Maui County Farm Bureau Newsletter & AgFest Update

MCFB Names New Board of Directors

For the new two-year term, Maui County Farm Bureau retained nine board members and elected James “Jimmy” Gomes as its new member. The full board includes Rodrigo “Rudy” Balala, Brendan Balthazar, Kyle Caires, Matt Keiley, Bryan Otani, Ethan Romanchak, Tim Stevens, Theresa Thompson, Jayson Watts, and newly elected Jimmy Gomes. The election of officers will take place at MCFB’s board meeting in October. The board of directors meet on the first Wednesday of each month. MCFB’s General Membership Meetings are held on the third Wednesday in March, June, September, and December.

MCFB Announces 2024 Mike Lyons Award

With the announcement of its 2024 Mike Lyons Award, Maui County Farm Bureau (MCFB) celebrates Service Rentals & Supplies LLC for their tremendous support for Maui agriculture. Ryan and Sandra Ouye accepted the award at MCFB’s annual General Membership Meeting held at the Kula Community Center on Sept. 18. Each year the Mike Lyons Award is given to a person or organization whose support for Maui’s agriculture industry has truly made a difference. MCFB and many farming and ranching members benefit from collaboration and partnership with Service Rentals.

“The partnership with Service Rentals & Supplies began when Richard Ouye started the company in 1972. Our farmers and ranchers were able to find equipment and supplies needed for their operations,” said Warren Watanabe. “This special partnership with MCFB continues to this day with Ryan and we could not pull off the Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair without the assistance of the staff at Service Rentals.”

Service Rentals started as a small tool construction company on the island of Maui, Hawaiʻi. Seeing a need to provide equipment rental services to the construction industry, Richard Ouye, with the help of his father and older brother James, converted the small company into Hawaiʻi’s premium rental provider. Since 1972, Service Rentals has been focused on providing equipment large and small to communities all over Hawai‘i.

Today, Service Rentals has grown to five locations across the state of Hawaiʻi while maintaining their promise to provide customers with family-oriented service. In addition to agriculture, Service Rentals proudly partners with all industries ranging from homeowners, contractors, and landscapers, to government projects. Service Rentals supports local charities including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Maui, Habitat for Humanity, churches, public schools and Boy Scouts of America.

Taking Agriculture to the Max at a Successful Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair 2024

With blockbuster attendance, maximum participation from vendors, accolades for local chefs and farmers, and a full slate of educational sessions, the 15th Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair hosted by Maui County Farm Bureau (MCFB) was a grand success. More than 7,000 residents and visitors joined their neighbors on Saturday, June 1, at the War Memorial Special Events Field to celebrate the role of agriculture in our community.

“We were blown away by everything that was on offer for all of the attendees,” said Tara Nakahashi, president of the new Maui Growers and Floriculture Collective (MGFC). “From amazing food, great live entertainment, and even a keiki play zone, we felt that it was certainly a great day for the whole family.”

MGFC was one of many groups that enjoyed the opportunity of AgFest to promote and provide education to the public. Education has always been a central part of AgFest, and this year was better than ever with the return of Taste Education. Talk story sessions allowed attendees to learn from and ask questions of chefs, farmers, producers and fishermen.

Chef Perry Bateman of Mama’s Fish House paired up with taro farmer Bobby Pahia of Hoaloha Farms to present kalo.

“The energy felt terrific,” said Chef Perry. “It’s really fun to do a presentation with the farmer and chef. The crowd was really receptive to it, they had plenty questions, and they were engaging. It was the perfect way to bring the lāhui together!”

Maui’s finest chefs were out in force, showcasing the island’s freshest ingredients in both the Grand Taste and Grand Desserts competitions. Grand Taste was sold out and there was a long line of excited attendees ready to eat and cast their vote for the Chef Tylun Pang Fan-Favorite award. An esteemed panel of judges tasted all the creations, and their results were presented by Grand Taste sponsor representative Keith DeMello, senior vice president, communications & external affairs, Ulupono Initiative.

Grand Taste 2024 Results
Judges’ Choice Best Seafood – Chef Brian Etheredge, Tails Up Maui
Judges’ Choice Best Meat – Chef Jonathan Paison, Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui
Chef Tylun Pang Fan-Favorite – Chef Scotty Roberts, Makawao Public House
Judges’ Choice Overall – Chef Nolan Gonzales, Tiffany’s Restaurant and Bar

Now in its second year, Grand Desserts was a sweet experience. MCFB member Patricia Iwamoto of Yee’s Orchard met Chef Terry Ann Manegdeg, pastry chef, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort. Chef Terry’s winning dish featured Yee’s Orchard’s famous Haden mangoes.

Grand Desserts 2024 Results
Fan-Favorite –Chef Terry Manegdeg, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort
Judges’ Choice – Chef Terry Manegdeg, Andaz Maui at WaileaResort
Runner-up – Chef Toby Matsubara, Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa
Overall Winner – Chef Terry Manegdeg, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort

AgFest kicked off in the morning with the Maui Legacy Farmers Pancake Breakfast, sponsored by the Maui Hotel & Lodging Association in partnership with the Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui. This traditional event celebrates the folks who have been farming on Maui for generations.

Also honored was Kyle Kawakami, who received the 2024 “Friend of Agriculture” award. This award was presented by MCFB and Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi magazine at the annual ʻAipono Awards Ceremony held in April. Kawakami’s Maui Fresh Streatery food truck was also onsite for the day, selling ‘ono farm fresh dishes such as Maui Cattle Co. Beef Cheek Poutine Fries, Kumu Farms Eggplant Caponata Quesadilla, Maui ‘Ulu Chick Pea Curry with Jasmine Rice and more, and business was brisk.

Also honored was Kyle Kawakami, who received the 2024 “Friend of Agriculture” award. This award was presented by MCFB and Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi magazine at the annual ʻAipono Awards Ceremony held in April. Kawakami’s Maui Fresh Streatery food truck was also onsite for the day, selling ‘ono farm fresh dishes such as Maui Cattle Co. Beef Cheek Poutine Fries, Kumu Farms Eggplant Caponata Quesadilla, Maui ‘Ulu Chick Pea Curry with Jasmine Rice and more, and business was brisk.

Business was also brisk at the huge Grown on Maui Farmers Market, with MCFB members and vendors selling everything from mangoes to goat cheese. New vendor Shannon McCann of Surfing Goat Dairy was thrilled with the turnout.

“As we are under new ownership, we were so happy to re-connect with the community, hear stories about why they’ve loved our products in the past, and share our exciting plan for the future of the goat dairy,” McCann said. “We enjoyed interacting with 4-H’ers and FFA students, local families, Surfing Goat Dairy fans, and new faces! We look forward to participating next year with hopefully even more things to share with everyone!”

Over in the Maui 4-H Youth Livestock Show & Auction tent, there was a perfect opportunity to see first-hand why the Maui County 4-H youth livestock program is a great framework to foster life skill development. According to Kyle Caires, UH College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources Livestock Agent and MCFB Board President, “the livestock projects are used to help raise the kids, not the other way around.”

“Our keiki get ‘hands on’ training opportunities, participate in county, state and national contests, gaining valuable lessons while learning by doing things the right way. Many of our youth headed on to compete at the Hawai‘i State 4-H Livestock Show from July 14-16, 2024 hosted at Kualoa Ranch on Oʻahu. They represent the future leaders of agriculture and our community,” said Caires.

Many applauded MCFB’s efforts to run the event with zero waste, enlisting the help of Huliau Green Events with support from the County of Maui. According to Huliau’s report, approximately 4,500 plastic water bottles were avoided through use of water stations; more than 700 lbs. of foodware and food waste were composted; and 967.8 lbs. of waste was diverted from the landfill.

“A big mahalo to Maui farmers, ranchers, 4-H students, our sponsors and to the entire community for coming out to support AgFest and Maui agriculture,” said Warren Watanabe, executive director of the Maui County Farm Bureau. “It’s gratifying that the event was such a success, and we really hope it has brought increased awareness of the important role that agriculture plays in our economy, environment and lifestyle.”

A Big Mahalo!

AgFest is hosted by MCFB and Maui 4-H Livestock Association in partnership with the County of Maui, Maui County Council, Maui Office of Economic Development, Maui Department of Agriculture, and UH Maui Cooperative Extension College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources.

MCFB is grateful to all the generous sponsors who made AgFest possible: Gold Sponsors Bayer, Fresh Help Maui, Mahi Pono, Maui Hotel & Lodging Association, Pacific Media Group, Pukalani Superette and Ulupono Initiative; Silver Sponsors Alexander & Baldwin, Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui, Ness Turf Equipment, and Young Brothers; Bronze Sponsor Hawaiian Electric; and Friend of Agriculture Sponsor VIP Foodservice. And a big mahalo as well to Baldwin High School for the use of their parking lot free of charge.

Be sure to “Save the Date” for next year’s AgFest! The 16th Maui AgFest & 4-H Livestock Fair will be held on Saturday, May 31, 2025. For more information, visit www.mauiagfest.org.