2010 Ag Summary

New invasive species alert
12 Dec 2010
A few months back, DOA airport inspections raised concerns about seeds in incoming cargo from Phragmites, or Common Reed, a new aggressive, invasive species know for taking over wetland areas. They’ve just issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) report for the species.
If this species becomes established here, it will be another hard weed to get out of kalo patches (as if California grass and bulrush aren’t bad enough!). If they get established in adjacent wetlands we know there will be no controls and our patches will continue to be reinfested – just like the apple snail.

Common Rush spreads by rhizomes (creeping roots) and thousands of tiny, wind blown seeds. The seeds may travel in other material; ie. rock or gravel loads and wooden pallets from the mainland. Cargo coming in from airports and military bases in the Pacific and Southeast Asia are the source for seed discoveries at airports and bases in Hawaii. No established plants have been found to date (but doesn’t mean they aren’t out there). The more eyes on this the better.
Protocol:
If you see this species, report it immediately to the Invasive Species Committee of your island or call the invasive species hotline at 643-PEST (643-7378, direct dial on any island). The contact list for the ISCs is below.Bag all fruit/seed heads. Remove the plant by all of its roots to the best degree possible don’t leave broken roots in the mud. Do not compost any seeds in your compost pile. Do not compost any plant parts in your compost pile without 100% kill first.
ISC contacts:
Maui County, 820 Piiholo Road, Makawao, Hawaii
Phone: 808-573-MISC (6472) or 573-6471
Teya Penniman, Manager misc@hawaii.edu
Lissa Fox, Public Relations & Education Specialist miscpr@hawaii.edu

The 2010 Legislative Report of the Taro Security and Purity Task Force is now available on line as a PDF file.

2009

Maui Prep Farmer’s Market
Maui Prep will be working with Kapalua Farms to offer a Farmer’s Market each Tuesday from 2:30-5:00 pm. The Market is held outside the faculty workroom. All produce will be organically managed (no pesticides or chemical fertilizer). The market is open to the public. Come and support local agriculture by buying locally grown fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Maui Pine to shut down by end of year
In all, about 285 employees will be laid off. Another 133 will be offered employment at ML&P partner companies. ML&P board Chairman Warren Haruki said Maui Pine has lost $115 million since 2002.

The Lingle administration, attempting to balance the state budget, has authorized the layoff of about 118 Department of
Agriculture employees. This will mean that most imported
produce will NOT be inspected on Maui, but in Honolulu before
eventually being shipped by barge to Maui. The delay will
cause higher costs and lower quality due to the spoilage of
produce. This chaotic situation may even allow some produce
and other goods to enter Hawai’i un-inspected. (download a PDF petition opposing these layoffs here)
The improvement to our existing fine inspection regime was hard won over the past twenty years. It will be lost with this
dismantling of the DOA wall of protection. The Ag inspectors
who are targeted for lay-offs have intercepted the Brown Tree
Snake on eight occasions, and the dangerous Red Imported
Fire Ant on two occasions.
The Lingle administration’s abandonment of this essential
infrastructure leaves us vulnerable to a flood of invasive
species that threaten our economy, health and way of life.
There is an additional problem for the export farms and
nurseries who may be denied certification of their exports,
thus closing hundreds of small businesses with the loss of
numerous jobs.
Cutting Ag Inspectors will save only $5.9 Million annually,
but the negative impacts will likely be measured in the
hundreds of millions of dollars. The Dept. of Ag lay-offs are
grossly dis-proportionately larger than other State departments.
Read more – Agricultural inspector layoffs slammed
and – Big Isle ag interests lobby at state Capitol to keep inspectors

Judge Rejects Approval of Biotech Sugar Beets
A federal judge has ruled that the government failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of genetically engineered sugar beets before approving the crop for cultivation in the United States. Judge Jeffrey S. White of Federal District Court in San Francisco, said that the Agriculture Department should have assessed the consequences from the likely spread of the genetically engineered trait to other sugar beets or to the related crops of Swiss chard and red table beets.
The decision echoes another ruling two years ago by a different judge in the same court involving genetically engineered alfalfa. In that case, the judge later ruled that farmers could no longer plant the genetically modified alfalfa until the Agriculture Department wrote the environmental impact statement. Two years later, there is still no such assessment and the alfalfa, with rare exceptions, is not being grown.

Maui County may heed the call of Hawaii County and follow its lead with a ban on genetically modified taro. Read two articles about the issue now being heard by the Economic Development, Agriculture and Recreation Committee. of the County Council.

A&B property designated as important ag lands on Maui
The state Land Use Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a request by Alexander & Baldwin to designate more than 27,000 acres on Maui as important agricultural lands. The designation includes lands currently being used for sugar cane cultivation and other farming activity in Central Maui and Makawao. But it does not include some areas where A&B has previously indicated an interest in development, including lands along the island’s north shore and in Maalaea and Haliimaile. County and state officials said they would have liked the designation to include the additional fields.

Kula Fields brings farm fresh local food to your door
Maui residents who buy fruit and produce from farmers’ markets and swap meet vendors may not realize that often they are purchasing shipped-in foods, rearranged and displayed as if they were Maui grown.

Big on Bamboo
In a time when many conversations are turning to self-sufficiency,
sustainability and revitalizing our economy, growing bamboo seems to
outshine the status quo of importing virtually all of our building
materials, and more than 90 percent of our food and energy needs.

The genetic food fight
Since the dawn of time humans have had WYSIWYG food – when you sat
down to eat, What You Saw Is What You Got. But you can’t be as sure as
your ancestors were about what’s on your plate, because scientists are
genetically modifying edible things in an ever-growing number of ways.

County Council reserves right to restrict GMOs on Maui
A resolution introduced by Sol Kaho’ohalahala states the Council’s
position but carries little or no legal weight against a potential new
state law.

New state program pays farmers to restore unused farmlands
The state of Hawaii has started a new program that will pay
ranchers and farmers to plant native species on land they aren’t using
for crops. The $67 million program is expected to restore habitat for
endangered species, reduce soil erosion and prevent fertilizers from
draining into streams that flow into the ocean.

European Union votes to ban farm pesticides
With a lopsided vote of 577 to 61, the European parliament passed
legislation that will restrict the use of pesticides in agriculture and
ban 22 chemicals completely. The British government is protesting the
new law, but the heavy majority vote makes it likely that all 27 EU
member states will comply despite the risk to winter vegetable crops
such as carrots.

Fruit from backyards of Maui picked for the Food Bank
Suzanne Freitas and James Mylenek have started a volunteer group,
‘Waste Not, Want Not’, that gathers unharvested fruit wherever it can
be found and donates the fresh produce to Maui Food Bank.

Genetically Modified Hawai‘i
Scientific American takes a look at the GMO industry that is growing in size on all Hawaiian islands

Real homeland security
Michael Ableman, noted farmer, author, world traveler and lecturer,
shared his thoughts on food with an afternoon audience at Maui
Community College (MCC) last week, in a free event sponsored by the
Sustainable Living Institute of Maui (SLIM). Ableman, who manages the
120-acre Foxglove Farms on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia said
that Maui “may be the most food-insecure place on the planet.”

GMO ban approved
The Hawaii County Council has banned genetically modified coffee and
taro from the Big Island. Opposition to genetically modified taro has
been clear all along, council members said. Councilors listened to
nearly seven hours of testimony ranging from the technical to the
emotional. Supporters of the ban spoke of fears that genetically
modified crops might be field-tested and released here, lowering the
value of specialty coffee crops, adulterating and contaminating food
sources, and creating health ramifications that have never been fully
studied.

Are GMOs Safe?
Genetically altered, or genetically modified, organisms, have been
around since 1976, when a company called Genetech was established,
exploring the “commercial potential” of recombinant DNA technology.
There has been active debate about this ever-expanding technology ever
since. One of the concerns is the potential, largely unknown, effects
of these never-before-in-existence altered plant or animal genes.

Permaculture: coming to life on Maui
Local resident Claire Kellerman, of KLARITY.org, founded the Maui
Permaculture Network in 2006. She says that the “ethics” of
permaculture are: “1) Care of the earth. 2) Care of the people. 3)
Sharing and returning the surplus of abundance and beauty.”

Lingle weighs ag land development bill
Owners of prime agricultural land could convert 15 percent of their
acreage into new housing developments, under a bill awaiting Gov. Linda
Lingle’s signature. Concerned parties on both sides have been turning
up the heat on Lingle as she weighs the merits of the bill, which would
require the landowners to devote the other 85 percent of their property
to farm use more or less in perpetuity. Proponents say the bill will
help preserve ag land that is being diverted to housing under current
land use laws.

Support GMO-Free Taro legislation

New Hawaii directory lists organic producers
Hawai’i consumers should find it easier to verify the authenticity of
organic products and find places that sell them with the publication of
a new directory listing 140 of the state’s certified organic growers.
The directory, published by the Hilo-based Hawaii Organic Farmers
Association, is the first listing all of the state’s certified organic
producers of crops, honey, livestock and value-added processed products
such as jams and jellies.

Ethanol Craze Cools As Doubts Multiply
Little over a year ago, ethanol was winning the hearts and wallets of
both Main Street and Wall Street, with promises of greater U.S. energy
independence, fewer greenhouse gases and help for the farm economy.
Today, the corn-based biofuel is under siege. In the span of one
growing season, ethanol has gone from panacea to pariah in the eyes of
some. The critics, which include industries hurt when the price of corn
rises, blame ethanol for pushing up food prices, question its
environmental bona fides and dispute how much it really helps reduce
the need for oil.

Irrational fear sustains taboo on handy hemp
A federal judge recently ruled in a court case that, “Industrial hemp
may not be the terrible menace the DEA makes it out to be, but
industrial hemp is still considered to be a Schedule I controlled
substance under the current state of the law in this circuit and
throughout the country.”
In a presidential election year, it is highly unlikely that Congress
will exercise the leadership to authorize America’s farmers to grow
industrial hemp. Yet hemp commercial products can reduce America’s
carbon footprint and help to combat climate change.

Biotech firm grows on Molokai
Monsanto, a global company specializing in biotech corn seed crops, has
entered a 99-year lease for 1,650 acres of land, of which about 1,200
are suitable for farming. While the expansion means more productivity
for Monsanto, as well as more jobs for the island economy,
environmental activists — which include the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow
and Hui Ho’opakele Aina — continue to cry out against the growing
presence of genetically modified crops on Molokai. They say the
modified crops have not been adequately tested for long-term effects
and could cross-pollinate with organic crops.

Food or fuel?
The reality is that food and energy security cannot be separated. The
food and biofuel industries require many of the same resources-to grow
plants (and raise livestock), to harvest and process those plants (and
slaughter animals), to store and transport food and fuel. Hawai’i
already has limited resources for agriculture-will biofuel trump food
in the islands?

Sustainable farming vital for health of Isles
Great farmers are inspired to care for the land by sustaining the soils
for future generations and to care for community by creating good jobs
and delivering flavorful foods. Whether that farmer uses organic or
simply sustainable methods, great farmers care. When we support farmers
and ranchers who care, we all benefit in many ways, even if it starts
at simply great-tasting food.

Deal ensures farm use of Kipahulu site
A Kipahulu landowner has granted a conservation easement to the Maui
Coastal Land Trust to assure that a 75-acre property will remain in
agricultural use for perpetuity, trust President Tom
Blackburn-Rodriguez has announced. The property formerly was in sugar
cane and used for grazing, but the owner, a family trust, has begun
restoring the land as an organic agricultural operation. The farming
operation will include orchard trees as well as construction-grade
bamboo and varieties of trees that can be harvested as timber,
including koa, kou, kamani, mahogany and teak. The area has been named
“Ola Honua”, for “life-giving earth”.

Organic stamp is a plus for local products
Conventional farms are converting to organic. Mainland farmers are
buying local farms. And consumer demand for all things organic is
increasing. That demand has spurred growth in related non-farm
businesses, including companies that process and handle organic
produce. Hawai’i businesses now sell a variety of certified organic
products including honey, tofu, even noni leather.