.3 million pounds. Farm prices
increased 6 percent to an average of 57 cents per pound, and value of
sales was estimated at $2.6 million, up 10 percent from 2005.
Weather and pests continue to hamper growers
Taro production was once again hampered by a combination of wet weather
and pests during 2006. The year began drier than normal, but quickly turned
very wet. Heavy rains started to saturate parts of the State by the second
half of January. The northern islands recorded heavy rainfall during
February with record amounts and flooding affecting most the State during
March. The beginning of April finally marked the end of six weeks of heavy
rainfall. The remainder of the year was a mix of drier than normal weather
and occasional periods of heavy rains. Pests also continued to pose a
problem for taro growers. Reports of apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata)
infestations and losses varied from light to heavy. Taro Pocket Rot (TPR), a
disease that forms pockets of rotting tissue in the corm, also continued to
result in some losses.

Click Below for complete pdf report

Hawaii Taro

USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512
Office: (808) 973-9588 / (800) 804-9514
Fax: (808) 973-2909

Bittenbender talk

Dr. Skip Bittenbender will be giving a talk on plant nutrients and pest
control on Saturday, March 3 and will start somewhere between 9:15 am and
9:30 am (depending how long it takes us to set up the room).? You’re welcome
to come a little earlier (say 8:45 – 9:00 am) and help us.

After his talk (which he estimates will last an hour), Skip will answer
questions.? You are welcome to bring questions, samples, etc.? After the
question and answer period, we will have a brown bag lunch period.? After
that, we’ll go down to a Coffee farm.? Carl Leix had started a pruning
demo under Skip’s guidance, and Gerry Ross and Janet Simpson have continued
it.? So Skip will talk about the pruning project (I believe we’re starting
the 3rd year into the project).? He’ll also show how to determine the age of
the lateral growth.? Again, this is a good opportunity for questions.? He
needs to leave by 5 pm for the airport.

If you’re planning on coming? please let me know (email: jmcewen@hawaii.edu
or phone: 244-3242), even if you were at the meeting last night please contact me for the location.?
Hope to see you there!

Jan McEwen
310 Kaahumanu Ave? Bldg 214
Kahului? HI?? 96732
(808) 244-3242
Maui Cooperative Extension Service
CTAHR / UH-Manoa

Hawaii Agricultural Labor

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
?

Hawaii Agriculture Employee Definitons

?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

Hawaii-grown roasted or instant coffee; labeling requirements

?486-120.6 Hawaii-grown roasted or instant coffee; labeling requirements.
Electronic File Date: 11/14/2006
(a) In addition to all other labeling requirements, the identity statement used for labeling or advertising roasted or instant coffee produced in whole or in part from Hawaii-grown green coffee beans shall meet the following requirements:

(1) For roasted or instant coffee that contains one hundred per cent Hawaii-grown coffee by weight the identity statement shall consist of either:

(A) The geographic origin of the Hawaii-grown coffee, in coffee consisting of beans from only one geographic origin, followed by the word ?Coffee?; provided that the geographic origin may be immediately preceded by the term ?100%?; or

(B) The per cent coffee by weight of one of the Hawaii-grown coffees, used in coffee consisting of beans from several geographic origins, followed by the geographic origin of the weight-specified coffee and the terms ?Coffee? and ?All Hawaiian?;

(2) For roasted or instant coffee consisting of a blend of one or more Hawaii-grown coffees and coffee not grown in Hawaii, the per cent coffee by weight of one of the Hawaii-grown coffees used in the blend, followed by the geographic origin of the weight-specified coffee and the term ?Coffee Blend?; and

(3) Each word or character in the identity statement shall be of the same type size and shall be contiguous. The smallest letter or character of the identity statement on packages of sixteen ounces or less net weight shall be at least one and one-half times the type size required under federal law for the statement of net weight or three-sixteenths of an inch in height, whichever is smaller. The smallest letter or character of the identity statement on packages of greater than sixteen ounces net weight shall be at least one and one-half times the type size required under federal law for the statement of net weight. The identity statement shall be conspicuously displayed without any intervening material in a position above the statement of net weight. Upper and lower case letters may be used interchangeably in the identity statement.

(b) A listing of the geographic origins of the various Hawaii-grown coffees and the regional origins of the various coffees not grown in Hawaii that are included in a blend may be shown on the label. If used, this list shall consist of the term ?Contains:?, followed by, in descending order of per cent by weight and separated by commas, the respective geographic origin or regional origin of the various coffees in the blend that the manufacturer chooses to list. Each geographic origin or regional origin may be preceded by the per cent of coffee by weight represented by that geographic origin or regional origin, expressed as a number followed by the per cent sign. The type size used for this list shall not exceed half that of the identity statement. This list shall appear below the identity statement, if included on the front panel of the label.

(c) It shall be a violation of this section:

(1) To use the identity statement specified in subsection (a)(1)(A) or similar terms in labeling or advertising unless the package of roasted or instant coffee contains one hundred per cent coffee from that one geographic origin;

(2) To use a geographic origin in labeling or advertising, including in conjunction with a coffee style or in any other manner, if the roasted or instant coffee contains less than ten per cent coffee by weight from that geographic origin;

(3) To use a geographic origin in advertising roasted or instant coffee, including advertising in conjunction with a coffee style or in any other manner, without disclosing the percentage of coffee used from that geographic origin as described in subsection (a)(1)(B) and [(a)](2);

(4) To use a geographic origin in labeling or advertising roasted or instant coffee, including in conjunction with a coffee style or in any other manner, if the green coffee beans used in that roasted or instant coffee do not meet the grade standard requirements of rules adopted under chapter 147;

(5) To misrepresent, on a label or in advertising of a roasted or instant coffee, the per cent coffee by weight of any coffee from a geographic origin or regional origin; or

(6) To use the term ?All Hawaiian? on a label or in advertising of a roasted or instant coffee if the roasted or instant coffee is not produced entirely from green coffee beans produced in geographic origins defined in this chapter.

(d) Roasters, manufacturers, or other persons who package roasted or instant coffee covered by this section shall maintain, for a period of two years, records on the volume and geographic origin or regional origin of coffees purchased and sold and any other records required by the department for the purpose of enforcing this section. Authorized employees of the department shall have access to these records during normal business hours.

(e) For the purpose of this section:

?Geographic origin? means the geographic regions in which Hawaii-grown green coffee beans are produced, as defined in rules adopted under chapter 147; provided that the term ?Hawaiian? may be substituted for the geographic origin ?Hawaii?.

?Per cent coffee by weight? means the percentage calculated by dividing the weight in pounds of roasted green coffee beans of one geographic or regional origin used in a production run of roasted or instant coffee, by the total weight in pounds of the roasted green coffee beans used in that production run of roasted or instant coffee, and multiplying the quotient by one hundred. [L 1991, c 289, ?2; am L 1995, c 103, ?1; am L 2002, c 258, ?1]

?486-121 Misrepresentation of quantity. No person shall:

(1) Sell, offer, or expose for sale less than the quantity -represented;

(2) Take any more than the quantity represented when the buyer furnishes the weight or measure by means of which the quantity is determined; or

(3) Represent the quantity in any manner calculated to mislead or in any way deceive another person. [L 1991, c 153, pt of ?6; am L 1993, c 54, ?12]

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0486/HRS_0486-0120_0006.htm