Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
hotzcatz, they had actually official hearings about this import. Where our US/Hawaii authorities were supposed to rely on Costa Rican based data and sterilization procedures of seedlings. Kona Hills would then build biohazard proof buildings mauna of Kealakekua--such baloney! There's no infrastructure at all.
Hmm, it seems like Kona is doing everything possible to ruin their product, doesn't it? There's a reason why Kona coffee is so expensive and if you've got a product that's working, why change it? It's expensive because it's really tasty. Why is it really tasty? Because of the variety of coffee grown where it is grown. So now they want to change the variety they're going to grow. I wonder why?
Woofers seem to becoming the new migrant workers, and seem to love Hawaii.
friends have a five acre farm in South kona. It was originally all Mac nuts, but they have diversified quite a bit. They grew some coffee for a while, but say dragonfruit and pineapples currently give the best income per acre, and don't require a lot of labor.
A large Mac farm near Hilo was razed to plant sweet potatoes.
So while coffee and Mac nuts have a romantic Hawaii appeal, they may not be the best cash crops.
hotzcatz, it does seem that way, but I think economics/money is playing into it. That's what the global competition is doing. I like Kona Coffee and Kau coffee, but I'll say it underrepresented. We all know who the big buyer of coffee is and Hawaii coffee is not up on the list. Anyone know who specifically is pushing this new variety.
Last edited by IslanderDreams; 05-12-2018 at 06:57 PM..
hotzcatz, they had actually official hearings about this import. Where our US/Hawaii authorities were supposed to rely on Costa Rican based data and sterilization procedures of seedlings. Kona Hills would then build biohazard proof buildings mauna of Kealakekua--such baloney! There's no infrastructure at all.
Can you point to where I can find more information about these Costa Rica seeds? This is the first I've heard about. Thanks for sharing this information.
Woofers seem to becoming the new migrant workers, and seem to love Hawaii.
friends have a five acre farm in South kona. It was originally all Mac nuts, but they have diversified quite a bit. They grew some coffee for a while, but say dragonfruit and pineapples currently give the best income per acre, and don't require a lot of labor.
A large Mac farm near Hilo was razed to plant sweet potatoes.
So while coffee and Mac nuts have a romantic Hawaii appeal, they may not be the best cash crops.
I agree with you on the Woofers. My friend is running his Mac Farm with 2 and they are priceless to him. His operation is reliant on then. The 2 he has are messy as he says, but his operations is over 15 acres and he really doesn't see them on his land unless he rides all the way up his land.
Mac Nut is profitable, but just like all the others its labor intensive and you have to know what your doing, especially business wise.
Dragonfruit is in high demand with the Asian communities. I have another friend growing on 25 acres, but not in Hawaii and he has that market controlled in his area. Took him 10 years to be yielding what he has now.
Nothing wrong with diversifying, but it's hard to do on just 5 acres if that's all you have.
I’m born and raised in Captain Cook (Hookena area) over 30yrs and my family is generations of coffee farmers. My grandfather has a 100acre coffe farm w/ 11,000 coffee trees and several thousand Mac nuts trees. My father is building his 30acre farm about 5miles from my grandfathers. I have lived in this area my entire life.
Kau is the next district after (south) of Kona District. Captain Cook is one of the last cities in the Kona District. Captain Cook is big- ranges from the edge of “Kealakekua” 96750 (which is 25mins south of Kailua Kona) and goes all the way to Millolii/Ocean View.. So the northern part of Captain Cook is a bit more city/less rural, closer to Kailua Kona, then you have the southern side of Captain Cook (Millolii/Ocean View or OV as we call it) which is more rural and many ppl are off grid (no county water past Hookena) and because there’s no county water the land gets considerably cheaper headed south.
There is electric available in south Captain Cook BUT it depends on the lot you buy... if there are no power poles near the lot you’d have to put them in yourself to “connect to the grid” and one power pole is $5k+. So when you buy land you have to look into the power situation. Some subdivisions have their own water well and electric poles installed, at least to the road- you might have to install 1-2 poles depending on where you want to put your house/farm operations on your lot, so it’s something you need to consider. Also you need a PERMITTED structure to hook up to electric... the permitting process can be 1-2yrs so it’s something you also need to consider.
In my personal oppinon I wouldn’t live past Captain Cook district....for me even Millolii/OV is just a bit too far. Ka’u is absolutely beautiful but for me it is too far from “the Kona Side” and I still like to have the options of heading down to Kailua Kona (even out to North Kona like Waikoloa and beyond). There’s basically only 1 main road to travel- and if your headed north from Kau it’s about 1.5hrs to Kailua Kona. And I’m being realistic with traffic (one road to share w tourist= long lines of cars w limited long stretches to “pass” people). Now if your retired and plan to stay home most the time the drive to Kona may not be too big a deal for you but it’s something to consider if it is. If you want to be out in the country and don’t mind having very limited restaurants/cafes, a couple gas stations and one or two small (semi pricey) supermarkets then that’s up to you. I like to live “country” but not too far away from Kailua Kona because even Kona is still a small slow-paced city in itself.
Now back to coffee, if your starting a coffee farm and didn’t know there’s a certain district for “Kona Coffee” then that’s problematic. To spend upwards of $400k and not be able to label your farm “Kona Coffee” to me is a waste. Yes Kau coffee has been building a good reputation but in my oppion it’s just easier to build a farm w “Kona Coffee” unless you are super experienced in the industry. Sure people will say that you can sell your coffee to Kona stations and “they’d never know” but you still need to have an account to sell your coffee to the Kona stations and for that you need to register w/ a legal farm within Kona. Now if you have a large Kau coffee farm I don’t know how they wouldn’t catch on. In time regulations will get stricter and not a good idea to bank it all on “schemes”. Like I said if I had the money you have I’d invest in a coffee farm in the Kona District because of the Kona Coffee brand and also the value on your property/farm is likely to stay higher.
Papa Bay Estates is just before (north) Millolii. Kona Sea Ranch is about 5mins north of Papa Bay. These 2 locations are as far south as I would go in “Captain Cook”. But it’s definitely do-able. Kona Sea Ranch has been there a long time trying to sell off their lots, I used to live a minute away from there, so be aware that the lots aren’t exactly flying off the shelf but over the years as land is getting bought up all on the north side, Kona Sea Ranch has picked up some speed. Something to consider is the land is kinda rocky- to put in a coffee farm more dirt is preferable so that’s why most people stick to a more north area as the soil tends to be more plentiful. It’s still do-able in a rocky area but it’s that much more work to dig holes and get the plants in. In the areas you are looking into you need to be careful about soil, especially Kona Sea Ranch. Papa Bay is kind of a nice haven in the midst of things, houses/lots are nice and well taken cared of there but I don’t know if it’s expanded or where exactly the lot your thinking of is.
There are a few small areas just north of Sea Ranch that are being developed and are affordable in your price range, I’ll try to get the info and private msg you. They may not be in a gated subdivision but you’d get more acreage for your $.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IslanderDreams
Hello Everyone,
First I would like to say, I enjoy and appreciate the posts and information provided here. It's been very helpful and informative.
I'm currently looking to buy land. My budget max is $400K, but would be more comfortable in the $200K to $350K range. I'm interested in anything above 3 acres. I'm interested in the Kona side, South Kona to as far south as the areas around Captain Cook. Would appreciate people's comments on the area. Am I missing out on any other areas.
This is a long term plan for me. If I were to buy today, the land would sit for about 3 - 5 years. I want to start a coffee farm and grow some other fruit crops or mac nuts. I actually want to do this first, but at as a gentleman's farm operation. I'm not going to rely on the income from this farm. It's something I just want to do and if it helps the island in terms of jobs and or consumption of the fruits, crops etc. I can create the better I would feel about it. I would then build a home, once I move to the island.
Can anyone specifically comment on Kona Sea Ranch? They are selling 5 acres lots.
Can anyone comment on Papa Estates?
I seem to be interested to land that is setup under a HOA and are gated since I won't be moving in person for many years. What are people's thoughts about this.
I'll be in the big island in March to continue my search.
I appreciate everyone's comments and feedback on my plans above.
Last edited by Dakine_builder; 05-16-2018 at 05:10 PM..
I’m born and raised in Captain Cook (Hookena area) over 30yrs and my family is generations of coffee farmers. My grandfather has a 100acre coffe farm w/ 11,000 coffee trees and several thousand Mac nuts trees. My father is building his 30acre farm about 5miles from my grandfathers. I have lived in this area my entire life.
Kau is the next district after (south) of Kona District. Captain Cook is one of the last cities in the Kona District. Captain Cook is big- ranges from the edge of “Kealakekua” 96750 (which is 25mins south of Kailua Kona) and goes all the way to Millolii/Ocean View.. So the northern part of Captain Cook is a bit more city/less rural, closer to Kailua Kona, then you have the southern side of Captain Cook (Millolii/Ocean View or OV as we call it) which is more rural and many ppl are off grid (no county water past Hookena) and because there’s no county water the land gets considerably cheaper headed south.
There is electric available in south Captain Cook BUT it depends on the lot you buy... if there are no power poles near the lot you’d have to put them in yourself to “connect to the grid” and one power pole is $5k+. So when you buy land you have to look into the power situation. Some subdivisions have their own water well and electric poles installed, at least to the road- you might have to install 1-2 poles depending on where you want to put your house/farm operations on your lot, so it’s something you need to consider. Also you need a PERMITTED structure to hook up to electric... the permitting process can be 1-2yrs so it’s something you also need to consider.
In my personal oppinon I wouldn’t live past Captain Cook district....for me even Millolii/OV is just a bit too far. Ka’u is absolutely beautiful but for me it is too far from “the Kona Side” and I still like to have the options of heading down to Kailua Kona (even out to North Kona like Waikoloa and beyond). There’s basically only 1 main road to travel- and if your headed north from Kau it’s about 1.5hrs to Kailua Kona. And I’m being realistic with traffic (one road to share w tourist= long lines of cars w limited long stretches to “pass” people). Now if your retired and plan to stay home most the time the drive to Kona may not be too big a deal for you but it’s something to consider if it is. If you want to be out in the country and don’t mind having very limited restaurants/cafes, a couple gas stations and one or two small (semi pricey) supermarkets then that’s up to you. I like to live “country” but not too far away from Kailua Kona because even Kona is still a small slow-paced city in itself.
Now back to coffee, if your starting a coffee farm and didn’t know there’s a certain district for “Kona Coffee” then that’s problematic. To spend upwards of $400k and not be able to label your farm “Kona Coffee” to me is a waste. Yes Kau coffee has been building a good reputation but in my oppion it’s just easier to build a farm w “Kona Coffee” unless you are super experienced in the industry. Sure people will say that you can sell your coffee to Kona stations and “they’d never know” but you still need to have an account to sell your coffee to the Kona stations and for that you need to register w/ a legal farm within Kona. Now if you have a large Kau coffee farm I don’t know how they wouldn’t catch on. In time regulations will get stricter and not a good idea to bank it all on “schemes”. Like I said if I had the money you have I’d invest in a coffee farm in the Kona District because of the Kona Coffee brand and also the value on your property/farm is likely to stay higher.
Papa Bay Estates is just before (north) Millolii. Kona Sea Ranch is about 5mins north of Papa Bay. These 2 locations are as far south as I would go in “Captain Cook”. But it’s definitely do-able. Kona Sea Ranch has been there a long time trying to sell off their lots, I used to live a minute away from there, so be aware that the lots aren’t exactly flying off the shelf but over the years as land is getting bought up all on the north side, Kona Sea Ranch has picked up some speed. Something to consider is the land is kinda rocky- to put in a coffee farm more dirt is preferable so that’s why most people stick to a more north area as the soil tends to be more plentiful. It’s still do-able in a rocky area but it’s that much more work to dig holes and get the plants in. In the areas you are looking into you need to be careful about soil, especially Kona Sea Ranch. Papa Bay is kind of a nice haven in the midst of things, houses/lots are nice and well taken cared of there but I don’t know if it’s expanded or where exactly the lot your thinking of is.
There are a few small areas just north of Sea Ranch that are being developed and are affordable in your price range, I’ll try to get the info and private msg you. They may not be in a gated subdivision but you’d get more acreage for your $.
What is the status of the Coffee Bean Borer in Kona?
A large Mac farm near Hilo was razed to plant sweet potatoes.
This needs to stop, I can barely afford my macadamia nut habit as it is. Who needs more sweet potatoes?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
