A large-scale commitment to buying from local farmers, ranchers and other food producers is needed to support the agriculture industry in the islands.

The wide-ranging bill would change zoning rules for thousands of Oahu properties. But it has gone largely unnoticed until now.

A 2019 law aspired to help farmers grow large amounts of food indoors or in greenhouses by providing savings on electricity. But critics say the current proposal falls short.

Gov. David Ige wants to nix the program because there is a soil survey in the works. But supporters say it’s like comparing apples and oranges.

Farmers and ranchers feel investing in agriculture has become more of a buzzword than an actual concern for the executive branch.

Maui’s DOA director designee Rogerene “Kali” Arce brings more than 30 years of experience to the role.

Early ideas of extra regulation caused consternation among farmers and ranchers on Maui.

Agricultural technologists descended upon Hilo to discuss innovation, as well as the many hurdles Hawaii faces as it tries to increase food production.

But the Legislature has once again only approved a fraction of what the Department of Agriculture requested.

Planting crops that adapt, cutting back on workers, even harvesting fog are ideas being put into action on Maui and Molokai.

Event organizers say a conference later this month could be the next step in making the islands a proving ground for farming technologies.

Considering all the hurdles within the food supply chain in Hawaii, some agricultural advocates say concepts like food hubs can help boost production and profit.

After exhausting their savings and losing hope for more meaningful legislative relief, some hemp producers in Hawaii may ditch the crop altogether.

Student meals will include locally grown leafy greens and less cheese as the DOE modifies menus to meet food sustainability and nutritional goals.

Finding workers is hard in Hawaii, so many farms pay extra, but lifting the benchmark to $18 could present a new set of problems for farmers.

Professor Thao Le discusses the experiences of researchers at the University of Hawaii who have been canvassing the ranching and farming community to find the state of its mental health.

Great stock has been put into fencing off native ecosystems, namely watersheds, to ensure that the state’s terrestrial and marine resources are protected for the future.

The island has a storied history of bovine tuberculosis, including a complete eradication of cattle from the island in 1985.

The voter-created Maui County Department of Agriculture needs leaders. And the mayor is hiring.

A 2021 audit of the agency was scathing. But instead of fixing it, critics fear lawmakers are poised to let it off the hook.

Experts say the future of farming will integrate this technology, but it’s tough to get started.

Legislative amendments would introduce new requirements for the land swap.

For decades, axis deer have threatened everything from ranching to watersheds. Hunters can limit the destruction while feeding their families but accessing the land has proven difficult.

It’s the farthest the raw milk measure has made it in Hawaii despite the past six years of trying.

As the pandemic eases, the Food and Drug Administration is resuming its audits of farms nationwide. Hawaii is unprepared, experts say.

A new report shows seven of the 18 departments bought local produce last year, spending a combined $2.6 million.

The co-chairs of a working group tasked with fixing an almost 19-year-old problem are taking two different approaches.

Many are former sugarcane plantation workers who, when their employer went bust, started one of the most renowned coffee regions of the world.

The Department of Agriculture’s leases restrict farmers from producing chickens despite the state’s goals of increasing food sustainability and the local taste for fowl.

When it comes to livestock in Hawaii, cattle is king. But there’s another animal with plenty of promise, especially for small farmers.

When things were not looking great for students at Ka‘u High & Pahala Elementary School, the teachers took their lessons to the region’s roots — agriculture.

A strategy is developing to use centralized kitchens to replace processed food imports currently served in student meals with fresh, local ingredients.

Ranchers are fed up with waiting two decades for the departments of Agriculture and Land and Natural Resources to sort out legally mandated land transfers.

It’s not easy to make a living in agriculture. But some intrepid residents are trying to answer the state’s call to wean the islands off imported food.

A billionaire’s investment in the state’s biggest slaughterhouses and a shift to more grass-fed operations could help ranchers keep their cattle in the islands after years of sending them to the mainland.

A new legislative report offers sparse detail on the planned overhaul of student meals served in Hawaii’s public schools.

As Hawaii strives for a more self-sufficient food system, a large cache of protein in the form of feral pigs, axis deer and other invasives could help.

Romantic ideas about locally grown food and a lack of statewide planning could be getting in the way of making real progress addressing food insecurity, climate change and the economy.

As the focus on local food production continues, lawmakers and lobbyists want to make farming and ranching easier in Hawaii.

Despite new legislation requiring public schools to serve student meals with more local ingredients, advocates say they are frustrated by a regression in local food initiatives.

Cacao has been in Hawaii for at least 190 years, but it’s only been in the last few decades that people are getting interested in making chocolate locally. Agrotourism may hold the answer for future growth.

Building solar farms on steeper slopes would ease competition for land between the renewable energy and agriculture sectors, a new report shows.

The state has struggled with biosecurity due to staffing issues and underfunding for more than 10 years. Whether the Legislature will increase funding to meet the state’s needs is still up in the air.

The avocado lace bug has burst onto orchards, causing reduced yields, smaller fruit size and an increase in blemished fruit that can’t be sold.

A collective of statewide food hubs has a plan to get more crops from small farmers to businesses, institutions and families that want locally grown food.

The multimillion-dollar facility is entirely off the grid. But it still needs to figure out how to produce its own feed and may need GMOs to do so.

The plantations that were so profitable in their heyday had the support of generous government incentives. Experts say today’s farmers must build political muscle to win state support.

The Hawaii Land Use Commission must now make tough choices as many landowners say their property isn’t fit for growing much, if anything.

Six researchers published a study that found two new and promising Hawaiian heritage sweet potatoes that could bring millions back to native people.

Four-year-old Mana Up is now providing a tool in addition to business advice: cash to grow.

Gabriel Sachter-Smith is on a mission to find the perfect banana for Hawaii. He’s already got 200 varieties in the works.

The federal legislation would enable research funding to be used to address current and emerging threats to the crops.

High-tech farming is costly and limited in what it can grow, but techniques could help Hawaii with its dependency on food imports.

More fires. Worse drought. Excessive heat. The state’s agriculture industry is facing serious environmental problems in the years ahead.

A new product development center is being heralded by supporters as evidence that the Agribusiness Development Corp. is making progress.

It’s part of a growing trend of people pushing for more opportunities to take food security into their own hands.

The Westside resident thinks kiawe trees can revolutionize Oahu’s food system and help the next generation learn to love where they live.

Farmers need better technology, data and transportation subsidies if Hawaii’s agricultural industry is going to grow substantially in the coming decades.

Renewable energy companies say Honolulu’s plan to designate 12% of Oahu as “Important Agricultural Lands” could hinder the state’s ability to meet its clean energy goals.

Voters in Maui County approved a charter amendment to create Hawaii’s first county-level agriculture department. Now organizers need to determine exactly what the agency will work on.

As the threat of COVID-19 subsides, some local food growers say they will continue to prioritize local families that kept them afloat during the pandemic over the tourism industry.

The effort to protect ag land and encourage farming — which has been in the works for more than a decade — is facing growing opposition.

The state Land Use Commission has scheduled two days of hearings beginning Wednesday to try to sort through Honolulu’s plan for designating Important Agricultural Lands.

Many Oahu property owners are angry and worried their lives could be suddenly upended by a major land use proposal that has been in the works for decades.

Let’s reduce our reliance on imported food by learning how to cook with more local ingredients.

Hawaii will never be a big producer of wheat or rice, but there are plenty of homegrown alternatives.

Facing a shortage of affordable agricultural land, a Maui farmer is forging unique partnerships with high-end homeowners to grow food in their yards.

A group of food hubs came together to support legislation that would win them new access to grant money. The bill failed, but the networking is paying off.

Hawaii’s reliance on food imports began in the 1960s. To achieve self-sufficiency again, experts say it will take old values and new tools.

Locally grown vegetables are expensive, so communities are coming together to grow fresh produce.

A group from the University of Hawaii West Oahu sees planting coconut trees as a way of improving food security and cultural ties in Hawaii.

Farmers say housing insecurity threatens their ability to retain employees and makes it difficult to ramp up production.

Some developers have turned acreage earmarked for farming into high-end luxury homes with high prices and restrictions on what the land can be used for.

When the pandemic hit, the start-up ditched its hospitality-focused components and zeroed in on a goal to help Hawaii food entrepreneurs reach a larger audience.

Growing, cultivating and cooking the starchy root vegetable, which is used to make poi, is hard work that’s not always profitable.

Federal funding and private donations helped support local food producers and feed thousands of local families during the pandemic.

Providing small farmers land is key to producing more local food, but the state’s go-to model isn’t moving the needle.

Blue Ocean Mariculture recently became the first U.S. operation certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

Several market analysis programs have been discontinued in the past decade, including monthly reports on Hawaii produce like bananas and papayas.

Senators were concerned the bill, aimed at keeping one company from dominating the processing industry, was unconstitutional.

A bill scheduled to be heard Wednesday targets an investor who has gained control of 70% of Hawaii’s meat processing capacity.

A pair of companies backed by a billionaire and a pension fund are trying to revitalize fallow farmland in the state.

The amount of land used for farming in Hawaii has shrunk dramatically since the 1930s.

Lawmakers plan to vote next week on a measure to dissolve the Agribusiness Development Corp.

It takes a lot of creativity and hard work to overcome the high cost of running a farm in the islands.

The pandemic has exposed a critical need for Hawaii to resolve the many challenges keeping the islands — with our fertile lands and ideal climate — from growing much more of our own food.