Kona Side - Buying Land - Starting Coffee Farm (Captain Cook: coop, how much)

[hotzcatz]

I'd heard that the major mac nut producer finally got enough trees planted and producing to supply all their own needs so they weren't buying from other folks anymore. Which means all these other folks who have a field of mac nut trees don't have anywhere to sell the nuts.

Most mac nut consumers want them already shelled and roasted and the small growers don't have the processing equipment to process them to that point. Mac nuts have a hard fibrous husk on them followed by a really hard shell. If someone has five acres of mac nuts, they'd have to process, package and then find a place to sell their product. Too many nuts to be easy, not enough nuts to afford processing equipment.

Several years ago there were folks selling fifty and hundred pound bags of mac nuts as pig feed. Pigs can crack and chew up the raw nuts which is amazing.

[J_Quayle_Higgins_III]

That is truly tragic to hear.

When I was on the Big Island last, a vendor at a farmer's market told me that unless someone wanted to be a boutique seller, that pretty much everyone took their nuts to one main buyer like Mauna Loa or something. Which would make sense because they could do the processing cheaply. Guess that guy was full of crap.

If things were that bad, it seems the small farmers should have set up a consortium to purchase the equipment for pooled use amongst the members.

[Open-D]

Originally Posted by cofor

That is truly tragic to hear.

When I was on the Big Island last, a vendor at a farmer's market told me that unless someone wanted to be a boutique seller, that pretty much everyone took their nuts to one main buyer like Mauna Loa or something. Which would make sense because they could do the processing cheaply. Guess that guy was full of crap.

If things were that bad, it seems the small farmers should have set up a consortium to purchase the equipment for pooled use amongst the members.

Hopefully, something like this pans out. I would hate to see the supply of mac nuts dry up.

They are, IMHO, the best nut around. Way too good to be used a animal feed, if you ask me.

Perhaps someone could set up a business as a contract "cracker", perhaps even mobile, mounted on an appropriate sized trailer with its own power supply.


I wonder if there is a use for the husk and shell, or if not, one could be created. Perhaps a new form of mulch. Double-ended business, profits from the farmer, and from sale of the mulch.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Open-D

I would hate to see the supply of mac nuts dry up.

Considering most Macadamia Nuts come from South Africa and Australia (of which they are indigenous) you have nothing to worry about.

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by Open-D

I wonder if there is a use for the husk and shell, or if not, one could be created. Perhaps a new form of mulch. Double-ended business, profits from the farmer, and from sale of the mulch.

A lot of farmers sell the husks and shells by the truckload to be used for landscaping fill. It eventually breaks down to soil, just takes a long time.

[Open-D]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Considering most Macadamia Nuts come from South Africa and Australia (of which they are indigenous) you have nothing to worry about.

That's good to know.

[fumbling]

What are woofers?

[J_Quayle_Higgins_III]

Originally Posted by fumbling

What are woofers?

From the WWOOF website:

Want to live and learn on organic farms worldwide? Want to share your life with other like-minded people?

WWOOF is a worldwide movement linking volunteers with organic farmers and growers to promote cultural and educational experiences based on trust and non-monetary exchange, thereby helping to build a sustainable, global community.

As a volunteer (or WWOOFer as we call them) you will live alongside your host helping with daily tasks and experiencing life as a farmer.

As a host farm you will open your home to receive visitors from your own country or abroad who want to connect with the land and support the organic movement.

[KaraBenNemsi]

Here's the thing with macnuts: In Australia they can be harvested mechanically by having a tractor shaking them off into a net surrounding the trunk of the tree. Do that here in Hawaii and the whole frigging tree comes out of the ground. Hence we need pickers who bend down again and again and again. Forget about finding whites to do that job. Can't get Hispanics because they are in construction, pick coffee, or left because of Trump & ICE. So leaves you with Marshallese. They are not reliable because they only come when the welfare check runs out.

And even if you get the nuts picked, the state allows machine harvested imported Aussie macnuts to be labeled 'Hawaiian' and yours are more expensive even when breaking even. So much for the "making America great again" B.S.

Back to the processing: Coops for farmers are a great idea, but it needs folks who run the coop. A location, book keeping, machines, workers, etc. And folks to chip in. When the gentlemen farmers insist on buying their very own expensive equipment their money in the coop pot is missing. The poor farmers don't have time to organize or comprehend the market dynamics-they gotta work 7 days a week to battle nature and basic family needs.

Perverted as it sounds, a farmer is better off buying Aussie nuts and selling them as his own 'Hawaiian' mac nuts to gullible tourists on the market. Tourists at least can attach a rugged face to it versus the ABC Stores and Walmart anonymity.

[Open-D]

Originally Posted by KaraBenNemsi

Here's the thing with macnuts: In Australia they can be harvested mechanically by having a tractor shaking them off into a net surrounding the trunk of the tree. Do that here in Hawaii and the whole frigging tree comes out of the ground. Hence we need pickers who bend down again and again and again. Forget about finding whites to do that job. Can't get Hispanics because they are in construction, pick coffee, or left because of Trump & ICE. So leaves you with Marshallese. They are not reliable because they only come when the welfare check runs out.

And even if you get the nuts picked, the state allows machine harvested imported Aussie macnuts to be labeled 'Hawaiian' and yours are more expensive even when breaking even. So much for the "making America great again" B.S.

Back to the processing: Coops for farmers are a great idea, but it needs folks who run the coop. A location, book keeping, machines, workers, etc. And folks to chip in. When the gentlemen farmers insist on buying their very own expensive equipment their money in the coop pot is missing. The poor farmers don't have time to organize or comprehend the market dynamics-they gotta work 7 days a week to battle nature and basic family needs.

Perverted as it sounds, a farmer is better off buying Aussie nuts and selling them as his own 'Hawaiian' mac nuts to gullible tourists on the market. Tourists at least can attach a rugged face to it versus the ABC Stores and Walmart anonymity.

I'm thinking of a leaf blower in reverse, i.e. a vacuum cleaner that can be used to pick them off the ground without the need for bending, and a reverse-flow to sift out the lighter stuff, so less culling. Has anyone given such a system any consideration/experimentation?

BTW, I don't think the Mac nut sitch is the make or break for the ongoing process of making America great again, which is well-underway and reaping great rewards on a national basis.