Kona Side - Buying Land - Starting Coffee Farm (Hilo: HOA, houses)

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by IslanderDreams

I do see a lot of farmers selling their farms and would like to know why?

Probably because they aren't making any money.....

"Most farm parcels are only of 3 - 5 acres average size and are capable of producing 20 - 40,000 pounds of coffee cherry. Once the substantial picking costs (currently 65 cents per pound) are subtracted the annual monies earned can be considered only minimal. So the Kona coffee growers will usually round up their unpaid family, interns and friends to pitch in during picking season and then the numbers look somewhat better. However, no one has ever become rich farming Kona coffee! "

Kona Coffee Economics

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Probably because they aren't making any money.....

"Most farm parcels are only of 3 - 5 acres average size and are capable of producing 20 - 40,000 pounds of coffee cherry. Once the substantial picking costs (currently 65 cents per pound) are subtracted the annual monies earned can be considered only minimal. So the Kona coffee growers will usually round up their unpaid family, interns and friends to pitch in during picking season and then the numbers look somewhat better. However, no one has ever become rich farming Kona coffee! "

Kona Coffee Economics

A great summary WV. But perhaps a clarifier-nobody gets rich farming Kona Coffee on a small-scale farm.
Some of our clients have farms that are 100+ acres, and they seem to be doing rather well.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Grassyknoll

Some of our clients have farms that are 100+ acres, and they seem to be doing rather well.

One would could argue if you have a 100+ acre coffee farm, you are by many peoples definition, already "rich" and doing quite well. I suspect anyone with a 100+ acre is also fairly diversified.

More my point was - op was asking why so many selling the farms - 1) Most but not all farmers aren't making much money 2) Real Estate has rebounded from the 2008 lows.

Personally, while I think some (but not all) Kona coffee is pretty good - it isn't worth the price point for what you get - my opinion.

[hotzcatz]

From what I've heard, a lot of the Kona coffee farmers have changed the variety of coffee they've planted. Usta be, all the new growth on the leaves would be the bronze color that indicated really tasty coffee. Now many of the coffee plants have the bright green new leaves which indicate larger crops, although not superior flavor. Eventually, Kona coffee won't be superior anymore when more of the farmers than not will switch over to the larger cropping instead of better tasting varieties.

[terracore]

I know a few farmers that have thrown in the towel due to the coffee borer beetle. One of them told me to only buy whole bean coffee from Kona- the ground stuff was rejected and ground up for a reason, along with the beetle feces inside them. I don't know if this is really true, or if it matters. The most expensive coffee in the world ($400/pound) comes encased in feces:

https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Sustai...69db57dace245f

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by terracore

I know a few farmers that have thrown in the towel due to the coffee borer beetle. One of them told me to only buy whole bean coffee from Kona- the ground stuff was rejected and ground up for a reason, along with the beetle feces inside them. I don't know if this is really true, or if it matters. The most expensive coffee in the world ($400/pound) comes encased in feces:

Perhaps it is just a missed marketing opportunity.
I'm sure the beetles impart some sort of unique flavor profile. It should be labeled "CBB Infused" and priced higher.

[terracore]

I can picture a jet-setting crowd of debutantes and young barons of industry sitting around an opulent bar, the air a gentle bouquet of leather and fine tobaccos, sipping your CBB Infused Martinis ("Make mine extra dirty, shaken, not stirred") and laughing about how the "other half" live.

[blueherons]

Gentleman farmer? Retired farmer is an oxymoron.

[KaraBenNemsi]

Kona coffee farming was always upheld by the small family farm culture. Large farms were inevitably doomed and purely investor driven with no real clue about coffee farming itself.

There's a new venture like this in town: Kona Hills in Kealakekua. They have the ingenious plan to corner the Kona coffee market by putting a different variety on 2,000 acres. And only selling to Starbucks. Therefore shaping the taste buds of the nation. LOL!

They will run into the same problems other 100+ Kona farm plans ran into before since 1870: No reliable local labor (only Hispanic with a very shaky immigration outlook). No housing for seasonal workers. At least 4 years before breaking even, major harvest fluctuations, small profit margins with much cash tied up, unexpected flood and drought patterns, high taxes, strict labor laws, high shipping and utility costs. Counterfeiters preventing with cheap foreign grown "Kona Blends" any solid business projections.

Small scale Kona coffee farming is doable and fun. Much work though but beats working for the man especially when you get your hands on a lower priced Bishop lease farm.

The CBB is not such a big issue anymore. The infestation rate is being kept under control with additional work, but new imported diseases and pests loom. Like the 'Kona Hills' clown's plan to import their millions of coffee seedlings from Costa Rica without going through proper quarantine. How are they allowed to do this? Costa Rica has pretty much every coffee pest this planet has to offer. Unlike us though they have predators eating bugs, worms and scales.

[hotzcatz]

They probably aren't allowed to import seedlings unless they're inspected, certified and not have any soil attached. Can you ask the AG import folks about it? They may want to know the plan in advance if possible? Easier to stop something from entering than clean it up afterwards.