Posted on: Monday, August 9, 2004
Extra rain affecting Big Island crops
By Karin Stanton
Associated Press
KAILUA, Hawai'i — This year has reaffirmed Arlene Wakefield's belief in the power of agricultural diversity.
"I prayed for the rain, but I didn't expect so much," she said. "I love the rain but it's really causing big problems."
The state has recorded more rain on the Big Island this year than in the past six, forecasters say.
Wakefield says it's too early to make predictions on what all the rain has done for her coffee crop, but some of the tropical flowers on her 10-acre Wakefield Gardens in Honaunau have suffered.
Other organic crops are "going crazy," she says. The macadamia nut trees are hardy enough to handle drier or wetter weather, and some of her tropical fruits are doing well, she said.
Other farmers say the extra rain means this will be a good year for Kona coffee.
John Langenstein, who has farmed 45 acres of coffee in Honaunau for 30 years, said more than 52 inches have been recorded so far this year.
With the absence of a real dry season and the wind storms early in the year, some coffee trees began flowering later, Langenstein said.
Coffee trees at higher elevations will be picked later, although Langenstein said he has harvested two full rounds, something that typically wouldn't happen until well into August.
The variations will mean a longer picking season and higher production costs, although Langenstein said he does not expect costs to be passed on to the customer.
Prices have been stable for several years, with coffee cherry at 85 cents to 95 cents per pound.
After last year, when beans were smaller and growers saw twice the incidence of defective beans, Langenstein said, the quality of this year's crop is excellent.
"The beans are dense, heavy — just superb," he said.
Meanwhile, some farmers, ranchers and flower growers across the state still are struggling to recover from damaging storms earlier in the spring, said Lee Kunitake, Big Island executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Kunitake's office recorded 150 telephone calls for help.
More help could be on the way in the form of emergency low-interest loans from the federal government, said Rueben Flores, executive director of the Farm Service Agency.
Hawai'i, Honolulu and Maui counties have been designated for federal disaster aid, although the money won't be available to farmers and ranchers until next year.
"Farming is tough. It's not an easy way to make a living," Flores said. "Parts of each island were hit harder. It's very individual."
The USDA's state agricultural statistician, Don Martin, also cautioned against making generalizations, since Hawai'i includes so many micro-climates. Much of the information so far is anecdotal and the overall picture won't be clear until the whole crop comes in, he said.
"It's a mixed bag," he said, "but that's how it always is." Some vegetable crops, such as tomatoes, onions and melons, may be suffering, while orchard crops and pastures are benefiting, Martin said.
"Some trees are the best they have been in years," he said.
Troy Kindred, Hawai'i County Civil Defense Agency administrator, said that despite the rain, the Big Island as a whole remains under a drought proclamation and authorities are concerned a hot, dry late summer might mean a greater wildfire threat.
Rains have nurtured brush, and one spark could have a devastating effect, Kindred said.
Many areas, however, remain more soggy than scorched.
Mountain View, for example, topped 100 inches of rain in the first six months of the year; its annual average is 125 inches.
Keahole International Airport has recorded more than 16 inches of rain, or three times its norm, according to the National Weather Service.
