Agriculture

If approved, Hawaii taxpayers could find themselves providing $44M in loan guarantees to an Indian company's jet fuel deal in England....

... According to ITEP, payment of sales and excise taxes takes up an average of 11% of family income for the poorest 20% of earners ....

The best part of the hearing was hearing Dustin Barca go on about toxins and the horrible corporations. He even talked about how the cigarette companies and their evils. It’s weird because I just saw him smoking some corporate grown tobacco and inhaling toxins....

Read their testimony below....

...we are already highly regulated and another level of regulation will be the last shovel of dirt on our graves....

When lawmakers rely on bad science from activists, it takes something away from all of us and they don’t even realize it....

American sugar prices would be a lot lower if the government would stop interfering in the sugar market....

...The original proposal of 2,000 cows on site was modified in July 2014 to 650-699 cows....

...this referendum is invalid and contrary to long established state and federal laws that support both the safety and lawful testing and planting of GMO plants....

When Election Day comes, voters never seem to get a chance to reduce government spending....

Today, more than 800 million people are malnourished....

...gardeners growing GM corn, GM papaya, or GMO marijuana may be arrested and imprisoned for one year under the anti-GMO law....

...Estimation of the sales lost, plus the start-up, the bulldozing costs and growing up to that first year, when they’re ready to harvest again … is about $53 million....

...so many people tell me how they are cutting back on chemicals in their food by eating better. I can’t help but shake my head....

...By speaking out, I’ve been able to network others who share my thoughts about the Hawaii we want and it gives me hope....

...None of the 45 samples had detectable levels of glyphosate....

"... Yay Good.  Mahalo Iselle for washing us clean of those GMO ...."

...Just last week it was announced that the activists groups, the Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice (formerly known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) joined on to sue these same farmers....

The first phase starts with 650-699 cows....

...the new proposed rule would regulate all ditches, except in narrow circumstances. This even includes man-made ditches....

There’s so much talk from activists about how they want more local food grown here but then they seek to lobby laws against farmers....

The International Labor Organization says agricultural workers are among the most vulnerable....

...sugar is one of the most politically charged raw materials in the global economy....

Mac Nut Farms of Hawaii LLC will pay the most, $1.6 million; Kauai Coffee Co. Inc. will pay $425,000; Kelena Farms Inc. will pay $275,000; and Captain Cook Coffee Co. Ltd. will pay $100,000....

Penn & Teller Repudiate the idea that organic food has better nutrients, a smaller environmental impact, less harmful pesticides, and better taste than non-organic foods....

Moloka'i Ranch is launching initiatives to achieve sustainability, starting with the re-establishment of ranching operations....

...the amount of land required to grow food has decreased by 65 percent over the last 50 years across the world....

Just one 25-gallon tank of ethanol requires 450 pounds of corn -- the same amount of calories it would take to feed one person for an entire year....

Biofuels made with corn residue actually release 7 percent more greenhouse gas....

Under this agreement, more water will be returned to the streams of Na Wai ‘Eha, particularly to ‘Iao stream....

The federal government, citing “deplorable” and “unsafe” conditions, has fined Hawaii’s top exporter of basil nearly a half-million dollars....

The federal civil case against Global Horizons has dragged on for years....

Kobayashi cited examples of physical abuse, exploitation, and barbaric security measures at Maui Pineapple Company's historic pineapple plantations and old worker dormitories where the Thai workers were forced to live and other abuses throughout Hawaii.

Science. It's the darndest thing....

Drawdown of existing groundwater stocks is likely still decades away....

...90% of the exposures occurred in a residence, 4.4% in the workplace and 1% in a school. The remaining 4% consisted of miscellaneous locations....

Watch the Senate committee system falling apart....

Today the United States Senate approved the Agriculture Act of 2014, also known as the “Farm Bill,” which includes legalization of industrial hemp for research purposes....

We are listening to your concerns and, as promised, would like to address some of your questions regarding pesticide use....

Congress is very fond of two things: throwing a bunch of stuff into one bill and rushing bills through while Americans are focused on other news....

While there has been a lot of discussion about Monsanto, there seems to be little understanding about our operations and what we do....

...here is a selection of some of the most interesting ingredients included in "organic" foods and another list of synthetic pesticides and other substances allowed for use in "organic" crop and livestock production....

...Abercrombie today announced the appointment of Scott Edward Enright as chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture, effective Jan. 1....

On January 8 and 9, 2014, the Seminar Group is putting on what we hope will become a regular event - the Hawaii Agriculture Conference....

... between $400,000 and $1,000,000 in fines for a single mature 40-day old plant ....

Christmas trees are pretty unpopular, right?  The House must think so, since its farm bill would pave the way to set up a Christmas Tree Promotion Board....

...to be placed on the December 6, 2013, Council agenda....

Hawaii has long had an unfortunate tendency to attract the most extreme Mainland activists....