#agriculture

Maui County logged its second wettest season in 30 years during the 2025–2026 wet season. Rainfall totals ran 100 to 250% of average across most of the county and catastrophic flooding hit multiple areas statewide, according to a summary released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience is asking farmers, home gardeners, landscapers and others across the state to complete a survey to strengthen efforts to control invasive fruit flies in Hawaiʻi.

The two sides have reached a tentative agreement, but a price still needs to be negotiated and the council must approve it, with the chair saying it’s “not a done deal.”

Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month returns this May for its ninth year, bringing together residents, farmers, government agencies and community organizations to tackle one of the state’s most persistent environmental and economic threats.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is offering a project lease opportunity for agricultural land in Honokōwai or Pūlehunui, with an extended response deadline of May 22.

Hawaiʻi Organics Compost has begun selling locally produced compost, active mulch and custom blends from its Waikapū facility — completing a loop that starts with green waste dropped off across Central Maui and ends with finished soil products ready to go back into the ground.

Some farmers say they won’t know how bad the damage is until they see how their storm-impacted trees fare when harvest time rolls around.

Maui County says Wailuku Water Co. should fix system damage caused by storms, but the private utility said it is financially strapped and that the county county could do the work faster under the governor’s emergency proclamation.

Nan Inc., which purchased the mill and about 300 surrounding acres in 2024, hopes to turn the old plantation infrastructure into an area for businesses and light industrial use — and potentially housing in the future.

Community members see the golf course’s plan as a way to “throw money at the problem” as disputes over water use continue.

Maui’s ‘Oko’a Farms is one of 43 Hawai’i farms enrolled in the Transition to Organic Partnership Program, which is trying to help as many farmers as it can before the program ends this year, cut short by federal changes.

The proposal comes at a time when Maui County is hoping to one day take over the private system used to divert streams in East Maui.

Farmers and ranchers say prices have gone up after a year of Trump’s tariffs, making their operations even more costly on an island where everything has to be shipped or flown in.

Bobby Pahia hopes to fill the seat that will be vacated by Yuki Lei Sugimura as she launches a bid for mayor.

The Hawai’i Senate Majority today announced its 2026 legislative priorities in advance of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s Opening Day on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.

The Hawaiʻi Agribusiness Development Corporation, Board of Directors held its first-ever meeting on the island of Maui this month, marking a significant milestone in the agency’s effort to expand agricultural opportunities statewide and directly engage with local farmers, educators and community leaders.

The company says its fields are getting “eaten alive by axis deer and feral pigs,” and many Maui farms are facing similar challenges.

The Hawaiʻi State Senate committees on Judiciary and Agriculture and Environment will hold an informational briefing next week to assess the impact of recent federal policy changes, tariffs, and funding cuts on Hawaiʻi’s agriculture industry and food production, a topic of critical concern for food security in Maui County following the August 2023 wildfires.

A new partnership between Maui Gold Pineapple and Amazon Air is being called a “game-changer” for Hawaiʻi’s agricultural industry, providing a direct, fast and cost-effective shipping solution to the continental United States. Beginning with a test shipment early this month, the collaboration has already slashed freight costs by up to 60% and opened up new markets for the product.

The Maui County Council moved forward two bills this week aimed at bolstering island agriculture, but one — Bill 75, which seeks to establish agricultural tourism — sparked a debate over safeguarding indigenous Hawaiian cultural practices from commercial exploitation. In a less contentious move, Bill 76 received unanimous final Council approval to allow food trucks […]