If you're looking for farmland it probably wouldn't be right on the water, but more inland, where tsunamis are not an issue. All the phone books have inundation maps to show how far inland you need to be in any given area. I'd be more concerned about hurricanes, as they can hit anywhere, but neither one is really a common occurance.

There hasn't been a tsunami in the 30 years I've been living here, but there have been a couple of hurricanes, some bad storms and some droughts. The worst tsunami was probably the one that hit Hilo in 1960. The way Hilo bay is situated, topographically, seems to make it kind of a magnet for tsunamis no matter which direction they're coming from, as well as other types of natural disaster too.

I'm not sure which island has the cheapest farmland. Certainly NOT O'ahu. My guess would be the Big Island, in part because of the natural disaster factor, and the fact that the "soil" is really just cinder in a lot of places. Stuff grows pretty good in it if it's weathered, but if it's still hard, forget it. You can get some nice cheap acreage that is covered with a recent lava flow! You'd have to do a real estate web search to get an idea of the prices in each area, and what the issues would be (lack of available water, roads, power etc.)

The best deal is if you can get into some kind of an ag park. That means leasing rather than buying, and you have to meet the qualifications and throw your name into the hat along with all the other hopefuls and just keep your fingers crossed. There are drawbacks to this, of course, but it's the only way people like me and my husband could ever afford land on O'ahu.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tsunamis in Hawaii

Prices are back up, probably making this a poor time to buy there unless you are retiring to there and have plenty of money. Example: a 70-year-old, fairly unremarkable house + detached guest cottage on a tight urban lot (above Kaimuki) sold this year for nearly $800,000. Other old houses on the street have been gradually getting replaced by bigger ones.

Aloha Farmfreedom,

What are you planning to grow? Have you researched the markets available as well as farming infrastructure available? I'm not sure what you could grow on 20K per acre land to make it pay off in farming. The prices will come down later, but right now they are the highest they've been in thirty or forty years.

Oahu is probably too expensive for farming, although perhaps out in Kahuku or other outlying areas there may be farmable areas. Perhaps Molokai?

There is about a two percent unemployment rate right now, I've heard, so what ever farming you do, it might be best to plan on not requiring hired help. I know some of the coffee growers are not able to find coffee pickers and are losing part of their crops. Kona coffee sells for $13 a pound or more and they can't find or afford to hire help, so I haven't a clue what the lettuce growers are doing.

Tsunamis aren't a problem with farmland usually. Lack of water is more likely a problem. On the Big Island, you may want to watch out for lava. That has covered some areas in the past decade. Some areas have fruit flies which cut down on production and some specific crops have viruses or blights that keep them from being shipped off island, too. That is probably typical of farming where ever you farm, though.

There are the Jeft's folks who are growing watermelons rather successfully on Oahu and the Loeffer's who are growing sweet corn successfully on the Big Island. They are selling most if not all of their produce locally. Loeffers goes out and picks corn in the morning, then sells it during the day at several roadside stands. They keep their own family as well as a few workers busy, I think. The watermelon folks sell them to the grocery stores.

You may try looking at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources website for Hawaii farming information.

A hui hou,
Cathy

Here is a link that might be useful: College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

First Hawaii has NO: squirrels , raccoons ,crows, starlings, bluejays, woodchucks, deer (correct me if I am wrong). Do they have : corn earworms, corn borers, Japanese beetles English sparrows, pigeons . Do wild hogs do a lot of damage eating gardens ? Do the mongoose kill poultry ?
How do you protect them (Poultry)? I should be able to raise them on rock hard lava . I have heard of land for $200. per acre in the lava flow It might be good enough to raise free range poultry . How much do coffee pickers make?
I plan on moving to the big island (Hilo) at first . I am sure that I will lose some old problems and get new ones .

Hawaii has deer. They are becoming a problem on Maui. I do not know if the Big Island has them. We have Japanese beetle big time, sparrows and some pigeons. Wild pigs can do major damage if they get into the garden or landscape. Plenty of free range Jungle Fowl and Frankolin Partridge around so the mongoose can't be too bad on them.

Forty four acres of the new lava flows fell off the Big Island and into the ocean this week. If you are wanting to buy new lava be sure to bring an umbrella.

ilima

Aloha FarmFreedom,

We do have some birds that eat fruits and vegetables as well as the fruit flies that sting the fruit so it falls off before it ripens. Any large variety or thin skinned variety of fruit is succeptable to the fruit flies. There are a variety of fungus, bugs and beetles as well. We don't have the winter to kill them off so once they get started they can become a real pest. We do have the corn borers, cut worms, Japanese beetles, sparrows and pidgeons. There are also wild goats and some wild burros, but those are mostly on the Kona side.

The mongoose will kill chickens if they are fenced in and can't escape. They will also eat the eggs if they can reach them. Feral cats and dogs will also get the chickens. Feral pigs dig up yards and things, but if you are on lava, there won't be many pigs there. If you are considering raising chickens commercially, you may want to look into the price of feed (not much forage on lava).

There are currently some listings for Kalapana Sea View Estates on the realtor's webpage. They are asking 10K for 7,500 square feet of land that was covered in lava in 1990. The volcano is still spewing lava out in that general area so you'd want to have everything there be moveable in case the lava comes back. Here's the blurb from the realtor's website: "Rediscover Kalapana Vacation Estates (Kalapana Gardens). This subdivision was completely covered over with lava from the Kilauea eruption in 1990. Recently portions of the subdivisionÂs roads have been dozed and a portion of the perimeter road was surveyed by Independent Hawaii Surveyors. Subject parcel has no road access, no utilities and falls in Lava Zone 2."

The latest menance in the puna area is the coqui frog. It is a small tree frog that makes a huge noise at night, all night long. About ninety decibels and there is no predator for them in Hawaii. The coqui frog has pretty well invaded Hilo as well as many parts of Puna. The general public and the government have both been trying to slow the spread of them, but so far the frogs are winning. The spread of the frog has slowed down, though, so maybe soon we will be able to figure out how to exterminate them.

I haven't a clue how much coffee pickers make although most of them are on the Kona side.

A hui hou,
Cathy

What type of jungle fowl run free near Hilo ? red? green? Ceylon? other ? The hogs have a bag limit. As to the rest cats , dogs ( is there a leash law in Hilo? )goats , burros,
mongoose can we kill them if they tresspass on farm or home . I have heard of toad, lizards , poisonous snake , (rats in abundance ) I assume that we can kill these on public and private land . I thought the frogs you mentioned could be wiped out by spraying them with "vitamin C " . I will not be buying right away I plan to look around for a year . Then make an informed decision . Thank You all For all the imput you have been very helpful .

Of these pest birds are they indigenous or imports ? and other pests can we exterminate them at will ? which ones are protected ? There are no birds of prey or monkeys in Hawaii right? Has anyone tried coating fruit with soap like dish detergent ?That is what was used in the apple orchards before insecticides. The bugs stick to it . Some islands have prong horned antelope also . Coyotes ,Moose are here in Eastern Mass and black bear are moving East they are in the Western part of the state . There are no skunks in Hawaii so what attacks honey bees and there hives ?Besides rats and mice what other rodents does Hawaii have ?

Aloha Farmfreedom,

I don't know if those are "jungle fowl" or "just chickens". I would suspect just feral chickens. Many folks like fighting roosters and will keep several dozen of them in their yard. They each have their little "hut" they live in and are kept tied to the hut. They have enough leash so they can fly to the top of their hut though and crow. Sometimes these chickens get loose and end up all over the place.

If it is a feral cat or dog, the best method is to get a trap from the humane society and trap it and take it to them. If you start killing cats and dogs (especially if they are your neighbors pets) there will be worse problems than trespassing animals.

No poisonous snakes.

Folks have been killing the coqui frogs by spraying them with hydrated lime. So far that seems to work the best and to be the most economical.

Not too many rodents other than mice, rats and mongoose but those are enough!

A hui hou,
Cathy

Do you have starlings ? Some people have told me I need an umbrella if I am going to buy land in a lava flow area Why will I need an umbrella . Is it because of flying ash or some other situation . Thank You for All your input .

The umbrella is for shade.

ilima