Agriculture

Summer Gardening and Reading Festival

Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Interval House Molokai News Release

Celebrate Summer Gardening and Reading with Interval House Molokai!  Join us on Saturday, June 27, on the public library grounds from 10 a.m. through 1 p.m., to launch into fun and enriching summer activities.

Our AmeriCorps members have grown hundreds of veggie plants to give away to our community to start home gardens.  Stop by and select from an assortment of herbs and green bean, sweet pea, cherry tomato, and mustard cabbage plants.  We will be distributing children’s gardening books that highlight where food comes from, the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, and how to start gardens in your own backyards. …

4-H Expo Top in Class

Wednesday, June 24th, 2015

4-H Expo Top in Class

Youth showcased months of hard work at last weekend’s annual 4-H Expo, featuring showmanship and market competitions for hogs, steer and goats, small animal exhibits and a live auction.

4-H stands for “head, heart, hands and health” and is a national educational organization. On Molokai,  students ages five through high school seniors are involved in a livestock program that challenges them to learn responsibility through raising, showing and judging livestock, according to organizers.

Exhibitors in the hog showmanship competition guided their pigs in the ring so the judge could watch for good control over the animal, general health and ask students questions about their hogs.…

Farm Food Safety Short-Course

Friday, June 5th, 2015

KBC News Release

The Molokai Farm Food Safety Short-Course is being offered for farmers on Molokai who are interested in implementing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) on their farms.  This is the first step in starting your Farm Food Safety Plan.  The first class, held in May was an overview of GAP.  There is still time to get in on this great opportunity for our agriculture community.

The course will run through September with one class being held per month.  Classes are held from 9 a.m. to noon  and registration is required (space is limited).  The next class will be held June 10 at the UH Maui College Farm and the topic will be Personal Hygiene — building your field hand washing station. …

4-H Expo

Friday, June 5th, 2015

Molokai 4-H Livestock Club News Release

The Molokai 4-H Livestock Club is proud to present the Annual Molokai 4-H Expo on Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20. 4-H is a program for youth ages 5 to 19 that promotes development of life skills, leadership, personal economics, and teaches pride in workmanship and accomplishments.

Participants in the Molokai 4-H Livestock club have been working with some of their projects for over seven months. Projects include steers, swine, goats, chickens and rabbits. Friday members will be weighing-in their projects and judging animals during the day, but you can still come and check out the exhibits.…

Tyson Pactol First to Earn Malama Aina Degree

Thursday, May 28th, 2015

UHMCM News Release

After serving in the U.S. military and earning the privileges of the GI Bill, Molokai boy Tyson Pactol returned home and utilized the opportunity to attend college.  Back in the fall of 2011, UH Maui College, Molokai (UHMCM) offered an Associate in Technical Studies (ATS) Degree called Cultural and Natural Resource Management (Malama Aina).

At that time, Tyson was working with The Nature Conservancy on Molokai.  With natural resource management being his field of interest, Tyson pursued the ATS Malama Aina degree.  In fall 2014, Tyson successfully finished the degree.  He is the first Molokai resident to earn this Associate. …

Grassroots Benefit Concert

Wednesday, May 6th, 2015

Grassroots Benefit Concert

Last Saturday’s third annual Grassroots Benefit Concert at Duke Maliu Park celebrated homegrown, all-natural products –and the creatures that make it possible. The event’s message was “Mahalo i Na Halihali `Ehu Pua,” which means Thank You to the Pollinators, and highlighted the need to protect pollen-carrying creatures like butterflies and bees.

“Pollinators are vital to growing food, and we want to just bring that issue to light,” said Mercy Ritte, one of the event organizers.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Pathologist Matthew Goo said that butterflies face the predatory challenges of spiders, wasps, lizards and in particular, the bulbul bird. Goo offered people a way to help through the Pulelehua Project, which seeks to record sightings of the disappearing Kamehameha butterfly, a native species that has yet to be officially documented on Molokai.…

Propagation Workshop

Friday, May 1st, 2015

HTFG News Release

On Saturday, May 2, Molokai is proud to host world renowned fruit expert, chef, author and filmmaker Ken Love. Learn his successful propagation techniques in grafting, air layering and seed saving, hosted by the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers (HTFG) on Molokai. Ken travels the world to learn and teach about growing and producing unique tropical fruits and has looked for rare and exotic fruit in more than 50 countries.  He has at least 150 unusual fruit trees on his family farm in Hawaii Island.

As a chef and localvore advocate, he has a passion for introducing unusual local grown fruits into farmers markets, grocery stores and restaurants with a “Buy Local” message as Hawaii producers compete with Florida, Mexico and Ecuador. …

Wild West End: Molokai Ranch Heritage Rodeo

Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

Wild West End: Molokai Ranch Heritage Rodeo

As the bullriders packed up their protective gear and the last riders led their horses out of the Molokai Ranch arena, cowboy Maka Augustiro beamed with quiet pride. His 14-year-old son Chevy had just braved several long seconds in the ring with a madly bucking bull and won uproarious cheers from the crowd for his efforts. For the Augustiros and many other Molokai families, last Saturday’s Molokai Ranch Heritage Rodeo was a chance to admire each other’s grit and talent – and sometimes compete against each other.

“It gives us a time to come and have what we call a playdate for us, a time where we can make a sport of the work we do on the ranch,” said long-time paniolo Jimmy Duvauchelle.…

Community Workday

Friday, April 17th, 2015

Sust`ainable Molokai News Release

Sust`ainable Molokai and FoodCorps are hosting a community workday.  Join us Saturday April 25 at our perma-farm at the Molokai High School (entrance directly across the Lanikeha center) from 9 a.m. till 12 noon.  We will work the aina while talking story about the importance of agriculture, local food, and our keiki’s well-being.

We will be having a potluck lunch so we encourage attendees to bring their favorite healthy dish to share.  Seeds and starters will also be available for volunteers. For more information please contact Harmonee Williams at harmonee@sustainablemolokai.org or call us at 560-5410.…

Agroforestry Workshop

Friday, March 13th, 2015

UH CTAHR News Release

What is Agroforestry? Combining agriculture and forestry is nothing new, and has been practiced for centuries by the ancients, who practiced growing plants vital to their survival in forests while also enhancing what was already there. The Hawaiian garden is one example, with trees and plants that serve our food, fiber, medicinal, cultural, and construction needs in a sustainable system that continues to feed itself, including us. If any of the trees gets infected by a disease, it’s best to hire a tree removal company to have it removed and conduct tree stump removal before it affects the other trees.…