Bob Smith’s Fertiliser Distributor/Applicator Invention

Supplies Needed Beforehand Thin wall PVC Pipe, 1.5 inches in diameter, 21-24 inches long Two MacNut Bags (1 used for shoulder harness) Sash Cord for Harness – approximately 3 feet (or more) long Smaller diameter cord for securing PVC to bag – approximately 6 feet and also another 2 feet for securing bag to shoulder…

Coffee Mucilage

BEST PRACTICES: COFFEE MUCILAGE by Nancy Griffith (what I have learned as of Oct 18, 2006) After harvesting and removing the skins [pulping] of coffee cherry, the mucilage needs to be removed from the seed.  The soft and slippery mucilage is actually the fruit of the coffee, as opposed to the skin and the seed. …

Small Scale On-Farm Processing

BEST PRACTICES: Small Scale On-Farm Processing by Kenneth Sheppard 1/10/05. The following is my collective wisdom from having processed coffee on this site for about 8 years. Feel free to disagree with or ignore any of it. This workshop is to help facilitate the free exchange of ideas. The Pioneer Farmers got things just about…

Planting Panel Notes

BEST PRACTICES: PLANTING PRACTICES PANEL NOTES EMPHASIS ON NEW PLANTINGS Sally Rice:  As a “contract coffee farmer,” she works with planting raw land. She uses bulldozers to prepare soil well, she chips organic material, rather than burying it, to avoid pits in a few years when the organic material decays. She fertilizes before she plants…

Economic Analysis of Coffee Farming

BEST PRACTICES: ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF COFFEE FARMING ECONOMICS OF COFFEE FARMING USING THE CTAHR SPREAD SHEET click here to access the Coffee Production Analysis Spreadsheet (PDF) Stuart Nakamoto, CTAHR agricultural economist, demonstrated a highly detailed spread sheet (developed by Dr. Kent Fleming) that could help make decisions on whether or not to farm coffee in…

Kona Coffee Finalist for Prestigious International Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE KONA COFFEE FINALIST FOR PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL AWARD KAILUA KONA, HAWAII, October 1, 2010 – The Slow Food Foundation has chosen 100% Kona Coffee as a finalist for its prestigious International Parmigiano-Reggiano Award. The award, which will presented at the Salone Del Gusto in Turin, Italy on October 23rd, honors food producers who…

August 2010 Update

“Why is Hawaii the only region anywhere in the world that permits the use of the name of one of its premier specialty agricultural crops with only 10% genuine content?”- President, Bruce Corker at the KCFA Annual Meeting- January 2010 August 2010 Must Read: 2010 Candidates Respond to KCFA Questionnaire ATTN: KCFA Members, it’s a must-read!…

KCFA On YouTube

Thanks to KCFA member Keola Childs who taped the last Coffee Talk, Videos are available below: 1–Robert Barnes – Organic fertilizer use and availability for Kona coffee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS7fuGYZaqU 2– Bob Smith – Inorganic Fertilizer use http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFBQWm-aOak 3- Bob Smith’s Shoulder-Bag Fertilizer Spreader http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tucmGHXbNLs 4– Ben Discoe- Using Biochar to enhance, reduce fertilizer needs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42gr_1whjcjc8 Kona…