If her friends at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are correct, Shin Ho, a second-generation farmer and operations manager of Ho Farms in Kahuku, may very well be the face of Hawaii’s agricultural future.
Ho, 29, was one of about 75 current and prospective farmers who attended an immigrant farmer workshop Saturday at the Hawaii Agricultural Research Center in Kunia.
The four-hour workshop, presented by the Local Immigrant Farmer Education Program, a division of the University of Hawaii’s Cooperative Extension Service, brought together more than two dozen representatives from the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, state and federal agriculture programs and other agriculture-related agencies to help inform immigrant farmers of the numerous resources available and to apprise them of opportunities created by a new agricultural park in Kunia and a new reimbursement program that can help local farmers deal with transportation costs.
Already well versed in many of the funding processes, organizational strategies and governmental resources explained by Saturday’s panel of experts, Ho spent much of the afternoon observing the dozens of immigrant farmers who, like her parents, have embraced agriculture as a means of providing for their families and carving a valuable and respectable space for themselves in their adopted country.
Ho’s parents, who emigrated from Laos, started farming in Hawaii 19 years ago. Today, with Ho and her brother Neil at the helm, the farm is considered a model operation, turning steady profit with its crops of tomato, cucumber, beans and other vegetables.
"Farmers really have to understand the science of how to grow their crops, know how to get the most value for produce that is perishable and how to fully utilize state and federal resources," Ho said. "We’ve used crop insurance, USDA farm loans, resource conservation and development grants and other programs to help our farm grow. The agricultural community as a whole has been very supportive of my brother and me because they see us as part of the younger generation of farmers."
Jason Shitanishi, county executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency, encouraged the audience members — many of whom are embarking on their first farming venture — to think of their operations the same as they would any other formal business enterprise.
"Farming is a business, not just a way of life," Shitanishi said. "A lot comes down to being a good business person."
To that end, Shitanishi said farmers need to keep copious business records, the likes of which are necessary when applying for loans, insurance, grants and other programs.
"There are very few grants and it’s not likely that funding will increase next year, so people need to take advantage of the programs that do exist," he said. "To do that, they need to be able to show their tax records, their business plan and other records. That’s what they have to do to take the next step."
Many of the farmers attended to learn about the new federal Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment program, which will help farmers outside the contiguous United States cover direct and indirect transportation costs.
Many others came to find out about the new 184-acre Kunia Agricultural Park, which will soon be making 5- to 10-acre parcels available to qualified local farmers.
The long-awaited park will be administered by the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation in partnership with Monsanto Hawaii and Island Palm Communities. The first 35 acres will be distributed on Sept. 1.
Hawaii Agricultural Foundation spokeswoman Wendy Gady said park leases will provide a measure of stability to farm operations that currently survive on month-to-month leases.
"Some of these farmers have 29-day leases, which can mean that our overall system (of providing food) is less sustainable," she said.
Gady said selecting the farmers has been a surprisingly difficult task.
"We underestimated how good the applicants were going be," she said. "They are all very passionate about what they do. They know what to grow and how to grow it. They just need the land to do it."
