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Environment- HILO -- Two hundred farmers and ranchers from around the state will meet in Hilo next month to talk about agriculture that doesn't harm the environment, doesn't irritate the neighbors, and still makes a profit.
friendly farming
takes spotlight
A Big Isle conference will look
into agriculture that doesn't harm
the fields or irritate the neighborsBy Rod Thompson
Star-BulletinIt's called sustainable agriculture, and the man organizing "Hawaii Agriculture 2001" said farmers have a lot of freedom in deciding what "sustainable" means. "There is no prescription here that you use to be sustainable. It's more of a state of mind," said Richard Bowen, professor of natural resources and environmental management at the University of Hawaii.
Some of the practices in sustainable farming are using fewer and less-toxic chemicals, better use of fertilizers, and planting of cover crops to control soil erosion.
"Some of this quite frankly is old, way old, pre-modern farming, getting back to the way they used to do it," Bowen said.
Some topics skirt touchy issues. For example, some residents on the Hamakua Coast object to new eucalyptus plantations there.
"Agriforestry" is different, Bowen said. An example might be a rancher grazing cattle either in a native ohia forest or a nonnative eucalyptus forest, he said.
Conference keynote speakers give an additional flavor of what sustainability can mean.
Larry Thompson, an Oregon farmer who markets 32 fruits and vegetables, cultivates beneficial insects, uses no chemical insecticides or fungicides, and controls weeds with a quarter of the normally recommended amounts of herbicides.
Thompson operates fresh fruit and vegetable stands and allows consumer "u-pick" activity seven days a week.
Virginia Farmer Joel Salatin, noted for a sense of humor, will discuss "tenderloin taxis, eggmobiles, and pigaerators."
World Bank consultant Paul O'Connell will discuss his experience with "environmentally friendly farming" in Africa, Eastern Europe and South America.
Besides those speakers talking to the entire conference, smaller group meetings will be presented by U.S. Department of Agriculture official Claire Klotz, who will talk about Internet marketing; California statewide Integrated Pest Management coordinator Frank Zalom, who will describe pesticide use; and Chiba University (Japan) professor Yasuo Ohe, who will discuss agritourism.
More than 40 speakers from within the state will make presentations, Bowen said.
The conference will be Jan. 26-27 at the Waiakea Villas Resort.
The registration fee is $125 before Jan. 19, $150 afterward.
For more information, call Bowen at 956-8419 on Oahu or Paula Helfrich at 966-5416 on the Big Island.
http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/sustainag/workshops.htm.