Island Harvest’s Pūehuehu Farm from above (Photo courtesy of HILT)

(BIVN) – 28 acres of farm land in Kohala will be permanently protected under a new agricultural conservation easement. 

Hawai‘i Land Trust (HILT) and Island Harvest Inc. (Island Harvest) announced the protection of the regenerative food producing lands of Pūehuehu, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

The easement “ensures that 28 acres of land will continue to grow healthy food for Hawai‘i’s people and remain available for future generations of farmers,” a news release states.

“We are thrilled to finalize the protection of these farmlands with values aligned landowner stewards like Island Harvest,” said Lu‘ukia Nakanelua, Manager of ʻĀina Protection of Hawaiʻi Land Trust. “An 1881 Hawaiian language newspaper article published in Ko Hawaii Pae Aina, highlighted the rich agricultural history of the lands of Pūehuehu, referencing the traditional lands of ‘keiki mahi ‘uala’—the lands of the sweet potato farmers where today we hear from generational families it having been a famed Kohala profession. And as the holder of the agricultural conservation easement, HILT is humbled by Island Harvest’s commitment to forever protect and secure the true value in which the land holds—the ability to grow healthy food and respectable jobs for Kohala’s families.”

Some of the Island Harvest farm team (Photo courtesy of Island Harvest)

From the HILT / Island Harvest news release:

Founded by Jim Trump, a long-time Kohala resident, Island Harvest transitioned old sugar cane plantation lands into organic and regenerative macadamia nut farming, enabling generations of local Kohala families to maintain respectable agricultural jobs. After operating on year-to-year leases for over 30 years, in 2020, Island Harvest purchased the subject 28-acre parcel to expand into diversified agriculture, all while maintaining a team where 80% of its crew is born and raised in Kohala.

Today, Island Harvest grows approximately 5 acres of ‘ulu and 11 acres of citrus and macadamia nuts on the parcel, with farm activity structures limited to less than half an acre. Island Harvest reinvests 100% of the profits of its value-added products with 50% reinvested back into regenerative farming practices, 25% reinvested back into the Kohala community and organizations, and 25% shared with its employees.

It’s no secret that Hawaiʻi has some of the highest agricultural land costs in the nation, facing direct and continuous threats of land use conversion and fragmentation of agricultural lands. At the root of high land costs is partly the way it’s valued by the maximum and best use of land, steering us away from a reality where land is truly valued for its ability to grow healthy food for people in a manner that is also healthy for the ecosystem.

Since 2007, conservation easements have been explored as a solution in Hawaiʻi to aid the preservation of land in perpetuity, in this case, for its agricultural use and value. Held by a land trust or sometimes a government agency like NRCS, conservation easements are voluntary commitments by landowners to permanently remove or limit development rights, subdivision rights, and commercial use of their private property. And this commitment is compensated via a cash purchase of the value of the rights removed from the land forever, a value donation of such, or a mix of a cash and value donation. The removal of such rights via a conservation easement effectively resets the maximum and best use of the property, putting money back into the landowner’s pocket helping to offset the cost of the land, farm expenses, a mechanism to hopefully make the realities of farming in Hawaiʻi just a little easier. And in the case of the Pūehuehu lands of Kohala, this conservation easement is another step to also help ensure the integrity and rural character of the Kohala community remains intact.

Being a faithful steward of the land and Kohala’s way of life is a core part of Island Harvest’s business values and practices. “Island Harvest is excited to collaborate with HILT and NRCS. This farming parcel, located at the makai end of Union Mill Road, has high quality soil and receives sunlight and rainfall sufficient to successfully grow a variety of orchard crops. Orchard establishment takes time and funding to do it right. We look forward to sharing our success and learning from our challenges as we farm this potentially productive land,” said Jim Trump, President of Island Harvest.

map courtesy HILT / Island Harvest news release

The Island Harvest agricultural easement is the second ACEP project completed under HILT’s partnership with NRCS since November 2020. The partnership provides HILT access to millions of dollars in federal matching funds to protect agricultural lands throughout Hawai‘i. Moreover, it provides opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and potentially in the future, it will allow fishpond stewards to preserve their lands in perpetuity to support food sustainability, community resilience and ecological health.

“NRCS conservation easements have a tremendous footprint in the U.S. at over 5 million acres, or 58,000 square miles enrolled,” said J.B. Martin, director of NRCS in the Pacific Islands Area. “NRCS is the largest easement holder and steward in the nation. We are excited to partner with HILT and Island Harvest in conserving, restoring and protecting Hawaiʻi’s vital wetlands, productive agricultural lands and grasslands.”

In addition to NRCS, the Freeman Foundation, Ulupono Initiative, and other individual donors generously provided funding to purchase the agricultural conservation easement.