March 2021 The Independent Voice

Contents
WSJ Sees What the Hawai`i Legislators Refuse to See
CLR and CBB Zoom Conference
Expo 2021 is Back on Track
The KCFA Theme
Important Notice to Owners/Operators
Time to Fertilize is Now
AIC to Trace Coffee’s Origin in Partnership with Oritain
HDOA CBB Subsidy Application
ACE Announces Winners of First Isla Hawaii Auction
Website Move
Drinking More Coffee Associated with Decreased Heart Failure Risk
Rediscovering Forgotten Wild Coffee Species
Recipe: Portuguese Bean Soup
Editor – Clare Wilson

Kona Snow

–Photo by Marti Atkinson

The WSJ Sees What Hawai`i Legislators Refuse to See

KCFA member Cynthia Maryanoff spotted an article in the February 2 edition of the Wall Street Journal with the headline, “In Hawaii, the Quest for the Greatest Cup of Coffee in the World”. The article focuses on the recent work of Ben Fitt to start a small farm-to-cup coffee business in Kauai.

The article also includes the following scathing observation on the damage Hawaii’s 10% coffee blend law has caused to the reputation of Kona coffee:

“Pedigreed beans from the Big Island’s Kona region, the most valuable coffee real estate on the islands, might fetch three to four times what comparable beans from Central or South America cost. Kona had also moved from a position of global dominance, which held from around 1890 to 1970, to its more recent status as a region that also churns out a souvenir-grade product aimed at tourists, usually mixed with non-Hawaiian beans to create affordable “Kona” blends lacking any distinctive traces of the island’s terroir.”

Why is it that Hawaii’s legislators refuse to acknowledge what the Wall Street Journal so clearly describes—that 10% Hawaii coffee “blends” damage the economic interests of Hawaii coffee farmers and the reputation of our coffee crops?  Why does the Legislature continue, year after year, to ignore calls to protect Hawaii coffee farmers in the way that other states protect the economic interests of their specialty crop farmers—as Idaho protects its potato farmers, as California protects its wine grape growers, and as Vermont protects its maple syrup producers?
–Submitted by Bruce Corker

Coffee Leaf Rust and Coffee Berry Borer Conference

COFFEE BERRY BORER and
COFFEE LEAF RUST CONFERENCE
April 16 and 17, 2021
Friday and Saturday
9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
on Zoom
EVENT REGISTRATION https://cbb-clr2021.eventbrite.com
all info here
–Submitted by Suzanne Shriner

Expo 2021 is Back on Track

As you know we were unable to hold our 13th Annual Expo last May. We’ve rescheduled the 13th Expo for Sunday, June 13, 2021 and again reserved the Honaunau Rodeo Grounds and Pavilion for the event. We are planning an event that will follow whatever Covid requirements may still be in effect at that time as well as expanded use of Zoom and other media such as YouTube to make our Expo even more accessible to all folks on the Big Island who are interested in Kona Coffee, food security and farming.
To refresh our memory, please enjoy excerpts from this article published in the newsletter last June: ‘In view of the reality of life during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, we are considering the theme of “Increased Community Resilience” on the Big Island as a driving principle for the event. Our original intention for the 2020 EXPO is still important and we remain excited about expanding the scope of the Expo to include networking and providing resources that address the concerns of all Small Farmers here in Kona.
At this new outdoors location we can schedule multiple events including tabling and affinity group conversations in the pavilion, space for a large number of vendor/presenter tents, food vendors and speakers in  the bleacher space.’
Please help us out. Volunteer to help us plan and/or help out on the day of the Expo. We are actively soliciting sponsors, vendors and presenters for Expo right now. If you have any ideas for subject areas or people or organizations you’re involved with or who you think we should include, please pass the information on to me at chet@cassandrafarms.com.
Please visit our Expo website at https://konaexpo.com/ to view a video of our new location.
–Submitted by Chet Gardiner

The KCFA Theme
In case anyone is curious about the music I’ve been putting in the sound track for our videos, here’s the complete version of my gift to the Association,

The KCFA Theme
https://youtu.be/ILtLBTt3Law
–Submitted by Chet Gardiner

A Quote:
The most dangerous drinking game is seeing how long I can go without coffee.
Author Unknown
–Submitted by Carolyn Witcover

Important Notice to Owners/Operators

Eric Bowman, Business Development and Services Integration Coordinator at the Kohala Center, will be giving a short presentation on the Federal Payroll Protection Program.  What I gained from talking with him is that even if you own a small farm, with no employees, you probably qualify for this program.  As Eric said “The PPP applies to owner operators; the “payroll” you are protecting is yours. If you file a schedule F, then it’s even better, as farmers can use gross, not net income”  The loan must be used for qualified farm expenses (No trips to Cancun) in order to be forgiven.  A couple hours of your time could easily be worth $10,000…..
His presentation will be on Thursday, March 4, at 2:30 pm.
Here is the link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4155220417
MARK THESE ON YOUR CALENDAR!
Eric is also providing these webinars:

First, on Feb 23rd, we will start with the Basics on Budgeting and Financial Planning. In this hour long session, I will lead you through budgeting and translating that to your business and project planning. Understanding your personal household budget and scoping your project’s financing will enable you to better communicate with lenders. Register here:

Second, on March 2nd, Aaron Ellis with Feed The Hunger Fund will present on Growing Your Business Through Debt. This session will be aimed at both existing and start-up businesses. He will discuss how to strategically use debt, the loan application process, and present on a case study. At FTHF, he specializes in lending to underserved businesses in the food space. Register here:

Third, on March 9th, in this Kiva Info Session, I will walk you through how TKC deploys our Hawaiʻi Food Producer Fund on the Kiva lending platform to deploy no cost, low barrier capital to food producers. Also, discuss how we network borrowers with the team at Slow Money Hawaii to increase financing success. Register here:

Fourth, on March 16th, Jason Okuhama with CBL Lending will present on Farm acquisition financing and government programs. Jason has decades of experience packaging, underwriting, and closing on a wide variety of agricultural loans with private lenders and government programs. He has worked with farms and ranches, both big and small and business from mac nut processing facilities to plant nurseries. Register here:
–Submitted by John Koontz

Time to Fertilize is Now

Fertilize!  As you can observe, the coffee is showing signs of a growth.  Because of our good and timely rains- start fertilizing anytime.

The first application of this season should be a formulation high in nitrogen for growth.  For inorganic farms, 15-5-25 or 10-5-20 would be a good choice. You also want to make sure you apply a good dose per tree.

I use the rule of thumb of approximately 1 pound per tree well spread out to the estimated root radius.  Here is a fertilizer applicator idea/

Organic farms should follow the same rule using a well-balanced organic fertilizer.  Remember, you will need to apply approximately double the amount of fertilizer to achieve the equivalent amount of nitrogen.

Hope this helps and motivates everyone to fertilize. The most common problem I see on coffee farms is poor nutrition due to a lack of fertilizer.
–Submitted by Bob Smith

Alliance for Coffee Excellence to Trace Coffee Origins through New Partnership with Oritain

“MILAN – Scientific traceability company, Oritain, is now working with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence to verify the origin of coffee submitted for auction in the global ‘Cup of Excellence’ competition. With thousands of entries from competitors in over 10 different countries, the Cup of Excellence is the most respected coffee competition in the world, securing the highest value for its farmers and growers while identifying some of the world’s best coffees.

And, now, the competition is further cementing its reputation for integrity and transparency through a partnership with scientific traceability company, Oritain. Oritain will analyze coffee from the Cup of Excellence, building up a database of coffee from all over the world that can then be used to prove the origin of coffee…”
https://www.comunicaffe.com/alliance-for-coffee-excellence-to-trace-coffee-origins-through-new-partnership-with-oritain/
–Submitted by Cecelia Smith

HDOA CBB Subsidy Application

Please apply for your HDOA Coffee Borer Beetle Subsidy now. While you may be turning your attention to managing Coffee Leaf Rust, this reimbursement for 50% of your original Botanigard or Mycotrol receipts will assist with your farm expenses. Start online here or email Melanie Bondera at hdoa.cbb@hawaii.gov or phone 808-323-7578.
–Submitted by Melanie Bondera

ACE Announces Winners of First Isla Hawaii Auction

“Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) in partnership with the Isla Custom Coffees has announced the 16 winning coffees for the first-ever Isla Hawaii Private Collection Auction. The winners, 12 of which were yeast-ferment processed, represent 11 farms, six processes, five varieties and two organic certified coffees.
The first-place winning coffee, a washed, yeast-fermented SL34 coffee from Kona Farm Direct, scored 88.38 points. Producers Kraig and Leslie Lee fermented the coffee with a wine yeast strain selected to enhance the coffee’s acidity and tropical fruit character…”
https://www.teaandcoffee.net/news/26461/ace-announces-winners-of-first-isla-hawaii-auction/
–Submitted by Cecelia Smith

Website Move

We’ve recently been notified that we will soon have to take more direct responsibility for the maintenance of our KonaCoffeeFarmers website(s). This will probably include finding another host for the site(s),  migrating the existing site(s) and finding a more easily maintained membership process.

We’re looking at this as an opportunity to make our website even more responsive and useful for our membership and the general public. We are soliciting input from you about how you use the site and what you  would like to see and do there.

Also, if you wish to learn more about web development and maintenance I’d be happy to include any volunteers who would like to join the Communications Committee in the planning and implementation of these enhancements and the transfer of our websites.

Contact me at Chet@cassandrafarms.com with suggestions, requests for more information and to volunteer to help.
–Submitted by Chet Gardiner

Coffee Lovers, Rejoice! Drinking More Coffee Associated with Decreased Heart Failure Risk

“DALLAS, U.S. — Dietary information from three large, well-known heart disease studies suggests drinking one or more cups of caffeinated coffee may reduce heart failure risk, according to research published today in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal. Coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke are among the top causes of death from heart disease in the U.S…”
https://www.comunicaffe.com/coffee-lovers-rejoice-drinking-more-coffee-associated-with-decreased-heart-failure-risk/

Rediscovering ‘Forgotten’ Wild Coffee Species
 (This content is copyright protected However, if you would like to share the information in this article, you may use the headline, summary and link below:)10-Feb-2021 By Rachel Arthur

The coffee sector can look to ‘forgotten’ wild coffee species to mitigate the global impact of climate change, according to research from CIRAD and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. And coffee giants such as Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Nespresso and Starbucks are sniffing out their potential.
HTTPS://WWW.BEVERAGEDAILY.COM/ARTICLE/2021/02/10/REDISCOVERING-FORGOTTEN-WILD-COFFEE-SPECIES-TO-SAFEGUARD-AGAINST-CLIMATE-CHANGE 

Recipe: Portuguese Bean Soup  
From Caroline Wallace, retired KCFA farmer
need 8 gallon pot  
1 cup of chopped onion
½ cup Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic crushed
1 cup Bacon – cut up raw
10 cups water or broth
1 whole Portuguese Sausage
3 cans (16 oz.) Red Kidney beans
1 large Sweet Potato                        
1 large Regular Potato
Salt and Pepper to taste
   *************
Sauté bacon (not crisp), garlic and onion in the oil about 5 minutes.  Combine in pot with the rest of the ingredients.  Simmer until potatoes are done….then MASH the potatoes and beans into the liquid.  Makes thick yummy soup.

Recipes Wanted! If any of you have coffee recipes that you would like to share, please submit them to the editor: clarewilson98@gmail.com 

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! >> Write to 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.