Skip to main content

craigkenA free 58-page guide entitled, Adding Value to Locally Grown Crops in Hawai'i: A Guide for Small Farm Enterprise Innovation is now available. Because of the high cost of labor, land, and materials in Hawai'i, family farms are only economically sustainable if they can produce high-quality products that are valued above cheap imports. This guide helps growers add value to all aspects of their farm enterprise and offers resources for further developing their strategies. "If you cherish the farming lifestyle and want to keep farming, you have to make your farm profitable. This guide goes a long way towards showing how to escape from the fatal trap of commoditization by adding value for the consumer," observes Dr. Kent Fleming, an extension economist who has developed numerous cost-of-production spreadsheets for the University of Hawai'i and other organizations worldwide.

The 23rd Annual Hawaii Tropical Fruit GRowers meeting will be held from September 26th through October 4th, starting on Oahu, then continuing on the three main neighbor islands.  Hawai'i Island dates are October 1st and 2nd. For complete information with schedule and registration links, Click Here.

by Craig Elevitch

tagline 1

Aloha,

KawikaM200pxDavid 'Kawika' MarquezOver the weekend, the Hawai'i Island sustainability community unexpectedly lost one of its strongest supporters, David 'Kawika' Marquez, President of Big Island Resource Conservation & Development. While we on the Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network team emphasize community, Kawika's loss reminds us that we are also distinct individuals, each of whom contributes uniquely.

Are you looking to diversify and reduce your farming risks? Come and learn about Fruit Flies, Banana Moth and Korean Natural Farming (KNF). Hawaii has 4 major types of fruit flies that attack various fruit and vegetable crops. Each requires different treatment methods. Dr. Roger Vargas, research entomologist from USDA-ARS PBARC-Hilo, will demonstrate fruit fly identification and the various methods of control including the use of SPLAT. Banana moth caterpillars are a pest of many tropical plants including coffee, banana, dragonfruit, palms and dracaenas. Banana moth damage appears to be increasing. Dr. Mark Wright of UHM-CTAHR will talk about how to identify banana moth, their host plants, and methods of control. KNF incorporates the use of indigenous micro-organisms (IMO) and has been used to help control odors of pig farming wastes as well as improve plant growth of vegetables and tree crops. Drake Weinert will present on KNF and demonstrate the creation of two key components of KNF – fermented plant juice and lactic acid bacteria. Saturday, April 27, 2013. 8:45 am – 4:30 pm (registration starts at 8:15 am)UHM-CTAHR, Kona Research Station, 79-7381 Mamalahoa Highway, Kealakekua. Call Gina at 322-4892 to RSVP or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

by Craig Elevitch

tagline 1

Aloha mai!

This edition marks the beginning of the fifth year of publication of the Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network Newsletter. We sincerely thank all of our contributors and subscribers (currently over 1600!) for four fulfilling and productive years.

Over the past four years, we have seen a steady rise in interest in sustainably grown, local food in the number of events, farmers markets, and resources for growers, sellers and consumers. We are all hungry for fresh, nutritious, locally grown food. Even more so, we are hungry for connection to the source of our food: the land, sea, and community we live in.

learn more agroforestry

Sign up to the
Hawaii Homegrown Newsletter
for more tips & updates!