Farming stakeholders are wrestling over a proposal to implement statewide rules for agricultural tourism.
House Bill 2585 had proposed to create standardized rules for tourism-related activities on agricultural land, like farm tours.
Some local farmers say diversified revenue streams, particularly from tourism, are vital for their survival.
“Many of us now rely on hosted farm stays and other agricultural activities that may not be the ideal when we picture how we want farms to work in our community,” said Krista Olson, who has farmed along the Kona coast on Hawaiʻi Island for over 20 years.
She testified Friday during a bill hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment.
“We must allow farmers a diversity of pathways to continue to support their families and remain on their lands. For us, this is sort of a do-or-die moment — we really cannot continue without the diversified income that we have,” Olson said.
The committee decided to amend the bill on Friday to form a task force on the issue — a setback for statewide agritourism rules, but some stakeholders were concerned about the measure's language.
HB 2585 had proposed allowing tourism activities on agricultural land as “secondary to the principal farming operation,” which would have been defined as generating less revenue to farming itself. That means farmers wouldn’t be able to earn more from tourism-based activities than from farming.
Some said that would shut down their existing tourism operations. Counties currently handle agritourism permitting, which some also say is tedious.
Though some stakeholders said regulations need to be in place to ensure that growing food is the main activity on a plot of agricultural land.
