Overtime
Once in Hawaii it didn’t take long to forget about winter but it also didn’t take long after getting back to remember. Hours after watching whales in the ocean I was looking at snow plows clearing an aiport runway. Of course it is all a matter of perspective. On the local news last week people in Maui were being advised to put on an extra layer of clothing including gloves because it was going to get cold at night. All the way down to 65! I must admit it was a little cooler in Hawaii than I had expected but I was never tempted to buy gloves. A sweatshirt yes but not gloves!
Our group of AgriTalk listeners had a great experience in our 50th state. ( Our tour guides often mentioned how a TV show called Hawaii 4 9 just would not have sounded right) From a moving visit to Pearl Harbor, to the beauty of mountains and beaches, we enjoyed the sights, sounds and food of the islands. We started in Oahu, moved to the Big Island and finished on Maui and saw Hawaiian agriculture and history. We learned paradise is expensive with gas at 3.79 a gallon and milk at $9.00! Less than impressive homes cost up to $500,000 and an acre of lava covered ground could cost from 1-2 MILLION dollars!
Tourism is Hawaii’s number one industry and it has felt the impact of the down economy. Several businesses reported their traffic was down as much as 50%. Agriculture is still an important part of their economy but it is changing. Sugar cane and pineapple, once staples of Hawaii agriculture, are disappearing due to high labor costs. Farming in paradise isn’t without its problems. Despite being surrounded by water, lack of fresh water is a real challenge for producers who face competition from other users for the water that is available. (sound familiar?) High input costs, state budget problems and a shortage of willing workers add to the challenge. (sound familiar?) I guess some problems are the same no matter where you farm. Beef producers raise grass fed beef due to the high cost of shipping in feed and trying to store it in the tropical climate. Imagine shipping your cattle by boat or plane all the way to Canada. Talk about a hit to your bottom line! We visited the 25th largest cattle ranch in the U.S. and passed by parts of the famous Parker ranch(3rd largest although going through some downsizing). We stopped in at Monsanto’s research farm on Maui, visited a dairy goat farm, a lavender farm and a coffee plantation. Hawaii is going through a drought so they were glad when it rained during our visit. Visiting Monsanto Hawaii you get a new perspective of the term “continuous corn” as planting, growing and harvesting go on year round there.