Fires Consume More Hawaiʻi Forest in Recent Years
Fires burned more than 30,000 acres of forest and brushland in both 2018 and 2019 – far more than any other year in more than a decade.
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Fires burned more than 30,000 acres of forest and brushland in both 2018 and 2019 – far more than any other year in more than a decade.
Gerry Kaho‘okano used to Tahitian dance with John (Leong, CEO of Pono Pacific Land Management) and he needed help. So he went to work for him as a field laborer.
It seems everyone wants more locally grown food. Here are those making it happen: their successes, challenges and ideas about how to make Hawai‘i more self-sufficient in food. Alternately fought over and forgotten, land in Lualualei Valley has long served…
These farmers want the Kona name to be reserved only for 100% Kona coffee. The coffee aisle at the KTA Super Store in Kailua-Kona looks a lot like the one in your supermarket. Your aisle contains many brands that bank…
The native tree is a vital part of Hawaiʻi's forests and watersheds, and prized by woodworkers and by Hawaiian cultural practitioners. The challenge is making koa sustainable for all of its valuable roles. https://vimeo.com/366353476 Video by Jeff Hawe Koa has…
We included this topic in two statewide surveys: The BOSS Survey of 405 local business leaders and the 808 Poll of 547 members of the general public. In both surveys, we led the discussion on marijuana with this question: "Would…
When Zac Hosler needed funding in 2014 to build out his aquaponics business in South Kona, he believed he would be rejected by a bank. “Financing for farmers is hard to come by,” says the majority owner of Ha Farms…
New equipment helps farmers battle the dreaded coffee beetle borer, but despite a labor shortage, farmers still rely on hand-picking rather than mechanical pickers. That may change for some growers as technology improves. Kealakekua, Hawaii Island – Coffee beans come…
KRISTAL MUHICH IS A SURVIVOR. “I was adopted by my uncle when I was 4,” recalls the owner of Kauai Juice Co. “I really didn’t like school. I couldn’t wait to leave – I graduated from high school early when…
Kanekoa Kukea-Shultz exists in a world of dichotomy. He is a farmer and an intellectual.
Hawaii's farmers can't catch a break. Rat lungworm has accelerated difficult changes in local farming. One local leader predicts a quarter of Hawaii’s produce farms will be out of business in a few years. They are already battered by high…
Fourth-generation chicken farmer Chris Peterson inspects eggs over the candler, part of a machine that checks egg fertility and shell quality. The machine is crucial in handling the around 6,800 eggs per day from over 7,000 chickens at Petersons' Upland…
Imagine a world in which robots, drones and artificial intelligence plant, monitor, harvest, and deliver your food. This may sound like science fiction, but it is, in fact, the emerging reality in farming. “We’re seeing robots that can plant, water…
Three Big Island breeders have welcomed 14 new alpacas to their pastures, part of what they say is a small but growing market in the state for the South American animals that resemble miniature llamas. Big…
The high cost of animal feed has long hindered the meat, poultry, dairy and seafood industries in the Islands, but local efforts on several fronts aim to reduce those expenses. Shipping feed from the Mainland costs about $150 to $200…
Sixteen years ago, Hawaii legalized medical marijuana but never made it easy for qualified patients to obtain it. That’s about to change: Eight companies are preparing to open stores statewide that will sell state-tested and regulated medical marijuana for roughly…
Life and business partners Scott Buske and Megan Collins have adventurous souls that led them to an overgrown orchard on the Big Island and a whole series of tasty foods they are selling to locals and the world. “I always…
Inspiration: Farmers told Vincent Kimura they needed an affordable way to protect their crops and increase their yields. Once he had an idea to address that problem, he teamed with Ryan Ozawa, Isar Mostafanezhad and Justin Hedani to create the…
We may buy that clamshell of beautiful, ripe strawberries with the best of intentions – pancakes! cobbler! fruit salad! – but when the end of the week comes and they’re getting soft and fuzzy in the back of the produce drawer,…
It’s an economical and eco-friendly way to eliminate overgrowth on land, and the workers are cute and quiet. Chris Wilcox, then a boat captain for a fish-farming operation on Hawaii Island, switched gears in 2013 and started Big Island Goat…
With consumers seeking healthier options, small producers like Molokai Livestock Cooperative are enjoying a spike in popularity. “We have seen an increase in consumer demand over the years,” says GM Jack Spruance, 62. “But marketing is not our biggest challenge, …
Every workday is different for Brett Miller (center right wearing a black shirt), though each day usually includes at least some time in the MauiWine vineyard in Kula, on the slope of Haleakala. Start: While majoring in biology and…
IT LOOKED LIKE the end of an era. Maui Land & Pineapple shuttered its agricultural operations after 90 years and laid off the few farm workers left out of a workforce that once numbered more than a thousand. In what many…
WAIMANALO – David Yarber hands out samples of his locally brewed kombucha, a popular fermented tea that’s touted for its health benefits, to a group of Japanese visitors at his Waimanalo brewery. It's obvious from their nodding heads and polite…
Gender bias still exists within the leadership of many local family businesses, but its hold slips as new generations take over.
Geckos are iconic in Hawaii, as much as pineapples or ukuleles, and, like them, are not native to the Islands. The Polynesians brought them here about 1,500 years ago along with other plants and animals. Today, there are eight gecko…
The $900 billion pandemic aid bill passed by Congress at the end of 2020 aims to drive more money to small and minority-owned businesses.