69th SWCS International Annual Conference July 27-30, 2014 Lombard, IL

1. SMALL FARMS COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION
PLANNING and PRACTICE
IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE

2. A United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service funded Project
This material is based upon work supported by the Natural
Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
under grant number 69‐3A75‐11‐212
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication
are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.

3. Kunia Loa Ridge Farmlands (KLRF), a Hawaiian
nonprofit corporation
Thomas W. Esgate, Project Director
Assistance is also being provided by Dr. Samir El‐
Swaify, Science Advisor, from the University of
Hawai‘i's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human
Resources, and;
Dr. Eileen Carey, Project Specialist/Ecologist

4. In Hawai‘i there is a major effort underway to reduce the islands’
dependence on imported food by producing more at home while
simultaneously continuing to follow their native Hawaiian ancestors
into the realm of small plot farming, the traditional Hawaiian
ahupua`a system. The number of Hawaiian farms is increasing!

5. Sustainable agriculture is a good match for island
ecosystems
• Human health is protected
• Environment benefits are provided
• It produces fresher, healthier and premium‐priced
locally grown produce
• Sustainable agriculture focuses on getting more of
the food dollar directly into the farmer's hands
through direct marketing

6. Many former pineapple plantations In Hawaii are being converted to
ag parks focused on small farms.
With small farm plot developments, planning and other work load
demands for NRCS have increased. For instance, it is possible that
over 400 individual conservation plans may be needed to cover 854
acres, as is the case at Kunia Loa Ridge Farmlands, as opposed to
one plan covering the same acres.
In addition many conservation practices need to span across
multiple plots in order to be effective, e.g. grassed waterways.

10. Working with local NRCS staff saw we saw an opportunity to tie
individual Conservation Plans to a Landscape Scale Plan and
potentially reduce agency work loads.

11. Goals:
• Address resource concerns on the landscape level
• Tie streamlined individual plot specific plans to a landscape
level plan
• Design and implement conservation practices across the
landscape, demonstrating cross boundary implementation of
the practices
• Develop and demonstrate cooperative efforts between
producers

12. • In September 2011 NRCS awarded KLRF a
$516,000 USD Conservation Innovative Grant
• KLRF is Providing $517,000 USD in matching
contributions for the project
• 3 year project term with deliverables due in
December of 2014

13. • Demonstrate how streamlined individual
conservation plans can be developed and
implemented under the umbrella of one Landscape
Scale Conservation Plan.
• Demonstrate conservation practice
implementation/across plot boundaries
• Assist native Hawaiian and Pacific Island farmers in
adopting sustainable conservation methods.

14. Specific Methods
• A sign up was
conducted through
the KLRF Co‐op for
members who
wanted individual
conservation
planning assistance.

17. Specific Methods
• The Project Director
meets with
individuals to
develop plot
specific
conservation plans.

18. Specific Methods
Streamlined
Conservation Plans are
being developed that
are tied to the overall
Landscape Scale Plan.

26. Project Director,
Science Advisor and
Field Advisor are
working with the
individual producers
to ensure proper
implementation of
the conservation
practices.
Specific Methods

30. We received input
from the local NRCS
Service Center staff
and the local Soil and
Water Conservation
District.
Specific Methods

31. Conservation
practice training
classes have been
conducted.
Specific Methods

32. • Creation the Producer Manual focusing on multi plot
conservation planning
• Production of an NRCS Landscape Scale Planning
Manual that focuses on addressing resource
concerns on the landscape level and while
incorporating small farm planning
Deliverables

33. • The initiative is presenting NRCS with an alternate method of
producing integrated conservation plans for areas where there are
numerous small farm plots.
• Our work has the potential to reduce staff workloads and streamline
the process for producers.
• The Co‐op is working directly with the local Conservation District, a
project partner, to fine‐tune the process from their perspective.
• The promotion of sustainable farming activities benefits the island
community as a whole
Results and Discussion

34. Questions?