STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2879

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2178

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 2178, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a program to provide grants to qualified feed developers within the Livestock Revitalization Program.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Hawaii Farmers Union United, Kona Chapter; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Ulupono Initiative; Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii; Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; Hawaii Farmers Union United; and two individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture.

     Your Committee finds that the rising cost of feed for livestock production is one of the greatest challenges to the State's livestock industry.  Hawaii farmers must pay even more for feed than those on the mainland due to the exorbitant transportation costs.  Livestock feed in Hawaii can comprise as much as seventy percent of production costs.  Incentivizing farmers to develop feed locally is vital to promoting a sustainable agricultural economy and keeping Hawaii's livestock industry afloat.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

     (2)  Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2178, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2178, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture,

____________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair