Agriculture

... A mass shooting at known illegal cockfighting venue outside Honolulu demonstrates that the violence from animal-fighting enterprises spills into communities, harms people ....

... On today’s episode of 'Hawaii Together,' host Keli'i Akina speaks with Mayer about the state of Hawaii’s meat industry ....

... to transfer non-ag park lands to the Department of Agriculture (DOA) for agricultural production ....

... The state has used numerous strategies to achieve that goal, but with mixed success ....

... Hawaiʻi law expressly excludes overnight camps from the definition of permitted uses on Class A and B agricultural lands ....

... the 800-person cockfight was busted at Hokukano Ranch which is promoted as a Big Island film location ....

... The owner in the previous year paid $30,154 in property tax and got a bill for $835,710, resulting in an extremely unhappy owner ....

... whether certain lands could be transferred from DLNR jurisdiction to HDOA ....

... Some members of the Hawaii County Council are proposing tighter regulations on hosted short-term rentals ....

... the average cost for a dozen eggs in Hawaii is about $9.73. That's 51% higher than a year earlier and 53% higher than #2 Florida ....

... 579 grants, totaling $2,684,350, for small-scale agriculture; including home gardening, herding and livestock operations ....

... there is a line item for renting four 480-square-foot units from the Four Seasons for nearly $300,000 a year ....

... Guam’s Animal Import Standards Announced in April Prove Hollow ....

... It’s one of the best-kept secrets this session .... 

... For more than a century these streams were almost fully diverted and often dry ....

... When a couple of penny-stock touts, one of whom is listed in the Panama Papers, team up to sell timber futures and carbon credits what does the Legislature do? ....

... resulting in misstatements in eight different ADC accounts and a three-year delay in financial reporting ....

... the 2020 baseline report for the state has 886,211 total agricultural acres, a decrease of 27,050 acres, or minus 3 percent from 2015. Total acres in planted crops in 2020 was 120,632, a decrease of 31,199 acres or minus 21 percent. The loss in planted acres was attributed to the closure of the Hawai`i Commercial & Sugar Company on Maui in 2016 which removed 38,810 acres in crop acreage ....

... The Court held that, per state statute and BLNR’s trust duties, the BLNR should have determined—but did not—that the leases were “in the best interests of the State” before continuing them in 2014 ....

... As of January 31, 2022, a statewide total of 33,951 in-state patients and 2,748 caregivers were registered statewide. The primary reported condition for registered adult patients is 'severe pain'. The primary reported conditions for children under 18 years of age are 'seizures' and 'severe pain' ....

... Sales would be limited to farms or facilities with no more than 2 milk-bearing cows ....

... The legislature appears to be dead set on ignoring the entire impact of short term solutions and catchy soundbites ....

... fulfilling the purposes of Act 90, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003 ....

“The challenges originating in Guam and Puerto Rico to the federal law banning all animal fighting have been turned back by four federal courts and also denied by the U.S. Supreme Court”

... Monsanto Company agreed to plead guilty to 30 environmental crimes related to the use of a pesticide on corn fields in Hawaii ....

... Billionaire Omidyar helps solar developers sharpen up their sales pitch to overcome community resistance to the solar grab for agricultural lands ....

... 2020: Insider Cacao Scheme: KSBE out $4M -- but OHA Dodges Bullet ....

... Aquaculture projects with Hawaiian sea cucumbers and goatfish could benefit ancient fishponds and commercial aquaculture operators .... 

... Hearing after hearing, the least informed made so many false claims and none could ever be corroborated with data. Like a virus, that same disinformation was repeated over and over until it was believed as fact. Not one politician asked these testifiers for evidence ever. ...

... Bill No. 72, which only allows pesticides and fertilizers that are compatible with organic systems and permitted under the USDA National Organic Program to be used on county property ....

... the Commission approving of natural streamflow conditions to serve as the instream flow standard ....

... $4.8 million has been recovered to satisfy a judgment in a national origin and race discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC against Maui Pineapple ....

... Ka’u dam has been empty since about 2010 ....

...“This is a classic balancing”, the court ruled, “and the court is persuaded and finds and concludes that applying the applicable law…it was not unreasonable for the BLNR to balance these considerations as it did.”...

... March 9, 2021: Feds declare Maui drought disaster, State declares Maui flood disaster ....

... A Notice of Civil Resource Violation from DLNR for “failure to comply with the remediation and monitoring actions and deadlines...” was issued on February 24, 2021 ....

... Almost 15 years to the day since deadly Ka Loko flood March 14, 2006 ....

...HB1271 dissolves the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) and transfers all its resource except the director to the Department of Agriculture....

... The Jones Act prohibits that, too ....

... ADC’s emphasis on land acquisition has made it a costly, disorganized and ineffective program while the state and counties have failed to fulfill their promises to landowners participating in the IAL program ....

"...ADC has done little – if anything – to facilitate the development of agricultural enterprises...the State can no longer wait for ADC to figure out what it is, what it is supposed to do, and how it is supposed to do it...."

“...If all of us had to go back and work in the agricultural sector, we’re not as productive in that, and we would lose income....”

...‘Heavy’ pesticide exposure linked to cardiovascular disease?  Flawed study raises ‘troubling’ questions about public health research....

...in the wake of a legal agreement between the EPA and the Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America....

...12 of the people named have addresses on the Big Island — four in Hilo, two in Pahoa, two in Waimea, one in Keaau, one in Kealakekua, one in Mountain View and one in Hawi. The remaining 10 addresses are on Oahu....

... The Plan will guide the Department’s efforts to grow more successful native Hawaiian farmers on Hawaiian Home Lands by identifying programmatic supports and technical assistance for both agriculture homestead Waiting List Applicants and existing Lessees .... 

...Another hemp bill, Senate Bill 1353, was vetoed by Governor Ige last year, after he expressed concerns that it was unenforceable. This year’s version was worked on directly with the Governor's administration to ensure its enactment....

...people want what works, and they don’t care about the toxicity....

...On April 30, Dean Foods completed the sales of its Hilo facility and related distribution branches on the Big Island, Kauai and Maui, as well as a license to the Meadow Gold Hawaii brand name and related intellectual property to MGD Acquisition LLC....

...Reached Agreement in Principle with an Interested Party for the Sale of Dean Foods’ Hilo Facility and Related Assets on the Big Island, Kauai and Maui as an Ongoing Business--Operations of Honolulu Facility Set to Close By April 30, 2020....