The University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa (CTAHR) is reopening the (ADSC). Local farmers will once again have access to soil and plant testing here in �鶹��ý at a reasonable cost, instead of sending samples to the U.S. continent.

The center’s reopening also allows CTAHR to offer free soil and plant testing through July 21, 2026 to farmers whose land and crops were affected by Kona low flooding in March and April.

Every affected farmer can submit up to three free samples for each of the following services:

• Soil nutrient analysis: To determine if essential minerals were leached.
• Plant tissue nutrient analysis: To assess the current nutrient uptake and health of surviving crops.
• Plant disease diagnostics: To identify plant pathogens/outbreaks that may impact crops following flooding.
• Insect identification: To monitor for shifts in pest populations following the storms.

The ADSC will continue to provide soil and plant testing services at reasonable prices to farmers who were not affected by the floods.

“The reopening is a pivotal moment in CTAHR’s mission to support stakeholders and food security across the state,” said CTAHR Dean Parwinder Grewal. “Fortunately the timing of the reopening also means we can deliver more support to farmers recovering from the floods. We are providing these tests at no cost for the next three months to help our agricultural partners get back on their feet.”

“ADSC has reopened with an improved customer experience, including online payments, rapid turnaround of results, and interpretation of results and recommendations by CTAHR experts,” Parwinder said.

Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, noted, “The reopening of the ADSC, along with three months of free testing, comes at a crucial time and helps farmers move forward with recovery and replanting. CTAHR is truly stepping up for our farmers, and we appreciate their leadership and commitment to supporting �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s agricultural community during this critical time.”

CTAHR is working to further expand its services to include seed testing, heavy metal testing, animal health diagnostics and food nutrient content analysis for food product labeling. ADSC is also expanding its seed production capacity and will add clean seedling production, which are young plants that are free from germs or disease.

Order soil, plant tests online

Farmers can order tests, find sampling instructions, and a list of CTAHR facilities on Oʻahu, �鶹��ý Island, Maui, Molokaʻi and Kauaʻi accepting samples at the .

Temporary in-person collection site until July 21, 2026

To increase accessibility for ��ʻ�����’s heavily affected north shore community, a temporary collection site has been set up at Twin Bridge Farms in Waialua:

• Soil and plant samples can be dropped off at Twin Bridge on Mondays between 8 a.m and noon
• Soil samples can also be dropped off on Thursdays between 8 a.m. and noon.

Farmers should call CTAHR at (808) 453-6050 or ugc@hawaii.edu to confirm they are dropping off samples at Twin Bridge Farms.

Permanent collection sites

Drop off sites for samples on Oʻahu are:

• The Urban Garden Center in Pearl City on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., 955 Kamehameha Hwy., behind the Home Depot.
• Farmers should contact (808) 453-6050 or ugc@hawaii.edu to confirm they plan to drop off samples.
• UH ��ā�ԴDz�’s Sherman Lab, room 115, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1910 East-West Rd., Honolulu HI 96822.
• Farmers should call (808) 956-5437 or adsc@hawaii.edu to confirm they plan to drop off samples.

Visit the ADSC of drop off locations, including the neighbor islands.

Based on all recorded suicide deaths from 2013 to 2023, those in construction, agriculture, and the arts, males and especially those under 40 years old showed the highest suicide rates. Led by Thao Le of the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa’s (CTAHR) and retired epidemiologist Dan Galanis with �鶹��ý State Department of Health Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention System Branch, the revealed how occupational context is associated with suicide risk in �鶹��ý, particularly occupations where people experience chronic uncertainty and low control.

Farmers are consistently exposed to invasive pests, volatile market prices and extreme weather such as the recent Kona low storms. Beyond the physical destruction of crops and infrastructure, the storms have left a trail of mental and emotional exhaustion.

For an occupation already battling thin economic margins, these storms represent more than financial loss—they are challenging farmers’ sense of purpose and identity.

“A farmer’s mental health is tied to the health of their land,” said Le. “When the ‘āina is inundated and the crops and livestock are lost, the emotional toll is immediate and profound. Our farmers are essentially first responders to our food needs, so we need to act as first responders to them now. They are essential to our own livelihood.”

Without immediate concrete support, in the way of streamlined access to financial aid, supplies and temporary housing for displaced farmers, �鶹��ý risks losing its agricultural workforce, which is the backbone of the state’s food security and sustainability goals.

“If structural forces and policies continue to contribute and exacerbate distress, farmers may feel a sense of moral injury, feeling unsupported and abandoned by the systems purported to support them, and distress in inability to uphold their commitment to their land and livelihood due to factors beyond their control,” Le said.

Holistic approach

Beyond concrete material resources, immaterial recognition is equally essential. Elevating respect for farmers, ranchers and fisheries’ hard work and recognizing their role in community wellbeing is a vital form of psychological “capital” that can foster their wellbeing. The Seeds of Wellbeing (SOW)-CTAHR, and Culturally-Based Community Connections project aims to prevent suicide risk through a holistic, community-integrated approach of care that includes a peer mentorship model, incorporating ‘āina-based modalities and Native Hawaiian contemplative practices and free mental health vouchers. Planning is in the works to provide a 3-day immersive leadership and mental mindset training/seminar experience for ag mentors and leaders, an investment for advanced mental health skills building.

SOW–CTAHR is only a small contributor in the larger network of ag supporters led by Agriculture Stewardship �鶹��ý of �鶹��ý Statewide Food System Coordination including �鶹��ý Farm Bureau, Hawaii Farm Union United, Maui Farmer Support Network, �鶹��ý Good Food Alliance, �鶹��ý Agricultural Foundation, Pacific Gateway and many more.

The is the major statewide, community-driven suicide prevention/mental health collaborative in the state. Valuing life and preventing suicide is everyone’s responsibilities.

�鶹��ý CARES 988 is a 24/7, free support service for help with crisis, mental health and substance use. Dial 988 or text “ALOHA,” no judgement, just help. .

Fourteen University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa academic subjects were ranked among the world’s best in the 2026 , released on March 25.

Four subjects placed in the top 22 in the nation and top 100 in the world. Leading the way was geology (No. 19 in the U.S. and No. 51–100 in the world), geophysics (No. 19 in the U.S. and No. 51–100 in the world), Earth and marine sciences (No. 21 in the U.S. and No. 51–100 in the world) and linguistics (No. 22 in the U.S. and No. 61 in the world).

Ten additional subjects placed in the world’s top 2% (within top 500 in the world out of ):

• English language and literature: No. 28 U.S., No. 101–150 world
• Agriculture and forestry: No. 30 U.S., No. 151–200 world
• Anthropology: No. 31 U.S., No. 101–200 world
• Modern languages: No. 41 U.S., No. 251–300 world
• Environmental sciences: No. 66 U.S., No. 351–400 world
• Communication and media studies: No. 68 U.S., No. 251–275 world
• Physics and astronomy: No. 70 U.S., No. 401–450 world
• Education: No. 78 U.S., No. 351–400 world
• Medicine: No. 99 U.S., No. 451–500 world
• Biological sciences: No. 100 U.S., No. 451–500 world

“These rankings highlight the exceptional work and commitment of our faculty, students and staff,” UH Mānoa Interim Provost Vassilis L. Syrmos said. “They showcase the university’s global standing and reinforce that UH Mānoa offers outstanding educational opportunities and experiences for both our local community and those joining us from around the world.”

UH Mānoa was ranked in three broad subject areas and 14 narrow subject areas. The QS World University Rankings by Subject are calculated using five criteria: academic reputation (measures the reputation of institutions and their programs by asking academic experts to nominate universities based on their subject area of expertise), employer reputation (measures the reputation of institutions and their programs among employers), research citations per paper (measures the impact and quality of the scientific work done by institutions, on average per publication), H-index (measures both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar) and international research network (measure of an institution’s success in creating and sustaining research partnerships with institutions in other locations).

The 2026 edition of the rankings by global higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds analyzed the performance of more than 18,300 university programs, taken by students at more than 1,700 universities in 100 locations around the world.

Other rankings

UH Mānoa also received these notable rankings:

• 2025 U.S. News and World Report best online programs, January 27, 2026
• 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject, January 21, 2026
• 2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, January 4, 2026

From locally grown orchids, plumeria and ornamental flowers to high-tech vertical farming systems, local agriculture took center stage at the �鶹��ý State Capitol Agriculture (Ag) Day on February 26. The event featured more than 40 organizations, with a strong showing from the University of �鶹��ý at ��ā�ԴDz�’s (CTAHR).

At the event, CTAHR Professor Brent Sipes and his colleagues shared strategies for pest management and crop protection, while experts Mark Thorne and Yanghua He discussed livestock sustainability and food security. Additionally, researchers detailed the science behind �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s unique environment and soil health, and teams from �鶹��ý 4-H and GoFarm �鶹��ý showcased how CTAHR is mentoring the next generation of farmers and leaders.

Voices from the field

The heart of the event was the exchange between researchers, industry leaders and policymakers. Tessie Amore, an associate researcher at CTAHR, presented the critical link between research and the ornamental plant industry. Anthuriums have become one of the state’s most valuable cut flowers, generating millions of dollars in annual sales and serving as a visual icon of �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s agricultural identity.

“I’m here to talk about the research we’re doing to help the �鶹��ý growers,” said Amore. “By showing our work, it shows the legislature that we’re thankful for the support they’re given to our growers, and our growers are supporting us.”

Jeff Goodwin, �鶹��ý 4-H state lead, spoke about the organization’s role in empowering keiki with life skills. “Our main mission is positive youth development, and the 4-H projects are just the vehicle to get us to positive youth development,” he said.

Kerry Kakazu, of MetroGrow, is working with CTAHR to push the boundaries of vertical farming and help students get ready for the high-tech, commercial realities of modern farming.

“Our vision of vertical farming is commercial level production with a high-tech indoor greenhouse that is also an active teaching site,” said Kakazu. “When you build it and people are researching and learning about it, they’re learning what can be done commercially.”

Agriculture Day was sponsored by the agriculture committees of the �鶹��ý State Senate and House of Representatives and organized by the �鶹��ý Farm Bureau.

In an era of rising grocery costs, eggs remain one of the most accessible and complete protein sources for families. New research from the University of �鶹��ý at ��ā�ԴDz�’s (CTAHR) is investigating how chickens age to help keep that high-quality protein on dinner tables. The study, published in , found that as laying hens age, significant changes occur in their gut health that negatively affect egg production.

Productivity gap

At their peak, up to 97% of high-performing hens lay eggs. But by 100 weeks, that number can drop to 70% or 75%. While a 75% success rate sounds high, it represents a major economic drain across the industry.

“A farmer is losing roughly 20–22% eggs, but still providing expensive feed to the chickens. We are trying to minimize those costs to help farmers survive financially,” said Md Ahosanul Haque Shahid, a PhD student in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences and the study’s lead author.

Starts in the gut

Working in the laboratory of UH Associate Professor Birendra Mishra, Shahid’s research focuses on the community of microorganisms living in the chicken’s digestive tract.

Older hens appear to prioritize survival and physiological maintenance over reproductive output. As the chickens age, their bodies stop producing the natural chemicals and enzymes needed to break down food effectively.

As hens get older, the “instructions” in their DNA that manage nutrition and immunity begin to fade. This causes the lining of their gut to weaken—a condition known as “leaky gut”—which allows vital nutrients to escape. Because these nutrients aren’t being absorbed properly, the hen’s body doesn’t have enough energy to send to its reproductive system. Without that steady fuel supply, the hen simply cannot produce as many eggs as she used to.

Local impact, global reach

The study utilized chickens sourced from local �鶹��ý farms, meaning the findings are specifically relevant to the islands’ unique environmental conditions.

However, the implications are global. As further molecular investigation is still going, by identifying the specific genes and molecular pathways that change with age, the researchers hope to develop new “nutrient strategies” and management protocols that can boost production by even 1% or 2%.

“That 2% makes a huge difference because you’re talking about tens of thousands of chickens,” Shahid said. “It’s a tremendous amount of affordable protein that can feed thousands of families.”

For �鶹��ý residents, a thriving home garden starts with choosing the right plants. After a virus decimated his banana plants, Kalei Hale visited the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City on January 21, to find reliable alternatives at a free seedling sharing and education event hosted by the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa (CTAHR).

Proven plants for �鶹��ý

The centerpiece of the event was distributing CTAHR-field tested Romaine lettuce seedlings, a variety thoroughly tested for �鶹��ý’s climate.

“We’ve conducted research on a number of Romaine varieties, and we know this variety does well in local conditions,” said Jari Sugano, CTAHR’s Oʻahu County administrator. “The featured variety, Sparx, can tolerate the heat on Oʻahu. It doesn’t require cool conditions, which is typically what Romaine requires.”

Beyond food crops, the event provided lei plant cuttings, including pikake, plumeria and crown flowers, and hearty foliage such as Song of India and Song of Jamaica. These selections ensure that both food and ornamental gardens can thrive despite tropical challenges and help growers succeed.

CTAHR staff and interns provided guidance on crop nutrition, weed control and fertilizer use to help new seedlings mature into full plants. Attendees, including staff from Catholic Charities �鶹��ý who picked up plants for kupuna, were given the tools to immediately begin growing their own food or beautifying their homes.

Turning setbacks into success

For Hale, using proven plants and time-tested growing methods has already made a difference. After Mānoa lettuce starters he bought at a CTAHR student fundraiser grew into “huge” heads in just a few weeks, he returned to collect the heat-tolerant Romaine seedlings and straw mulch for his new aquaponics system. By focusing on research-backed varieties, home gardeners such as Hale are finding a more manageable and successful path to self-sufficiency.

For more than a decade, the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa has been on the front lines of the battle against the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB). Now, researchers at the (CTAHR) are seeing progress in a promising weapon: viruses.

“Pathogens are being used, but viruses are being underutilized as far as I’m concerned,” said Mike Melzer, researcher and virologist at CTAHR’s Department of Plant & Environmental Protection Sciences. “I know we can find viruses that will have a really good impact on important target species that are pests in �鶹��ý.”

Unlike chemical pesticides, the virus infects CRBs from the inside, weakening and killing them before they reach adulthood. By targeting larvae, the virus can suppress beetle populations over time while minimizing harm to non-target species. Researchers believe the virus should also infect adults, making them lethargic and less likely to damage palms.

Rigorous safety standards

For 10 years, federal regulators told UH researchers that the CRB virus could not be brought into �鶹��ý due to a lack of adequate containment facilities. A breakthrough finally came in early 2025 through a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s permit unit.

Current permits specifically restrict research to the larval stage because larvae cannot fly, significantly reducing the risk of an accidental environmental release. “We rear CRB for research purposes and we’ve never lost an adult out of there,” he said.

Protecting the Kauaʻi stag beetle

A primary goal of the current lab testing is to ensure the virus is host-specific and will not harm �鶹��ý‘s native ecosystem. While the virus has been used effectively in other Pacific nations, Melzer emphasized that Hawaiʻi has unique native species to protect, such as the Kauaʻi stag beetle.

“Nobody really gives too much of a thought about CRB where the virus has been released” Melzer noted, explaining that while some damage remains, the virus keeps it at a manageable “two out of 10” rather than the devastating levels seen in �鶹��ý.

A good night’s sleep

In August 2025, Melzer and a former student, Nelson Masang Jr., traveled to Palau, a region where the virus has successfully managed the beetle for decades, to collect genetic variants of the virus. The research trip was part of a close partnership with Professor Chris Kitalong and Jacques Idechong of Palau Community College.

The research, led by doctoral student Kristen Gaines, involves infecting CRB larvae to observe how the virus spreads. Early results have been encouraging, showing that the virus can kill larvae within 12 to 30 days. “I sleep a little better at night because Kristen said she’s starting to see larvae getting lethargic and dying after just being exposed to the virus,” Melzer said.

A University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa research project focused on agriculture and artificial intelligence (AI) has been selected for support through the NVIDIA Academic Grant Program, bringing additional advanced computing hardware to the university.

The project, “AinaFarm: Building the Foundation for Scalable Agricultural Physical AI,” led by UH Mānoa (ICS) Assistant Professor , in collaboration with Professor , and , a recent (ECE) PhD graduate, competed in the Robotics and Edge AI track. The work explores how robotics and AI can support agriculture, particularly with vision-language-action (VLA) models that allow robots to see their surroundings, understand spoken or written instructions, and carry out tasks in real farming environments.

As part of the award, NVIDIA is donating hardware to UH Mānoa to support the research. The in-kind grant includes two RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs, high-powered computer processors designed to train and run advanced AI models, and four Jetson AGX Orin compact supercomputers, which will serve as the “brains” of farm field robots, enabling them to run AI applications and make decisions directly in real-world agricultural environments.

“This project is about building practical AI tools that can actually work on farms,” Chen said. “With NVIDIA’s support, we can combine robotics and advanced computing to support local agriculture, reduce labor challenges, and develop technologies that are especially relevant for �鶹��ý’s farming environments.”

In addition to hardware, the program offers access to NVIDIA development tools, models and training resources, as well as opportunities for broader visibility through presentations and promotional channels.

The NVIDIA Academic Grant Program supports researchers worldwide by providing access to high-performance computing resources, hardware and software. The program is designed to accelerate academic research and help move ideas from concept to real-world application.

The AinaFarm project is part of a broader, interdisciplinary collaboration at UH Mānoa that brings together researchers from the , , and (CTAHR) to advance AI-enabled solutions for agriculture. This growing effort builds on recent successes in agricultural robotics, including UH ��ā�ԴDz�’s $10,000 grand prize win in the 2025 Farm Robotics Challenge, and reflects a shared goal of developing practical, field-ready technologies to support farming in �鶹��ý and beyond.

ICS is housed in the College of Natural Sciences, the Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences is housed in CTAHR and ECE is housed in the College of Engineering.

The earned high marks in nearly 20 academic subjects in the , with , and leading the way among the highest-ranked programs.

Oceanography ranked No. 5 in the U.S. and No. 7 in the world, atmospheric science placed No. 8 nationally and No. 11 worldwide, and hospitality and tourism management ranked No. 12 in the U.S. and No. 32 in the world.

The rankings were released by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy and is considered one of the most comprehensive and objective assessments of university performance by discipline.

UH Mānoa also posted strong global and national placements across science, engineering, social science and other fields. tied for No. 17 in the U.S. and ranked No. 51–75 worldwide, while ecology and each tied for No. 24 nationally and placed No. 76–100 globally.

Additional UH Mānoa subjects recognized in the 2025 rankings include communication, education, political science, water resources, biological sciences, civil engineering, food science and technology, environmental science and engineering, agricultural sciences, economics, management and physics.

“These rankings reflect the depth and consistency of excellence at UH Mānoa,” Interim Provost Vassilis L. Syrmos said. “Our faculty are advancing research that matters locally and globally, while preparing students to address some of the most pressing challenges facing our world.”

UH Mānoa was evaluated alongside approximately 2,000 universities from more than 100 countries and regions, selected from a global pool of more than 25,000 institutions. The rankings are based on measures such as world-class faculty, world-class research output, high-quality research, research impact and international collaboration.

Other recent rankings:

• 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, October 9, 2025
• Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings, October 2, 2025
• U.S. News and World Report 2026 Best Colleges rankings, September 23, 2025

For more information, .

—By Marc Arakaki

A fruitful collaboration between the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa (CTAHR) and the County of Maui is empowering people on Molokaʻi to grow their own food, lower grocery bills and build community resilience.

The Seed to Harvest program, led by CTAHR’s team of extension agents on Molokaʻi, finished its third cohort in December, with each group growing between 300 and 400 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. Funded by a grant from the County of Maui’s Department of Agriculture, the program addresses food inequity and the high cost of imported goods by teaching residents how to cultivate sustainable home gardens.

Extension agents Kyle Franks and Jennifer Hawkins designed Seed to Harvest with an emphasis on using on-island resources to reduce reliance on expensive imports. The program creates a complete cycle of education, teaching people the skills to propagate seeds, manage pests and harvest their crops.

“There’s been several generations not farming, not gardening, and so we wanted to help bring that back into the community,” said Franks. “The pandemic highlighted the level of food inequity across the island.”

For Kanoelani Dudoit, a lifelong Molokaʻi resident, the experience has been transformative. “It opened more avenues for each person to apply what they learned from the workshop right at home,” said Dudoit. She noted that the program helped her identify local stores, local prices, local items, allowing her family to “cut costs or reuse what we have here. That’s a major benefit for our community.”

Harvest to market

In early 2026, the team will launch Harvest to Market, a new program designed to teach home gardeners the business side of agriculture. The upcoming curriculum will cover marketing and branding, turning raw produce into jams, jellies, or freeze-dried goods that can be sold at farmer’s markets, and following state rules for selling produce and processed foods.

“Our growers are doing a great job, but now they have excess,” said Hawkins. “So the next step is helping them get their produce to market.”

Undergraduate students at the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa transplanted 1,200 ʻAwahia onion seedlings for the UH Seed Lab in November. Planting this UH-developed variety is a part of the lab’s mission to sustain local agricultural resources.

These seedlings will grow out over the season for bulb production, and then will be cured, dried and stored for the 2026 planting cycle, when the bulbs will generate seeds for future crops.

This is part of a broader effort to restore the UH Seed Lab’s inventory following the COVID-19 pandemic. A surge in home gardening around 2020 led to the depletion of more than 50% of some seed supplies at the lab.

The lab, which is part of the (CTAHR), has a new leader in manager Quynn Cytryn. She is beginning to ramp up production with the help of CTAHR agricultural technicians and staff at the College’s Urban Garden Center to restore seed stock to pre-pandemic levels.

“Mahalo to the Seed Lab’s many supporters in the community, backyard gardeners, local farmers, and CTAHR faculty and staff for their patience and kokua,” said Cytryn. “We are excited about the future of the lab and local agriculture.”

Seed grow-out, harvest and processing can take up to eight months. The lab is actively making progress to replenish their typical offering of approximately 30 varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs that have been bred by UH researchers to adapt to �鶹��ý’s tropical climate and volcanic soils.

The next phase will be at CTAHR’s Waimānalo CARES Center, where the team will assist with transplanting the seedlings into the field for next season’s bulb production. They are planting approximately 800 bulbs from the previous harvest to produce seed for future ʻAwahia onion lines.

The University of �鶹��ý is leading global scholarship on food system transformation with the completion of a major open access e-book, , published in .

The research topic brings together 29 peer-reviewed articles from more than 150 scholars across the globe, exploring how food systems influence at least 16 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

The research findings are particularly relevant in �鶹��ý, where , , and highlight the urgent need for integrated agri-food system research, education, planning and policy strategies.

“The publication of this research topic and its open access e-book marks a significant milestone in advancing the science and practice of food-system transformation toward the UN SDGs,” said Albie Miles, associate professor of sustainable food systems at UH West Oʻahu and the project’s leader. “We hope the collection will support progress toward a more equitable, sustainable and resilient food system in �鶹��ý and around the world.”

The collection was co-edited by Miles and Travis Idol, professor at UH Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience. They worked alongside an international editorial team.

Important UH contributions include an article that develops a for monitoring food security indicators to measure progress toward SDG 2: Zero Hunger. Another article documents the need for a (NCOP) for food-system planning and implementation that directly informed the creation of the NCOP now underway at the .

As an open access e-book, the full collection is freely available to researchers, educators, policymakers, and community leaders worldwide.

To cultivate the future of sustainable agriculture in �鶹��ý, GoFarm �鶹��ý, an extension program of the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa’s (CTAHR), is training its 10th group of new farmers on its Pūlehunui training site on Maui in September.

The cohort began with the five-week AgXposure phase, where participants explored diverse production systems and learned directly from established Maui farmers. Site visits included Kēōkea Malalani with Common Ground Collective, Kupaʻa Farms, Lā ʻUlu at Maui Nui Botanical Gardens and �鶹��ý Taro Farm.

“Being part of AgXposure outlined the state of farming and agriculture on Maui and showed us that there are many methods of farming and many ways to impact the food system…it has opened more doors of opportunity, and my imagination has run wild with all the possibilities,” shared one aspiring farmer.

From seed to sales: hands-on training, specialized skills

Nine students who completed AgXposure have advanced into the 7–month intensive AgXcel phase. The curriculum covers everything from seed to sales: crop production, soil health, farm systems, equipment operation, harvest techniques, food safety, farm financials and more.

Each student is required to develop a detailed crop plan of 25 varieties of vegetables for a 7–week Community Supported Agriculture—a weekly subscription box of mixed vegetables—that they will implement under the guidance of their farm coach. Students will also market their produce and track sales to practice essential entrepreneurial skills.

The group is expected to graduate in April 2026. Graduates who demonstrate they can manage a farm may apply for the AgIncubator program, the final stage of GoFarm �鶹��ý’s pathway to farm ownership.

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To support the state’s livestock industry, the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa (CTAHR) is immersing students in local cattle ranching through a hands-on training program.

The training includes workshops on Oʻahu and intensive field work at CTAHR’s Mealani Research Station on �鶹��ý Island and nearby ranches. Students gain practical skills in on-farm food processing, calving management, grazing management and animal evaluation.

“This trip was one of the highlights of my bachelor’s degree and gave me lasting memories that made me reflect on how far I’ve come,” said UH student Julianne Johnson. “The most impactful part of the trip was experiencing livestock behavior in a natural setting and learning how to handle animals. This gave me a deeper understanding of how livestock operations are run.”

Passing down ranching knowledge

This training initiative, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, is part of CTAHR’s strategy to develop the next generation of agriculture leaders. It gives undergraduate and graduate animal and food science students a complete experience on the ranch, from caring for a pregnant cow to raising a calf to getting cattle ready for market.

“Seasoned ranchers don’t always have someone to pass down knowledge about how to manage a ranch and what problems to expect. We are trying to address that need with this program,” said Extension Agent Melelani Oshiro, who organized the program along with CTAHR Assistant Professor Caleb Reichhardt.

Extreme weather conditions

�鶹��ý Island’s extended drought created another learning opportunity. “Students saw lush pastures in the spring become dried up and gone in the fall,” said Oshiro. Seeing how the extreme dry conditions affect the research herd and pastures helps students understand the real-world conditions of agriculture.

“It creates an opportunity for them to start critically thinking about how that’s impacting the animal on the physiological side and the nutrition side,” said Reichhardt.

The program is equipping the future leaders of �鶹��ý‘s livestock industry with the knowledge and resilience needed to address environmental and economic challenges.

Community connections, cultural healing practices and emotional well-being are at the center of a University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa program that is building a peer support network for farmers, farmworkers, and paramedics and emergency medical technicians. The main goal—prevent suicide.

Strengthening essential workers

The (CCCR) project, led by Professor Thao Le of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at the (CTAHR), has already trained 34 peer mentors in its first year. The project is gearing up to recruit more peer mentors in its second year with $598,906 funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Farmers and first responders often experience high-stress and uncertainty. Farmers face unpredictable markets and weather conditions, while first responders care for patients in traumatic situations.

“It may seem suicide is a lone event—it is not,” said Le, the principal investigator. “Disconnection and loneliness are salient factors. We need a course correction and can only do this when we create conditions for care and connections in our communities.”

Two recent articles from Le and her colleagues provided a potential tool to , and that prevent some local agriculture workers from getting mental health care.

Healing with nature

CCCR’s contribution lies in its attention to community and culture as modality for preventing suicide. Its culturally infused aims include:

• Creating a sustainable and collaborative peer-mentor network among �鶹��ý‘s essential workers, giving them an internal support system.
• Reducing suicide and suicide risks by bolstering social connectedness and relationship building.
• Infusing culturally based healing practices into resilience training, recognizing that not everyone is comfortable with traditional therapy.

Embedding cultural practices led by Native Hawaiian practitioners is an essential component. This includes working in the loʻi (taro field) and connecting with nature at sites such as the Kīlauea volcano and the ocean. This approach allows farmers and first responders to restore and heal within their peers.

The federally funded CCCR model is drawing interest from other high-stress fields, such as the construction industry and 911 operators, suggesting a potent, scalable approach to building resilience across the state.

The program is a partnership with CTAHR, the �鶹��ý Department of Health’s Emergency Medical Services & Injury Prevention System Branch and Hoʻohanu, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting first responder mental health. It is also reaching out to connect with farmer and first responders focused nonprofits, suicide prevention and mental/behavioral health organizations.

The �鶹��ý CARES 988 is a free crisis, mental health and substance use call center. Call or text 988 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa launched a new educational video emphasizing community collaboration in the fight against the devastating Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) that threatens �鶹��ý’s native forests. The video, “Protecting Hawaii’s Native Forests,” is .

The video features a diverse range of voices, including forest managers, biologists, hunters and Hawaiian cultural practitioners from �鶹��ý Island. It highlights the deep relationship these individuals have with the forest and underscores the importance of mutual respect and partnership in effective conservation efforts.

Understanding the threat

Native ʻōhiʻa trees make up approximately 80% of �鶹��ý’s native forest canopy. These forests are vital to the state’s ecosystem, playing an essential role in protecting watersheds, recharging aquifers, and preventing soil erosion and flooding. Unfortunately, the fungi responsible for ROD continue to decimate ʻōhiʻa populations across the islands. The fungi, Ceratocystis lukuohia and C. huliohia, typically enter trees through wounds or injuries.

A significant cause of these wounds is feral hoofed animals, such as wild cattle and pigs, which create entry points for the deadly fungus by stripping bark, digging up roots and gashing trees with their tusks. While other factors such as windstorms can also cause injury, the impact of feral ungulates is a manageable threat.

J.B. Friday, the extension forester with the Cooperative Extension program of UH ��ā�ԴDz�’s (CTAHR), emphasized the importance of proactive work.

“The knowledge that fencing and excluding hoofed animals will help us protect native forests is a real game-changer in our efforts to combat ROD,” Friday said.

Continued access to native forests

The video also clarifies that fencing initiatives are designed to protect the forest, not to restrict community or hunter access. It explains that access points at state forests are equipped with gates and stiles to ensure continued public use. It notes that while almost all state forests are open to hunting, hunting is generally not permitted in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges, regardless of fencing.

Funding for the video was provided by the Hauʻoli Mau Loa Foundation through the work of the Coordinating Group on Invasive Pest Species. For more information about ROD and ongoing efforts to protect �鶹��ý’s native forests, .

In a leap for agricultural science, a team of University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa undergraduate students has developed a new method that slashes the time needed to test gene-editing tools on corn from several months to just a few days. This significant breakthrough can help scientists accelerate corn breeding efforts and overcome challenges in developing new, improved types of corn. Their work, centered on the revolutionary gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, was published in .

The students tested the new CRISPR tools on four different types of corn. The results showed that the tools are powerful, with an editing efficiency of up to 24%. This is particularly important for tropical corn, which is sensitive to daylight, making it challenging for farmers to grow in some climates.

CRISPR is a landmark molecular biology tool that allows scientists to make precise changes to DNA. It was co-developed by Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, a renowned biochemist with deep ties to �鶹��ý; she was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Hilo. The groundbreaking tool has opened up new possibilities for treating genetic diseases and improving agriculture.

Prepping for high paying jobs

The research was conducted as part of the MBBE/BIOL 401 Lab, a 400-level course led by Zhi-Yan “Rock” Du, an associate professor in the ’s Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering. The class is designed to give students hands-on experience and prepare them for careers in many fields, from pharmaceuticals to agriculture.

“Having a published paper is a major accomplishment that makes students more competitive for potentially high-paying jobs and graduate school,” Du said. “It’s an engaging way to help them think critically about what they are learning and provides them with their first publication before they even graduate.”

Students from the 2025 spring semester class also wrote a review paper on CRISPR applications in agriculture that was published in the .

Newly released, first-of-its-kind agriculture maps of the state of �鶹��ý are expected to help policymakers, land managers and researchers better monitor crop diversity, evaluate land-use change and design programs that support food security and sustainable agriculture. Experts said the new resource can also assist with post-fire disaster assessments, and in the near future, could potentially help better evaluate wildfire risks before a major disaster occurs, such as the 2023 Maui wildfires.

The University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa, led by project director Qi Chen in the , in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), released the high-resolution, crop-specific dataset called �鶹��ý Cropland Data Layer (HCDL). The maps are publicly available via NASS’s geospatial portals: and .

Filling in the map ‘desert’

NASS collaborated with UH Mānoa to develop HCDL by using Google Earth Engine and Google’s DeepMind AI-powered data. �鶹��ý was previously a “desert” for annual agricultural maps, said Chen in the . He said the lack of maps hinders efforts to track crops, assess land use and support food security in �鶹��ý.

“This gap in knowledge became especially evident during the 2023 Maui wildfires, when USDA and state agencies had only limited capacity to assess the agricultural impact,” Chen said. “Without up-to-date, field-scale crop maps, agencies were unable to quickly quantify the extent of cropland loss, identify which crops were most affected or prioritize recovery resources. Instead, assessments had to be pieced together from outdated maps, secondary sources and on-the-ground reports, delaying an accurate picture of the disaster’s effect on �鶹��ý’s agricultural sector.”

Maps are currently available for 2024 and 2023. NASS plans to release HCDL for the 2025 crop year in February 2026. This project was supported by a $268,472 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Importance of agriculture maps

Chen said developing such maps for �鶹��ý is particularly critical because of the state’s unique agricultural landscape. Unlike large-scale monocultures (the practice of growing a single species of plant over a large area), which are common on the U.S. continent, �鶹��ý’s farms are often small, fragmented and characterized by diverse crops cultivated side by side.

“While it makes mapping more difficult, it also means that accurate, high-resolution crop maps can provide transformative insights into resource allocation, irrigation planning, invasive species management and resilience to environmental change,” said Zhe Li, project co-director and geographer in the USDA.

Li added that since annual crop maps for �鶹��ý are now available, they can be integrated with real-time satellite data on weather, drought and wildfire risk to safeguard agricultural production.

“Consider a situation similar to the 2023 Maui wildfires: If high-resolution crop maps had been in place, emergency managers could have quickly overlaid fire perimeters with known crop locations to estimate economic losses and identify which producers needed the most help and immediate support,” Chen said. “Beyond disaster response, the same maps could also be used proactively—by identifying cropland areas most vulnerable to drought or invasive species, with agencies directing irrigation resources, extension services or pest management programs to the farmers who need them most.”

In addition to Chen and Li, members of the research team include: Noa Lincoln, researcher in the in UH ��ā�ԴDz�’s ; Zhengwei Yang, geographer with USDA; Haonan Chen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Colorado State University; and Changyong Cao, chief of NOAA’s Satellite Calibration and Data Assimilation Branch in Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division.

Dozens of volunteers gathered among rows of kalo (taro) at the University of �鶹��ý at ��ā�ԴDz�’s Urban Garden Center (UGC) in Pearl City for a community workday on September 8. The event combined the harvest crop with agricultural research and a commitment to feeding local families struggling with �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s high cost of living.

The kalo field was grown by Jensen Uyeda, an extension agent with the . The plants were from several varieties: Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese and more. Those who had harvested kalo before helped the newcomers who were eager to learn.

Everyone who participated got the chance to bring home huli (kalo top), for planting, as well as corms for their own use. For example, Adam Kekaula Hanohano planned to bring Hawaiian kalo back to his farm on ��ʻ�����’s North Shore.

Culinary innovation, food security

UGC is also collaborating with Lauren Tamamoto from Culinary Innovation Center to turn the harvested kalo into innovative, value-added products. This partnership is designed to boost food security by creating new uses for local products and integrating student-driven innovation.

Tamamoto is working with her students on product development, creating items such as a shelf-stable, freeze-dried curry with kalo cubes for emergency food, and instant hash browns. This exercise in culinary creativity helps develop new products for the Culinary Institute of the Pacific’s new restaurant.

The main portion of the harvest was set aside for donation to The Pantry, bringing the bounty of the field to the wider community. UGC has donated more than 2,000 pounds of kalo to The Pantry in the last two years.

The kalo harvest follows UGC’s cabbage harvest and green onion giveaways this summer. Since 2019, UGC has donated more than 30 tons of fresh produce—including fruits, vegetables and herbs—to The Pantry, �鶹��ý Foodbank and Aloha Harvest to help feed local families.

Nothing says �鶹��ý quite like two scoops of rice, a cultural mainstay on every plate lunch across the state. Surprisingly, �鶹��ý grows none of its own, importing more than 140 million pounds of it every year. A new partnership between the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa (CTAHR) and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) is looking to change that by exploring the potential to bring rice farming back to the islands.

In September, the organizations held a rice taste test at UH Mānoa with three different rice varieties, including one grown by Kauaʻi farmer Jerry Ornellas, a former CTAHR research technician. It was an “experiment to see customers’ preferences of three different rice varieties,” according to CTAHR professor Tomoaki Miura.

For Ornellas, the question is not “Can �鶹��ý grow rice?” but “Can �鶹��ý grow rice again?” The state’s history with rice dates back to the 1860s, with production once thriving in areas such as Wailua on Kauaʻi and Waikīkī. The crop was second only to sugar, with more than 10,000 acres dedicated to its cultivation.

The industry declined due to the influx of immigrants who preferred imported short–grain rice and the inability of local, hand–labor methods to compete with mechanized production in California.

The rice for this event, a Japanese variety, took only three months to mature on Kauaʻi and be ready for harvest. The first harvest yielded more than 400 pounds of rice, which Shunsuke Adachi, an associate professor from TUAT, described as “very successful” and “surprising.” Adachi noted that the long–term goal of the project is to feed the people of �鶹��ý and improve the state’s food security.

This was the first rice–tasting event of its kind at UH, marking a significant step in exploring the viability of local rice production.