That has produced a deep and abiding conflict between those who wish to keep agriculture alive and thriving, and those who want to make this idyllic place available to homeowners willing to pay the price.

That picture was captured in an extensive article Sunday by staff writer Andrew Gomes, who explored the growing use of agricultural land for what, in effect, are high-end gentleman estates with little relationship to agriculture.

Under state and county law, one can build a residence on agricultural land. The original idea was that the residence was "ancillary" to the primary agricultural use; that is, the farmer needed a place to live.

But in practice, this scenario played out with multimillion-dollar homes built on one-, two- or three-acre agriculturally zoned parcels with little or no attention to actual farming.

This leads to a corrosive cynicism in which everyone recognizes that land-use and zoning laws can be easily manipulated by those with enough money and patience.

The 1978 Constitutional Convention tried to deal with this by imposing a requirement that the state identify so-called "prime" agricultural lands that would be protected in perpetuity from development. Shamefully, the Legislature has failed to act on this mandate for decades, largely because large landowners were reluctant to see any of their properties "locked in" to ag use forever.

This year, the Legislature took a few half-steps toward finishing this business. They passed a bill that would require counties to "discourage" nonfarming uses on important agricultural lands, which the counties would define.

This effort must also include rethinking of property tax policies that force landowners to make the "highest and best" use of their lands, which, of course, rarely winds up being agriculture.

Lawmakers also repealed a poorly thought-out measure that has allowed golf courses as a permitted "agricultural" use on low-grade ag lands.

Both measures deserve Gov. Linda Lingle's approval. But they are only first steps.

If Hawai'i wishes to maintain an agricultural tradition — and we believe strongly that it should — then laws must be put in place that make agriculture economically feasible as well as physically possible.

That means identifying areas that are best suited for agriculture and then dedicating them to that purpose, with the right kind of incentives, zoning schemes and tax breaks that make long-term sustainable agriculture possible. Such agricultural districts would include many of the better, or "prime," agricultural parcels, but might also include other areas that appear less suitable but still work as for agriculture.

Those who are actively involved in agriculture will point out that there is no single, simple description that distinguishes valuable agricultural lands from the less valuable. For instance, the Kona coffee "belt" on the Big Island does not meet many traditional descriptions of prime ag land, yet it is clearly a thriving agricultural enterprise worth protecting.