HDOA E-News |
Message from the Chairperson:
Aloha. Since our last E-News, a disaster has struck our agricultural community. The earthquake on October 15th caused substantial damage to some farms, ranches and important agricultural infrastructure, primarily on the Big Island. Both HDOA’s Honokaa-Paauilo (Hamakua) and Waimea irrigation systems sustained severe damage to its intakes, ditches, tunnels and flumes. While the reservoirs sustained some damage, they have been deemed safe, but water delivery systems have suffered major damage. Staff from the Agricultural Resource Management Division (ARM) has been working tirelessly to assess the damage, which has been extremely difficult due the remoteness of the areas, aftershocks, heavy rain and landslides and loss of irrigation access trails. HDOA’s irrigation staff was out checking the systems soon after the earthquake and they have not stopped since.
A main concern now is the continued availability of water to area farmers. In Waimea, a deep well is pumping additional water into the system to supplement the water stored in the large reservoir and Waimea water users are under a 10% voluntary water restriction. On the Hamakua system, storage capacity is limited, necessitating a 30% mandatory water restriction to conserve water as reservoir levels drop.
HDOA’s Agricultural Loan Division also worked quickly to develop emergency loan parameters which were approved by the Board of Agriculture about a week after the quake.
The board approved the following loan parameters for this emergency:
Micro-loans of $25,000 or less are also available and can be fast-tracked.
Agricultural loan officers on the Big Island and from Oahu have been staffing disaster assistance centers for farmers who need financial assistance. For more information on agricultural loans, call the Agricultural Loan Offices:
Oahu – 973-9460 Hilo – 974-4140 Kona – 323-7591
HDOA would like to thank the many county, state and federal agencies and private
and non-profit organizations that have been helping to respond to this
disaster. The concern and assistance for the farmers and ranchers in the
affected regions by these agencies is truly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Sandra Lee Kunimoto
Chairperson, Board of Agriculture
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FEDERAL EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ALSO AVAILABLE
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is also accepting applications for its Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), which may provide up to 75% cost-sharing assistance to rehabilitate farmland damaged by the earthquake. As of the first week in November, FSA has received about 60 applications under this program. Most of the damage reported involves downed fences and rock walls, and damage to irrigation systems, storage tanks and reservoirs. The Hawaii County FSA office says that applications for this disaster will be accepted until November 30, 2006, so farmers should not wait to file applications. Hawaii County FSA Office phone number: 933-8381 ext. 2. For more information on ECP, link to the FSA webpage: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=copr&topic=ecp
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MICRONESIAN MINI AG JOB FAIR
Following a September pilot
meeting with the farm operators and Micronesian community leaders, HDOA has
again partnered with the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations –
Office of Community Services, the Micronesian Community Network and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture to tap a potential labor pool for agribusinesses.
A mini agricultural job fair will be held on Saturday, November 18, 2006
at McKinley School for Adults, Room 110, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Farm operations that would like to participate in the job fair and for more information, please contact Betsy Polhemus at betsy.m.polhemus@hawaii.gov or 973-9558.
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LIVESTOCK ADDED TO THE DOT DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURE
Chapter 19-41, Hawaii Administrative Rules, has recently been amended to include livestock in the state Department of Transportation’s definition of island agricultural products. This important addition to a dated definition makes a significant difference for livestock producers in Hawaii. Specifically, livestock producers are now able to take advantage of the same reduced wharfage fees as other commodities traditionally defined as island agricultural products. For the state’s cattle sector in particular, this change will help reduce high transportation costs associated with sending cattle inter-island and to be finished on the Mainland. Special thanks to Barry Fukunaga, deputy at the Hawaii Department of Transportation, his staff at the Harbors Division, and Dr. Cal Lum with the Farm Bureau for their assistance with this important amendment.
The full definition is as follows:
“Island agricultural products” means fresh agricultural products grown in Hawaii, including but not limited to pineapple, sugar, fruits and vegetables, coffee, hay, whole eggs, juices (not in retail can), macadamia nuts, onions, potatoes, milk, livestock, meats and poultry, flowers, and flowering ornamental plants.”
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The Livestock Disease Control Branch has ordered a 60-day isolation order for 77 head of roping steers originating from Mexico due to improper pre-entry testing for bovine tuberculosis. The steers tested negative prior to export from Mexico; however, the test conducted in New Mexico was invalid and not adequate for entry into Hawaii. The steers are under isolation at the Maui livestock quarantine/staging area at the owner’s expense pending a valid retest.
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Interceptions by Plant Quarantine Inspectors
(The following is a sampling of recent interceptions by Plant Quarantine Inspectors)
September 29 – Kona inspectors confiscated and destroyed four boxes of baby arrugula infected with downy mildew. The shipment originated from San Francisco.
October 3 – while conducting a risk assessment at Kahului Airport, Maui inspectors refused entry of a shipment of 34 boxes containing 500 iris plants, which were found to be infested with snails. The plants arrived via air cargo from California and was consigned by a Maui nursery.
October 7 – Maui detector dog team found two pounds of undeclared Florida citrus in hand carry luggage of an arriving passenger from Chicago. Citrus fruits from Florida are prohibited and fruit was treated and destroyed.
October 10 – Maui inspectors treated and destroyed eight boxes (80 lbs.) of frisee lettuce which were heavily infested with thrips and aphids. The shipment originated from Los Angeles.
October 12 – Maui inspectors treated and destroyed three cartons containing 60 lbs. of organic red romaine lettuce from California due to infestation of leafhoppers not known to occur in Hawaii.
October 17 – Maui inspectors treated and destroyed 80 lbs. of untreated daikon from California. Untreated daikon is prohibited from entry into Hawaii to prevent the introduction of the cabbage maggot.
October 23, 24 – Maui inspectors treated and destroyed several shipments of raspberries, totaling about 45 lbs. The raspberries from California was infected with a fungal rust disease not known to occur in Hawaii.
October 31 – Maui inspectors rejected three cartons containing 30 lbs. of peppers that were infested with psyllids that are not known to occur in Hawaii. The shipment arrived via air cargo from Los Angeles.
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CONSERVATION PLANNING
Conservation plans promote and plan for conservation techniques on agricultural operations, and may include plans for erosion and settlement control, nutrient and pesticide management, runoff from confined animal facilities mitigation, and irrigation quality. In Hawaii, conservation plans are often collaboratively created by the producer and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff. Conservation plans are required to be eligible for NRCS conservation programs and certain state leases, including DLNR, DHHL and HDOA ag leases.
Due to the current backlog of 300 requests for assistance with conservation planning, HDOA has partnered with the Office of Planning and NRCS to convert the Idaho OnePlan, a GIS-based tool developed for conservation planning, for use in Hawaii. The OnePlan utilizes user-friendly technology to guide producers through a series of questions and recommendations that relate to their specific farm operation, thereby assisting NRCS and SWCD staff with the process. The OnePlan also incorporates the various resource management requirements and protocols of local, state and federal agencies to streamline regulatory processes. The Office of Planning has reprogrammed funds for the customization of the Idaho OnePlan for use in Hawaii.
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HDOA’s Market Development Branch sponsored a contingent of 10 Hawaii agricultural producers at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) “Fresh Summit 2006” at the San Diego Convention Center, October 20 – 24. A record 18,670 attended the expo – including those from the produce and floral industries, grower-shippers, retailers, processors, foodservice and suppliers worldwide. The Hawaii exhibit was one of more than 800 exhibits covering more than 525,000 square feet of exhibition space.
The show was an excellent opportunity for Hawaii agricultural producers to promote their products to new buyers and increase their market exposure internationally. Hawaii companies participating included: Alembic International, LLC, Crown Pacific International, LLC, Fat Law’s Farm, Inc., Happy Hawaiian Plants, Inc., Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery, Wailea Agricultural Group, Inc., Ohana Banana Farm, and representatives from the Hawaii Papaya Industry, The Hawaii Tropical Fruit Cooperative, and the Maui Onion Growers Association.
Next year’s conference will be held in Houston, Texas on October 13-15, 2007. For more information go to the PMA website: http://www.pma.com/freshsummit
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Two Hawaii Seal of Quality companies were recognized in the recent Retail Merchants of Hawaii’s Ho’okela 2006 awards, which were announced on October 27th. Alii Kula Lavender was honored as the Maui Retailer of the Year and Paradise Flower Farms received the E-Commerce Retailer of the Year award. Warmest congratulations to these winners.
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The ADC Board of Directors at its November 2nd Kekaha Committee meeting, approved the issuance of a 20-year license to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) for the use of Cave K-108 located at Kekaha, Kauai. The PTWC plans on installing seismic detection equipment in the cave to better monitor earthquakes. This site will be one of the two only sites on Kauai.
ADC will be doing an inter-island transportation study concerning the unavailability of adequate inter-island transportation services for agricultural products, supplies and equipment to and from neighbor islands. The need for such a study and report arises from the recent request by Young Brothers, Ltd. (YB) to the PUC for permission to stop offering freight-consolidation, which allows the shipping company to accept smaller loads and arranges them to fill a container. YB has since withdrawn their request to discontinue “less than container load” and agreed to continue service at least until 2010.
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The Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Office recently reported that Hawaii farm revenues rose four percent in 2005. Of the 11 published reports on diversified agriculture commodities, eight agricultural commodities were at higher levels compared to 2004. Even with pineapple and sugarcane farm gate declines, the $576.2 million for 2005 was the highest since $596 million was estimated for the 1990 calendar year. The state record high is $642.3 million, set in 1980.
2005 Survey Highlights
* Total Agriculture Farm Gate: $576.2 million up $24.1 million from 2004
* Diversified Agriculture: $438.1 million, up $30.6 million from previous year
* Coffee Farm Gate: $37.3 million, up $17.4 million or 88 percent above 2004
* Seed Crops: $70.4 million, up $7.8 million or 12 percent above last year
Complete results all surveys conducted by the Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Office can be found at http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Hawaii/index.asp
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HAPPY
THANKSGIVING!!!
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