HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0675.659 2022-2024Date: November 7.2U24
REJeStirnonyBill 121
Myname iSEric VVeinert. | live inOOOnneoand practice Korean Natural Farming iO[�lUme8
with nOywife, son and daughter-in-law. | have spent mnyentire adult life and career in
Agriculture here in Hawaii County.
I encourage this Council to allow small family farmers to rent to visitors on a short term basis.
Many small farmers need the addition income to support their farming operations. If this
Council takes away that income, many may be forced to stop farming.
/\ major ne8Sonthere8Re8ofeVVfBrmUskftiDN8VVai' despite our year round growing season, iS
we cannot pricecompete with large scale mainland food producers. All farming fertilizers and
inputs must be imported putting Hawaii farmers sdcompetitive disadvantage. Often, the extra
income from n9Oƒ8|S subsidizes the farming operations that struggle to make ends 098f.
During WWII, Big Island families grew much of their own food and only needed to go to town to
purchase staples like sugar and flower. Today, vverely exclusively onimported food, with
probably less than a weeks of supply for our population in the case of an emergency. Hawaii
Civil C)8f8DS8 has 2 million MRE`S ready in the C8S8 of an emergency. My Dl8fh S8yS that VVOu|d
b8enough for one meal for each citizen. So, | don't think vveshould rely OOGovernment to
help us. We'll need tOrely 0nourselves and those ofuSwho produce food.
The new 2040 County General Plan makes DOmention ofthe assumptions regarding the future
economic environment. |tjust assumes everything will continue being rosy. However, aSany
student ofhistory knovvo, every empire that rises eventually collapses. Looking at recent
events; the d8dO||8[iz8[ioOpush bythe BR|CSalliance C33countries with 4O%nfworld GOP\.
USdebt 8tover 125Y6 Of[]SGDP and National debt increasing by trillion dollars every 100
days, might indicate that the economic environment i8changing and ioclearly less stable than
itmay have been just afew years back.
Helping small local farms to grow food might be a good insurance policy for our County.
EriCWeiDert
Retired, [}nommm'H|
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