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Agriculture

Molokai Hemp Operations to Begin

Wednesday, December 18th, 2019

Molokai Hemp Operations to Begin

The new year will bring a new crop to be grown on Molokai. A company called Archipelago Ventures has announced it will begin hemp production on the island, under the local leadership of Adolph Helm, who is serving as general manager. The hemp will be grown for extraction of cannabidiol, or CBD, for its medical qualities, which is licensed in Hawaii by the state Department of Agriculture.

“Operations will mainly consist of the production and manufacturing of hemp,” said Helm. “Hemp is a specie of cannabis that has many beneficial uses… Within the next upcoming months, plans are in place on Molokai to grow our first small scale production field.”…

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GET Local Youth Cooking Contest

Sunday, September 9th, 2018

UHCES News Release

The University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service (UHCES) is launching a campaign to promote local growers in the community and encourage healthy eating by holding a GET Local Video Cooking Competition. GET local stands for Grow, Eat, Think Local. All students who are 12 to 18 years old are invited to submit a cooking video that highlights their cooking abilities, uses a local ingredient for their recipe, and includes information on the local farmer.

Prizes for winners include the chance for one recipe to be added to the menu of a top restaurant on Maui, an opportunity to film a live cooking show with a celebrity chef for a local television station, and $100 gift cards for video recording equipment.…

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Local Produce 50 Percent Off for EBT Customers

Friday, September 7th, 2018

Sust’aina ble Molokai News Release

Sustʻaina ble Molokai’s Mobile Market began their “EBT Double Bucks Program” on Sept. 1!

Does your family receive SNAP/EBT benefits? Are you interested in eating more fresh, healthy, local produce? Then you should check out Sustʻaina ble Molokai’s Mobile Market at sustainablemolokai.org/mobile-market/.

The main goals of the program are to improve healthy food access and support local farmers. Buying local means that more food dollars stay in the local economy, which has a positive ripple effect for Molokai.

Here’s how our EBT Double Bucks Program works: Shop for fresh fruits and vegetable with the Sustʻaina ble Molokai Mobile Market, pay with your EBT card, and receive 50 percent off your purchase when you pick up your order.…

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Lanikeha Re-Opens with a Facelift

Wednesday, July 25th, 2018

Lanikeha Re-Opens with a Facelift

 

With a mission to help homestead farmers reach their full potential, Lanikeha Community Center in Ho’olehua has reopened its doors with renovations that represent a dream.

“We began this dream a few years ago, we stayed on that mission… and what people said was a mission impossible, is mission accomplished,” said Rosie Davis, legal authorized representative of the Molokai Homestead Farmers Alliance (MHFA). “Our journey continues and it’s just getting better. We’re so proud of where we were… and where we’re going. [This facility] strengthens the community, it strengthens our homesteaders.”

The $1.7 million renovation project by the MHFA, which manages the facility, was paid for by state Grant in Aid funds.…

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Coqui Frog Found on Molokai Again

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

MoMISC News Release

On Wednesday, June 20, Molokai/Maui Invasive Species Committee (MoMISC) staff responded to a report from a private residence of a possible coqui frog and confirmed that it was coqui. Coqui frogs in Hawaii are highly invasive and have negative impacts to human health and our environment. MoMISC has responded to 121 reports of possible coqui over the years and out of that, the organization has controlled seven frogs total, preventing a naturalized population.

Coqui frogs are spread primarily by people. There are many pathways by which coqui frogs get to Molokai. In 2001, a coqui frog arrived in shipment of plants for resale from a nursery outside Molokai.…

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Youth Show Work of Head, Heart, Hands and Health

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

Youth Show Work of Head, Heart, Hands and Health

 

Showmanship, public speaking, animal husbandry and responsibility are all skills and qualities instilled in youth through participation in Molokai’s annual 4-H Expo. Held last Friday and Saturday at Kaunakakai Ball Park, the two-day event was the culmination of months of animal care and gave young participants the opportunity to showcase their hard work.

From ducks to pigs, goats and steer, youth raised, fed and trained their animals, and younger 4-H-ers had their small animals on display while older participants competed in market and showmanship categories in the ring. They were judged on control over their animal, eye contact with the judge, knowledge of animal care and processing and the size and proportions of their goats, steer or pigs.…

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Proposal for Ranch Purchase

Friday, April 13th, 2018

A company called Lamplighter Energy has proposed the purchase Molokai Ranch to grow and export hibiscus to South Korea. Lamplighter CEO Andre De Rosa said wood pellets from the hibiscus is a renewable substitute to burning coal, and his energy company has the investors and contract with an organization in Korea to sell the product.

Molokai Ranch, owned by Singapore-based land holder owner GL Limited, went up for sale last September at a price of $260 million, and its 55,575 acres represents one third of Molokai.

De Rosa sat down with a small handful of residents last month, filmed by Akaku, and shared his plans, which he says he has been doing on a one-on-one basis with the community.…

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Beekeeping for Beginners Workshop

Sunday, March 26th, 2017

Pu`u O Hoku News Release

A workshop for beekeeping for beginners will be held at Pu`u O Hoku Ranch on Tuesday, March 28 from 9 a.m. to noon. Topics will include honey bee biology, beekeeping equipment, starting a honey bee colony, hive management and honey production.

Instructors are Laura Mijares and Tim Haarmann, who live in southwestern Colorado and have been keeping bees for almost three decades. Over the years, they have worked in most aspects of beekeeping including owning and operating a beekeeping business, teaching beekeeping courses around the globe, consulting in short- and long-term agriculture development projects, and honey bee research.…

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Prevent a Rabbit Invasion

Friday, November 18th, 2016

Domesticated rabbits on Molokai that have escaped or been released have been reported around the island and pose a dangerous threat to the ecosystem if not controlled, according to local natural resource managers.

“There are confirmed sightings in a widespread area,” said Butch Haase, executive director of the Molokai Land Trust (MLT). “They could cause devastating ecological and economic impacts like nothing we’ve seen before.”

Haase said MLT staff found a rabbit in one of its fenced restoration sites in the Mokio Preserve near Ilio Point.

“The rabbit had been browsing the endangered ohai plants within the fenced site to the point of killing many of the plants,” he said, adding the animal was large and mostly white. “The…

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35 Years of Agriculture

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

35 Years of Agriculture

A recent Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture (DOA) land use study shows dramatic changes in agriculture land use in the last 35 years, both on Molokai and statewide. Most of Molokai’s agriculture is in the Ho`olehua area, on DHHL, state and Molokai Ranch land. According to the DOA report, the largest ag land users in 2015 — farming about 2,300 acres — are seed companies that primarily lease from Molokai Ranch. Prior to 1980, many Ho`olehua homesteaders leased their land for pineapple production, while some of that land today is being used to grow diversified crops like sweet potatoes, dryland taro, vegetables, macadamia nuts, bananas and papayas, according to the study.…

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