2022 HFUU Legislative Priorities

SB2955 – Three-year pilot compost reimbursement pilot program

SB2982 – Five-year food hub pilot program to increase access to local food.

SB2986 – Removes certain duplicative regulations imposed on hemp producers

SB2989 – Healthy Soils Program

SB2990 – Cover Crop seed reimbursement pilot program (old version)

SB3005 – Cover Crop reimbursement pilot program

SB3197 – Farmer Apprentice Mentoring Program

SB3198 – Funds for capital improvement projects for agriculture (HUPC)

Compost Reimbursement Program SB2955

Aloha Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Nishihara, and Members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,

The Hawaii Farmers Union United (HFUU) is a 501(c)(5) agricultural advocacy nonprofit representing a network of over 2,500 family farmers and their supporters across the Hawaiʻian islands. HFUU strongly supports the intent of SB2955 to provide cost-sharing with farms to purchase compost. 

There are multiple similar bills this session for compost reimbursement programming. Unlike SB2955 which would establish another three-year pilot program bills SB3004 

Food Hub Pilot Program SB2982

Aloha Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Nishihara, and Members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,

The Hawaii Farmers Union United (HFUU) is a 501(c)(5) agricultural advocacy nonprofit representing a network of over 2,500 family farmers and their supporters across the Hawaiʻian islands. This bill will provide support for the network of food hubs across the state to expand their work, and in doing so increase farmer incomes and consumer food access. For these reasons we strongly support SB2982.

In 2017, the Legislature awarded the Hawaii Farmers Union Foundation a Grant in Aid project to Strengthen Regional Food Hubs in Hawaiʻi. As part of that project, the coordinator, Dr. Saleh Azizi facilitated a focus group, composed of the majority of Hawaiʻi’s food hubs, to understand the resources needed for food hubs to respond to statewide local food purchasing goals. The focus group findings resulted in a 2020 Food Hub Pilot program bill to support existing and new food hubs in all of Hawaii’s counties.

Food hubs connect small and family farmers with diverse markets. In decades past, farmer cooperatives were a strong tool for smallholders to get to market. As cooperatives fell apart, so did much of the small farm economy. Food hubs are the modern approach to that collective work to increase market access for groups of farmers. Drastic changes in foodways make these aggregators a crucial intermediary. Once abundant local grocers have been replaced by big box stores with global supply chains. Food hubs enable producers to enter these stores where most consumers access their food. 

Support of this bill will expand the critical work and build a stronger local food economy.

Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Hemp Regulation Revisions SB2986 

Aloha Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Nishihara, and Members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,

The Hawaii Farmers Union United (HFUU) is a 501(c)(5) agricultural advocacy nonprofit representing a network of over 2,500 family farmers and their supporters across the Hawaiʻian islands. This bill will provide support for the network of food hubs across the state to expand their work, and in doing so increase farmer incomes and consumer food access. For these reasons we strongly support SB2982.

Farm Apprentice Mentorship SB3197

Aloha Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Nishihara, and Members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,

The Hawaii Farmers Union United (HFUU) is a 501(c)(5) agricultural advocacy nonprofit representing a network of over 2,500 family farmers and their supporters across the Hawaiʻian islands. HFUU strongly supports SB3197 to fund a Farmer Apprentice Mentoring Program to teach and train farmers to utilize a whole farm system approach to agriculture.

The Farm Apprentice Mentoring (FAM) program to train beginning farmers was first piloted 2015-2016 in Maui and responds to three major priorities for the State’s food security needs including growing more farmers, increasing the supply of Hawaii’s skilled agricultural workforce and contributing to increased local food production on small family farms through a hands-on farm immersion component.

SB3197 would expand on the FAM program success on Maui and provide beginning farmer training across the islands. As explained in SB3197, the Beginning Farmer Training program immerses beginning farmers in a “whole farm system” approach to agriculture under the guidance of experienced farmer mentors.

As a division of the National Farmers Union (NFU), HFUU supported, at a national level in 2019, a more

focused approach to educating interns and apprentices on locally-oriented farms as these educational

opportunities results in improved farm viability, a larger pool of skilled agricultural labor, and more

beginning farmers. In 2019, NFU established an on-farm labor priority urging Congress to take action

to attract U.S. citizens to jobs as agricultural workers and acknowledge the importance of educating

interns and apprentices on farms as a pathway to increased availability of skilled agricultural labor.

SB3197 notes that the future of the State’s farming industry, food supply, and agriculture is reliant upon

increasing and diversifying the number of new farmers in the state and introducing regenerative

farming methods, statewide. 

Increasing the number of farmers who grow food is a key facet of the HFUU statewide strategic plan, and a critical component of meeting State goals for increasing food security and agricultural self-sufficiency. For these reasons we ask you to support SB3197. 

Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Compost Reimbursement Program

HB1528

HB1527: Cover Crop Reimbursement Pilot Program – 3rd in line

• There was a 3 year compost pilot program – producers of small and large across the state that did make use of it. The data is there for all the farms that benefited from it previously. 

Hemp

• SB2986: Removes certain duplicative regulations imposed on hemp producers in the State. Allows hemp producers to sell biomass directly to consumers. Requires that hemp produced in the State be labeled as Hawaii produced and that hemp produced outside the State be labeled with the appropriate origin.

Healthy Soils Program

• HB1804/SB2989: Requires the Department of Agriculture to establish a Healthy Soils Program – #2 priority! 

___________

[Name]

Regarding [Name of the Committee and/or Agency You are testifying about]

[Date]

[Paragraph 1: Introduce yourself and the issue you want to testify about]

Give your first and last name and identify yourself. Ex. “My name is Leilani Jackson and I am a concerned Maui resident/a middle teacher/a mother of three.”

Tell them what you’re testifying about. Ex. “I am testifying on how the lack of funding for reentry programs and services has made it difficult for me to find housing” or “I am testifying about how police presence in my neighborhood has made me and my neighbors feel less safe.”

[Paragraph 2: Tell your story]

Pick an event or issue that you have worked directly on or been affected directly by that you are comfortable sharing with the public.

Tell what services caused this event or issue and how it impacted you.

[Paragraph 3: Explain why you felt the need to testify]

Tell why you wanted to share your story and what you want them to take from your story. The more personal, the more people are better to understand your perspective. 

What would have helped prevent negative experiences or increase positive experiences.

[Paragraph 4:  Give suggestions for solving the issue or problem you have raised.]

What do you think the government should do to make sure others do not have the negative experiences you did or that they have the positive experiences you did?  

What do you think will be helpful in dealing with the issue or problem you talked about?

[Paragraph 5: Thank the Committee/Legislative body]

Thank the chair of the committee if you know their name for reading/hearing your testimony.

Tell them you hope they consider your testimony and the solutions you have suggested. Ex. “Your consideration of these matters and solutions is very much appreciated.”