maui - hc&s diversified agriculture – beef
TRANSCRIPT
Clif Hasegawa <[email protected]>
MAUI - DIVERSIFIED AGRICULTURE - KULA AGRICULTURAL PARK - WATER -
ACQUISITION OF EAST MAUI IRRIGATION SYSTEM - WAIAHOLE DITCH -
HAWAII SUPREME COURT
Clif Hasegawa <[email protected]> Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 12:21 PM To: “Governor David Ige” <[email protected]>, "Lieutenant Governor Shan S. Tsutsui"
<[email protected]>, "Senate President Ronald D. Kouchi" <[email protected]>, “House
Speaker Joseph M Souki” <[email protected]>, Senator Rosalyn Baker
<[email protected]>, “Senator J Kalani English” <[email protected]>, "Senator Gilbert
S.C. Keith-Agaran" <[email protected]>, “Representative Justin H Woodson”
<[email protected]>, “Representative Kaniela Ing” <[email protected]>, “Representative
Lynn DeCoite” <[email protected]>, “Representative Kyle T Yamashita”
<[email protected]>, “Representative Angus McKelvey” <[email protected]>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>,
Mayor Alan Arakawa <[email protected]>, “Council Member Elle Cochran”
<[email protected]>, “Council Member Riki Hokama” <[email protected]>, “Council
Member Mike White” <[email protected]>, "Council Member Michael P. Victorino"
<[email protected]>, “Council Member Don Couch” <[email protected]>, “Council
Member Gladys Baisa” <[email protected]>, “Council Member Robert Carroll”
<[email protected]>, “Maui Council Member Stacy Crivello” <[email protected]>,
“Maui Council Member Don Guzman” <[email protected]>, "Deborah L. Ward" <[email protected]>,
"Burgon, Jonas D" <[email protected]>, "Ice, Charley F" <[email protected]>,
Cc: “Cindy McMillan Communications Director Office of Governor David Ige” <[email protected]>,
Ross Tsukenjo Executive to the Lieutenant Govenor <[email protected]>, Flo Hamasaki Office
Manager House Speaker Joseph Souki <[email protected]>, “Grace Ishii Executive to Mayor Alan
Arakawa” <[email protected]>, “Managing Director Keith Regan” <[email protected]>, Maui
Tomorrow <[email protected]>, Maui Causes <[email protected]>, “Sierra Club of Hawaii”
<[email protected]>, Wendy Osher <[email protected]>, Debra Lordan
<[email protected]>, Tommy Russo <[email protected]>, “Anthony Pignataro”
<[email protected]>, “Jen Russo” <[email protected]>, “Joe Bradley” <[email protected]>, “Lee
Imada” <[email protected]>, Andrew Walden <[email protected]>, “Todd Simmons Civil Beat”
<[email protected]>, “Nick Grube Civil Beat” <[email protected]>, [email protected]
Shared by The Southern Poverty Law Center, today, December 26, 2016,
… UNTIL JUSTICE ROLLS DOWN LIKE WATERS
AND RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE A MIGHTY STREAM
– DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Clifton M. Hasegawa President and CEO Clifton M. Hasegawa & Associates, LLC 1322 Lower Main Street A5 Wailuku, Hawaii 96793 Telephone: (808) 244-5425 Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliftonhasegawa
On Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 11:21 AM, Clif Hasegawa <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Governor Ige, Lieutenant Governor Tsutsui, Senate President Kouchi, House Speaker Souki, Members of the Maui Delegation to the Hawaii Senate and House of Representatives, Members of the Hawaii Senate and House of Representatives, Mayor Alan Arakawa and the Maui County Council,
The following is provided in further support for acquisition of the East Maui Irrigation (EMI) system.
Legal precedent for the establishment of a public-owned irrigation system was first established in 1953 in Waimanalo. On July 9, 1999 the State acquired the Waiahole Ditch to guarantee “guaranteeing a steady source of irrigation water at an affordable price allowing for growth of diversified agriculture in Central and Leeward Oahu.”
Acquisition of the East Maui Irrigation system will ensure a steady and continuous source for residents of Maui, the taro farmers in East Maui and particularly and significantly the Kula Agricultural Park.
The Kula Agricultural Park, established by Maui County Ordinance, “is to promote the development of diversified agriculture by providing appropriately-sized agricultural lots at reasonable rent and long-term tenure.” Originally 346 acres, Mayor Arakawa and the Maui County Council voted in November 2015 to acquire an additional 373 acres. This is Phase I. Phase II is the design and engineering for water infrastructure for the lots.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture, through its Agricultural Resource Management Division, operates ten agricultural parks, 4 on Hawaii Island, 4 on Oahu, 1 on Kauai and 1 on Molokai. The cooperative effort of the State and the County of Maui will ensure that Phase II is accomplished to ensure a sustainable water source for the Kula Agricultural Park, Up County framers and residents of Maui County.
Land acreage for the Kula Agricultural Park has been secured. Provisioning for water is in progress. County of Maui begins negotiations for acquisition of Wailuku Water Company property. Acquisition for the acquisition of the East Maui Irrigation system has been proposed.
Additional Reference. 2015 Statewide Agricultural Use Baseline – Maui. pp. 62 – 65. https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/StateAgLandUseBaseline2015.pdf Web Accessed: December 26, 2016.
On PBS INSIGHTS, Senate President Ronald Kouchi referred to “thriving tourism and construction” as key elements for Hawaii’s economy. Historically Hawaii’s economy was agriculture. The mono-crop industry has evolved; the mono-crop industry has come to pass with the closure of HC&S. Governor Ige and the Legislature’s vision of a Sustainable Hawaii is a firm commitment to less reliance on imports and a greater reliance on local resources, renewable energy, made and grown in Hawaii food and products.
We humbly and sincerely request your support and endorsement.
Thank you very much
Aloha Respectfully, Clifton M. Hasegawa President and CEO Clifton M. Hasegawa & Associates, LLC
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE IN HAWAII [Abbreviated]
1949 Territorial legislature creates Industrial Research Advisory Council to sponsor and finance studies, many have been in the area of diversified agriculture.
1953 The territory establishes its first public-owned irrigation system in Waimanalo.
1959 With statehood, federal funds became available for the development and growth of Hawaii's agricultural industries with funding for programs such as farm credit, natural resources, and statistical services.
1975 The establishment of the state's first agricultural park at Pahoa.
1987 Enactment of the State Water Code sets precedence on the allocation of water with the shutdown of a plantation irrigation system.
1994 Hamakua Sugar Co. harvests last crop (September 30)
1994 The Waiahole Ditch Contested Case sets the process for allocation of water by the state's Water Commission.
1995 Hilo Sugar closes.
1995 Oahu Sugar closes (April 9).
1996 Ka'u Sugar closes (March 27).
1996 Waialua Sugar closes (October 4).
1999 Last sugar harvest in Lahaina, Maui (September 12).
1999 The state acquires ownership of the Waiahole Ditch guaranteeing a steady source of irrigation water at an affordable price allowing for growth of diversified agriculture in Central and Leeward Oahu (July 9).
Source: Department of Agriculture. http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/HISTORY-OF-AGRICULTURE-IN-HAWAII.pdf Web Accessed: December 26, 2016.
______________________________________
HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AGRICULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT DIVISION
Currently, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, through its Agricultural Resource Management Division, operates ten agricultural parks – four on Hawaii Island, four on Oahu, and one each on Kauai and Molokai. In addition, there is one agricultural park on Maui in Kula, but it is managed by the County of Maui. All of the State’s lots are presently under lease. The lessees are engaged in diversified agricultural crops or aquaculture and are small farming enterprises (under 20 acres). [Emphasis Supplied] Source: Department of Agriculture. http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/arm/agricultural-parks/ Web Accessed: December 26, 2016
Maui County, Hawaii, Code of Ordinances. Title 22 - AGRICULTURAL PARKS. Chapter 22.04A KULA AGRICULTURAL PARK (§§ 22.04A.010 - 22.04A.130)
Source: County of Maui. https://www.animallaw.info/local/hi-maui-county-title-22-agricultural-parks-chapter-2204a-kula-agricultural-park#s30 Web Accessed: December 26, 2016/
§§ 22.04A.030 Purpose of program.
The purpose of the Kula agricultural park is to promote the development of diversified agriculture by providing appropriately-sized agricultural lots at reasonable rent and long-term tenure.
KULA AGRICULTURAL PARK
OED [Office of Economic Development] also serves as the County's land management entity for the Kula Agricultural Park on Pulehu Road. The purpose of the Ag Park program is to promote the development of diversified agriculture by providing appropriately sized agricultural lots at reasonable rent with long-term tenure thereby contributing to the economic growth of our agriculture industry.
The Park consists of 31 farm lots ranging from 10 to 30 acres for a total of 445 acres and supports 26 farmers. There is a multitude of crops being grown such as Kula onions and a multitude of vegetables, turf grass, landscape nursery products, flowers, bananas, and dryland taro.
Source: County of Maui. http://www.co.maui.hi.us/621/Kula-Agricultural-Park Web Accessed: December 26, 2016. [Clarification Supplied]
___________________________________
COMMITTEE: KULA AG PARK TO DOUBLE ITS SIZE
November 5, 2015
The Maui News
Eileen Chao [email protected]
WAILUKU – The Maui County Council Budget and Finance Committee on Tuesday recommended approval of a land purchase that would add 373 acres and double the size of the Kula Agricultural Park.
The county intends to buy two parcels of land from Haleakala Ranch – a 148-acre mauka parcel adjacent to the current park for $2.9 million and 225 acres makai and farther south that was formerly used to farm organic pineapple for $3.1 million.
The $6 million acquisition would be funded with $5 million in state funds and $1 million from the county. The state approved the money for the project two years ago. Those funds expire on June 30.
Teena Rasmussen, director of the county Office of Economic Development, told the committee Tuesday that preserving agricultural lands is important for the island.
“There’s been a huge decrease in the amount of actively farmed land in the Kula region,” she said, adding in her presentation that “gentrification is a big threat to farming throughout much of Hawaii and especially so in Kula.”
The Kula Agricultural Park currently spans 346 acres with 31 lots, all of which are being actively leased.
Lot sizes range from 5.5 to 26.6 acres. Rasmussen said there is a waiting list of farmers seeking a lot in the park. Park leases are granted to farmers for $100 per acre per year.
The expansion would preserve a substantial amount of farmland, with some of the “best soil on the planet,” advocates said.
“Upcountry Maui was once the center of vegetable production in the state,” said Warren Watanabe, executive director of the Maui County Farm Bureau. “Through the transition of lands, we find that many of the farms have changed ownership and the only large contiguous farmland in existence today is the Kula Ag Park. . . . Agriculture is risky by itself. Removal of some of the risk factors such as preserving large contiguous farmland will increase the viability of these operations.”
Councilors agreed that more agriculture would be a boon for Maui County, but they had reservations about adding more demand for water Upcountry, which already struggles to meet current resident and business needs in times of drought.
“I think that it’s really important, because I represent the entire Upcountry area and they’re so subject to water issues, I want to make sure people understand. . . . This poses no danger to their ability to get water,” Council Member Gladys Baisa said.
The county is able to draw up to 1.5 million gallons of water per day from the Kamole Weir, the largest surface water treatment facility on Maui that relies on flow from East Maui from the Wailoa Ditch. The Office of Economic Development calculated that current use for the agricultural park is about 548,191 gallons per day. East Maui Irrigation, the Alexander & Baldwin subsidiary that delivers the water via the ditch, had promised another 351,102 gallons per day to the planned Kula 1800 agricultural subdivision. Though that project has since been foreclosed upon and sold, water entitlements to the property remain, Rasmussen said.
That leaves 600,706 gallons available for the agricultural park expansion, Rasmussen said.
Whether that will be enough to irrigate all the new lots is hard to say, Department of Water Supply Director Dave Taylor told the committee. On average, the ditch flows 100 million gallons per day. The county department takes the first 6 million gallons, followed by Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. for its sugar cane plantation. The Kula park is last in line to receive water.
“We are not the water provider,” Taylor said of the county department. “All I know is we take the first 6 million gallons, and they (ag park) are at the end. If there’s still water, then there’s still water.”
EMI officials were not present at the committee meeting to answer questions.
Acquiring the land will be the first phase of the project. Additional funding will be needed for the second phase – engineering and water infrastructure for the lots. Officials won’t know exactly how much those costs would be until engineering studies are done, Rasmussen said. Engineering costs would be added to her office’s budget next fiscal year, while funding for water delivery infrastructure would be sought from state and federal sources.
“Maui is the only (county) without a state ag park. I think it’s appropriate for the state to do as they’ve been doing – put forth money for the acquisition and put forth money for water system operations,” council Chairman Mike White said.
On Tuesday, the committee also recommended approval of a resolution to acquire a property at 2154 Kaohu St. in Wailuku for $1.22 million. Department of Finance Deputy Director Mark Walker said the county has wanted to buy the property for nearly a decade, entering negotiations “on and off” with the seller. The property sits in the middle of two county-owned properties, and acquiring the parcel would give the county “a contiguous lot” for its Kalana O Maui campus expansion project. County officials have not decided on what the parcel would be used for, though Budget Director Sandy Baz said it’s been suggested to use it as a parking structure.
[Emphasis Supplied]
Source: The Maui News. http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2015/11/committee-kula-ag-park-to-double-its-size/ Web Accessed: December 26, 2016.
___________________________________
MOVING FROM CANE TO CATTLE A&B MAPS OUT A PATH TO LIFE BEYOND SUGAR
December 14, 2015
The Maui News
Eileen Chao [email protected]
Jacob Tavares, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.’s livestock diversification
manager, explains the ranching model being studied and implemented in Hamakuapoko. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
HAMAKUAPOKO1 — Growing Maui’s farm-to-table cattle industry is among the chief projects of Alexander &
Baldwin as its 36,000-acre sugar plantation folds at the end of this year.
1 Footnote, Supplied. Hamakuapoko is in the Hamakuapoko Region of the East Maui Watershed.
The parent company of Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. plans to expand its cattle grazing operations to 4,000
acres and create an agricultural park Upcountry, projects that the company hopes will help ranchers and farmers
sell their products locally.
“These cows, after they’re slaughtered and processed, would stay here on the island for local consumption,” said
Jacob Tavares, project manager for livestock diversification. “So you can find it in the stores, in Longs and
Foodland, in the local restaurants That’s a huge point of effort that we’re making here is to increase food security.”
Local ranchers “export calves to the Mainland because there’s not that high-quality feed source here on a
consistent basis,” Tavares said. “We’re providing that bridge to allow producers to keep their product here rather
than us importing steaks and exporting live animals.”
For months leading up to the closure of HC&S, everyone from politicians to community groups has weighed in on
how former sugar cane lands could contribute to food production and sustainability on Maui.
Cattle chow down after their daily move to a new section of irrigated pasture Monday in Hamakuapoko. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
With A&B still testing different crops, right now the future of former cane fields is in a herd of 1,200-pound black-
and-brown animals grazing the green pastures of Hamakuapoko.
For about a year, A&B has been testing different grasses with a herd of just over 100 cattle from Ulupalakua
Ranch. As A&B seeds and fences more grass areas, Maui Cattle Co. plans to put about 1,000 head on this
grazing land by next summer, Maui Cattle President Alex Franco said.
The cattle company is made up of six different ranching entities: Ulupalakua, Kaupo, Hana, Haleakala and Nobriga
ranches on Maui, and Olumau Angus Plus on Kauai. Ranches will maintain ownership of the cattle and pay
A&B for the weight the company puts on the cattle, Franco said. The company does its own beef processing
and selling.
“It’s pretty much a game changer for us,” Franco said. “In our business, the biggest bottleneck that we face is
drought conditions. . . . One of the things we’re missing in our industry is the ability to put cattle on irrigated
pasture under drought conditions to where we can still provide product to the marketplace on a consistent basis.
That’s what A&B brings to the table.”
A&B currently has 3,000 planted, unirrigated acres for the project and plans to eventually add 1,100 irrigated
acres, Tavares said. Test trials allotted 1.2 acres per head of cattle, but the company is still trying to figure out the
ideal density for the animals, Tavares said.
Diversified agriculture workers Michael Ross and Freddy Acopan
assemble a temporary pen in a Hamakuapoko pasture Monday afternoon.
The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
The company uses a method that prevents overgrazing and keeps the cows calm and content. The pasture is
divided into sections, and each day the animals are moved to a different section to give them fresh grass and allow
the grazed area 48 days to regrow to optimum size and nutrient level.
“It’s also good for the cows because you’re putting high-volume, high-quality grass in front of them every single
day,” Tavares said.
“Part of the grazing strategy is to keep everything very low stress,” he explained. “Keeping an animal low stress is
good for the quality of meat . . . which is more of a tender meat cut with better marbling.”
Tavares said it’s a 10-month process to seed the ground and let the grass grow a root system strong enough for
grazing. The company gets calves when they’re 6 to 8 months old and weigh 450 to 500 pounds. It takes them
about 24 to 26 months to reach their “ideal finishing weight” of 1,200 pounds.
Ranchers aren’t the only ones hoping to get in on A&B’s agricultural plans. The company has gotten lots of
interest from local producers eager to work the former sugar cane lands, said Jerrod Schreck, director of renewable
energy and land stewardship.
“Many of them are smaller crop producers, so we think an agricultural park with shared infrastructure would make
a lot of sense to help some of these folks,” Schreck said.
A&B is currently working with the county on a site near the Kula Agricultural Park, according to Rick Volner,
HC&S plantation general manager.
“The current thought is that the ag park will be built out in phases based on demand and could total up to 1,000 or
more acres ultimately,” Volner said. “The park will be open to all, but we continue to expect that former HC&S
employees will be given a preference for leasing plots.”
Schreck said the company wants to hear from local farmers about the crops they grow, their experience and at what
scale they plan to grow their crops.
Alika Atay, who won the Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu residency council seat in the general election, said he was
“happy to hear” that A&B is making steps toward local cattle production and involving farmers.
“I think these are all hopeful opportunities for the people of Maui County to participate in this transition,” Atay
said. “We already know we already consume a lot of beef. . . . Why not produce it so that it’s also slaughtered and
butchered here on the island and giving local residents more opportunities for jobs?”
Atay, an organic farmer and a leader of the SHAKA Movement (Sustainable Hawaiian Agriculture for the Keiki
and the Aina), said he planned to meet with A&B officials and representatives of the farming and cattle industries
to learn how he can “assist or be part of the transition.”
“I’m excited for the future of Maui’s opportunities, seeing Maui be more productive in the area of food production
and feeding people,” Atay said.
Dr. Lorrin Pang is also part of the SHAKA Movement and helped push for a voter initiative this year that would
have allowed the county to take over A&B lands for organic farm production. (The initiative did not get enough
signatures to be put on the ballot.) Pang said “we can walk the common path” with A&B but was concerned about
what would happen “when somebody comes in with a lot of dollars and they want to grow things that are not for
local consumption but have a lot of export value.”
“When push comes to shove, they might sell it off to the highest bidder,” said Pang, a state Department of Health
Maui County District health officer who spoke as a private citizen. He said there was no guarantee that A&B won’t
burn crops, use pesticides or sell to foreign markets in the future.
For now, A&B is still testing crops that could take over after sugar — primarily sorghum, corn and oilseed crops
such as sunflowers and soybeans that could be used for biofuels. Schreck said the company is looking at
production costs, yields and pest impacts. He said it was “hard to say” how long research would take.
The offer of a bioenergy deal could send A&B “off to the races with bioenergy,” or a high demand for beef could
increase pasture trials.
“It’s really going to depend on how the market responds,” Schreck said. “We know diversified ag is going to be
really hard. We know it’s going to take a long time to get all these acres back into production. But we think we
have some advantages that other plantations maybe didn’t.” For one, A&B owns thousands of contiguous acres,
most of which are designated as “important agricultural lands” by the state. The plantation is also close to the
harbor, and much of the land already comes with up-to-date electrical and irrigation systems and roads.
“We have good conditions for potential success,” Schreck said.
Source: The Maui News. http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2016/12/moving-from-cane-to-cattle/
[Emphasis Supplied] Web Accessed: December 27, 2016.
________________________
THE BIG ISLAND PASTURE-RAISED BEEF
The Big Island produces the lion's share of Hawai’i's beef. The statewide cattle industry is basically
divided into two operations: the cow-calf setup where the calf is produced to be exported out-of-state for
finishing and second, the local slaughter operation, where cattle is raised entirely in Hawai'i for
commercial slaughter. While some ranches do one or the other, numerous do both simultaneously.
Big Isle ranches producing pasture-raised beef sell their product to restaurants and retailers. A handful of
ranchers sell direct to consumers or at farmers markets.
The following ranches are producing pasture-raised beef for local consumption on the island.
4 Boys Ranch, Volcano
Agee Inc, Pa‘auilo
Alfonso Ranch, Kalopa
Botheilo Dairy, Hawi
Clarence Rapoza Ranch, Kona
Daleico Ranch, Kailua-Kona
Double D Ranch, Lapahoehoe
Egami Ranch, Kealakekua
Ernest DeLuz Ranch, Hamakua
Ernest Pung Ranch, Hamakua
F Ranch
Five O Cattle Company, Kamuela
FR Cattle Company, Kamuela
Jack Ramos Ranch, Honoka’a
John Rapoza Ranch, Kailua
Hale Kea Farms
Hualalai Ranch, North Kona
Kahua Ranch, Kohala
Kapapala Ranch, Pahala
Kealia Ranch-South Kona
KK Ranch, Pa‘auilo
Kukaiau Ranch, Hamakua
Kuahiwi Ranch, Na’alehu
Kukuipahu Ranch, North Kohala
Lowline Cattle Company, Ahualoa
McCandless Ranch, Captain Cook
Mealani Research Station, Waimea
Onaka Ranch, Honaunau
Paniolo Cattle Company, Waimea
Palani Ranch, North Kona
Parker Ranch, Waimea
Ponoholo Ranch, North Kohala
Pu‘uwai Ranch, Hamakua
RJ Ranch, Hamakua
SC Ranch, Pa‘auilo
Sheldon Mattos, Hilo
Triple D Ranch, Honoka‘a
Waikoekoe Cattle
Wall Ranch, Kealakekua
Source: Melani’s. Taste of the Hawaiian Range. http://www.tasteofthehawaiianrange.com/grass-fed-101/hawaii-grass-fed-
beef.html Web Accessed: December 27, 2016
__________________________________
WHERE’S THE BEEF?
12/14/2016 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR
Some of it’s in the Islands, but not enough is produced here to meet resident and visitor demand,
explains a new video produced by Glen Fukumoto (HNFAS) that was recently presented to the
local beef industry. But while local producers will never be able to supply total demand in
Hawai‘i, grass-fed beef production can definitely be increased here, with improved financial,
land, water, and management resources.
THE BOTTOM LINE: “Ranchers need to make a profit to be sustainable.”
“72% of locally grown beef is exported.”
“6.2% of locally grown beef is consumed in Hawaii.”
Video Presentation: http://mm.ctahr.hawaii.edu:8080/Livestock/SupplyDemandBeefHawaii.mp4
Source: CTAHR. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/site/News.aspx Web Accessed: December 27, 2016
NATIONAL CATTLEMEN’S BEEF ASSOCIATION
CATTLE AND CALVES ON FARMS (000 HEAD)
Region VI 2014 TREND 2015
Arizona 900 UP 920
California 5,300 DOWN 5,250
Hawaii 132 DOWN 130
New Mexico 1,340 DOWN 1,290
Nevada 460 DOWN 455
Utah 770 UP 800
Total 8,902 DOWN 8,845
TOP 25 COW - CALF OPERATORS
Tie 13th
Parker Ranch, HI Alico, Inc., FL
23rd
Ponoholo Ranch Ltd., HI
Source: http://www.beefusa.org/CMDocs/BeefUSA/Producer%20Ed/2015%20CattleFax%20section.pdf
______________________
SHIPPING CATTLE FROM HAWAII – AIR & SEA
PARKER RANCH, one of three cattle ranches on the Big Island of Hawaii to rank in the top 25
nationally for cow herd size. The Parker Ranch is home to 9,000 cows, but approximately 5,300 head of
calves have to be shipped to the mainland for finishing each year.
To reduce stress, Parker Ranch prefers shipping to the continental U.S. via 747 cargo planes. Calves are
loaded into specially designed 8' x 10' boxes. Up to 20 boxes can be carried by plane, for a load of
100,000 lb., which fills two truckloads on the other end.
Door to door, whether by air or sea, it costs at least 47¢/lb. to ship an animal. That’s approximately $200
for each 425-lb. calf.
While shrink isn’t detrimental to the calves, it is part of the consideration when shipping cattle. “We
actually see more shrink on air freight than we do on the ocean. Air freight, they recover a lot quicker, but
you’re going to have 10% shrink,” Wood says.
PONOHOLO RANCH on the northern side of the Big Island also prefers the ocean route. Ranch owner
and operator Pon von Holt estimates 70% of his calves born from 3,000 cows are sent to the mainland
with specialized shipping containers called “cowtainers” each year.
The shrink on calves is only 6% to 7% because of the access to feed and water, but much of that shrink is
tissue loss. It takes a little longer to gain back that weight, von Holt says.
“From a cattle standpoint, the airplane is a better trip,” von Holt says, adding he does use air transport for
some smaller shipments. “For us, shipping larger and larger amounts of cattle, the ship is more efficient.”
Source: SHIPPING CATTLE TO THE MAINLAND. By Wyatt Bechtel, Drovers, Associate Editor.
AGWEB/ The Farm Journal, December 6, 2014. http://www.agweb.com/article/shipping-cattle-to-the-
mainland-wyatt-bechtel/
____________________
GUIDELINES FOR INTERSTATE SHIPMENT OF CATTLE. Prepared by the Hawaii Cattlemen’s
Council Animal Welfare Committee and Transportation Committee. Updated March 2012. [By Sea]
http://www.hicattle.org/CMDocs/HawaiiCattle/White%20Paper%20&%20Info/GUIDELINES%20FOR
%20INTERSTATE%20SHIPMENT%20OF%20CATTLE%20updated%203-12%20final.pdf
____________________
IGE POSTPONES LOCAL FOOD GOAL
THE GOVERNOR SETS A NEW TARGET DATE OF 2030 FOR DOUBLING PRODUCTION
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
11 Sep 2016
By Sophie Cocke [email protected]
Gov. David Ige has pushed back by a decade his campaign pledge of doubling local food
production in Hawaii by 2020.
As the 2020 date approaches, Scott Enright, director of the state Department of Agriculture,
acknowledged that there has yet to be any significant increase in local food production, though
noting that plans to increase local egg, dairy and beef production are in the works.
Complicating matters, the state doesn’t accurately know how much food is being produced
locally versus what’s imported — making the goal elusive given the lack of a firm baseline.
Ige mentioned the new 2030 target date for doubling local food production in remarks last week
during the IUCN World Conservation Congress, an environmental convention here that attracted
an estimated 9,100 people, including government officials, scientists, nonprofits, business
leaders and policymakers.
Ige’s office didn’t respond to questions about why the governor had pushed back the target date,
but Enright called 2030 “far more realistic.”
Ige isn’t the first governor to try to increase local food production, which “buy local” proponents
have argued is important for safeguarding the state against the loss of food imports if there is a
disaster that disrupts shipping, in addition to supporting local farmers and stimulating the local
economy.
Former Gov. Neil Abercrombie in 2014 signed on to a commitment known as the Aloha-plus
Challenge, which includes the goal of doubling local food production by 2030, with a target of
20 percent to 30 percent of the food consumed in Hawaii being grown locally.
Asked whether the state has made any progress in recent years in moving the needle on local
food production, Enright said that the “short answer is no, but it is starting to move.”
In the 1970s, Hawaii was self-sufficient when it came to eggs and milk, with 240 egg farms and
120 milk operations, according to a 2012 report from the state Department of Business,
Economic Development and Tourism. The number of egg farms since plummeted to about 100,
at the time of the report, and Hawaii currently has only two dairies. There have also been
significant declines in livestock.
Replacing 10 percent of the food Hawaii imports could generate $313 million within the local
economy, including millions in added revenue for farmers and vendors, while creating more than
2,300 jobs, according to the report.
Enright noted that several projects in the works in Hawaii could make a significant impact on
local food production. California’s Hidden Villa Ranch and Indiana’s Rose Acre Farms are
planning an egg farm in Wahiawa with as many as 1 million hens.
Honolulu’s Ulupono Initiative is also working to develop a dairy on Kauai and the state has been
approached by mainland investors interested in developing another dairy in the state, Enright
said.
There are also efforts underway to stimulate the grass-fed beef industry on both Hawaii
island and Maui. [Emphasis Supplied]
Enright said that one of the biggest challenges for the state in producing food locally is
cultivating a new generation of agriculturalists. He noted that the average age of a farmer in
Hawaii is 60.
To this end, he said the state needs to invest more in supporting ag startups for people who want
to farm but don’t have a track record, making it difficult to secure private loans.
This past session, Enright said he asked the Legislature for $4 million for the department’s ag
loan portfolio, hoping to increase available funding by a third. However, the Legislature didn’t
provide the funding. He said this coming session he will ask for $5 million annually for the next
two years.
A more rudimentary problem to Ige’s goal of doubling local food production is that the state
doesn’t have exact figures on how much food is being produced locally versus what is being
imported.
It’s often estimated that Hawaii imports between 85 percent and 90 percent of its food, but the
figure isn’t based on firm statistics, said PingSun Leung, an agricultural economist at the
University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
“People just throw out numbers at this point, but the truth is nobody knows,” he said.
Perhaps the best analysis in the state has been done by Leung and his colleague Matthew Loke.
In a 2010 report, they estimated that about 88 percent of Hawaii’s food comes from imports.
The figure “is truly based on the best information that we could get, but there is a lot of missing
information,” Leung said.
He said that one of the biggest data gaps involves imports from foreign countries.
Leung said that an easier target would be to double local produce, which is the bulk of what
Hawaii grows for the local market. The Agriculture Department used to keep precise figures on
produce imports until much of its staff that tracked these numbers was laid off following the
2008 financial meltdown. Enright has struggled to reconstitute the division.
The Agriculture Department has also been working with a group called Sustain Hawaii to come
up with a statewide food metrics platform that it hopes will give policymakers a much clearer
picture of food imports and exports, helping them better define sustainability goals.
Honolulu’s Ulupono Initiative has provided $160,000 in funding for the project, according to
Amy Hennessey, a spokeswoman for the investment firm specializing in environmental
sustainability.
However, the complexity of the project appears to have delayed its rollout, which Enright had
hoped would be early this year. He now says that he hopes it will be available in the next 60
days.
Enright said he wasn’t sure when Ige decided to forgo the goal of doubling local food production
by 2020, but said it was likely around the time of the World Conservation Congress.
As of January of this year, the governor was apparently still holding on to the campaign pledge,
which became the subject of skepticism among some lawmakers during a January budget
briefing for the Agriculture Department.
Rep. Richard Onishi, vice chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, questioned Enright at
the time as to how the governor intended to meet the expedited target date given that the state
still lacked data on food production.
“So the governor was told we don’t really know how much is being produced, but we are going
to support you in doubling what we don’t know?” Onishi asked.
“I wouldn’t really state it that way,” Enright replied. “But I will give you a yes on that,
representative.”
People just throw out numbers at this point, but the truth is nobody knows.” PingSun Leung UH
agricultural economist, speaking about the state not having exact figures on local food
production and imports
______________________
__________________________
“Upcountry Maui was once the center of vegetable production in the state.
Through the transition of lands, we find
That many of the farms have changed ownership and
The only large contiguous farmland in existence today is
The Kula Ag Park”
– Warren Watanabe, Executive Director, Maui County Farm Bureau