Conference Highlights:

A list of the sponsor, tradeshow exhibitors and poster exhibit participants can be found in the Conference Program. The agenda and speaker bios for the events on both Thursday and Friday are also in the Conference Program pdf of the 2008 Conference Program pdf of the 2008 Hawaii Products Luncheon Menu The Bioenergy Master Plan: a conversation with Hawaii's Agriculture Sector on Friday was very successful and lots of interest and relevant material was presented. The speaker presentations have been archived on the DBEDT website. Click here for a link to Speaker files from The Bioenergy Master Plan: a conversation with Hawaii's Agriculture Sector (http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy/renewable/bioenergy/ag2008/index_html) Several of the presenters from Thursday provided their materials and power points for this archive space. We hope this information is useful for you. Speed Dating Presentations Building a Market through CSA’s, Gerry Ross Cover Crops: Growing your inputs, John McHugh Composting: Make compost -not waste, Mauricio Avila Aquaponics: A sustainable model for increased outputs at reduced costs, Tim Mann Ag Tourism: Navigating the county permitting process Ag Tourism County Permits Power Point, Elizabeth Connely Ag Tourism Power Point Handout, Elizabeth Connely County Forms, Hawaii County Forms, Honolulu County Forms, Kauai County Forms, Maui References, Elizabeth Connely Ag Tourism State Laws, Jeff Darrow Ag Tourism State Laws Power Point, Jeff Darrow Special Use Permitting Process, Lani Weigert Growing with Grants: Funding Prospects for farmers USDA-NRCS, RC&D, Kevin Kinvig USDA / Rural Development, Tim O’Connell Supermarkets: The way in Whole Foods Market and Local Sourcing, Claire Sullivan County of Origin Labeling, Jeri Kahanu Risk Management: Strategically managing uncertainty to your business advantage McCall Farms: A farmers story, Jeff McCall Adjusted Gross Revenue Lite (AGR-Lite) Power Point, Nancy Beaumont Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program Handout, Steve Peterson Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program Power Point, Steve Peterson Growing the Next Generation Building Partnerships between Schools and Employers Career Pathway: Agri-Entreprenuer Power Point, Steven Chiang Internship Packet !2 Month Cash Flow example On behalf of the four host organizations, the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawai‘i, the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at UH Manoa, the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, we would like to thank all who participated in 2008 Hawaii Agriculture Conference: Growing with Intention at the Hawaii Convention Center in September of 2008. The very generous support of over 40 sponsors provided a good financial base to allow the committee to plan and present a professional and meaningful event for the agriculture sector in Hawaii. The committee was delighted to have so much support from the agriculture and business community. The luncheon event continues to celebrate all things Hawaii, including friends and supporters who attend and contribute to the lively warmth and sociability we all share that day. The conference included just over 360 registrants for the Thursday sessions and swelled to 485 for the special All Hawaii Products Luncheon. During the twelve plenary, lunch and concurrent sessions 39 speakers presented, with many favorable comments about the educational sessions received. The attendee profiles were: · Independent farm/ranch - 22.1% · University / Extension - 12.5% · Federal Government - 12.5% · State/County Government - 11.5% · Nonprofit Organization - 7.7% · Ag related Business - 7.7% · Student - 1% There were 31 exhibitors at the tradeshow and the businesses almost always had visitors, sometimes large crowds. The hosts provided 18 scholarships and defrayed the travel costs of five interisland participants. The committee launched two new activities; the poster exhibit -which had 14 participants, and the evening Open-to-the-Public Lecture featuring our keynote speaker Paul Roberts. We also partnered with other organizations across the state for a robust lineup of activities on Friday and reached another 233 participants. The 13th Annual Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural Conference: Strengthening Our Industry Through Knowledge, the Bioenergy Master Plan: A Conversation with Hawaii’s Agriculture Sector, the How to Start and AgriTourism Venue workshop and Growing the Next Generation: A Partnership with Future Farmers of America all were very successful events. The presence of the youth and teachers facilitated the beginning of new partnerships to address the pressing need for future farmers. The evaluations indicated most were pleased with the speakers and the program content, the location and hospitality and the communications and logistics. Some of the speakers were controversial and it was interesting to note the range of comments (positive and negative) about them. The committee was pleased to hear/read this. Sparking a more informed debate amongst the attendees is an important desired outcome of this event. The evaluation comments (about 25% of attendees) will inform future planning and implementation of this important event. It was rewarding for the committee to see such a high value placed on this educational and networking experience. The hosts and the planning committee thank you very much for your support of this important biannual event. It would not be the same without you and we look forward to future conferences.