The Independent Voice
“Best Agricultural Newsletter in Hawaii”
Newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association
October 2023
PO Box 5436 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 USA
www.konacoffeefarmers.org info@konacoffeefarmers.org
Contents
Message from President Petersen
Final $12 Million Settlement Approved
To Class Members of the Coffee Settlement
Black Twig Borer – Background
Black Twig Borer – Details
Crop Insurance Webinar
Can Coffee or a Nap Matter for Sleep Deprivation
Quick Coffee Drying Tip
Step by Step Coffee Drying
Coffee Drying and Storage-Technical
CLR Presentation Recap
Do We Still Need Q Graders?
Note From HCA
KCFA Social Event October 25, 2023
The Reason Peaberry Coffee is so Divisive
Salute to Business Member – Able Freight
Editor- Clare Wilson
Message from President Petersen
Aloha Coffee Farmers,
Seems like summer ended way too fast. I am not ready for the days to get shorter. I prefer longer days. We are in the middle of picking on our farm which for us is going better than 2022.
I hope you were able to participate in the “Talk Story” session about CLR with Dr. Melissa Johnson this past Thursday. We are very fortunate to have a USDA-ARS research Laboratory on the island to conduct research on agricultural problems. Stay tuned for other events our Education Committee is planning for the KCFA membership.
Our Events and social Committee is hosting another Farmers Gathering at the end of October on the 25th at Kahaluu State Park from 4 to 7 PM. The July gathering was a fun time to meet up with other farmers and talk about the coffee business. It was a potluck with plenty of food. Mark your calendar so you can take a break for a couple of hours with farmer friends.
You have probably noticed that cherry prices are favorable right now which is nice since the crop is better than last year. However, it seems the cherry price improvement did not transition with same magnitude to green coffee. Some think the large brokers are constrained with higher interest costs so are forced to offer less.
Lastly, your Board has been working on some strategic goals for 2024 which they will share with you for your input.
Hope you have picked some very nice coffee.
Mahalo nui loa!
Tiny mushrooms in a Palm stump
FEDERAL JUDGE APPROVES FINAL $12 MILLION SETTLEMENT IN KONA LABELING CASE
https://tinyurl.com/yt8zzvcu
“In another win for coffee farmers in Hawaii’s Kona region, a United States federal judge this week approved a $12 million settlement against MSN, Ltd., the owner of the ABC convenience store chain, in a lawsuit regarding Kona coffee labeling.
The final approval brings an end to a four-year-old class action suit that has resulted in $33.4 million in settlements among 21 defendants, including coffee roasting companies, as well as large resellers such as Costco, Walmart, Amazon and Kroger.
Settlements have also included injunctive provisions, namely more more stringent requirements regarding the marketing and sales of coffee products bearing the Kona name.
In a recent order, U.S. District Court Judge Robert S. Lasnik of the Western District of Washington noted the work of an expert economist on behalf of the plaintiffs that suggested the injunctive provisions amounts to $81.2 million over the next five years…”
TO ALL CLASS MEMBERS of the COFFEE CLASS SETTLEMENT
Dear Class Member,
You were recently sent a check representing your benefit for the settlement reached with L&K Coffee Company that was accompanied by a 1099-MISC form for 2023. As you were also sent a check in April 2023 for the settlements reached with Kroger and Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Co., the amount reported on the 1099-MISC form was cumulative and was therefore different form the amount of the check it came with. We confirm that the new 1099-MISC supersedes the form that was provided with your April check and that the earlier form can be disregarded.
If you have any questions, please e-mail info@konacoffeesettlement.com
Regards,
Kona Coffee Farmers Settlement Administrator
www.konacoffeesettlement.com
Toll-free: 1-833-667-1227
BLACK TWIG BORER – BACKGROUND
Dead coffee laterals dead twig borer
From Bob Smith
“When I first started farming Kona coffee more than 30 years ago the Black Twig Borer (BTB) was already here. Back then damage was barely noticeably noticeable and I considered it a minor threat. In fact, I used to tell other farmers that they didn’t have to worry about the BTB at all. This lack of concern continued for many years. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that I started to notice that damage was notably increasing though still at a level that was tolerable. However, year by year damage levels started to increase to where I could see that yield was being more and more negatively impacted…” Read entire post here
BLACK TWIG BORER- Details
Aloha, coffee farmers! In this article, we want to share some information about the life cycle of the Coffee Twig Borer (CTB) and how to manage this pest that can damage your coffee plants.
The CTB is a small beetle that belongs to the ambrosia beetle family. It is native to Southeast Asia, but it has spread to many countries where coffee is grown, including Uganda, Hawaii, and Florida. CTB attacks both healthy and stressed coffee plants, as well as many other tree species. It bores into the twigs and and branches of the coffee plants and introduces a fungus that causes wilting and dieback of the infested
parts. The CTB also feeds on the fungus that it introduced and reproduces inside the branches.
Read entire post here
CROP INSURANCE WEBINAIR
Kona Coffee farmers Association invites you to an informational Zoom meeting.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 2023
Time: 3:30 PM
Title: Introduction to Crop insurance
Speaker: Bonnie Lind of Lind Insurance
Location: Live Webinar – join with your questions – Bonnie has answers!
Join Zoom meeting ~15 minutes before 3:30 pm on October 26!
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86561099883?pwd=JsRQcjFxRRISZX91KNXSG7XQ2QjhjO.1
CAN COFFEE OR A NAP MAKE UP FOR SLEEP DEPRIVATION?
https://dailycoffeenews.com/2023/09/05/can-coffee-or-a-nap-make-up-for-sleep-deprivation/
“There is no denying the importance of sleep. Everyone feels better after a good night of sleep, and lack of sleep can have profoundly negative effects on both the body and the brain. So what can be done to substitute for a lack of sleep? Put another way, how can you get less sleep and still perform at your peak?
As a psychologist who studies the ways in which sleep benefits memory, I’m also interested in how sleep deprivation harms memory and cognition. After some initial research on sleep deprivation and false confessions, my students at Michigan State University’s Sleep and Learning Lab and I wanted to see what interventions could reverse the negative effects of sleep deprivation.
We found a simple answer: There is no substitute for sleep…”
Quick Coffee Drying Tip
Coffee parchment should rest at least 30 days before dry milling so that moisture levels can stabilize across the bean and pores can seal up and handle the heat in roasting. This is called “Reposo” in Latin America and is considered an important quality step worldwide.
Step by Step COFFEE Drying
https://konacoffeefarmers.org/important-information/coffee-drying/
“Proper drying and storage of parchment is likely the single most important post-harvest quality step, even greater than fermentation and roasting.
There are several key aspects for those drying their coffee on-farm.
- Get beans visibly dry, as fast as possible.
The longer your parchment stays wet, the greater the risk that sugars on the bean will continue to ferment or even mold.
b. Ideally, within 4-12 hours your coffee will be dry to the touch. Mauka farms can struggle with this and may need more space to thin out wet coffee, or a mechanical dryer…”Click on link to read entire post
COFFEE DRYING and STORAGE- Techincal
https://konacoffeefarmers.org/important-information/coffee-drying-and-storage-technical/
COFFEE LEAF RUST PRESENTATION from Melissa Johnson, PBARC
On September 28, Dr. Melissa Johnson presented CLR on Hawaii: Biology, Cultural, and Chemical Control Options. This was a very informative presentation that left the attendees with updated information to consider in managing CLR. Some of the data suggests that an important tool is the pruning method with Kona style being the least effective. In addition, certain fungicides perform better at different incidence levels and it may be that no chemicals are needed in the future if we focus on tree health and nutrition.
In case you missed KCFA’s webinar with Dr. Melissa Johnson of USDA-ARS PBARC, here’s the youtube link. She covered a wealth of topics that you want to hear about. https://youtu.be/kPinVdKnHdg
DO WE STILL NEED Q GRADERS?
https://tinyurl.com/ympkuk94
- There are over 7,000 Q graders across the world
- The vast majority of these are based in coffee-consuming countries
- As the industry strives to be more inclusive, it’s important to ask — how relevant are they?
The Q grader programme is the only certification in the coffee industry solely dedicated to quality assessment. Established in 2004 by the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), it teaches participants to score coffees objectively based on their sensory and aromatic attributes.
Once certified, Q graders work in a number of different capacities to assess and grade coffee accordingly – generally using a 100-point scale.
“I remember before I became a Q grader back in 2016, there was this sense of reverence for those who were Q graders at the time,” says Kosta Kallivrousis, US sales manager at Algrano…”
FROM HCA
The Hawai‘i Board of Agriculture approved an emergency loan program for farmers and ranchers on Maui and Hawai`i Island who are suffering from damage due to high winds and wildfires. More information on the loan program is available on the department’s website here.
Also, thank you to all who have completed the HCA membership survey. You may see the results of it here.
Matthew Lu
Education & Communication Committee Chair
Hawaii Coffee Association
KCFA Social Event October 25, 2023
THE REASON PEABERRY COFFEE BEANS ARE SO DIVISIVE
https://tinyurl.com/482u2jt6
“The luxury side of coffee has found its poster child in peaberry coffee. These slightly rounded coffee beans grow on the same plant as regular coffee, but only roughly one in 15 coffee beans qualifies as peaberry. No, it’s not a new variety of coffee. It’s a little-understood mutation that makes the coffee cherry produce only one seed instead of two. From the outside of the fruit, there’s no discernible difference. It’s only once you process the coffee cherries and look inside that you can see whether it has one or two seeds. You roast and brew peaberries more or less the same as regular coffee beans. The
only difference is that because they are marginally smaller, they will roast slightly faster…”
Salute to Business Member – Able Freight
Able Freight is a full service freight forwarder specializing in perishable shipments. Quality services and 24/7 special care are what make Able Freight successful for more than a quarter-century. 99% of our shipments are free of any claims.
Able Freight’s facility in Kona is a Certified AG transitional Inspection Facility for the HDOA and is located on the airport grounds to expedite transfers from carriers.
Contact Collette Naniole in the Kona office
KOA@ablefreight.com
(808) 769-6970
KCFA
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.
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
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
