#maui agriculture

Members and guests of the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset recently toured Mahi Pono’s operations where they met farm managers and visited crop fields.

The Hawai‘i Agribusiness Development Corporation will hold its next board of directors meeting on Maui, marking the first time the state agency has convened on the island.

For the past five years, Maui County has not composted or diverted green waste from the landfill. Efforts are being made to change that.

County of Maui Department of Agriculture is collaborating once again with Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute, Maui Nui Food Alliance and Kamehameha Schools Maui to strengthen local food systems through the Maui Nui 2025 Food Summit.

The Rotary Club of ECO Maui is hosting an online silent auction over the next two weeks with a goal of raising $10,000 to support food security on the island.

Mahi Pono is bringing fresh flavors and big news to this year’s Maui AgFest with the debut of its new Maui-grown coffee, produced in collaboration with Hawaiʻi’s iconic Lion Coffee, and the official launch of its popular summer watermelon season. Both will be featured at the festival this Saturday, May 31, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku.

Bayer Hawaiʻi, in partnership with Sharing the Butterfly Experience, will be giving away 30 Monarch Butterfly Kits at the 2025 Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku.

Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair celebrates 16 years of agricultural education and celebration with its return to War Memorial Complex on Saturday, May 31, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Rotary Club of ECO Maui has secured a $17,529 grant from the Rotary D5000 Foundation to expand support for small and beginning regenerative farmers across Maui.

The nonprofit Common Ground Collective is calling on all members of the Maui community involved in food production, preparation, distribution and grocery shoppers to share their input by participating in its surveys. Feedback will be used to create agricultural infrastructure and to improve access to locally grown food on the island.

A third Canoe Crop Corner will take place at the upcoming Wailuku First Friday. The event is touted as a rare opportunity to learn about Maui’s agricultural traditions and experience firsthand the tastes and stories behind vital canoe crops.

A pilot project to boost soil health on Maui’s only large-scale pineapple farm aims to increase biomass to retain more water—up to 100,000 gallons per acre.

The Department of Agriculture was started in July 2022, after county residents voted in November 2020 to establish the department.

Interisland transportation between Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi and a need for federal funding to support those and other efforts were discussed. The Bissen administration focus on infrastructure, agriculture, economic diversification and affordable housing were also highlighted during meetings with Hawaiʻi congressional delegation.

Farmers and ranchers can receive a grant up to $30,000 for fencing and to cover crop damage and other losses caused by feral animals.

The free Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair is back on June 4 at the War Memorial special events field in Kahului.

The deadline is Dec. 15 for Maui County small farmers to apply for the Agricultural Micro Grant Program 2.0, which offers up to $25,000 in grants and is administered by Maui Economic Opportunity.

Applications now are being accepted from farmers and agriculture food producers for Mahi‘ai Match-Up, a business plan competition that provides food-focused entrepreneurs from across the pae ‘āina with an opportunity to farm agricultural land or develop a business in a commercial space.

This year’s winners are “Member of the Year,” Heidi Watanabe; “Farm Family of the Year,” the Hegele Family; and Mike Lyons Award, Hawaiian Electric Company.

Agriculture technology company Maui Greens is launching a new retail brand, Colors Living Produce, a unique line of organic leafy greens individually planted, grown, shipped and sold while still growing in soil.