U.S. Department of Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture just scrapped millions of dollars for farming, and advocates say it’s a blow to Hawaiʻi agriculture. HPR's Mark Ladao has more.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke spoke to HPR about a Hawaiʻi agriculture delegation's recent visit to Washington, D.C., where they discussed Hawaiʻi's significant export barriers as an island state.

Federal freezes and cuts continue to stall millions of dollars meant to support local agriculture, but advocates and professionals continue to make the case for those targeted programs and initiatives. HPR's Mark Ladao has more.

A federally funded initiative that’s set to send millions of dollars to Hawaiʻi food producers was scheduled to launch this month, but now it’s on hold — and possibly on the chopping block — while the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency reviews it.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded over $5.5 million in conservation grants to Hawaiʻi-based projects.

The state Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for its Micro-Grant for Food Security Program, which supports small-scale agriculture projects. The department received $3.5 million from the federal government for the program.

Last week the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that its Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage rainfall index insurance program will include Hawai'i in 2025. The insurance is meant to protect ranchers who lose foraging grass because of a lack of expected rainfall.

Over half a million dollars in federal funding is coming to Hawaiʻi to promote clean energy in the agricultural sector. Four Hawaiʻi businesses and farms will receive money from the USDA through the Rural Energy For American Program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service collected data from more than 700 local producers to estimate the damages and economic losses caused by the fires and high winds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will update the way it distributes Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits to low-income residents in Hawaiʻi. The federal program gives money to families across the nation to use to buy food.