Organic crops sprout at Oprah’s Farm on Maui

Some Maui residents have gotten a taste of fresh organic produce from a farm started by Oprah Winfrey. Now a broader audience has gotten a taste (visually) of the operation that Winfrey representatives would say little about six months ago.

Oprah’s Farm is described by Winfrey in the June issue of her magazine — O, The Oprah Magazine — in a cover story touting "an exclusive look at Oprah’s new farm."

The farm is envisioned to occupy 16 acres but currently covers about 1 acre planted in more than 100 test crops including tomatoes, leafy greens, herbs, carrots, beets, potatoes, turnips, radishes and beans, the article said.

Winfrey said in the article that the farm operated by Bio-Logical Capital is producing 145 pounds of food weekly.

The celebrity with her own TV network, film production company and other endeavors has yet to figure out the best way to use what is harvested, but said in the article that "for now I walk down the road with bags of lettuce, going, ‘Hi, would you like some lettuce?’"

Guy Kaulukukui, senior vice president for Bio-Logical Capital operations in Hawaii, said the farm’s five employees and nonprofits are also sharing in the bounty. He added that Kula Hospital is or soon will be one of the recipients.

Winfrey said in the article that the farm, which is adjacent to a home she owns on the side of Hale­akala, reminds her of the tiny farm in Mississippi where she grew up with her grandmother.

Winfrey has owned land on Maui for at least a decade, and wrote that her friend and health consultant Bob Greene suggested the farm as a way to give back to Maui, especially because Maui imports about 90 percent of its food.

"We realized if we could grow delicious food ourselves, we could share it," Winfrey wrote in the article.

Bio-Logical Capital began farm operations in August. In November a Winfrey spokes­woman had little to share about the organic farm business and several product trademarks registered under the Oprah name.

The trademarks cover a variety of organic foods including beverages, sauces, salad dressing, frozen vegetables, soups and snack dips. Trademarks under the name Oprah’s Organics also cover catering services and a long list of body products such as soaps, shampoos, oils, lotions, creams, sunscreen and hair spray.