November 2018 – The Independent Voice

Contents
Hybrid Varietals Losing Rust Resistance
World’s Coffee Supply Dwindling?
Canadian Coffee Roaster Pays Double for Beans
Don’t Prune Yet
Little Fire Ants (LFA) Spreading
Volunteers & Coffee Needed “Coffee & Art Stroll”
Easy Herbicide Sticker
Kona Coffee Art Posters for Sale
Harvest Fiesta 2018
Recipe: Mexican Vegan Mushroom
Editor – Clare Wilson

Hybrid Varietals are Rapidly Losing their Rust Resistance

From Daily Coffee News: “the coffee industry has traditionally and conveniently placed coffee varieties and cultivars into one of two simple categories when considering plants’ natural resistance to leaf rust disease: 1) resistant, or 2) susceptible. The line between the two blurred in a publicly revelatory way when the Arabica variety lempira, which was widely planted throughout Honduras, was discovered last year to have lost its resistance to leaf rust.
“Now comes an even more frightening revelation: The scientific director of the world’s leading coffee research organization, World Coffee Research, says that rust resistance is expected to break down in “most” of the varieties (note: including Timor varieties favored by the Kona Hills megafarm) previously considered rust-resistant in as soon as five to 10 years in “many countries.”
“A crucial part of rust-control strategies going forward, according to World Coffee Research and others in the scientific community, is the promotion of plant health in coffee production, which has been overlooked in the past,” WCR said in the announcement, adding, “Factors contributing to plant health include good maintenance, soil conservation, adequate plant nutrition, and adequate shading. A recent study from World Coffee Research and CIRAD recently showed that good fertilization can be as effective as spraying fungicide in protecting a genetically susceptible coffee to rust.”

Read the full article here: https://dailycoffeenews.com/2018/09/24/coffee-is-rapidly-losing-its-resistance-to-rust-says-wcr-science-director/.

The Kona Coffee Farmers Association stands firmly in favor of preventing the arrival of Rust by strong quarantine controls. We oppose the planting of these hybrids as it dilutes the flavor profile of our heritage crop.
–Submitted by Suzanne Shriner

Don’t Prune Yet
Although you may be tempted, please…wait to prune.

After harvesting season our coffee trees look a little worn out, but give them time to rest. Post harvesting is a naturally dormant time for coffee.  Pruning should only be started in January, providing the trees are not suffering from lack of moisture.  If this is the case wait until the rains come back.
Pruned early, you are stimulating the worked-out tree to start producing new growth.
Give them the break they deserve!

Refresh your knowledge about this and more at the KCFA pruning workshop scheduled for Friday January 18 at 9am.  Save the date!
–Submitted by Bob Smith

Little Fire Ants Spreading through Farms Rapidly
Survey Now!

LFA on cacao

If you or your workers have been stung by Little Fire Ants (LFA), you know why these little ants are such a major problem. Your workers may not mention they are getting bit, so take this harvest season opportunity to ask them while they are in your fields.  LFA are tiny, only as long as a penny is thick. They are reddish-orange in color and are relatively slow moving. LFA can sting you, your family, and your pets, as well as have major impacts on our agriculture industry.

The first step to knowing if you have LFA is to do a simple survey using the HDOA “chopstick” method.  Smear a THIN layer peanut butter on chopsticks, popsicle sticks, or coffee stirrers and leave these out in places where LFA might be. They live in the trees, as well as the ground, so be sure to check both places.  Wait for about 1 hour, and then carefully check the sticks to see if ants have found them. If you see ants on the chopstick, drop the stick into a zip-lock bag, place in the freezer overnight to kill the ants and mail the dead ants to the Hawaii Ant Lab (HAL) Office:

Hawaii Ant Lab
16 E. Lanikaula Street
Hilo, 96720

Be sure to use correct postage and don’t forget to include your contact information, please!

Some tips for a better survey: 1) LFA like shady moist places – always try to place the lures out of the sun 2) LFA LOVE bananas, place at least some lures in your patch.  The best location is where the older leaves join onto the stem, as well as in the trash at the base of the plant 3) LFA are VERY small, a uniform orange color, and walk fairly slowly.  If the ants you see are black, or fast moving, or are more than one color, they probably are not LFA.

Organic farmers have limited options for eradication at the moment.  KCFA is working with HAL and HDOA to get an emergency waiver for Tango bait.  Stay tuned!

Farmers, if you find LFA, please tell your neighbors.  Ants migrate easily and eradication works best when we attack from the boundaries inward. The Hawai‘i Ant Lab is based in Hilo and are here to help. They can assist you with an eradication plan. Find them on the web www.littlefireants.com or call 315-5656.
–Submitted by Suzanne Shriner

Coffee & Art Stroll Saturday, November 3rd

Holualoa 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
**Volunteers needed for the KCFA booth.
**Coffee donations needed for sale at KFCA booth.
Please Contact Karen Zulkowski if you can help.
phone:  406-671-2909 or email: drkarenz@aol.com

Could the World’s Coffee Supply Run Out?

An interesting article discussing the potential impact of increasing demand, climate change, disease, lack of research, and the aging of coffee farmers on the world’s coffee supply.

https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/news/drinks-news/world-coffee-supply-run-out-16538
 –Submitted by Cecelia Smith

Canadian Coffee Roaster Pays Double for Coffee Beans  
One company doing its part to keep the world coffee supply viable by paying the coffee farmers double the global price.
https://millstonenews.com/2018/10/equator-pays-farmers-double-the-global-price-for-coffee-beans.html
 –Submitted by the Karen Zulkowski

Easy Herbicide Sticker

With the rainy weather that we been having, also comes unwanted weeds, a little tip for those of us that use herbicides to send this weeds to weed heaven is to add a squirt of liquid dish soap to our mixture, The soap acts as a sticker allowing our herbicide mixture to adhere to the leaf of the unwanted weed insuring a fast trip to weed heaven.
––Submitted by Armando Rodriguez, Casablanca Farms LLC
ED note. You can also use the commercial surfactants: Widespread or Nu-Film-P.

 Kona Coffee Art Posters for Sale in our (click>>) Store– limited supply
   Great Christmas Present Idea for Yourself, Your Family or Customers!
          

From Gregory Clark: I am a specialty coffee photographer who has been associated with the coffee industry since 1992.  My images have appeared in most industry periodicals over the years, and I created a line of art posters depicting the growing, processing, and serving of Kona coffee.  The posters, which measure 24” x 36”, are full-color art lithographs…

Through the generosity of professional photographer Gregory Clark, the Kona Coffee Farmers Association was given a number of 3 beautifully photographed coffee posters, printed onto heavy art paper. Rare gifts for the Kona Coffee lover and only 18$ each. Limited supply!
These lithographs measure 24 inches X 36 inches and have been individually rolled into sturdy cardboard tubes and are available for pick up, at monthly KCFA Board meetings after making arrangements or each can be shipped First Class (an additional $6.45) with tracking numbers. Mailing will be on Fridays only.

Go to the KCFA  Store and make your selection- choosing “A” or “B” or “C”. Perfect for your family members to show what you are lucky to grow or for your customers who want to relish the beauty of Kona Coffee by hanging the poster on their walls. (Poster photo and graphics are of much higher quality than shown above.)

Questions? email info@KonaCoffeeFarmers.org-subject: Coffee Art

Harvest Fiesta October 28, 2018
A good time was had by all who attended our Harvest Fiesta, held at the Honaunau Arena Pavilion. The Arena Pavilion has sweeping vistas of Puuhonua O Honaunau (City of Refuge) and the Pacific Ocean and was a cool and breezy place to gather.

Members at the Harvest Fiesta enjoyed an extensive and yummy Taco Bar with food prepared by Board Member Armando Rodriguez and his wife Karina, as well as numerous potluck offerings; a real hit was the Mexican Vegan Mushroom (Recipe shown below).

Mauka Soul, with Board Member Chet Gardiner and partner Solomon played beautiful guitar music throughout the event and  Event Chair Kay Dixon’s interactive games made the Harvest Fiesta a genuinely fun time!  A very relaxing and beautiful afternoon for KCFA’s Members. (Photos may be viewed here click>  https://wp.me/p2o9ED-F1p )
–Submitted by Cecelia Smith

Recipe: Shannon’s Delicious Mexican Vegan Mushrooms
Ingredients:
Liquid smoke 1 tsp
Cumin 1 tsp.
Chili powder ¼ tsp
Garlic powder ¼ tsp
1 pound of portobello mushrooms
Saute mushrooms in avocado or coconut oil- add seasoning and simmer until mushrooms are tender.
Serve?

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