HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	266
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the department of agriculture to collaborate with the united states department of agriculture to develop a tree crop insurance program for tree farms in hawaii.

     WHEREAS, tree farming can provide many long-term environmental and economic benefits for the State; and

     WHEREAS, forests can mitigate the effects of global warming; and

     WHEREAS, tree farms can protect island watersheds, prevent soil erosion, and provide habitats for wildlife; and

     WHEREAS, further development of the tree farm industry in Hawaii can reduce the unfavorable practice of cutting down and destroying native trees from forests statewide for wood because wood produced from tree farms could instead be purchased at the retail markets; and

     WHEREAS, tree farms are a growing industry in Hawaii that produced $30,700,000 in revenues in 2001, and has experienced a 6.2 per cent increase since 1991; and

     WHEREAS, expanding the tree farm industry has the potential of increasing lumber processing, creating more furniture-making and other wood carpentry jobs, and promoting an export product, which all can contribute in diversifying and strengthening the State's economy; and

     WHEREAS, a natural disaster can easily destroy decades of physical work, financial investment, and all its associated economic benefits; and

     WHEREAS, tree crop insurance can provide economic stability to investors, managers, and employees in the tree farm business, but private insurance policies for tree crops are not available; and

     WHEREAS, private insurance policies are available, however, for other types of agricultural products, including macadamia nuts, mango trees, tobacco plants, and avocado trees; and

     WHEREAS, private insurance policies for tree crops could become an economically viable option and feasible opportunity if the financial risk could be spread out among the many farms in Hawaii and on the mainland; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to collaborate with the United States Department of Agriculture to develop a tree crop insurance program for Hawaii; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to submit a written report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the 2008 Regular Session; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture; the Secretary of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture; Administrator of the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency; the President of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; and the President of the Hawaii Forest Industry Association.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Tree Crop Insurance; Department of Agriculture; Report