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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0897.001 2022-2024Mitchell D. Roth Mayor County of Hawaii DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 25 Aupuni Street, Room 1301 . Hilo, Hawall 96720-4252 (808) 961-8366 • Fax (808) 935-1205 E-mail: chresdev@co.hawail.hi.us Ij0i=V 11 Douglass S. Adams Director Frec'la Cevallos Deputy Director TO: Heather Kimball, Chair And Members of the Hawaii County Council FROM: Glenn T. Sako _� -' 5 Economic Development Specialist, Department of Research and Development DATE: June 17, 2024 SUBJECT: Resolution 533-24: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAI`I, DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM, FOR A GRANT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT The County of Hawaii Department of Research and Development would like to transmit the attached report, "2023 Gorse Removal Project Progress Report to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands", in support of Reso 533-24. Please distribute to the Council members. Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Comm. NglgQ ,..a. - _... Ref. To: Ref. Dote Nvv ar q Mitchell D. Roth Mayor t�•o� xr•M County of Hawaii DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 25 Aupuni Street, Room 1301 • Hilo, Hawai'l 96720-4252 (808) 961-8366 • Fax (808) 935-1205 E-mail: chresdev@co.hawall.hi.us December 26, 2023 Kali Watson Chairman, Hawaiian Homes Commission 'ane.sJeremiah hawaii. ov nicole.l.kinilau-cano@hawaii.gov Douglass S. Adams Director Frecia Cevallos Deputy Director Re: 2023 Gorse Removal Project Progress Report to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Dear Chairman Watson: This progress report is in response to Act 204, relating to invasive species. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has a MOA with the County of Hawaii for $500,000 to support the removal of gorse and its development into livestock feed. The County of Hawaii has a contract with Hui Ho'olako for Hawaiian Initiatives (HH) to develop livestock recipes using gorse and other feed stock and to determine palatability and livestock performance. HH harvested 99 tons of gorse to use in the feed formulation. Pulverized gorse material was tested for seed viability and the results showed zero germination. Unfortunately, the design of the Pana`ewa feed mill has too many costly drawbacks and the pelleting phase of the process has been moved to a new site. Hog yield study has been moved to the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Research will focus on the final feed formulation and hog weight gain in response to the formulated feed. Please see the attached report submitted by Hui Ho'olako for Hawaiian Initiatives. Very Respectfully, k �P*:- Douglass S. Adams Director, Research and Development County of Hawaii Hawaii County Is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Hui Ho'olako for Hawaiian Initiatives Gorse Hog Feed Project Please contact Pomai Freltas if there are any questions regarding this project. He can be reached at pomait@.qmail.com or 808-769-9566. Summary In response to Act 204, relating to invasive species, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) executed a MOA with the County of Hawai'i for $500,000 to support the removal of gorse and its formulation into a feed for hogs. DHHL has also executed a Right of Entry with the County of Hawai'i and the non-profit organization, Hui Ho'olako for Hawaiian Initiatives (HH) to harvest the gorse from a DHHL lessee. Progress Report Gorse is classified as a noxious weed, so it cannot be moved from the site it is growing. HH needed to show evidence that their harvesting methodology could render the gorse seeds non -viable, so it can be moved off Mauna Kea to the feed mill. The harvesting equipment consisted of an excavator to rip out the gorse and to load the tub grinder. The grinder shredded the gorse, and the hammer mill pulverized the material and the seeds. Five samples were sent to Oregon State University for germination testing and the results showed zero germination for the samples. Two harvests were conducted on DHHL property in Humu'ula (Kaniho). Over 19 tons of gorse were harvested from roughly 12 acres of land, The pulverized gorse material was loaded into trailers and transported to the feed mill. Feedstock samples were sent to the national laboratory, Dairy One, to analyze their nutritional content. Gorse, macadamia nut shells shavings, algae by product and a mixed feed of gorse (50%), mac nut (30%) and algae (20%) were analyzed for protein, fiber, ash content, and fats. Feedstock % Desired Gorse Mac nut shell Algae Mixed feed Crude Protein 16% 5.7 6.2 35.1 11.2 % N Fiber Content NA 6.9 5.8 30.2 15.2 % Ash 19-20% 17.69 21,26 21.33 19.79 % Crude Fat 2% 2.65 0.17 3.27 1.48 Dr. Nick Kreuger conducted the initial product palatability study at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo's research farm. The hogs were provided with the mixed feed that contained up to 50% gorse and the hogs showed a positive palatable response to eating it. A cost analysis was conducted to determine the cost per pound for the mixed feed, The cost for the gorse was the operational cost to harvest, pulverize and transport the material to the feed mill. There was no cost for the macadamia nut shell shavings and algae byproduct. The cost for the gorse and to run these feedstocks through the mill to produce a pound of mixed gorse feed was $0.10 to $0.15 per pound. The range given was due to the inefficiency of the processing flow and it was determined that $0.15 would be a conservative number to cover the inefficiency. Despite the conservative figure, this price range is highly competitive with imported hog feeds. The cheapest hog feed formula found on the internet cost $0.25 per pound, for a bulk order of 2,000 pounds and that did not include shipping to Hawaii. The hog feed needs at least 16% protein for the hogs to gain weight. The mixed feed was analyzed with only 11.2%. Gorse is a member of the legume family, but it had the lowest crude protein content of the three feedstocks. The hog feed will require more algae byproduct to increase the protein content of the feed. The algae byproduct may not be free in the future, so another feedstock with high protein content needs to be researched, Challenges An engineering consultant was brought in to conduct a thorough analysis of the UH Pan`ewa Feed Mill process flow. The consultant determined that in order to efficiently use the mill, the existing infrastructure would require upwards of $600,000 in capital improvements. There are multiple engineering inefficiencies: • There are no shakers or vibrators to stream line the ingredients through the system. This will cause bottlenecks such as unsized ingredients to build up and cause the inefficient formulation of pellets when reaching the pelletizer. • The hammer mill/sizing operation was built in the wrong area (midway) of the process. Having the sizing operation at the start of the process would have a more efficient streamlined flow of materials. A decision was made to pivot on our initial infrastructure strategy. Hui Ho'olako for Hawaiian Initiatives procured an 800 pounds per hour diesel -powered pelletizer to process the feed into the proper sized pellets. HH is working on an agreement to have this equipment housed in a warehouse on DHHL lands at Kawaihae, at the old Millennium Carbon processing plant. Ag Energy Hawaii is completing the purchase of this facility and has agreed to lease the warehouse to HH. Future Work We concluded the initial research studies at UH Hilo and determined that the project requires further formulation work to develop the feed. Pellet formulation will be the focus of the next study to maximize the growth of the hogs with the gorse -based feed. A Material Transfer Agreement was signed with Associate Professor Dr. Caleb Reichhardt at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr. Reichhardt agreed to formulate the final gorse pellet product and to conduct yield studies on hogs. A new set of trials will commence in March 2024 and last about 90 days at CTAHR's facility. The final recipe's formulation and the trial format is yet to be determined. (Selected photographs on the following pages, courtesy of Pomai Freitas) Gorse ripped out by small excavator. Loading the gorse to transport out of the field to the processing area. Large excavator piling up gorse before loading into tub grinder. t Pelleted mix feed with 17% moisture level is susceptible to mold. s Pelleted mix feed with 8.4% moisture level handles well and less susceptible to mold.