The Independent Voice
Newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association
May 2023
PO Box 5436 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 USA
www.konacoffeefarmers.org info@konacoffeefarmers.org
Contents
Message from President Mark Petersen
HDOA Board of Ag Approves CBB Biocontrol
EVENT: How do Organic Farmers Deal with CLR?
Priaxor Sec. 18 Renewed
Ag Census- Important
Volunteer Needed!
KCFA Wants to Know
El Nino Likely to Develop this Summer
Avocado Virtual Workshop
Colehour Bondera Advocating 100% Kona Coffee Internationally
Women Leadership in Specialty Coffee Soars in Brazil
Social History of Kona
June Event: Mister Blower & Chainsaw Maintenance
Robusta Cannot Save Future Coffee
SCA White Paper on Value of Specialty Coffee Cuppers
Study: Coffee Consumption and Blood Pressure
Fairtrade International Make Historic Raise to Coffee Prices
Pacific Coffee Research Wins at Good Foods Foundation Ceremony
CBB/CLR Subsidy Program
Salute to Business Member – CONZUMABLES
Recipe – Coffee Marinade for Fajitas
Editor – Clare Wilson
Pepeiao AKA wood-ear fungus, happily growing on an old coffee stump – It is edible.
Aloha KCFA Members,
Your Board of Directors has met for the second time since director elections at the annual meeting. The new members are getting their feet on the ground and things are happening. You will see in the newsletter a “Save the Date” notice for June 10th from the Education and Protection Committee for a session entitled Mister Blower & Chainsaw Maintenance. We hope this educational event fills a hole that you have about your equipment upkeep.
There is also a question asked of you with link to respond with your answer so we can be more responsive to the Kona Coffee Farmers’ wishes.
Your Board has also started a Strategic Planning Process to focus on the goals and direction of the Association. Since we have limited assets, and everyone is a volunteer, we must make efficient use of donated time andavailable resources. We will keep you abreast of our progress and you can anticipate receiving a draft of the plan for approval at the next membership meeting.
Lastly, I am personally looking forward to a positive outcome from the test release of the coffee borer beetle (CBB) parasitoid wasp which could reduce our labor and pesticide expenses in managing CBB.
Look for the article below. Hope your coffee trees are doing well.
Mahalo nui loa!
Mark Petersen, KCFA President
HDOA Board of Ag Approves CBB Biocontrol
Phymastichus coffea (ed.note: Extraordinary Photo)
On April 25th, the Board of Agriculture unanimously voted the allow UH and ARS PBARC to import the parasitoid wasp Phymastichus coffea and establish permit conditions for the release of the wasp to control CBB. This wasp, half the size of a borer beetle, lays eggs in the adult CBB, and her offspring eat the CBB larvae inside the bean. Phymastichus has proven to be an effective biological control agent of coffee berry borer in other coffee growing regions in the world. Furthermore, it’s the only parasitoid tested thus far that has been shown to reduce yield loss from CBB damage.
Hawaii research on this biocontrol began over a decade ago, and included a Draft Environmental Assessment review. With approval, Peter Follett of ARS and Mark Wright of UH will be bringing in the wasp from Colombia, rearing it for several generations in a quarantine facility at Volcano, then potentially releasing it in a test area near Ka’u. If results are favorable, plans are to move it to the Kona area. It’s hoped that this will be a good control for feral coffee as well as commercial farms. Phymastichus is assumed to be vulnerable to Botanigard and other pesticides so releases on commercial farms will require consideration as part of a larger IPM. Stay tuned.
~Submitted by Suzanne Shriner
EVENT: How Do Organic Farmers Deal With CLR?
Organic options for Coffee Leaf Rust Management
Public Education and Q & A
May 24, 2023 • 2:00 – 5:00pm
Mahina Mele Farm, 83-5504 Middle Keei Road, Honaunau
Schedule includes:
• Video overview of project
• Dr. Hector Valenzuela of UH Manoa on agro-ecosystems and local inputs
• Drake Weinert of Pure KNF Foundation on Korean Natural Farming IMOs
• Dr. Melissa Johnson of USDA-ARS on data collection and analysis
• Future steps for research and outreach efforts
Information will be presented from an ongoing farmer led research initiative titled,
“Organic Farming Systems Options for Control of Coffee Leaf Rust in Kona.”
Initial funding from: 
Please send an email if you plan to attend to: colemel2@gmail.com
~Submitted by Colehour Bondera
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Priaxor Sec. 18 Renewed
The EPA section 18 special exemption for Priaxor Xemium Brand® Fungicide (EPA Reg No. 7969-311) has been renewed for another year.
All of the requirements to use Priaxor remain the same, which includes notification of use to HDOA prior to and after application.
Please be aware that the current deadline for the subsidy program is June 30, 2023. Link to the subsidy program: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/
Follow this link for frequently asked questions regarding Priaxor, instructions for notification and reporting, and the application report form.
If you have any questions, contact the Dept of Ag, Pesticide Branch: doa.pested@hawaii.gov
Ag Census- Important!
Don’t Miss Your Opportunity to be Represented in Ag Census Data
Time is running out to respond to the 2022 Census of Agriculture! Thank you to the producers who have already completed the ag census. If you have not responded, there is still time. By federal law, the ag census questionnaire needs to be completed by everyone who received it, including landowners who lease land to producers, those involved in conservation programs, even those who may have received the ag census and did not farm in 2022.
Strong response means strong data; these data will inform decisions that will help shape the future of American agriculture for the next five or six years. By not responding, you risk being unrepresented and therefore underserved in farm programs and funding, crop insurance rates, rural development, disaster assistance, and more. Return your ag census by mail or fill it out online at agcounts.usda.gov. Learn more at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus and respond today.
Volunteer needed with video skills!
KCFA has the digital recording from the Symposium and is looking for a volunteer to break it down by speaker, add an intro and outro logo for uploading to YouTube. If you are willing to help, please email info@konacoffeefarmers.
KCFA Wants to Know
Please take a few minutes and answer this: “As a farmer, what is most pressing on you at the moment?”
KCFA wants to know! Send your thoughts here . Thank you very much!
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El Nino is Likely to Develop this Summer – What to Watch For
https://tinyurl.com/4vcx3z7a
A watch is issued when conditions are favorable for the development of El Nino within the next six months. While we are still in an ENSO-neutral phase – when no El Nino or La Nina is present – there is a 62% chance El Nino will develop sometime between May and July. This comes after nearly two continuous years of a La Nina.
El Nino: What it is and why it matters
The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (or ENSO) is a climate pattern defined by sea surface temperature and precipitation departures from normal across the equatorial Pacific Ocean that can influence weather and climate patterns across the U.S. and around the world.
El Nino is the warm phase of ENSO when ocean temperatures are warmer and precipitation is greater than normal in the area spanning the central to eastern Pacific Ocean.
NOAA scientists will continue to monitor the potential development of El Nino and will issue the next monthly update on May 11, 2023.
From Andrea Kawabata, CTAHR
https://tinyurl.com/yem5kfdm
A virtual workshop about avocado lace bug control strategies, avocado grafting, and general avocado management will be held on May 5th beginning at 5 PM, by the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension. Click on the link for further information
Colehour Bondera Advocating 100% Kona Coffee Internationally
https://tinyurl.com/528pxdkf
Follow this link to view a video of Colehour Bondera advocating 100% Kona coffee. The video was done in association with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) which advises the United Nations.
~Submitted by Colehour Bondera
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Women Leadership in Specialty Coffee Soars in Brazil
https://www.comunicaffe.com/
“MINAS GERAIS, Brazil – With 100 years of specialty coffee growing tradition in her family, Carmen Lúcia de Brito had the daunting task of leaving her world of psychology in picturesque Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to take over her father’s coffee business deep in the south of Minas Gerais. Carmen was getting back to her roots and set to become third-generation of coffee grower, however, even in 2006 when she took over a family business steeped in centennial tradition, there were few women running farms despite 18 million people working in agriculture in the country…”
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Like what you read here each month? If you’re not a current member of KCFA, please click here and join us at the Farmer, Supporter, or Business level.
Social History of Kona
by Peter Young
© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC
https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/
“…“In the late 19th century, Kona gained a reputation as a ‘haven’ for immigrants who broke their labor contracts with the islands’ sugar plantations. Many came to grow, pick, or mill coffee in the area’s rocky farmlands.”
“These early immigrants and others who later joined them helped Kona acquire distinction as the only area in the United States to grow coffee commercially for over 100 years.”…
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June 10, 2023 Event: Chainsaw and Mister Blower Maintenance
What: Mister blower preventative maintenance and chainsaw preventative maintenance to include chain sharpening with Q&A
Learn how to avoid common problems, troubleshoot, and sharpen chains
When: Saturday June 10, 9-11 am
The presenter is Tony Savarese with All Tool
Location: CTAHR office
Free to KCFA members, $15 non-members.
Additional information to follow
Submitted by the KCFA Education Committee
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The Specialty Coffee Association Announces White Paper on Value of Specialty Coffee Cuppers
https://www.comunicaffe.com/
“…The SCA is proud to announce their first contribution: a brand-new white paper entitled “The Value of Specialty Coffee Cuppers: Perspectives, Roles, and Professional Competencies.
In the past, cupping was sometimes seen as such a specialized skill that only one or two people in a business might cup coffee regularly, and trained cuppers were sometimes seen in the coffee trade as having an enhanced ability to perceive coffee and adjudicate quality. In recent years, this has changed as our understanding of coffee sensory science has advanced.
In parallel, cupping has become a more inclusive practice, offering a way to spread understanding of a coffee and its value throughout an organization, or along a supply chain…”
Robusta Cannot Save Future Coffee
https://intelligence.coffee/
A look into the past and into the future –
“The land available to grow high-quality arabica is expected to predicted to halve by 2050
Robusta is often posited as a long-term solution to prop up supply
Researchers found that it doesn’t offer the level of climate resilience that many believe”
~Submitted by Carolyn Witcover
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Study: Coffee Consumption May Help Keep Blood Pressure Down
https://tinyurl.com/48w3wv38
“…For the blood pressure study, the research team identified cohorts of 720 men and 783 women who all reported drinking some amount of coffee each day, and for whom full sets of clinical and laboratory data were available.
According to the researchers’ analysis, moderate (2 or more cups) and heavy coffee drinkers had lower systolic BP (SBP) than the non-coffee drinkers. Similar trends were observed for peripheral pulse pressure (PP), aortic BP and aortic PP. Those latter markers concern what’s referred to as “central blood pressure,” or the pressure in the large artery that sends blood throughout the body…”
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Fairtrade International Makes Historic Raise to Coffee Prices
https://tinyurl.com/2h8ucvzz
A worker at a wet mill in Peru. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.
“…“Despite the recent spikes in global coffee prices, coffee farmers are struggling with inflation, skyrocketing production costs, and crop loss due to the effects of climate change,” Senior Manager for Coffee at Fairtrade International said in an announcement from the international nonprofit today. “Coffee farmers are abandoning their farms in search of opportunities elsewhere and young people today in coffee-growing communities struggle to see a future in coffee. The fact that farmers cannot make a living in coffee is a tragic commentary for the industry and a huge risk for the future of the global coffee sector as a whole.”
The new Fairtrade prices are slated to come into effect for contracts on Aug. 1, 2023. Fairtrade last raised its prices in 2011, at a time when, like now, commodity coffee prices were relatively high. The previous increase moved washed arabica minimums from $1.25 to $1.40.
Coffee remains one of the largest products certified under the Fairtrade scheme, which also provides guaranteed premiums to producers that are assigned to community-level projects as determined by participating producers…”
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Pacific Coffee Research – Winners at Good Food Foundations Ceremony
Pacific Coffee Research was honored as WINNERS for two coffees at the 11th annual Good Food Foundation’s Award Ceremony, which took place on April 21st in Portland, Oregon. The award-winning coffees are grown by Karina & Armando Rodriguez of Aloha Star Coffee Farms in Kona and Alla Kostenko & Rus Kuznetsov, formerly of Wood Valley Coffee Farm, in Kaʻū.
~Submitted by Carolyn Witcover
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CBB/CLR Subsidy Program
Aloha Coffee Farmers,
There is help out there for your struggles with Coffee Leaf Rust!! Please send in your application for the CBB-CLR Subsidy and get 50% reimbursement of your spray product receipts.
Start on the program webpage to get an application and view a list of HDOA-approved products that we reimburse. Please email the completed form to hdoa.cbb@hawaii.gov with your receipts from 7/1/21 – 6/30/22. If you prefer, call for a paper application and mail it in with your receipts. You can also come to the office in Captain Cook for an appointment.
If you’re new to the program, there’s one more form to fill out and I will need your GET#, and SS# or FEIN# as well as an ID. If you need help with spray decisions, and understanding when to use or mix CLR sprays, please see UH-CTAHR’s spray document, especially the excellent table at the end on pages 5-7.
Melanie Bondera, CBB-CLR Subsidy Program, Hawaii Department of Agriculture
Phone: 808-323-7578
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 226, Captain Cook, HI 96704
Physical address:
82-6130 Mamalahoa Hwy, Room # 7, Captain Cook, HI 96704
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Salute to Business Member – Conzumables
https://conzumables.com/
Conzumables is the co-founder of a number of well-known consumer brands (ex. Nature’s Bakery) and more recently has been involved with helping with start-up and emerging brands with their needs (innovation, creation and launch).
Hawaii Programming:
We want to support the KCFA and its membership through our own Hawaii and Mainland based programming:
1) KonaCooperative.com – offering members access to new programs (distribution into Mainland, box programs, branding)
2) HotelPantry.com (supply for local Hawaiian hotels)
3) HawaiianRegion.com (brands into and out of Hawaii).
* We have locations in Honolulu, HI and soon in Papa’aloa (north of Hilo).
* We have over 35 years in the coffee business
Our Co-Packing Network (partnership with Contact Packaging Association) helps consumer brands nationally.
We recently had our 40th brand on the TV show Shark Tank (funded by Mark Cuban and Kevin Hart). Call Dennis Durban at 909-336-6473 for more information.
* Our other locations are in Las Vegas, NV; Dallas, TX and Raleigh, NC.
–Submitted by the Membership Committee
Recipe – Coffee Marinade for Fajitas
Ingredients
½ cup strong coffee
¼ cup cooking oil
¼ cup worchestshire sauce
3 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
Combine all ingredients and place in a plastic bag with the fajita meat (beef, chicken, fish). Let marinate for 2 to 4 hours.
Recipes Wanted! If any of you have 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.
Suggestion Box
Let us know what you would like to see in our newsletter. Suggestions on what to include or not. What could we do better. Let us know. Clarewilson98@gmail.com