#Maui Farm

On or about April 12, 2021, a woman submitted a CFAP application to Shitanishi that falsely claimed she operated a farm with $685,500 in commodity sales in 2019. The woman also claimed the farm was in the County of Maui, which was the responsibility of another County Executive Director, who was located on Maui and familiar with the farms there. The woman asked Shitanishi if he would accept her application, rather than require her to submit her application to the Maui County Executive Director.

As part of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education’s continued commitment to farm-to-school initiatives and student wellness, the mandarins have been available to school distributors since January, following Mahi Pono’s first commercial harvest of the Hawaiʻi-grown crop. Mahi Pono’s mandarins will be available to schools statewide throughout the spring harvest season.

This summer, nine students from Maui High, King Kekaulike and Baldwin high schools participated in Mahi Pono’s paid summer internship program, where they propagated nearly 2,000 culturally significant plants for residents who lost their home gardens that included cherished lei plants during the 2023 wildfires.

Applications for the popular Agricultural Micro Grant Program 5.0 – which offers up to $25,000 in grants to Maui County small farmers and ranchers – will be available starting Jan. 9, 2025.

Qualified nonprofit and for-profit organizations in Maui County are invited to apply to administer the County of Maui Agricultural Micro Grants Program for the Fiscal Year from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. The deadline to apply to administer the program is July 26, 2024.

This production site, called Nā Māla Kaiāulu, employs specialized practices to grow nutrient-dense food that is environmentally and ecologically appropriate to Maui Nui. The project aims to nourish low-income and food-insecure local families.

The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture will be awarding a total of approximately $523,000 to Hawai‘i proposals that enhance the competitiveness of Hawai‘i specialty crops.

Leilani Farm Sanctuary is seeking volunteer help and monetary donations from the community to continue caring for its rescued animals amid a large number of farm tour cancellations.

The Halloween event will be at Hashimoto’s Kula Persimmon & Cherimoya Farm in Kula.

Mayor Michael Victorino on Tuesday announced the confirmation of Rogerene “Kali” Arce as the first director of Maui County’s new Department of Agriculture.

A GoFundMe account seeks to raise $5,000 for the Maui Animal Farm after its owner, Heidi Denecke broke her ankle in two places preventing her from taking care of the animals and keep farm tours running.

“There is a lot of potential for economic diversity here on Maui, especially with agriculture and value added products,” said Donovan Dela Cruz, Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “We’re going to have to come up with a strategic plan on how we develop our education system so that we can create a skilled workforce, specifically for agriculture pipelines and value added pipelines.”

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.

In commemoration of 100 years of serving its customers and communities on Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lāna‘i, Hawaiian Electric is recognizing 21 non-profit organizations across the county with a total contribution of over $11,000.

The Maui Farm Board of Directors announced the hiring of Kandice Johns as its new Executive Director. Johns has spent nearly two decades working in the non-profit sector building the capacity of organizations that are working to improve the lives of people in Hawaiʻi.

The Agriculture Micro Grants Program provides grant funding of up to $25,000 to farmers on Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

The long-term goal at Mahi Pono is to bring sustainable agriculture to Maui with strong, integrated farming practices that are economically viable, environmentally sound and good for our community.

Much to the surprise of the owners at Kula Cottontail Farm, a baby alpaca was born on Friday, just in time for Christmas.

The drop in total market value may be attributed to the end of the sugar operations on Maui in 2017 and the decline in the value of the seed corn industry.

Maui’s purchase of 262 acres of A&B ag land in Kula has closed escrow, effectively allowing the county to nearly double the size of its current ag park lands.