CELEBRITY CHEFS USING LOCAL PRODUCE FROM HAWAII FARMERS

HONOLULU, September 28, 2011 -- With the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival coming up, 30 celebrity chefs from the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia will be in Honolulu to prepare exquisite dishes. Ho Farms is just one of many local farmers providing the fresh produce for this event. "This is an exciting opportunity to provide our vegetables to the famous chefs," said Shin Ho, manager of Ho Farms. "Can't wait to see how the preparations turn out." The Ho Family has been farming 40 acres in Kahuku for over 20 years. They grow a wide variety of vegetables such as Japanese cucumbers, specialty beans, squash, and are known for their flavor-distinguished tomatoes. Not only have they been dedicated land stewards, but they also hold a conservation plan with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to address weeds, insects, and plant disease by following an integrated pest management system. In partnership with the Oahu Soil and Water Conservation District, the Oahu Resource Conservation and Development, the University of Hawaii's Ag Extension, the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture, and the Farm Bureau, the Ho family is working diligently to survive the changes in the agriculture industry with the limited resources they have. In 2006, they were awarded a state Conservation Innovation Grant from NRCS to install and test a fine mesh netting screen house for exclusion of insect pests of cucumber. The project seeks to install a technology that has been proven to be effective in the mainland under temperate conditions but has not been put to such a test in a tropical climate where insect pest pressure is intense year round. The system reduces the use of pesticide by 90% and addresses the damage caused by pickleworm, melon thrips, silverleaf whitefly, and melon fly, over all reducing possible soil and water contamination from pesticides. The report also included the cost effectiveness of the system for practical uses. More recently, Ho Farms also takes advantage of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, administered by NRCS through the Farm Bill. This cost share program allows them to construct water diversion channels and a sediment basin to reduce flooding and erosion. "We are so pleased to provide assistance to Ho Farms and others in the state," said Angel Figueroa, NRCS Director of the Pacific Islands Area. "It is important to help our land stewards with their conservation planning." Wei Chong Ho and his family continually do soil testing on their property to minimize the use of synthetic inputs. Crop rotation is also used on their farm. They truly care about their land and their neighbors. To learn more about the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the programs available through the Farm Bill, please visit www.pia.nrcs.usda.gov. You can also follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/nrcs_pia. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider. ###

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