AgFest canceled, funds to go toward farm aid program

Sunday is deadline for farmers to apply

The Maui County Farm Bureau announced Friday that it is canceling the 2020 Maui AgFest & 4H Livestock Fair and putting the grant funds instead toward a farmer aid program.

Cancellation of the event, which was scheduled for May 30, follows the announcement from the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture, which suspended all 4H activities for the remainder of the season.

“We are saddened to have to make this announcement, but out of an abundance of caution and uncertainty about when we will be able to gather and hold events coupled with 4H activities being suspended, our board made this difficult decision,” said Warren Watanabe, the bureau’s executive director.

The bureau will still hold the Maui Legacy Farmers Pancake Breakfast. The popular AgFest event honoring local farmers will be held later in the summer; a date and venue are yet to be determined. The public will be able to purchase tickets to the event.

To help farmers suffering losses from the closures of restaurants and hotels, the bureau said it will be repurposing the grant earmarked for the AgFest to a program called the Farm Product Purchase Program. Maui County has added an additional $60,000 to the program that will allow the bureau to purchase produce from commercial farms in active agriculture production on Maui. The county will then distribute the produce to families in need who have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To apply to participate in the program, visit www.mauicountyfarmbureau.org/2020/04/02/farm- producepurchase-program/. The deadline for applications is Sunday.

A second program is also being launched today for current members of the bureau called the Farmer’s Emergency Relief Fund, which will use the bureau’s unrestricted funds to provide 10 grants of $2,000 each to struggling farmers to put toward their operating expenses.

To apply for the program, visit www.mauicountyfarmbureau.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FEEDMAUI.pdf. The deadline to apply is April 26.

The bureau also encouraged residents to seek out and ask for locally grown produce, meat, eggs and flowers when shopping.