Agriculture

Some Hawaiʻi lawmakers think the state should be doing more to help the producers of lei made with locally grown, fragrant flowers. Ideas include labeling requirements that would identify Hawaiʻi-made lei and a prohibition on state agencies buying imported ones.

Over the past two years, Pono Pacific and the Hawaiʻi Agriculture Research Center have grown camelina at a handful of test sites across the islands in the hopes of fine-tuning local cultivation of the crop for biofuel production.

Hawaiʻi Agriculture and Biosecurity officials discuss the challenges the department faces and the criticisms it's received over handling of invasive species infestations.

Maj. Gen. Lance A. Okamura discusses the military's partnership with Oʻahu officials to ensure Kolekole Pass can serve as an evacuation route; Hawaiʻi's new state poet laureate Lee Tonouchi says he plans to use his role to uplift marginalized voices

Senate Bill 2161 notes the state’s “rich ranching history and cowboy culture preceding that of the American west” that led to uniquely styled ranching gear and the rise of the still-popular slack key guitar.

The declaration forms are meant to identify unwanted plant or animal material brought into Hawaiʻi — an effort to reduce the likelihood of invasive species arriving and establishing on the islands.

In a 2020 survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state found that shipping costs are farmers’ third-leading barrier to growing their operations.

The Boro-Harada family has been running the Kauaʻi farm since the 1950s and has no plans on stopping anytime soon.

The Maui County Council has passed a measure to phase out short-term vacation rentals; Sierra Lynne Stone, a sixth-generation kalo farmer on the North Shore of Kauaʻi, shares how her family's farm has grown

Waiphau High School students Nicholas Nishimura and Lakeisha Quitog spoke with HPR's DW Gibson about their recent trip to the Future Farmers of America Convention and their passion for agriculture.