#USDA

Maui County produces about $103.7 million in agricultural goods each year, according to a new Farm Flavor analysis that ranks agricultural output across nearly 3,000 US counties and all 50 states.

Maui’s Kahului Airport has managed to deal with the federal government shutdown with minimal impacts, but that is about to change with the FAA mandating flights to be cut at major airports and with transportation employees about to lose a second paycheck.

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. 

The Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services is preparing families across the state for upcoming changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), effective Oct. 1, 2025.

With the average age of Hawaiʻi farm producers at 60.7 years in 2022, many groups in Maui County are offering programs to attract young people to the farming profession.

The SNAP-Ed program could end without federal funding on Sept. 30, ultimately impacting community well-being and food security.

The program reimburses farmers and ranchers in Hawaiʻi, Alaska and other insular areas for transportation costs of supplies like feed, fertilizer and equipment parts.

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.

The National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a wild duck on Oʻahu’s North Shore. USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services reports that the bird, a hybrid duck (part mallard), was among 10 wild bird samples collected from the North Shore. This is the second confirmed incidence of avian influenza in Hawai‘i after the virus was confirmed at bird sanctuary in Wahiawā on Nov. 15, 2024.

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.

Summer EBT, also called SUN Bucks, is a new and permanent program to provide benefits to households with school-aged children to purchase food during the summer. Households will receive $177 for each qualifying child, to be spent during the summer months.

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

Hawaiʻi Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke and Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture Chairperson Sharon Hurd last week led some of Hawaiʻi’s agricultural leaders in a first-ever Hawaiʻi delegation to the United States Department of Agriculture.

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 year ago today, nearly 700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex at Haleakalā’s summit. Since then Air Force reports its officials have worked with the Maui community and Native Hawaiian organizations to remediate the site.

In the aftermath of Maui’s Lahaina wildfire, the University of Hawai‘i will use $519,000 in USDA grants to fund research projects that aim to reinforce Hawai‘i’s agriculture against disasters and address the health risks of toxic chromium.

As Hawaiʻi grapples with a surge in wildfires threatening communities and ecosystems, bipartisan efforts are underway to introduce legislation to tackle prevention and preparedness.

Maui Food Technology Center will hold a virtual Food Labeling Workshop on Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. for people interested in learning the latest about food labeling, regulatory requirements and how your efforts can be a game changer.

Three Soil & Water Conservation Districts and the County of Maui are working with the federal Emergency Watershed Protection Program to quickly address widescale environmental damage caused by the August wildfires.