HDOA E-News |
Aloha! Thank you for your continued interest in the activities of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA).
As announced earlier this week, the State has reached an agreement with Young Brothers that will allow the company to continue to provide less-than-container-load service between the islands for at least three years – a service that is particularly important to island farmers. There are many parties that should be recognized for helping to bring about the resolution to this critical issue, including the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, the Maui Farm Bureau, State Departments of Transportation, Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Business, Economic Development & Tourism, Governor Linda Lingle, as well as Young Brothers. The outcome is truly a win-win situation.
I am also pleased to report that the Governor has released $300,000 to begin the planning of an agribusiness incubator in Waialua, Oahu, which will be managed by the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). Agribusiness incubators are designed to help entrepreneurs develop profitable businesses within three years. The facility will include an experimental food laboratory, greenhouses, a visitors’ center, tropical fruit and endangered native plant displays, field plots for plants and animals, offices and a commercial food processing facility.
Sincerely,
Sandra Lee Kunimoto
Chairperson, Board of Agriculture
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NEW ADMINISTRATOR APPOINTED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE DIVISION
Dr. John Ryan has been selected to head the Quality Assurance Division and began work on July 31st. Dr. Ryan obtained his Ph.D. in research methodology, a masters’ degree in behavioral science and undergraduate degree in anthropology. From 2002 – 2004, he was a lecturer at California Polytechnic State University in the areas of statistics, operations management, quality management and project management.
Dr. Ryan was born in New York, grew up on the U.S. West Coast and has lived and worked all over Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific - including Guam, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, plus a tour with Uncle Sam in Vietnam. His work experience includes areas of operations management, quality management, web test software development and employee development and training. He has also done consulting work for the Hawaii Department of Education, the Hawaii Cancer Research Center and the Hawaii Chapter of the American Diabetes Association.
The Quality Assurance Division includes the Commodities Branch, Milk Control Section and the Measurement Standards Branch. Dr. Ryan fills the position that was vacated upon the retirement of Sam Camp.
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INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
Premises registration continues for the four counties as part of the National and Hawaii Animal Identification Systems – systems developed to enhance government and the livestock industry response to an industry emergency. Currently, a total of 231 premises have been registered out of the estimated 1,737 premises present in the State. This means approximately 13 percent of the state’s premises have been registered. The Cooperative Extension Service of CTAHR has held informational workshops on Hawaii, Kauai and Maui counties over the last three months.
The following workshops are scheduled for Oahu:
September 7 (Thursday) – 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Windward Community College, Hale Okoakoa (Room 105)
September 8 (Friday) – 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Kapolei High School, Teachers’ Lounge
The NAIS was also featured at the Hawaii State Farm Fair. In addition to display posters and informational brochures, pens promoting the NAIS were given to individuals that stopped at the booth. Attendance at other agricultural exhibition events are planned for later this year. For more information, check out these weblinks:
http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/ai-hapis.htm
http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/index.shtml
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110 ATTEND MEETINGS ON IMMIGRANT/MIGRANT AG WORKERS
There was a great response to informational meetings on the H2A Agricultural Employment Visa Program and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act (MSPA). A total of about 110 people in the agricultural industry attended the meetings and asked a variety of questions on agricultural labor issues. HDOA partnered with Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to conduct the workshops on Oahu, the Big Island, Maui and Kauai in July and August.
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PESTICIDES RULE CHANGES
Public hearings have been scheduled regarding proposed changes to the Administrative Rules on Pesticides. The rules were last revised in 1981. The proposed changes eliminate rules that are no longer necessary or applicable and better ensure the safe and effective use of pesticides while minimizing unreasonable adverse effects on the environment. The proposed amendments also address the functional areas of pesticide licensing and classification for restricted use or monitored use pesticides, including fee increases for registration, licenses, examination and certification.
Public hearings have been scheduled statewide in October. To view the dates and locations, go to: http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/publicnotices.htm
To view the entire proposed rule changes, go to: http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/pi_pest_reg.htm
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The Hawaii Board of Agriculture approved several emergency loans during its July meeting to help farms recover from the devastating rains in April and May. The following Direct Emergency Operating Loans approved by the board:
Green Enterprises, Inc. – $50,000
You Soukaseum Farm, Inc. – $50,000
Norman H. Sadoyama – $30,000
Kahuku Farmers, Inc. - $50,000
Matsuda Fukuyama Farms, Inc. - $200,000
Aloun Farms, Inc. - $250,000
For more information on agricultural loans, go to the department’s website at: http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/agl.htm
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(Updates from the Agricultural Resource Management Division)
East Kauai Irrigation System
Unlimited Construction Services, Inc has begun construction on the East Kauai Irrigation System Improvements project. Notice to proceed was given on August 21, 2006 with a contract time of 120 calendar days. The $400,000 project will have an existing wooden flume located downstream of the Wailua Reservoir, with an inverted siphon constructed of approximately 180 feet of 36-inch HDPE pipe.
South Kona Watershed
Belt Collins Hawaii, Ltd. has been awarded a Contract for Professional Services for the South Kona Watershed, Environmental and Planning Services, Phase 2. The cost for this project is $75,000 which will address continuing work begun under Phase I associated with alternative evaluation for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Engineering and Economic Analysis Report. Notice to proceed was given on June 1, 2006 with a contract time of 270 calendar days.
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Buy Fresh – Buy Local!
The KITV Morning Show has committed
to feature a “Buy Fresh – Buy Local” segment each month, which highlights a
Hawaii farmer and a local chef who uses Hawaii-grown fruits or vegetables in a
recipe that viewers can make at home. The aim is for viewers to make a
connection with local farmers and KITV reports that the segments are very
popular. So far, the segments have featured Aloun Farms with Chef Grant Sato of
Kapiolani Community College’s Culinary School, Kahuku Farms and Chef Kele Smith
of the Pacific Club and the most recent segment featured Po`amoho Organic
Produce and Chef Andy Nelson from the Pacific Beach Hotel.
The Buy Fresh – Buy Local is a joint project of CTAHR, the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation and HDOA. Earlier this year, a Seasonality Chart was developed to depict the availability of local produce. To learn more about the Buy Fresh – Buy Local campaign, go to: http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/
Made in Hawaii Festival
The Made in Hawaii Festival filled the arena and the Exhibition Hall of the Neal Blaisdell Center on August 18-20, 2006. This event is put on by the Hawaii Food Industry Association (HFIA) to support local manufacturers and businesses featuring Hawaii–made products. HDOA sponsored cooking demonstrations featuring nine top chefs highlighting locally produced food items such as Hamakua mushrooms, Kona Kampachi, and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. To complement the presentations, copies of the recipes and samples of the menu items were distributed to the crowd of approximately 200 people who attended each of the nine demonstrations by volunteers from the HDOA staff. The local floral industry was represented by a selection of tropical floral arrangements surrounding the stage and the perimeter of the seating area. Attendance at the event was estimated at more than 30,000 people, making this one of the premier events to promote the sale of Hawaii-made products. www.madeinhawaiifestival.com
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Interceptions by Plant Quarantine Inspectors
(The following is a sampling of recent interceptions by Plant Quarantine Inspectors)
July 6 – a shipment of 406 boxes containing 10,000 rooted poinsettia cuttings from California was intercepted by inspectors. Leaf samples with suspicious spots were submitted to HDOA’s plant pathologist who determined that the shipment was infected with an anthracnose disease, which is not known to occur on poinsettia in Hawaii. The shipment was treated and destroyed.
July 7 – a shipment containing live marine rocks was intercepted at an express freight company and destroyed.
July 14 – Oahu inspectors intercepted a shipment of mangoes originating from Mexico that appeared to be infested with scale insects not known to occur in Hawaii. More than 50 scales were examined and all were found to be non-living. The shipment was released to the consignee.
July 14 – during a risk assessment on maritime operations on Maui, inspectors found four instar larvae of the stinging nettle caterpillar on a shipment of foxtail palms that originated from a Big Island nursery via an interisland barge carrier. The discovery was made in a follow-up inspection at the consignee’s nursery in Kihei. The shipment was quarantined and treated on site. Upon further investigation, inspectors learned that another palm shipment was also sent to an Oahu nursery during the same period. A follow-up inspection at that nursery did not detect any nettle caterpillars or larvae.
July 25 – Kona inspectors confiscated 20 packages of fresh cut tarragon herbs that arrived from San Francisco that were infected with a rust not known to occur in Hawaii.
August 8 – Maui inspectors confiscated a shipment of organic raspberries that was infested with a variety of insects, two of which were not known to occur in Hawaii and two others that are pending identification.
August 13 – Oahu inspectors confiscated a shipment that included five cartons of red leaf lettuce consigned to a Honolulu produce company due to heavy infestation of aphids. The shipment was treated and destroyed.
August 14 – Oahu inspectors confiscated and destroyed 15 rice paddy eels received in a shipment of tropical fishes that arrived via air cargo from Los Angeles. Because the restricted animals were shipped by mistake and the consignee notified the department of the illegal items prior to its arrival, no further action was taken.
Plant Quarantine inspectors also conducted a risk assessment at the UPS facility, which involved increased inspection during six evenings and nine morning sorts over a four-week period. A total of 264 lots with 268 parcels containing agricultural material were inspected and released by inspectors.
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AG CONFERENCE
Ag Conference 2006, Maximizing Your Bottom Line has been scheduled for October 26th at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa in Waikiki. The only statewide conference for Hawaii’s agricultural industry is presented by the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii, the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation (HFBF), the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and HDOA. For more information and registration information, go to: http://www.agconference.org
Questions may be e-mailed to: info@agconference.org or call 808.947.2914 (Oahu).
Nominations Sought for Agriculture Awards
Nominations are now being accepted for the Hawaii Agricultural Awards, which will be presented at the
Ag Conference in October. The awards recognize outstanding organizations and individuals who have contributed to the advancement of Hawaii’s agricultural industry. The awards are sponsored in honor of the late James “Jim” Wriston III.
There are four award categories:
Outstanding Agricultural Operation
New Farmer Operation (less than 3 years)
Friend of Agriculture
Innovative or New (less than 3 years) Value-Added Product
Deadline for nominations is September 15, 2006. Nomination forms are available by calling
(808) 947-2914. Forms may also be downloaded from the ag conference website (see previous article).
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Export Readiness Training (ERT) Program Gets Started
HDOA personnel from the Agricultural Development Division accompanied members from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to Maui, Oahu, Hilo, and Kona to help spread the word to Hawaii’s small to medium agribusinesses about the Export Readiness Training Program coming to Hawaii this fall. A total of approximately 75 people statewide attended the training.
HDOA received funding for this program from the USDA through the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association (WUSATA). In turn, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) was selected in a RFP process to implement the program in Hawaii. The Export Readiness Training will provide new-to-export agricultural growers and food processing companies with training on the business of exporting, as well as assist graduates of the program to participate in an actual international trade show or trade mission.
Interested agribusinesses are encouraged to contact Laura Noda at 539-3603 or visit http://www.wusata.org/ert to learn more. The application deadline is September 8, 2006.
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UPCOMING AG EVENTS
September 23, 2006 (Saturday) - HMSA Island Fresh Festival – Ward Centers 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Inaugural event sponsored by HMSA will highlight healthy living and eating. Food booths, chef demonstrations, farmers’ market and keiki activities will highlight Hawaii-grown produce.
The farmers’ market tent has a few open slots for farmers who wish to sell their produce at the festival. Those interested may call Janelle Saneishi at HDOA at 973-9560.
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To visit the HDOA website: click here: http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/
For more information, please call (808) 973-9560 or e-mail: hdoa.info@hawaii.gov