Aloha KCFA Members:
We are proud to offer our first outreach/education event, since farmers need to get up to speed with a new topic.
As most, if not all coffee farmers in Hawaii have heard, we are now faced with a new pest: Coffee Leaf rust (CLR).
This fungus, which has had devastating effects on coffee production throughout the world, has finally arrived on our islands. CLR has the capability to travel by wind many miles, and has the potential to ruin small farms. As a coffee farmer, this is something you should not ignore.
There is a lot of information coming from several organizations which realize the severity of this pest, and we are trying to gather that information, and present it in a coherent, concise package. We are trying to get the information to focus on what our members — farmers — can and should know.
The KCFA will be hosting it’s first presentation on Zoom this Thursday, November 5, from 4:00-5:00pm. Space is limited to 100 attendees. Please find the Meeting invitation links pasted at end of this message.
We will hear from three perspectives about what CLR is, what to expect, and how to be ready to deal with it…
Short presentations (from HDOA and CTAHR, plus a broad summary perspective), followed by a Q & A session where, given enough time, means that your questions will be answered. If not enough time, emails can be set to KCFA, and will be replied to ASAP.
It is important that you attend, as all coffee farmers will likely be affected.
Sincerely,
John Koontz, Education Committee Chair
Colehour Bondera, Board President
