#us department of agriculture

Gov. Josh Green pledged to extend rent support for Maui wildfire survivors through February 2027 and proposed halting future state tax cuts to preserve social services during his State of the State address, Monday in the House Chambers at the State Capitol.

The 33rd Hawaiʻi State Legislature convened Wednesday with calls for humility and urgent action as lawmakers face a tightened federal budget, a high-profile ethics investigation and the ongoing recovery from the Maui wildfires.

A hands-on workshop dedicated to the growing, harvesting and processing of industrial hemp for sustainable housing is scheduled for Jan. 24-26 at 623 Lower Kimo Drive in Kula. The Hawaiʻi Industrial Hemp Building Workshop will be led by Danny Desjarlais, a member of Minnesota’s Lower Sioux Tribe. Desjarlais serves as the Lower Sioux industrial hemp […]

Benefits are expected to run out nationwide this weekend due to the ongoing government shutdown.

The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB) Market Development Branch has awarded a total of more than $465,700 to seven projects under the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program for fiscal year 2025. 

In her debut as ranking member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology, US Rep. Jill Tokuda joined Hawaiʻi Cattlemen’s Council Managing Director Nicole Galase Thursday in advocating for the nation’s food producers and conservation programs. In her opening statement, Tokuda spoke to the environmental challenges facing farmers and ranchers. “The weather […]

US Rep. Jill Tokuda has requested the USDA to urgently re-hire animal and plan inspection and quarantine workers, after about 200 were terminated last month.

Maui County Council members voted unanimously, 9-0, on Friday to approve by resolution the use of up to $5 million from the Managed Retreat Revolving Fund for property acquisition by the Lahaina Community Land Trust.

US Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda have re-introduced the Hawai‘i Invasive Species Protection Act, which mandates USDA inspections of people, baggage, and cargo moving to Hawaiʻi, in coordination with federal agencies and the State.

A pre-fabricated, fire-resistant building material known as mass timber can be shipped to Maui from the Pacific Northwest and reduce on-site construction by at least half, compared with traditional stick-built homes, according to Haʻikū architect David Sellers.

Maui Economic Opportunity Head Start is a sponsor organization in the US Department of Agriculture Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and participates in the free and reduced-price meal program.

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), launched a collection of interactive maps to allow data users to access key Census of Agriculture information. The Census of Agriculture, taken only once every five years, is a complete count of US farms and ranches and the people who operate them.

Hawai‘i has been awarded $524,773 by the US Department of Agriculture under its 2024 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Through this grant program, the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture will fund nine projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crop products and create new market opportunities for the state’s specialty crop producers.

State and federal agencies are keeping a close eye on H5N1, the influenza A strain associated with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that has infected dairy cows in multiple states, as well as four people who worked closely with the infected cows.

Prolific herds of hungry Axis deer continue to wreak havoc in Maui County, damaging farm crops, overgrazing livestock pasture lands, threatening fragile watersheds and even encroaching in heavily urbanized areas like Kahului Airport’s runways and baggage claim areas. Without natural predators in the islands, the deer have flourished unchecked. Now, in part due to an initiative funded by Maui County, some deer are falling prey to hungry humans.

For the first time since 2014, Hawaiʻi Foodbank has released a comprehensive report detailing the state of food insecurity across Hawaiʻi.

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.

To account for the higher cost of food in the state, children in Hawai‘i will receive $59 per month, compared to $40 per month in the continental United States for meal benefits, starting this summer.

A graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a B.S. in horticulture technology, Teves currently serves as a county extension agent for the University’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources – a position he has held for over 40 years. Together with his wife, he owns and operates Puakala Farms on Hawaiian Home Lands in Ho‘olehua, Moloka‘i.

Hawaiʻi Sea Spirits LLC (producer of OCEAN Organic Vodka) is to receive a $10 million Business and Industry Loan Guarantee to assist the small organic cane sugar farm, providing the opportunity to expand its business in the distillery, retail and commercial kitchen café business on 80 acres on the Island of Maui.