Aloha! A new year brings new opportunities, new bills to track in the state legislature, as well as new faces to Maui County Farm Bureau; as two new directors have been elected to serve on the board this fall.
Across the County of Maui, we have new members of the County Council and a new Mayor, and our Maui County Senators and Representatives continue to hold key leadership roles across various committees for the 2023 legislative session. We deeply value our partnerships with these policy makers to continue serving our members, and the community at large, to sustain viable agricultural industries across Maui County and the state.
I would like to thank members of the previous mayoral administration, as well as former and current members of the County Council, for their diligence and efforts towards supporting the Farmers and Ranchers of Maui County!
Mahalo,
Kyle Caires
President
Aloha! We begin with a new year, The Year of the Water Rabbit. I wish everyone a happier and safe 2023 and for an improved outlook for your business, family, and friends. There is no doubt that it has been a challenging few years but the future looks promising.
The 2023 Hawai‘i legislature opened on Jan. 18, with the usual opening day ceremonies. The Hawai‘i Farm Bureau legislative package has nine proposals approved by the House of Delegates at the annual meeting that were converted into bills. These bills are currently being heard in the House and Senate agriculture committees and hopefully will pass to the next committees.
The HFB has been emailing “Call to Action” to our members to submit supportive testimony for our bills. It is critical that the legislators hear from our farmers and ranchers that these bills are needed, so that agriculture in Hawai‘i will not only maintain but increase its viability and strengthen our economy. Please take the little bit of time to submit your testimony. It does make a difference.
The HFB also tracks numerous other bills that may impact your business either positively or negatively. These bills could have a key role in determining the future direction of your businesses. Legislative advocacy is a tremendous benefit for your farm bureau membership.
Mahalo,
Warren Watanabe
Executive Director
Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair 2023 14th year of Maui’s signature agricultural event!
This year marks the 14th celebration of AgFest, bringing with it all of the fun, enthusiasm and awareness of the essential role that agriculture plays in Maui’s economy, environment and lifestyle. Our hugely popular event will take place once again at the War Memorial Special Events Field on Saturday, June 3, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All the favorite feature events are back—from the Maui Legacy Farmers Pancake Breakfast, to the Grand Taste, Keiki Zone, Maui 4-H Livestock Show & Auction, Grown on Maui Farmers’ Market and Ag Education—plus a tantalizing array of food booths and food trucks. New this year: free parking! Admission will be $5 for adults and students 6-18 years old. Children 5 and under are free.
“It’s important for everyone in agriculture on Maui to share the work we do and the goods we provide. It’s also important that we make time to connect with each other and community members to discuss ag issues and how we can succeed with those issues,” said Warren K. Watanabe, executive director.
Visit www.mauiagfest.org for complete event information including sponsorship and vendor forms and to purchase tickets for the Maui Legacy Farmers Pancake Breakfast and Grand Taste. Contact Charlene Ka’uhane at charlene@kauhaneinc.com if you would like to volunteer.
AgFest is presented by Maui County Farm Bureau and Maui 4-H Livestock Association in partnership with the County of Maui and the Office of Economic Development, along with generous sponsors and industry allies. Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair is Maui’s signature agricultural festival. Formerly known as the annual “Maui County Agricultural Festival,” AgFest merged with Maui 4-H Livestock Association in 2019 and moved to War Memorial Special Events Field to further expand. The event gives attendees an exciting overview of Maui’s ag industry, with a chance to meet farmers and ranchers and to enjoy the island’s rich agricultural history and culture.
#MauiEatLocal encourages community to buy local and supports MCFB’s Grown on Maui program
More than 30 locally owned restaurants, food trucks, pop ups and private chef businesses have signed up for #MauiEatLocal, Maui’s newest local food movement that encourages dining out at local restaurants. #MauiEatLocal was born following the pandemic and after seven national chain eateries opened in Kahului and Wailuku.
Brian Etheredge, chef/owner of Fresh Fish Maui, Tail’s Up and Cutting Edge Catering reached out to Dania Novack, publisher of edible Hawaiian Islands magazine, and private chef Jana McMahon with his concerns. Banding together with local chefs, they formed #MauiEatLocal.
“When I heard about the recent fast-food takeover, I was concerned,” Etheredge says. “Not only for the health of Maui residents with this increase in processed and pre-packaged food, but for the health of the island farming community and local economy, which suffer when island-grown goods are set aside in favor of imported products.”
Novack will dedicate two full pages in the 2023 winter issue to list the local eateries, along with editorial on a circular economy related directly to food buying. The movement aims to get the word out about how the simple choice of eating at a locally owned food business helps support local farms, ranchers, and fishing boats—in turn helping the local economy and residents’ health.
“The move toward sustainability feels so important right now in these changing times,” Novack says. “We have to move away from importing 80% of our islands’ food supply, and we can do that by helping people see that they have a choice to eat locally. Making that choice has a real ripple effect, with benefits on so many levels.”
Businesses were selected by their peers for inclusion based on certain criteria. The criteria to join #MauiEatLocal are as follows:
– Must be locally owned.
– Must source at least 40% local in produce, protein, etc. (Two exceptions. For daily operations they do not qualify, but for special events they do qualify.)
– Must be willing to promote through social media, be a spokesperson, and educate staff, peers and customers.
– Must make a one-year commitment to participate.
For more information, contact hello@ediblehi.com or follow us on Instagram @MauiEatLocal – Hashtags: #MAUIEATLOCAL #SUPPORTLOCALMAUI #GROWNONMAUI #MAUIAG
Pictured above, MCFB’s annual membership award recipients include (from left to right) JoAnn Inamasu, former director of County of Maui Office of Economic Development; Warren K. Watanabe, Maui County Farm Bureau; and Joyce Kawakami, Feed My Sheep. Second row Kyle Caires, president, Maui Country Farm Bureau and Kai Pelayo, Bayer-Maui.
Maui County Farm Bureau Announces 2022 Awards
MCFB’s 2022 membership awards were presented at our annual holiday gathering held on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Kula Community Center.
MCFB’s “2022 Member of the Year” is Kai Pelayo, Community Affairs Manager, Bayer-Maui. The Hawai’i Farm Bureau also named Pelayo “Outstanding Active Member for 2022”. After 40 years in the hotel industry and in his seven years with Bayer-Maui, Pelayo has been active with MCFB. He is part of the team that coordinates Bayer employees with the set up and breakdown of the Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair, Maui Fair horticulture and homemakers areas and the Ag in the Classroom field trip at Haleakala Ranch. He has also contributed with the Hawai’i State Farm Fair. Most recently, he is a member of the MCFB membership committee. He also volunteers his time to many community organizations.
Joyce Kawakami, founder and president of Feed My Sheep is the recipient of the “2022 Outstanding Friend of Farmer Award” which represents one of the MCFB’s most successful partnerships with a nonprofit organization. As a strong supporter of MCFB, Kawakami immediately worked with the County of Maui and MCFB to purchase produce and meat from MCFB members and other Maui producers. This was a win-win effort provided by the CARES Act so MCFB farmers and ranchers could provide food for our community and sell their products when they did not have a market due to the pandemic. Kawakami was also named “2022 Hawai‘i Farm Bureau Outstanding Friend of Farmer”.
Each year, the Mike Lyons award is given to a person or organization whose support for the agriculture industry on Maui has truly made a difference. JoAnn Inamasu, former Director of the County of Maui Office of Economic Development, is MCFB’s “2022 Mike Lyons award recipient. Inamasu has shown a strong commitment to serving the needs of Maui agriculture for many years. She has been with the Office of Economic Development with previous administrations prior to her former position as Director. Her years of experience working with the farmers and ranchers gave her the insight and knowledge to assist with issues through practical solutions. Her support of all the agricultural organizations and agencies demonstrates a “big picture” approach for a viable agricultural industry. Inamasu was also presented with an award from the Maui 4-H Livestock Association for her role in supporting the youth and families in Maui’s 4-H program.
“Agriculture has a long and proud history in Maui County, contributing to the economy while providing for our community,” said Warren Watanabe, MCFB executive director. “It is an honor for our farm bureau to recognize these individuals who unselfishly give of themselves for the betterment of agriculture.”
Itʻs Maui 4-H Livestock Season
The new year kicked off a new season for 4-H Youth Development in Maui County, with multiple youth starting Market Beef (8) and Breeding Beef (2) projects. The official start date for these projects was Dec. 31, 2022, and the live animal weigh-ins took place at Kaonoulu Ranch’s headquarters in Kula. These local youth also completed their Youth for the Quality Care of Animals training prior to animal pickup. The small animal weigh-ins for sheep, goat and swine projects will be held on March 4, 2023. We thank members of the Miranda and Rice families for the use of their facilities on New Year’s Eve.
Four Maui County 4-H Livestock members, Jayson Akahi-Vida, Wytlee Souza-Lopes, Logan Lung and Krystel Valoroso (photo above), just returned from the 2023 Western National Roundup Livestock Judging Contest in Denver, Colorado, where they represented the State of Hawaii. The Hawaii team finished 22nd overall (besting teams from Arizona, Montana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Nebraska) at their first national competition, finishing 95 points outside of top 10 team placing. Coaches for the 2023 Hawaii Team included Paul Lopes of Haiku, Maui and Harry Cambra of Makawao, Maui. We thank these coaches for their time and efforts working with our youth.
Without question, our local 4-H youth livestock program continues to provide many ‘hands-on’ opportunities for our keiki to learn about agricultural, leadership, citizenship, and life skills, in addition to gaining practical experience with animal husbandry and management.
A big mahalo to the volunteers, family members and local farmers and ranchers who continue to support our 100+ year old 4-H Livestock program.
Ethan Romanchak and Theresa Thompson join MCFB's board of directors
For the new two-year term, Maui County Farm Bureau retained eight directors and elected two new directors including Ethan Romanchak and Theresa Thompson. Warren K. Watanabe continues as the executive director.
Ethan Romanchak was born and raised on Maui and attended Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo for a bachelor’s minoring in horticulture, and received a master’s degree in horticulture from UH Mānoa. He previously worked for Maui Land and Pineapple Company, Watershed Department. Since 2003, he has co-owned and operated Native Nursery, LLC., in Kula, with Jonathan Keyser. They provide many landowners including the State of Hawai‘i, private ranches and other large landowners with koa, ‘ohi‘a and other native Hawaiian plants for reforestation. Native Nursery employs 11 full-time and six part-time workers who specialize in plant propagation, nursery production, forestry project implementation, fruit tree production and wholesale/ retail sales statewide. Ethan lives in Keokea with his wife, two boys, and two dogs.
Theresa Thompson is an Upcountry resident and teacher at Makawao Elementary School. She was born and raised in Kula, and is the youngest of the Thompson Ranch family. She is the Vice President of Maui Cattlemen’s Association, and a member of the Agricultural Working Group.
The Board of Directors meets on the first Wednesday of each month. General membership meetings are held in March, June, September, and December. “The board of directors will continue to serve its members and work hard in support of a viable agricultural industry,” said Warren K Watanabe. “I look forward to working with all of the directors.”
Above: Maui County Farm Bureau’s board of directors, from left to right, include Theresa Thompson, Tim Stevens, Rudy Balala, and Ethan Romanchak. Second row Kyle Caires and Joshua Shyloh Stafford-Jones. Missing from photo are directors Bobbie Patnode, Brendan Balthazar, Jayson Watts, and James “Kimo” Falconer.
MCFB Membership is a Win-Win!
|
|
|