More than 100 people attended the third annual Kaua’i County Farm Bureau agricultural trade show at the Kaua’i War Memorial Convention Hall yesterday. The high turnout, promoters say, shows interest in diversified farming is taking off and that the industry
More than 100 people attended the third annual Kaua’i County Farm Bureau agricultural trade show at the Kaua’i War Memorial Convention Hall yesterday.
The high turnout, promoters say, shows interest in diversified farming is taking off and that the industry is poised for huge growth as more former cane lands become available.
The Farm Bureau sponsored the event to educate farmers about the latest equipment, farming techniques and government programs that support farming, said organization representative Sue Keller.
“This is for everyone who wants to know anything about farming,” Keller said. “If you are a wanna-be farmer, this is the place.”
Kaua’i boasts up to 800 farmers, mostly on a part-time basis, but those numbers are likely to grow with more support for farmers, predicted Roy Oyama, president of the Farm Bureau and Jerry Ornellas, a board member of the organization.
With the closing of Lihue Plantation, Kekaha Sugar and McBryde Sugar over the seven years, Gay and Robinson is the last remaining sugar plantation on Kaua’i.
“We are in a transition phase from sugar to diversified lands, and farmers are in the driver’s seat. Landowners are looking for people like farmers to farm their properties,” Ornellas said.
Farmers who once access to mostly marginal farm lands now have access to prime lands, Ornellas said.
“We were once land poor. Now we are land rich,” Ornellas said. “There are tens of thousands of acres available.”
Akan Takemoto, a representative for the Hawai’i Farm Bureau Federation on O’ahu, said the organization is lobbying the Legislature on bills to help farmers throughout the state.
The bills propose upgrading irrigation system at a cost of $45 million, extending state land leases from 35 to 55 years and helping farmers re-bid on state leases.
The Kaua’i Farm Bureau is also helping farmers link up with insurance for their crops through the National Resource Conservation Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Oyama said.
Kaua’i farmers absorbed tremendous losses following Hurricane ‘Iwa in 1982 and Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992 because they didn’t have insurance. Getting more farmers into crop loss insurance programs will help them survive future natural disasters, Oyama said.
The future farming on Kaua’i looks promising because farmers are growing new crops for markets, including grapes and the noni fruit for medicinal purposes, Oyama said.
If the fair was to encourage more people to get into farming, it also longtime back yard farmers like Rizal and Teresita Antonio of Makaweli.
They said sweet peppers they grow in the backyard have shriveled up. A USDA representative set them on the right track: Buy wetable sulfur.
The fair also featured:
– An exhibit by Kawamura M Farm Enterprises in Lihu’e, among the oldest farm equipment companies on Kaua’i, that showcased a 14- horsepower BCS tiller.
Kawamura said the machinery is superior to other tillers and is a farmer’s delight, he said, because it has the ability to mow, cut tall grass and till.
His exhibit also featured compost made by Kelloggs of California, a soil additive Kawamura guaranteed will speed the growth of vegetables and fruits.
– Not to be outdone in the area of equipment, Dan Pimentel of Allied Machinery Corporation stood proudly by a Landini tractor with a price tag of $17,500.
It stands out from other tractors because it has equipment that will allow for better preparation of the land, spraying of crops and cultivating.
Other tables displays featured:
– Kava, a natural alternative to tranquilizers that is claimed to relieve stress and anxiety, insomnia and back pain.
“It seems that more people are taking it since Sept. 11,” said Jon Schelgel, owner of Kaua’i Kava. “People are buying it. Tourists want because it works.”
– A USDA display with literature on farm loans, disaster assistance for farmers and assistance program.
– A state Department of Agriculture table describing the agency’s effort to stop the spread of the coqui frog, banana bunch top virus and the brown tree snake.
Among other exhibitors were Brewer Environmental Industries; Hawai’i Reforestation Nursery; Kaua’i Food Bank; Kaua’i Micro Loans; Pacific Service & Development Corp. and Toolmaster. Contemporary Flavors provided food.
