Hawaii Farm Bureau annual meeting here Monday
Update on drone industry set for Nov. 1
The Garden Island - October 22, 2017
By: Dennis Fujimoto
LIHUE — The Hawaii Farm Bureau’s 70th annual meeting will be prefaced Monday by the Ag Summit Reception and screening of “Food Evolution” on Kauai.
The Ag Summit, a partnership with the Kauai Chamber of Commerce, will feature a mini sunshine market and Kauai Made product showcase from 5 p.m. at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall with the movie starting at 6:45 p.m.
Tuesday morning, the 70th annual meeting gets under way at the Kauai Marriott Resort and Beach Club with discussions on tourism and agriculture led by Mufi Hanneman, the president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association.
Scott Enright, the chair of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, will be providing an HDOA update, and Vincent Kimura of Smart Yields will be talking about agriculture technology for the 21st century.
Delegates to the convention on the Monday Farm Tour to Clay Ueno’s taro farm will get a taste of technology when Fred Cowell of Kauai Coffee Company demonstrates the use of his drone in farming.
Also on the agenda are the Produce Safety Network, a Farm to School discussion, and a legislative update from Sen. Mike Gabbard. Gov. David Ige will lead a tribute to Rep. Clift Tsuji and his contributions to agriculture.
In related news, on Nov. 1, Randy Francisco of the county’s Office of Economic Development will be hosting an unmanned aircraft vehicle and drone industry update for business and commercial users.
The event will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall, said Laurie Ho, secretary of the Kauai County Farm Bureau.
Co-hosted by the Kauai Economic Development Board, the Kauai Visitors Bureau, the Kauai Board of Realtors, the Kauai County Farm Bureau, the Kauai Wedding Professional Association and the County of Kauai, the presentation by the Kauai Film Industry will be led by Kela Pinto of Skies the Limit Production, who specializes in designing, building and flying UAV/drones for television and film.