This is how normal banana plants look from 400 feet, 200 feet and 60 feet in the air.
Aerial observation will be a great help in controlling the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV).
It’s amazing how much technology can help agriculture. In a few days, the team will identify markers of infected BBTV plants so they can be identified using infrared cameras.
There is no free lunch; subsidies only go so far. Farmers know that they need rely on themselves more and more in the future.
Look at this video that Yogurtland produced, which features Richard.
It's from back when they sent their "flavorologist" to find the "best bananas in the world," for their new Yogurtland flavor "Bananas Foster."
They found the "best bananas in the world" right here at Hamakua Springs!
It's kind of ironic that there is talk about importing bananas from the Philippines, when Yogurtland thinks Hawai‘i has the best bananas anywhere.
Take a few minutes and watch this video, which is really so much fun. What a total kick.
And make sure you watch to the end. I almost missed that short little scene right at the end, after you think it's over. Great ending.
– posted by Leslie Lang
Richard Ha writes:
Senator Dan Inouye had a direct influence on Hamakua Springs Country Farms, primarily through the Rural Economic Transition Assistance Hawaii (RETAH) program. That, in turn, allowed us to be part of the Big Island Community Coalition, where our mission is to achieve the lowest-cost electricity in the state.
We continue to follow Senator Inouye’s example: It is about all of us, not just a few of us.
Mahalo, Senator Inouye—Rest in Peace.
Let me tell you a story. Nearly 18 years ago, C. Brewer Executive John Cross let me use 10 acres at Pepe‘ekeo, rent free, to test grow bananas. It was not clear then whether or not bananas could be successfully farmed in the deep soil and heavy rainfall of the Hilo Coast.
Having farmed bananas in the rocks of Kapoho and Kea‘au, I had no experience pulling a plow or getting stuck in mud. Until then, the standard way of planting bananas was by the “mat” system. The idea was to plant 250 plants per acre. Then, after the first bunch was harvested, you let four plants grow up, thereby increasing the population to 1000 plants per acre.
We decided to plant 25 percent fewer plants, in straight rows, so sunlight could hit the ground. The idea was to mow the grass in the
middle aisles in order to get traction instead of getting stuck in the mud. On that 10 acres, I mowed the grass and pulled a plow during the week to mark the lines. Then every weekend for several months, Grandma (who was 71), June, Tracy, Kimo and I, plus our two grandkids, would plant the banana plants from our own tissue culture lab.
(UH Hilo Professor Mike Tanabe taught us how to do that. And, by the way, instead of having a drop in production, the bunch size became larger, which made banana farming at Pepe‘ekeo more efficient.)
Kimo would carry a bucket of lime and dropped a handful as a marker every so many steps. Tracy or June drove the truck, and Kapono, who was around 6 years old, sat in the back and dropped a plant by the lime marker. Using picks and shovels, the rest of us set the plants in the ground. Even Kimberly, who was around 3, had a pick. She dug a hole wherever she wanted. After all the plants were planted, we took buckets and fertilized them.
At the end of that year, we felt it would work. We had a small ceremony where Doc Buyers, C. Brewer’s Chairman of the Board, cut off the first bunch of bananas. Also present were Jim Andrasick, who was then President of C. Brewer, and later Chairman of the Board of Matson; Willy Tallett, Senior Vice President of Real Estate/Corporate Development, and John Cross, who later became President of Mauna Kea Agribusiness (the successor company of C. Brewer).
C. Brewer had tens of thousands of acres and we had 10 acres – but our dreams were huge! We did not feel awkward that this group of heavy-duty corporate people were in attendance. We knew where we were going and it felt very appropriate for them to be there.
Then, a few years later, Senator Inouye, the leader of the Democratic party, appointed Monty Richards, a staunch Republican, to administer the RETAH program. That helped us expand our production at a critical time. And again Senator Inouye demonstrated that it wasn’t about a few of us, but it was about all of us.
We are only one of the tens of thousands of people who were helped by Senator Inouye.
At this special time of year, we look back at times and people from long ago and we smile. We thank everyone who has helped us along the way.
If we can continue to grow food, and if we can help our workers have a better life for their children, those are our goals.
Happy Holidays, Everyone.
Richard Ha writes:
The Yogurtland folks came by the farm a couple of weeks ago.
Yogurtland’s flavorologist, Scott Shoemaker, was here on the Big Island and one of his goals was to find a special banana flavor to make Bananas Foster frozen yogurt.
After Scott walked through our fields, he made a call to his company headquarters.
He had tasted our bananas at the Farmers Market and been
very impressed. He wanted to see the farm and hear our story.
I told him that a Chiquita engineer had called me several years ago, on his way over to the Philippines, and told me that Chiquita was in the process of developing a high-elevation banana plantation there. His objective was to lengthen the time to harvest, so that more complex tastes could develop. He was attempting to replicate the taste of bananas in Hawai‘i and in Taiwan, which is 22 degrees north of the equator.
Hawai‘i bananas take up to three weeks longer before they are ready for harvest compared to those at the equator.
I told Scott that we are located where the prevailing tradewinds drop lots of rain as they meet the slopes of Mauna Kea. We measure rain in feet instead of inches (11 feet per year) and bananas love that. Also, our soil was formed from volcanic cinder, so the combination of good drainage and water retention is unusual and very good for banana production.
I told him that our farm was first in the world to be certified ECO-OK by the Rainforest Alliance, which is the world’s first and
largest third-party certifier of banana production methods. This program transformed the banana industry, worldwide, by making it comply with stringent pesticide regulations, waste disposal, employee conditions and rules of environmental protection.
Richard Ha writes:
I took Mom to Hamakua Springs to get a few tilapia for her dinner.
While we were there, we looked at some of the things we have going on.
One thing that strikes me is how much water we have running through our 600-acre farm. We must maximize its usage.
I really want to raise tilapia when the price of oil goes so high that bringing it in from Asia is prohibitive.
And, while doing that, we want to demonstrate how Hawaiians were self-sufficient in ancient days.
Then while we are at it, we want to reforest the streams with ‘ohi‘a, koa, bamboo, kukui, hapu‘u, etc.
Mom and I always have these kinds of conversations. I like it.
Foodland Supermarket is now supporting locally grown bananas.
Sometimes the bananas may not be picture-perfect looking on the outside, because we refuse to use insecticide-impregnated bags. That’s because our workers cannot avoid skin contact with the bags.
We know we could make the fruit prettier by using the insecticide, but we refused to expose our workers that way.
We appreciate Foodland going to bat for us.
Though local bananas may not be the prettiest, they are definitely the best tasting.
Mahalo to Foodland for supporting locally grown bananas.
What is wrong with this picture?
Hamakua Springs bananas are Food Safety Certified.
We were also the first banana farm in the world to be certified ECO-OK by the Rainforest Alliance.
We, and other local banana growers, refuse to use insecticide-impregnated bags because we cannot stand the thought of our workers having to carry those bags in close contact with their skin.
Yet our bananas can only be sold in Chinatown, because they are not blemish-free enough.
I write this because a friend of mine from O‘ahu asked me yesterday: “Where can I find local bananas?” He told me his family prefers local bananas – because they taste better, not because they look better.
What is wrong with this picture?
Changes in the banana world, according to The Packer:
…The banana market has been a concern for the produce industry for more than a year after global recession and a cold winter hurt demand. Recent price weakness raises questions whether Chiquita and Dole will see the improved conditions their executives predicted earlier this year.
Additionally, strength in Latin American currencies, such as the Costa Rican colon, has raised costs for U.S. and European importers, Jones said. Rising costs may force large, multinational fruit companies to buy less or shut some growing operations next year, she said….
