{"id":230418,"date":"2026-03-05T10:39:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T20:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=230418"},"modified":"2026-03-05T10:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T20:42:26","slug":"ag-day-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/05\/ag-day-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> showcases agricultural innovation at the Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"people<\/p>\n

From locally grown orchids, plumeria and ornamental flowers to high-tech vertical farming systems, local agriculture took center stage at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Capitol Agriculture (Ag<\/abbr>) Day on February 26. The event featured more than 40 organizations, with a strong showing from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa\u2019s<\/span> College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience<\/a> (CTAHR<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

\"person<\/p>\n

At the event, CTAHR<\/abbr> 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 Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> unique environment and soil health, and teams from Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 4-H<\/abbr> and GoFarm Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> showcased how CTAHR<\/abbr> is mentoring the next generation of farmers and leaders.<\/p>\n

Voices from the field<\/h2>\n

The heart of the event was the exchange between researchers, industry leaders and policymakers. Tessie Amore, an associate researcher at CTAHR<\/abbr>, presented the critical link between research and the ornamental plant industry. Anthuriums have become one of the state\u2019s most valuable cut flowers, generating millions of dollars in annual sales and serving as a visual icon of Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> agricultural identity.<\/p>\n

“I’m here to talk about the research we\u2019re doing to help the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 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.”<\/p>\n

Jeff Goodwin, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 4-H<\/abbr> state lead, spoke about the organization\u2019s role in empowering keiki with life skills. “Our main mission is positive youth development, and the 4-H<\/abbr> projects are just the vehicle to get us to positive youth development,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"fruit\"<\/p>\n

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

“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.”<\/p>\n

Agriculture Day was sponsored by the agriculture committees of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Senate and House of Representatives and organized by the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Farm Bureau.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From locally grown orchids, plumeria and ornamental flowers to high-tech vertical farming systems, local agriculture took center stage at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Capitol Ag Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":230426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[222,212,9],"class_list":["post-230418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-agriculture","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t