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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0604.030 1996-1998 ~ ~L Dear Editor, It has been said that thinking is the hardest work there is and that is the reason that so few bureaucrats and politicians engage in it! A couple of examples of this are the proposed tree farms and millions for a radiation plant to process papayas. First, the tree farm leases are too cheap for prime agricultural land with adequate rainfall. Second, the land will be lefr covered with thousands of stumps, which will cost about, conservatively, $25 to $35 per stump to remove from the ground. Third„ what do you do with thousands of worthless stumps? I suspect they won't be removed at all. Several hundred acres in Paauilo and Ahualoa were lefr covered with stumps that once were big, beautiful trees before they were clear cut (meaning all of them) by Capitol Chip Company. Capitol Chip Company paid the State and the Hawaiian Homes commission $2 per ton dry weight. Each tree was estimated at 4 tons with a 50% water retention giving you only $4 for each big tree. The cost of returning the land to its original condition would have cost more than the whole project was worth to either the State, Hawaiian Homes or Capitol Chip Company. Fourth, everyone in Paauilo and Ahualoa held their breath as big trucks carrying three to four logs for a total of 10-12 tons rumbled across bridges that were rated at 6-3 tons. The highways in Paauilo and Ahualoa were lefr riddled with potholes and the shoulders were deep ruts. We, the taxpayers, had to pay for the repairs. They are still in bad shape. Fifrh, there are profitable tree farms in Rotorura, New Zealand, Oregon and Washington, but they are on hillsides and steep slopes with poor soil. What do we do with thousands of acres of good soil that doesn't need irrigatlion? F11e Nn. Presented'~~ ke(. Tn: Yet. [~ate_~.4-~-i`i9.fl..,_, Answer, tropical agriculture! There are a few things we can grow here (at least for a while) that aren't grown in abundance anywhere else. The beauty of it is everything is already here and in place. We have at least two processing plants to start. They only need to expand and they can with an unlimited supply of Fruit. I am talking about guava and lilikoi concentrates and papaya puree either separately or blended. There are also ready markets for coffee and cocoa. There is one thing you can forget about and that is shipping papayas to the Mainland, whether you spend two million to rid them of fruit flies or not. NAFTA took care of that by eliminating the tariff between the U.S. and Mexico. Papayas are selling at Safeways and Von's in Southern California for $0?5 to $0.35 per pound, which means they were probably bought for $0.10-$0.15 per pound. However, guava and lilikoi can be gown the size of oranges or grapefruit with the help of the University of Hawaii Development as they did with the pineapple and sugar. These and macadamia nuts, if planted in sutlicient numbers and better harvest methods such as "shaker machines" that at present are used to harvest walnuts, almonds and pistachios in California, could also be used to harvest guava. With the money saved by not building the radiation processor , a nursery could be started up to supply those willing to start with farming guavas, lilikoi, coffee, coca and other produce suited to this climate. Don't give up on us yet. Don't follow this administration's lead and sell us to a foreign country like they did in Washington, DC We deserve better than that. By that I mean working for a foreign company on our own land for peanuts. There will be far more jobs in agriculture than there will be tree farming. The best part of tropical agriculture is the money stays. here Bryan Neal P.O. Box 1799 Honokaa, HI 96727 ~sos~ 77s-99,7 3 EDWIN DL LU7_ "1-RUCIUNG t3~ QU/aRRY r'. v. 13~x Pius Paauilo, f lawaii 9G77G Pax: (t3Ut3) 77G-'175U VEHICLE WEIGHT EXAMPLES (IN TONS) 1. INTERNATIONAL TRUCK TRACTOR: 9.12 TONS WITH NO TRAILER ATTACHED 2. INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY VAN: 7.80 TONS WITH NO LOAD 3. CHEVY DELIVERY VAN: 3.0 TONS WITH NO LOAD (SAME AS UPS & FED-EX) 4. FORD F-350 PICK UP: 2.88 TONS WITH NO LOAD (NO TRAILERS OR PASSENGERS) 5. FORD EXPLORER: 2.10 TONS WITH NO LOAD 6. 16 FOOT GOOSENECK LIVESTOCK TRAILER: 1.88 TONS WITH NO ANIMALS LOADED 7. 20 FOOT GOOSE NECK FLATBED TRAILER: 1.68 TONS WITH NO FREIGHT LOADED NUMBER OF BRIGES APPROXAMENTLY BETWEEN LAKELAND AND HILO: DISTRICT OF HAMAKUA: 39 DISTRICT OF NORTH HILO: 9 DISTRICT OF SOUTH HILO: 51 TOTAL BETWEEN LAKELAND AND OLU DOWNTOWN HILO: 99 BRIDGES TOTAL BRIDGES APPROXAMENTLY ISLAND WIDE: 123 NOTE: ALL BRIDGES THAT ARE REFERD TO ARE WOODEN.