Tag: Sustainability

January 30, 2010 Agricultural Equipment, General Ag News and Notes, Organic Ag, Vegtables Post a Comment

ML&P stock investor taking over Kapalua Farms

maui-news-ad

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

Pierre Omidyar, who invested in Maui Land & Pineapple Co. stock when the company was being pushed in a greener direction, is now supporting a for-profit/charitable combination that is taking over ML&P’s Kapalua Farms, one of the largest organic farms in the state.

Since ML&P also closed its Maui Pineapple Co. subsidiary, then leased much of its land and equipment to the upstart Haliimaile Pineapple Co. this month, the handover takes ML&P completely out of agriculture.

On Friday, Ulupono Sustainable Agriculture Development LLC, a subsidiary of the Ulupono Initiative, announced it would be assuming operations of Kapalua Farms, which not only supplies vegetables and eggs to ML&P’s Kapalua Resort but also conducts research into new methods of producing food on Maui. Ulupono Initiative is a Hawaii-focused social investment organization founded in June with backing from Omidyar and his wife, Pam. He was a founder of eBay, and they now live in Hawaii.

Warren Haruki, chairman and interim chief executive officer of ML&P, said, "We are pleased to partner with Ulupono Sustainable Agriculture Development as they assume operations of Kapalua Farms. Our desire was to find an operational partner that would be able to continue organic farming operations and to maintain Kapalua Farms as a community resource, employer and provider."

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

O/S Hawaii » If I Had 8 Million Dollars.

The bill that Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong proposed with regards to county council scrutiny with the sale of the Hamakua lands is apparently postponed.

If I had 8 million dollars, I would buy all those lands myself. 1/3 of them to be pastoral/agricultural lots donated to DHHL, and lease the rest of them leased out to prospective agricultural-minded tenants. The idea is creating businesses on this island that will help our island economy, and create self-sustainability. Maybe I would dedicate a small portion of them to be a windfarm and perhaps one or two 15 home subdivisions, and a small commerce/town center (they can call it Kekuawela Village)

Upon my death, the lands would honor out their leases and then placed into a trust that will be used to fund an institute of Higher Learning dedicated to health sciences, business, and agriculture. The college will be called “Hamakua College” with admission preference to residents of the Big Island.

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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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August 9, 2009 General Ag News and Notes 1 Comment

TheGardenIsland.com > Business > Kauai Business > Path to sustainability

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Kaua‘i  now imports approximately 90% of its daily food. This situation renders us vulnerable to interruptions in shipping, rising fuel costs and an increasing scarcity of certain foods in the face of rising world population. Some experts claim that the demand for food has already exceeded the supply. These conditions invite predictions of serious food shortages for our island at the same time that profits from our food expenditures are going to off-island suppliers rather than strengthening our local economy.

On the average the entire State only produces somewhere between 4.4 to 5.8 percent of our food supply. Specialists at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agricultural have pointed out that if we doubled our production of local food we would be avoiding $120 million in imports and creating more than 3,000 jobs. Farm related business income would increase, they predict, by about $64 million, and of course, other economic benefits would occur.  Similar estimates regarding the benefits of increasing local food production have been suggested by Governor Lingle and also by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

TheGardenIsland.com > Business > Kauai Business > Path to sustainability

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

June 18, 2007 General Ag News and Notes, Organic Ag Post a Comment

Organic Agriculture Transition Website Launched

The HowToGoOrganic.com , a web site
for farmers and processors seeking to transition to organic agriculture. The
web site is designed as a clearinghouse of North American resources for
farmers and businesses interested in becoming organic or in creating new
organic enterprises.

In North America, consumer demand for organic
products exceeds the rate of organic production. The new web site will help
encourage further domestic production by assembling in a single online
resource the full range of available information for farmers and producers
transitioning to organic.

“Last year, OTA’s Board President and I decided to respond to our members’
messages that they needed, and could sell, much more domestically grown
organic product. And thus was born the idea to create this clearinghouse of
resources on conversion to organic,” said Caren Wilcox, OTA’s Executive
Director. Transitioning land to organic certification usually takes three
years, and there is much research that each farmer has to undertake.

The site features two “Pathways for Organic,” one for farmers and one for
processors, as well as a regional directory for the United States, and a
searchable North American organic directory. The “Pathways” provide basic
information on the process of going organic with links to key resources
throughout North America. This unique resource is primarily designed for
conventional farmers and processors who want to get started or are
navigating the transition to organic production, but also provides valuable
information for established organic farmers, producers, and processors.

The web site’s regional directories showcase transition resources unique to
specific regions and states. Resource listings in the North American
directory can be searched by topic and subtopic, by type of resource, or by
state. The site also features profiles of farmers and businesses that have
successfully become certified organic or that are working through the
process.
The URL for the web site is
HowToGoOrganic.com.
Banner and box advertising are available for businesses wishing to
promote their products through this unique resource. For information on
advertising terms and rates, contact Beth Fraser at
OTA (413-774-7511, Ext. 27; bfraser@ota.com).

To create the new web site, OTA contracted with Chris Hill Media (principals
Chris Hill and Glenn Hughes), known in agricultural circles for its work on
the NewFarm.org and the Organic Seed Alliance web pages.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the business association representing
the organic agriculture industry in North America. Its nearly 1,600 members
include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers’ associations,
distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA
encourages global sustainability through promoting and protecting the growth
of diverse organic trade.
_________________________________

Headquarters: P.O. Box 547, Greenfield, MA 01302 USA (413) 774-7511 * fax:
(413)-774-6432 * www.ota.com
Canadian Office: 323 Chapel Street, Ottawa, On K1N 7Z2 * (613) 787-2003
Washington, DC Office: * (202) 338-2900