“Best Agricultural Newsletter in Hawaii”
Newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association
March 2016
PO Box 5436 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 USA
www.konacoffeefarmers.org info@konacoffeefarmers.org
Contents
EXPO – Mark your Calendar
“Kona Coffee” Macadamia Cookies
Mycotrol is Back
Hawaii Island Agriculture Quick Facts
Improve your Farmer Listing
Kamehameha Schools Workshop
Legislative Update
Coffee Protects Liver
Biosecurity at the Farm Level
Perky Pastries from Coffee Flour
Write to Us
Editor – Clare Wilson
EXPO: Mark Your Calendar!
The Kona Coffee Farmers Association’s 9th Annual “Kona Coffee Exposition” (THE EXPO) will be held:
Friday, March 18, 2016
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Old Airport Pavilion, Kona
This year’s EXPO will again feature dozens of vendors with information and presentations on equipment, products and services of interest to coffee farmers. Workshops will focus on Micro Nutrients, CBB and coffee research, and USDA sponsored crop insurance. Special guest speaker Paul Strauss of the Hawaii Department of Health will give a timely update on Dengue Fever and the Zika Virus.
EXPO 2016 VENDORS & SERVICES
AgriLogic Insurance Hawaii Small Business Development Center
All Tool Inc. Kona Coffee Farmers Association- Legislative Info
Bacon Universal Kona Coffee Farmers Association – Pest & Disease
Beyond Organic Consulting Inc. Kona Soil & Water Conservation District
Captain Cook trading Kona Property
Complete Arts Service Hawaii Master Gardeners Association – West Hawaii
Copy Post Plus Nutriplant Hawaii
Crop Production Services Roastar
College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources (CTAHR)
Daylight Mind Coffee Company The Kohala Center
Easy to Clean Green The Spoon Shop
Farm Works Hawaii TransPacific Associates Fred Spencer
Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union USDA – Farm Service Agency
Hawaii Department of Agriculture USDA – Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center
Hawaii Department of Health USDA Rural Development
Hawaii Farmers Union United United States Postal Service
DON’T MISS OUT! Come early to take full advantage of what the EXPO has to offer. Bring your friends, neighbors, and out-of-town visitors who have an interest in coffee and coffee farming.
EVENT SPONSORS—KCFA and Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union.[divider]
”Kona Coffee Macadamia” Cookies
Judy Schuman, KCFA Board Member and sharp-eyed consumer, sent the Branding Committee information on a package of “Kona Coffee Macadamia” cookies on the shelves at our local Walmart. It appears that less than 5% of the coffee flavoring in the cookies may be from Kona-grown coffee.
The package is marketed by the Kauai Kookie Company that gives an address in the town of Eleele on the Island of Kauai. The label lists 14 ingredients—of which the 12th listed ingredient is “”INSTANT COFFEE” and the 13th listed ingredient is “KONA COFFEE BLEND”. Presuming that the ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, more than 50% of the coffee flavoring is from an undisclosed “Instant Coffee”, and less than 50% of the coffee flavoring is from an unidentified “Kona Coffee Blend.” If this latter ingredient is a 10% blend, then less than 5% of the coffee flavoring in the cookies is from Kona-grown coffee.
Thank you, Judy, for the information. The Branding Committee will be following up with a contact to Kauai Kookie.
–Submitted by the Branding Committee[divider]
Mycotrol is Back
Mycotrol is back in stock on island. Currently, the Wettable Powder is the only version that is certified organic. Mycotrol WP-O comes in one-pound containers, which equal the spore count on a quart container of Botanigard. So, if you were previously buying one gallon, you would need to buy four pounds (four containers).
The CTAHR recommendation for Beauveria is one quart or one pound of the commercial products per acre. If you are a member of the KCFA Grant Program, get your certificate now for product pickup at Farm and Garden.
–Submitted by Suzanne Shriner[divider]
Hawaii Island Agriculture Quick Facts
- 4,282 farms totaling 686,856 acres
- Half the farms are less than 10 acres and owner-operated
- Market value of ag products sold: $247.2 million
- Hired Farm Labor: 5,876
- Produces 70% of the state’s cattle
- Has 17,378 of the 18,000 acres of mac nuts
- Has almost half of the state’s floriculture sales at $26.5 million
- Coffee is grown on 790 farms covering 3800 acres
from Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce “The Source 2016”
–Submitted by Kurt Schweickhard[divider]
Improve Your Farmer Listing
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words-isn’t it?
(credit: smithfarms photo)
When looking through all the “Buy From Farmer” listings and there are 193 of them, make yours stand out with a photo. The KCFA seal which is in most of the listings, is the defaultbut those with a farm photo or a label image, stand out with their color and liveliness. Any photo will make your showing better. Look through the listings for yourselves here: https://konacoffeefarmers.org/find-a-kona-coffee-farm/ .
–Submitted by Cecelia Smith[divider]
Kamehameha Schools Workshop
On January 29, KCFA held Coffee Talk- “Talk Story with Kamehameha Schools’ Land Asset Managers”. More than 30 Lessees spent an interesting 90 minutes listening to Jeri Hall and Ashley Obrey, the Kamehaheha Schools new Land Asset Managers. Ms. Hall and Ms. Obrey wanted to introduce themselves to the Kona coffee farming community, learn more about what the KCFA does and meet its farmers.
Kamehameha Schools has about 700 farm leases with 200 in North Kona and 500 in South Kona. “Not all are coffee farms of course but Kamehameha Schools is dedicated to agriculture”, said Ms. Hall.Much of the discussion revolved around the brand new Leases which have just been completed by Kamehameha Schools and are beginning to be mailed out. Ms. Hall has asked that people with specific questions be encouraged to make an appointment and come into the office to discuss them with her. (TEL: 322-5324 or jehall@ksbe.edu)All workshop attendees left with valuable information about their new Kamehameha School leases and with the understanding that Ms. Hall and Ms. Obrey are available and welcoming. Mahalo Kamehameha Schools!
submitted by Cecelia Smith[divider]
Legislative Update
Coffee Labeling Reforms: Neither House Bill No. 387 (introduced by Rep. Richard Creagan) nor Senate Bill No. 2519 (introduced by Sen. Russell Ruderman) has been scheduled for hearing by the chairs of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees—and it appears unlikely that they will be scheduled for hearing this year. Both bills would put in place the reforms unanimously requested by the Hawaii County Council—that is, 51% minimum genuine content in blends and identification on the label of the origin of foreign-grown coffee in blends.
Since the removal of Sen. Ruderman as Chair of Senate Agriculture Committee by the new Senate leadership last spring, Hawaii Coffee Company and its processor allies have gained control over which coffee bills are given hearings and which are not. Clearly, these are two bills on which the Hawaii Coffee Company does not want public hearings.
Coffee Grade Standards: On February 19, five KCFA Board members participated in a conference call meeting hosted Jeri Kahana of the HDOA Quality Assurance Branch—and joined by others, including representatives of the Hawaii Coffee Association (HCA), the Hawaii Coffee Growers Association, Ka’u Farm Bureau, Hawaii Coffee Co., Kauai Coffee Co., and Dole. The meeting was called to address the HCA’s request that the current grade standards (put in place after the CBB outbreak) be extended beyond their expiration date of June 30, 2017, and that various other “needed changes” to grade standards be considered. Among the other suggested changes are: general simplification of the grading requirements; a return to mandatory HDOA certification; elimination of minimum size requirements for all/or certain grades; changes to use of “defects” in the grading system; certification for “Hawaii Origin” only, with identification of regional origins on the label allowed; elimination of “cupping” as part of the certification process. In the conference call Jeri Kahana requested that by the end of March KCFA provide its positions on possible amendments to the grade standards. A KCFA Committee on Grade Standards has been formed to respond to that request. If you have input for the Committee, send it toinfo@konacoffeefarmers.org
–Submitted the Legislative Committee[divider]
The *Washington Post* includes an article: “How drinking coffee can protect your liver.”
Here are some excerpts:Researchers analyzed data from nine published studies with more than 430,000 participants and found that drinking two additional cups of coffee a day was linked to a 44 percent lower risk of developing liver cirrhosis.
“Cirrhosis is potentially fatal, and there is no cure as such,” said the new study’s lead author, Oliver Kennedy of Britain’s Southampton University.
“Therefore, it is significant that the risk of developing cirrhosis may be reduced by consumption of coffee, a cheap, ubiquitous and well-tolerated beverage,” Kennedy added by email.
Cirrhosis involves a hardening and destruction of liver tissue; it kills more than a million people every year worldwide.
It can be caused by hepatitis infections, excessive alcohol consumption, immune disorders and fatty liver disease, which is tied to obesity and diabetes.
<snip>
It’s also important to note that coffee isn’t powerful enough to counteract lifestyle choices that can severely damage the liver, said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Langone Medical Center, who wasn’t involved in the study.
“Unfortunately, although coffee contains compounds that have antioxidant effects and anti-inflammatory properties, drinking a few cups of coffee a day cannot undo the systematic damage that is the result of being overweight or obese, sedentary, excessive alcohol consumption or drastically mitigate an unhealthy diet,” Heller said by email.
The article is online at: <http://bit.ly/KenPopeDrinkingCoffeeProtectsLiver>
-submitted by Katherine M. Burns,PhD. relative of KCFA Member[divider]
Biosecurity at the Farm Level- Notes for Discussion
With the “house on fire” Rapid Ohia Death situation that our most important tree, forest, native species, and watershed, are in, biosecurity is a huge issue. The spread of all the invasive species making their way across our fragile ecosystems can also be curbed with local biosecurity measures. If biosecurity measures are in place, effects from game changers like the coffee rust, could possibly be limited when it arrives to Hawaii.
http://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=A59E17D6-EE8E-5BB3-22D3934B0B66F3D3
Key biosecurity measures are concerned with 1) minimizing movement of people, vehicles and equipment 2) implementing hygiene & sanitation practices.
Often humans are the main vectors and contagion agents. Limiting movement, especially random movement of visitors throughout farms is key. Soil, mulch, wood, transports huge number of eggs and spores etc. to your farm. In the case of ROD, wood can carry the fungus. Composting of farm vegetation without processing first, such as in freezing, etc. welcomes new invasive species to your farm. Large equipment that goes from site to site such as bulldozers spread all sorts of invasive species.
One can have a dedicated pair or two of shoes for farm work. Keep a closed spray bottle of 70% isopropyl alcohol in your vehicle so you can bristle brush then spray your shoes and tools for most pathogens. Soil and organic matter will carry spores so it must be removed for disinfectants to work. For seeds try strong adhesive lint rollers.
Most citations say that not much other than formaldehydes (Aldehydes) can kill spores so frequent application of alcohols is needed to kill the fungal stage. Even bleach/hypochlorite has “variable” effect upon spores.
https://mosesorganic.org/wp-content/uploads/Publications/Broadcaster/July2015/Disinfectants.jpg
I personally avoid chlorine due to the persistent and destructive nature of ‘organic compounds of chlorine’ in the environment, especially in salt water bodies. If a shoe bath is used the chlorine needs to be changed every few days.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.612.9571&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Healthy intact protective biology that surrounds leaves and roots is the biosecurity plants have used for millions of years. Every time we spray or apply fertilizers, most of which are salt based, we kill off that biology, thus protection form pathogens. Elaine Ingham, soil microbiologist, has researched this extensively.http://sustainablefoodtrust.org/articles/roots-health-elaine-ingham-science-soil/
USDA APHIS spends millions to protect mainland agriculture but without all of us aware and working in the same direction these programs cannot be very effective. Education of neighbors, especially renters, is an important part of slowing the movement of invasive pathogens and species. Although stemming the tide is a monumental task I don’t think we can just give up. Biosecurity will have to follow our globetrotting.
Further notes:
Groundcover can keep bare soil from blowing and spreading disease.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plant-pests-invasive-species/biosecurity/guide/eng/1323477130171/1323477259986
In any kind of outbreak a “zero” location is identified and isolated, a “hot zone” is established with limited access and monitoring zones are set up beyond that. This is the common containment procedure used with livestock outbreaks, and is also being used for soil and cropping outbreaks.
http://www.grainews.ca/2015/03/19/biosecurity-and-visitors-on-the-farm/
Farm Level Planning Guide:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plant-pests-invasive-species/biosecurity/guide/eng/1323477130171/1323477259986
Farm Biosecurity Checklist:
http://farmbiosecurity.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Farm-biosecurity-checklist-Cotton-Grains-Vegetables.pdf
How to Increase Farm Biosecurity:
http://nesaasa.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/7/3/12737832/how_to_increase_farm_biosecurity_-_on-line_support.pdf
–Submitted by Kally Goschke[divider]
Perky Pastries
Will Coffee Flour be the Next Big Superfood?
from www.tastingtable.com
There has without a doubt been an increased emphasis on reducing food waste lately. From Dan Barber making meals with scraps at his pop-up WastED to Hungry Harvestpackaging ugly fruits and vegetables into CSA boxes, the world continues to try to cut down on food-based garbage. It was in this cultural climate that coffee flour was born.
As billions of coffee beans are ground around the world, the fruit (known as coffee cherry pulp) surrounding the coffee bean is discarded. Instead of adding to that heap of rotting fruit, the company CoffeeFlour produces a unique alternative flour. Drying and grinding the fruit produces a fine dark powder that can be used in baking. Coffee flour is gluten free and high in fiber, antioxidants, protein and iron.
For the rest of the article click on this link: http://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/coffee-flour-new-superfood-gluten-free-alternative?utm_medium=email&utm_source=TT&utm_campaign=Weekend&utm_content=Editorial
–Submitted by Anita Kelleher[divider]
Please Write to Us!
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! >> Write us. We welcome Letters to the Editor up to 150 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name and email address >> Email: info@KonaCoffeeFarmers.org with SUBJECT: Commentary