By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
A lone weed springs forth from an untilled field at D/E Farms.
Crop losses have been in the millions for Leeward farmers.
"This is the worst that farming has been here since I started
in 1976," said D/E owner Victoria Domingo.

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The rain came down,
but nothing came up

Crops were devastated by November rains,
and with 85 more inches since then,
planting has been slow

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Leeward crop farmers are still reeling in the aftermath of last November's torrential rainstorms, as replanting efforts have been stymied by frequent intermittent showers.

"With all our modern technology, no one has ever come up with a device to control Mother Nature," said Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser of Mikilua Poultry Farm, a state Board of Agriculture member.

"The amount of moisture we've had in the last five months is very unusual for our area, and old-timers have mentioned the last time we had this was back in the '40s," she added. "The ground is saturated, and it has really been devastating for farmers."

According to the Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service, Waianae received 30 inches of rainfall last October to December. The median average for the same period was 3.7 inches.

Farms from Nanakuli to Makaha -- especially those along Paakea, Hakimo, Papaya and Kaukama roads -- were hit hard.

Crop losses are in the millions.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Planting ;has been difficult for hands at the D/E Farm in Maili.

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"Everybody's struggling to come out of it, but it hasn't been a good year so far," state Board of Agriculture Chairman James Nakatani said. "I know one farmer whose losses are over $1 million who has been forced to close down.

"What usually happens when the rain stops is they'll come up with a bumper crop," he added. "But it's a difficult time now for farmers."

Frustration is chipping away at the resilient spirit of farmers.

"November wiped out over 2 acres of nearly ripe papaya," said Roy Thephsourinthone, a Kapolei resident who also grows bananas on 8 acres at Waianae Agricultural Park. "I lost maybe $36,000.

"When the big rain came (in November), the soil ran away and left behind plenty of rocks," he added. "When the weather comes good, I can start to fix my farm, but now the ground is still too wet. Every time it starts to dry, the rain comes."

Victoria Domingo, owner of D/E Farm on Kaukama Road, looks out at half-empty fields where ethnic Filipino vegetables such as calamunggai or marunggay (horseradish), saluyot (jute) and bitter melon should be flourishing.

"I've lost $135,000 so far, and it'll take six months to a year for us to recover," said Domingo, who exports her vegetables to California, Canada and Alaska. "This is the worst that farming has been here since I started in 1976.

"We've been harvesting only about 50 percent since the heavy rains (from November to January)," she added.

"It started raining again the last two weeks, and every time it drizzles now, it attracts insects. And we can't spray now."

Domingo noted that it's useless to start planting in these conditions because showers will uncover seeds, providing food for birds.

She cannot afford to pay her four full-time workers, but they still work, knowing that Domingo will pay them when she can.

"I'm loaded with loans; some creditors understand, others don't," she added. "We're all trying to help one another, and there's a lot of sharing going on.

"All we can do is just be patient. Farm life is the ability to survive," Domingo said.

Larry Jefts of Waikele Farm Inc. in Kunia had prepared for the unexpected and still took a hit last November.

"Based on studies, we were prepared for 15 to 18 inches (of rain) in any month," Jefts said. "We got 31 inches in 10 days from November 5 to 15. We went back and couldn't find any month with that kind of rainfall in the last 50 years.

"We've had 85 inches since then, when we should have had only 35 inches," he added. "We had water diversions in place, so the first event didn't destroy us, but the compounding effect has hurt."

Jefts has been forced to lay off 30-35 workers for a couple of months.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
D/E Farms field hand Roberta Ignacio, above, tosses a bunch
of bitter-melon leaves aside for harvest in Maili.

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"Everyone got hurt," Jefts said. "With the sales loss, there have been substantial out-of-pocket expenses. Our bell peppers, tomatoes, watermelons and onions are still not fully recovered.

"Farmers are tenacious but we're all worried," he added.

Although overall local production is down, there's no shortage of produce in the marketplace.

The farmers are hanging tough.

"It's very hard now, but I'm going to stay with it because if I give up, I throw away all the money I put in," Thephsourinthone said. "One of my sons left already to work on the mainland."

Domingo has farmed in the Philippines, where annual storms teach farmers to be resilient.

"I come from Asia, where it was worse, so I know we'll survive," Domingo said. "Farmers are born to be strong. It's a risky business. You can't do it if you don't have a love for nature."

A key factor to economic recovery for farmers will rest with their crop selection once the weather improves, Nakatani says.

"After a big rain, everybody goes back and tries to get their crops out, creating a big flush on produce coming out," Nakatani said. "I'd like to see them spreading their products out. The smart farmers are going to see what is being planted and time what they produce."

Disease and bad weather
trigger pig shortage

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Just when it looked like it couldn't get any worse for Waianae Coast pig farmers, it did.

Eight of the biggest farms, all in Mikilua Valley, were hit last July by a disease known as "porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome," causing about 10,000 pigs to be aborted or born dead.

The disease resulted in a 20 percent to 25 percent drop in local production, said Norman Oshiro of Hawaiian Food Products.

A vaccination program brought the disease under control by November.

And then the rains came.

"It was a double whammy," pig farmer Leonard Oshiro said. "The disease came in July; it stops the reproductive process.

"And then the pigs got pneumonia. I've never seen anything like it.

"The weather hasn't been good since November, and that only compounds it," he added.

"Right now we're all salvaging what we can.

"It's the hardest economic loss we've ever had."

Farmers have been waiting for about four months for production to improve, he said. "It's like starting new," he added.

Halina Zaleski, a swine extension specialist for the University of Hawaii's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, said the disease devastated the local industry.

"Farmers lost between one-third to one-half of their income for the year, and it also had a tremendous psychological effect on them because of what was happening to their pigs," Zaleski said.

There's evidence indicating the disease came to Hawaii from the mainland, Zaleski said.

It not only causes the sow to abort but makes the boar temporarily sterile.

"The (infected) pigs have respiratory problems and low resistance, making them susceptible to other problems," Zaleski said.

Pigs were blood-tested and vaccinated in September, and the problem is under control.

"It takes about a month to build up resistance, and we've been seeing live litters since December," Zaleski said.

Rainy weather, however, compounded the farmers' problems.

"After getting this one big whammy, they get hit with the weather," Zaleski said. "Pigpens got flooded, and 90 to 95 percent of baby pigs don't survive when they have to swim around or are in wet conditions.

"The wet weather also causes feed to get moldy, and with roads under water, it made it hard for farmers to bring pigs to market," she added.

Local hogs normally account for 50 percent of the 2,400 pigs slaughtered per month on Oahu by Hawaiian Food Products, Norman Oshiro said.

"I'd say it's now 30 percent local and 70 percent from the mainland," he added.

"The shortage of hogs on Oahu right now is severe.

"One big farm recently closed, and we're bringing in hogs live from the mainland to make up the difference," he added. "I think recovery is going to take six months to a year."

Rain damage has also affected the number of chickens being sent to market.

"Chicks had a high mortality rate because of the weather," said Sam Kakazu, who raises chickens for a broiler operation, Pacific Poultry.

"Up until our last (11-week) cycle, we were losing 15 percent of the chicks," he added.

"We consider 5 percent to be a danger number. Not enough is going to market, so our production cost has skyrocketed.

"It's the worst year ever -- I think we all agree on that," Kakazu said.

Part of the problem for Kakazu is that flooding damaged one of his chicken houses, and he has been unable to repair it.

"Because we can't clean up, we lose 10,000 birds (in terms of production)," he said.

Unlike crop farmers, livestock farms are not eligible for federal assistance, Leonard Oshiro said.

"It's not a very good time to be a farmer," he added.

Some who lost crops eligible
for federal assistance

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Federal assistance is available to farmers whose crops were ruined by heavy rains late last year, but not all are eligible.

For example, Maili farmer Victoria Domingo does not qualify for funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency's noninsured assistance program because the type of crops she grows is not on the national list.

"I feel very, very frustrated because I can't get any help from the government," said Domingo, who specializes in raising ethnic Filipino vegetables.

"There's no chance for ethnic crops. The list has only crops that are common on the mainland."

The Farm Service Bureau's national office approved assistance for farmers in Maui County, which includes Molokai, last week, and approval is expected later this month for Oahu farmers.

Jo-Anna Nakata, executive director of the bureau's Hawaii office, said at least 35 percent of a listed crop that is produced in an area must be lost in a catastrophe for assistance to be approved. It is not based on individual farm losses, she added.

"We had to gather documentation to show the November rains were catastrophic. For example, Leeward Oahu gets about 35 inches of rain a year, but it got 17 inches in two days in November."

Jason Shitanishi of the bureau's Honolulu County office said 75 farmers, more than 50 of them from Leeward Oahu, filed 380 applications for losses of 54 types of crops such as Manoa lettuce, green onions, mustard cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes.

In Maui County, Molokai farmers filed 13 applications for eight crops, while Valley Isle farmers, the majority from Kula, filed 51 applications for 14 crops.

Low-interest state loans at 3 percent are also available.

Only about a fifth of the 60 farmers who requested application for loans after the November storm, however, returned their applications, state Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Ann Takiguchi said. The amounts for state loans ranged from $3,000 to $50,000, she said.

"Some are waiting for USDA disaster grants," state Board of Agriculture Chairman James Nakatani said. "But you have to wait for the cutoff date each year -- I think it's in September. That's when they screen all the disaster areas (on file) and determine which ones will qualify. Then they start dividing up the money."

Feds help fix
bridges, roads

By Star-Bulletin staff

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released $1.5 million in emergency relief funds to repair federal-aid roads and bridges on Oahu damaged by heavy rains and flooding last November.

The money reimburses the state for emergency work already completed and provides funding for other necessary repairs.

Eligible repair work includes reconstructing damaged bridges and pavement surfaces, establishing detours, removing slides and debris and replacing signs, lighting and guardrails.

A state Transportation Department spokesman said most of the roadwork was between Kaaawa and Laie.