THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	144
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO SUGGEST DEFINITIONS FOR SMALL AND LARGE FARMS AND BONA FIDE FARMER.

 

 

     WHEREAS, there is a need to define farms by the process of the operations and not the acreage or amount of revenue; and

 

     WHEREAS, small farms, defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as those with a gross cash farm income less than $350,000, range from retirement and residential farms with little or no output to commercially oriented farms with operators employed full-time in agriculture; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, the United States Department of Agriculture categorizes nearly ninety-two percent of farms in Hawaii as small farms; and

 

     WHEREAS, neither the Department of Agriculture nor the Agribusiness Development Corporation have clear definitions of small and large farms or bona fide farmer; and

 

     WHEREAS, often times legislation is introduced that includes language without a clear and concise definition; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii needs Hawaii-specific language to bring clarity to the definition of small and large farms and bona fide farmer and to be able to measure changes in agricultural diversity; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to suggest definitions of small farms and large farms and bona fide farmer; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that small farms be defined as farms where ownership has direct management of daily operations, personal invested capital, and works on the farm, or a substantially equivalent definition; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that large farms be defined as farms where ownership has hired management for daily operations, no personal invested capital, and does not work on the farm, or a substantially equivalent definition; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture attempt to ensure that the definitions of small farms and large farms comply with United States Department of Agriculture definitions; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture report its suggested definitions, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

Report Title: 

DOA; ADC; Farm Definitions