Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Environment

Aloha mai kakou, and good afternoon. Mahalo for joining today's AEN hearing. It's Friday, April 4, 2025, and we are convened in room 224 and video conferencing, which includes the audio and video of remote participants. It's being streamed live on YouTube. In the unlikely event that this hearing is cut short, the committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business on Monday, April 7 at 1:01pm during AEN's time slot and a public notice will be posted on the Legislature's website.

And because of our 90 minute time limit for the hearings, there'll be a two minute time limit for all testifiers. And we'll start off with the governor's message 509 submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Environmental Advisory Council gubernatorial nominee Jay Stone for term to expire June 30, 2028. First up to testify is the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Mary Alice Evans. Good afternoon, Mary Alice.

Good afternoon, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Richards, and Member Rhoads. The Office of Planning stands in strong support of Mr. Jay Stone as nominated for the Environmental Advisory Council. The Environmental Advisory Council was established under Chapter 341, which is adjacent to Chapter 343, the environmental impact statement law.

And it states that the Environmental Advisory Council's mission is to determine an optimum balance between economic development and environmental quality by discussion between members that represent education, business, and environmental professions.

So a balanced advisory council that can ensure that our environmental disclosure law protects our environment but also acknowledges the importance of having a sustainable economy. Mr. Stone has over 30 years experience. He's an engineer. He's a very thoughtful, knowledgeable individual, and we're really honored that he applied to be a member. So I urge your support for Mr. Stone.

Thank you, Mary Alice. And let's see, Kathleen Chu from Bowers and Kubota is in support. Dawn Hegger-Nordblom is in support. Anyone else wishing to testify on this, on GM 509? We have Mr. Stone on Zoom. Jay? Good afternoon. Would you like to make a statement?

Yes, I'd like to make a statement. So thank you for, you know, giving me this opportunity to testify on my own behalf. I just wanted to state again, you know, why I wanted to be a member of the Environmental Advisory Council. I want to contribute to the environmental health, the sustainability of our local communities.

I am a Native Hawaiian and a civil environmental engineer, so responsible development that incorporates sustainable practices, that acknowledges my Hawaiian heritage is important I think for the long term health of the environment. And so I appreciate this opportunity to testify, and I look forward to serving on the council.

Thank you, Jay. Members, are there any questions either for Mr. Stone or for the testifiers? I have one, Jay. On the, are there any specific local issues or challenges that you're most passionate about and terms of addressing through the EAC?

I think, to be honest, sea level rise is really important to me. I live on the windward side in Kahului. I've seen over the years, you know, the degradation of our beaches, especially at Kualoa Regional Park. The other thing that I'm also really passionate about is PFAS in drinking water.

I am a water treatment plant engineer, meaning I design water treatment. And PFAS is an emerging contaminant that's important for us to remove. So sea level rise being an imminent threat to our community is one thing I'm really passionate about, as well as treatment of drinking water on the island and in the state.

Thank you. All right, thanks. We're moving on to the next measure. GM531. Excuse me. Submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Gubernatorial nominee Judson Laird returned to expire June 30, 2028. And first up is Department of Agriculture.

Hello, Chair. The Department of Agriculture stands up in spiritual testimony in support of this.

Thank you, Cedric. Next is Brian Miyamoto from the Hawaii Farm Bureau.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of Committee, Brian Miyamoto, County Office the Hawaii Farm Bureau will stand on a written. Testimony supporting this nominee.

Okay, thank you. And that's it. As far as the testifiers. Is Mr. Laird online? There he is. Would you like to make a statement, Mr. Lehr?

Yeah, yeah. Just thank you for the opportunity to serve the community. I really am honored by this. And yeah, I look forward. I think that I get to bring a unique perspective of having farmed on over 500,000 acres over the last 15 years here. So just bringing a Hawaii perspective, farming perspective to pesticides.

So I look forward to contributing.

Okay, Members, any questions?

Do you. Do you think that DOA does an adequate job of regulating pesticide use in the state, or do we need to do more? And if more, what is that more?

I think that there are opportunities to potentially look into General use products because right now we focus hyper on restricted products.

And I think that if there was a way to kind of broaden that to look at all products, I think it's important to balance the pest products as a whole, on the whole, on the farm, making sure that people are rotating, making sure that things are not getting resistance.

If we're hitting some bug with the same product over and over again and just having some sort of oversight on that, I think would be great. I do think that I'm proud of the DOA. I think they do great. I enjoy working with them and I look forward to contributing in any way.

Thank you, Chair. I have a question. Mr. Laird, you've had some experience with large scale operations, Mahipono, etc. And how does that help inform your policies in terms of helping the smaller farms?

Thank you.

In whole, I've also, I spent my first part of the career, my career out here on somewhat smaller farms and then also advising smaller farms in some of the local agricultural parks. So I've gotten a chance to spend the first half of my career with small and then the last four or five years with the large.

I feel like I bring a good perspective on both small or large farming. I think that the major concern that I have with, with all farming is that making sure that we're, we're, we're being able to, to take care of the environment.

I think we have a very delicate ecosystem, if you will, and we can't just, we have to, we can't abuse it. We have to make sure that we're rotating our modes of action, that the farmers have the tools that they need, etc.

Okay, sure. Yes.

Senator Richards. Yeah, thank you. Mr. Laird, you said something that piqued my interest. I think you were talking about being more comprehensive in our pesticide use, meaning looking at it a little bit more global and what I mean, that overarching.

So we target and we coordinate the selection of the pesticide a little bit more planned rather than just General use. Is that what you were saying?

Yes, Aaron, I think that farming is evolving, you know, in the last 4050 years as well. The early days, we just used a big broad spectrum that kills anything it touches.

And I think that as farming evolves, we start learning that that's not the right way to do things because we need different insects to help control insects.

So kind of getting that message out there and making sure that we're driving into that more selective product style where it's, I'm targeting this pest and only when it reaches that threshold. And if it's not at that threshold, perhaps the other, the, the environment being balanced would, would balance it out.

Okay, appreciate that. Yeah, I like that approach. Thank you, Chair.

Okay, thank you. All right, we are moving on to the next measure, GM 532, submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides gubernatorial nominee Nicholas Testa for term to expire June 30, 2028. Department of Ag.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Cedric Gates here on behalf of the Department of Agriculture. We stand on our written testimony in support of this nominee. Mahalo.

Okay, thank you. That's all the testifiers that we had. Is Mr. Testa available? Oh, there we are. Please come forward. Would you like to make a statement?

Sure. I'd just like to say thank you for this opportunity to serve the people of Hawaii. Do focus a lot on structural pest control efforts, unlike Mr. Laird in the Agricultural Department or the farming sector. My responsibilities still remain the same though, to practice an integrated pest management approach and making sure that pesticides are used wisely and appropriately for the measures that need to be taken.

Well, that's my question, actually. If you go into a little bit more detail, how do you plan to balance protecting the environment and public health with supporting the pest control industry?

One of my direct responsibilities is educating, especially new people to the industry. I make sure that they understand how to read a label, to follow the label, to protect themselves, protect our customers, protect the environments that they, you know, interact with. And this even goes into businesses and larger scale properties.

Making sure that they're only using pesticides that are going to target and take care of the pests that we are actually trying to control. And that it's not a spray and pray approach, which we always try to avoid. Just doing what's necessary. And sometimes that's not even using pesticides at all. It's doing exclusion efforts and changing behaviors.

That's interesting. I've never heard the spray and pray approach. That's good. Thank you. Okay, thank you very much. Members, any questions?

Yes, just follow up. I appreciate that, Chair. Spray and pray. Again, that's a new one for me. But I was thinking more of the old style was blunderbuss. Just shotgun and cross your fingers. Right. Yeah, I appreciate that. And it's sounding similar to what Mr. Laird was talking about. Very targeted, based upon science and paying attention to what we're trying to target as opposed to just hoping. Fair statement is what you were saying?

Yeah, very fair. I prefer to use the least amount of pesticides as possible, which is counterintuitive for our industry being that people usually associate that with pest control. But I find a lot of times you can fix the solution by different measures. So I try to educate everybody that I can on that.

All right, thank you. Thank you, Chair.

Okay, thank you. Moving on to the next measure GM533 submitting for consideration confirmation to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides nominee Janet Ashman. And first up is Department of Ag Law Chair.

The Department of Ag stands on certain testimony in support of this common thank you, Sidney.

Christy Martin from Seagaps.

Aloha. Chair, Vice Chair, Member of the Committee, Christy Martin, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, CGAPS. CGAPS is in support of Janet Ashman for this Advisory Committee. Janet has long participated in CGAPS meetings.

We have quarterly meetings where all of the parties that have invasive species responsibilities or interests are able to share information and have a networking exchange. It's a lot like drinking from a fire hose for people that haven't participated before, Janet always participates. She has for a number of years.

She provides information relevant to farming and agricultural industry and also focuses a lot on pesticide concerns. She's also participated in a number of working groups. We have special interest, special topic working groups, and she's also been able to participate in those. She is knowledgeable, responsible, responsive, and just a Delight to work with.

So we fully support her participation on this Committee. Mahalo.

Thank you, Christy. Next is Brian Miyamoto, White Farm Bureau.

Good afternoon, Chair. Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. Normally, I would just stand for these nominees, but I'm having a little bit of hearing withdrawal and this may be my last chance before session's over, so I'm going to take my full two minutes.

All joking aside, I'm here for Janet Ashman. She is knowledgeable, she has the expertise and the experience that qualifies or more than qualifies her for this position. She served before. She's currently serving. She's a farmer, she's an attorney, she understands environmental issues.

Again, she is qualified and deserving to serve in this role and continue to serve in this role. I'll wrap it up. Chair. I just wanted to come up and really show the Farm Bureau's support strong support for this nominee. But on a personal note, I have personally and professionally benefited from Ms.

Ashman's just advocacy and her experience and her background. She has made me a better advocate for the Hawaii Farm Bureau and for Agriculture because of all the experience and her background and expertise, her dedication and commitment to Hawaii agriculture. We urge strong support for this nominee. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony.

Thank you, Brian. Next is.

I stand Margaret's testimony. Strong support to Janet for decades. And I respect her work and also her passion. Thank you.

Thank you. And anyone else wishing to testify on this. GM. And we have Ms. Ashman on Zoom. Janet. Aloha.

Good afternoon. Vice Chair Richards and Members of the Committee, thank you so much for considering me for this confirmation. I have been on the Committee before and I've been enjoyed and been honored to Work on it.

And I hope that I can bring my experience and knowledge to the table again to help Department of Ag in a really complex area. I think a lot of people have misunderstandings about pesticides in a lot of different ways and the regulations are difficult to comply with sometimes. They're so complicated.

So I hope to make things more understandable to the public and the farmers.

And I think that's, that's really my goal is to help educate and I really appreciate all the things that the other nominees said too, because a lot of it has to do with targeting the pests, scouting for pests, you know, just really being aware of other alternatives to using pesticides and using more up to date pesticides than the old ones, some of which have, you know, been phased out.

Others are still available. But I think as time goes on, we're getting better at more precise pesticides and their use. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Janet. Members, are there any questions for Sashman or for the testifier? Senator Decoy?

Jan? I don't know if it's a question or not. I guess it is. I noticed you sent in a testimony. Why? With comments. Normally I would think you would send in a testimony in this case to support yourself, but why would comments?

I just wanted to send in something so that I could access the zoom. I wasn't sure if that was.

No, thank you, Janet. I mean, I've gotten the opportunity to watch you work and do a lot of education within our communities and, you know, I'm grateful that you're wanting to serve again. So thank you for that, but thank you. Take your chair.

Thank you. I'm turning red.

Yeah. Thank you, Janet. Good to see you. And again, thank you for stepping up. This is a recurrent theme about targeting use of pesticides. Can you expand just a little bit on that? You said you supported what's been said, but it's a different shift in pesticide management. Can you comment, please?

Yeah. Justin Laird mentioned it too. As far as, you know, the broad based attack mode that we turn to, we, meaning, you know, decades ago, turned to because there weren't products available that just did target specific types of pests or modalities. And we've gotten better registrants, the producers of these, of these products have gotten better at targeting.

And in my own personal experience, I think I mentioned this to Chair Gabbard. You know, we're in trouble in a lot of areas with drugs, pesticides. As far as, for example, something that maybe people can relate to in their pets and their livestock.

You know, you've got products that are older and were working well for a long time. But the pest in the case I'm thinking of parasites have developed a resistance to them and they're no longer effective or they're not as effective. And so it's really difficult when you only have a few active ingredients that you can use.

And, and you've got to be developing more along the way that are targeted, that don't hurt the animal but do hurt the pest that's killing the animal. So that's what I'm thinking of. I'm not sure if that's what you had in mind.

That's the direction we're headed, being very focused on what we're trying to accomplish. So I appreciate that and I really appreciate the candidates. That's a recurrent theme. So again, thanks much for willing to go back at it and give another shot. Thank you.

Chair yeah, Janet, you'd mentioned in your statement about the regulations. What specific challenges do you see in current pesticide regulations?

It's hard all over the place. It's not just our state, every state, it's a complicated area. And so regulations, I mean, if a layperson just thinks to himself, okay, I want to know more about this. I'm not necessarily talking about farmers, but homeowners protect their buildings, their homes.

You try looking at the regulations, whether at the federal level or the state level, and it's overwhelming. I'm not sure that we can make them perfect, but and we did just go through revision not Too long ago, 2019, I think, but it's just, it's overwhelming.

So I know the Department has done a great job lately in their education division of getting out there and trying to educate everybody, including the public, on how to use these things and how to read a label. It's, it's a big job. So that's what I was.

Thank you. All right. Moving on to the next measure, GM 557, submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Environmental Advisory Council gubernatorial nominee Dawn Hegger-Nordblom for term to expire June 30, 2027. First up is OPSD, Mary Alice Evans.

Chair, Vice Chair, Member DeCoite, and Member Rhoads. Dawn Hegger-Nordblom has a lot of experience as an environmental professional, a planner. She's worked on EISs and EAs. She understands Chapter 343 and our quiet administrative rules 11.200.1. And she, her interim appointment to the Advisory Commission.

She contributed a lot to our discussions on how to find that balance in disclosure of environmental impacts so that decision makers have the information that they need to make informed decisions. So I'm very delighted that she's willing to be available for a confirmation. I urge you to support her confirmation.

Thank you, Mary Alice. Anyone else wishing to testify on this measure, GM 557? Okay, do we have Dawn? There she is. Would you like to make a statement, Dawn?

Yes, Chair. Thank you so much. And I appreciate Mary Alice's statement about my professionalism. I feel that I could bring a lot to the Environmental Advisory Committee. I've worked on the state and the county and a little bit on the federal side. And I'm also, I see it daily how environmental law impacts projects, either past or present. So I appreciate the fact that you guys will allow me to continue serving as Vice Chair. Thank you.

Okay. Members, any questions? So, yeah, I do have a question. What do you think is the biggest, the biggest challenge facing EAC and in the EAC fulfilling its role? And then how do you propose to address it? What's the number one thing?

Well, I do. Is to have more volunteers to serve on the Environmental Advisory Committee. In this day and age, everyone's quite busy and I know that it's a time commitment and it's consuming and people may not want to volunteer. But to step up and to serve the state, it's really important. I think that's the most important thing. Right now we have four members out of 13 and we lost maybe six or seven members this year.

So we definitely need more members. And I feel that we would be able to serve the public if there is a variety of members in different professions. Right now we have Jay, who's wonderful, and we have Michele and Rachel, and they're botanists and biologists. And you know, there's a team, but we could use more people as a team.

What kind of outreach is going on to get more members, to get nine more members?

I think that we've asked quite a bit of people personally, but I'm not quite sure if the call has gone out from the governor's office. Certainly we like to see more people volunteer out of the goodness of their hearts. But like I said, I know that it can be challenging and time consuming for people and, you know, people have priorities right now.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

All right, moving on to the final measure on today's one o'clock agenda. Is GM 697, submitting for consideration and confirmation as the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture gubernatorial nominee Dean Matsukawa for term to expire 12 December 7, 2026. And first up we have Department of Land and Natural Resources. DLNR. Thank you, Pua. Sharon Hurd from the Department of Ag. Director.

Good afternoon, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Richards, Senators DeCoite and Rhoads. Sharon Hurd, Department of Agriculture Chairperson, here to testify in strong support of Dean Matsukawa as deputy, his nomination and hopefully eventual confirmation. Dean, the fact that Dean has been with the Department for 30 years should be, you know, a big plus is to his confirmation. And it is.

In those 30 years he's gotten to know the staff, the leadership, and more importantly the rank and file. He knows that, he's taken off running. That in itself is a big plus. What I'm here to tell you is the Dean brings with him additional kind of like a superpower you might say in that he is one of upon serving the rank. You know, the industry, their challenge is access to capital. It's very important for them to have that.

And Dean brings with him an intimate understanding of what those needs are and how to consider what to consider for awarding them that capital. He's talked to the farmers. He knows their challenges. He has been doing this work for the Department on behalf of the farmers and ranchers, taking their perspective. But did you know that Dean is also a farmer?

He's been a farmer for, he was managing his family farm. So he brings with him that sensitivity as well. The other day we were at a Silent Invasion eat, think, drink session where Dean got to tell the current class of the Ag Leadership Foundation, class number 18, that he was actually a member of the Ag Leadership Foundation class number six. So he's like the old, the OG of the industry.

And they looked at him in amazement, like you're still around? But yeah, he was class six and, you know, addressing class 18. So he brings with him, besides his 30 years, he brings with him a deep intimate understanding of what the farmers go through. Access to capital is very important. We have a bill going through now that we hope is going to pass. Okay, thank you.

Appreciate it. Next up is Will Kane from the Office of the Governor in support. Tommy Johnson from Department of Corrections and Rehab in support. Jade Butay from DLIR, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations in support. Brenna Hashimoto from Department of Human Resources in support. Wendy Gady from ADC.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Wendy Gady with the Agribusiness Committee Development Corp. And we stand in support because this nominee has the soft skills that we need in the district.

Thank you, Wendy. And Amanda Shaw. Thank you. Brian Miyamoto, Hawaii Farm Bureau.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. You have our written testimony. The Hawaii Farm Bureau is in strong support of this nominee. Farm Bureau has had the pleasure of working with Mr. Matsukawa for decades. He is the ideal candidate, ideal nominee for for the deputy position.

Just look at his impressive resume. Third generation farmer, 30 years public servant at Department of Agriculture. You heard the Chair talk about experience there. Supported not only by industry, but if you look at the testimony by the Department themselves, by some of the staff that are there.

As a farmer, he's well positioned to understand and help our farming community. As a DOA 30 year employee, he's well positioned to help the Department navigate through our challenges that we're seeing with biosecurity, as the Chair said, with capital access. Again, he is more than qualified for this deputy position. We are in strong support. Look at his work, look at his resume, and look at the supporting testimony.

We ask this committee and the Senate's strong support for this nominee. Well deserving. And one last thing, Chair. He is a reluctant nominee in the most positive way. He didn't seek out the job. He was sought out to fill the position. Again, the Hawaii Farm Bureau stands in strong support of this nominee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of Mr. Matsukawa.

Next is Cedric Gates.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Cedric Gates here in strong support of the nomination for Mr. Dean Matsukawa as the Deputy Director for the Department of Agriculture. As previous speakers mentioned, his extensive experience within the Department of Agriculture makes him a very qualified candidate.

Being that he has farming backgrounds from his family's farm also contributes to his knowledge of what the struggles are that farmers are currently facing today. And being in a role of leadership within the Department of Agriculture, I really believe he can push these initiatives that can help out our local farmers.

Like access to capital and other incentives to get people back to farming. Because that's what we really need. And I think his background will strengthen the leadership within DOA to be able to be more effective and to provide better leadership in terms of moving the agriculture sector forward.

I'm confident that Mr. Matsukawa will continue to lead the Department of Agriculture forward positively and effectively. And his nomination and confirmation will undoubtedly benefit our farmers, our community, and the broader agriculture sector in Hawaii. Mahalo nui loa for considering my testimony in support of Mr. Dean Matsukawa. Mahalo.

Aloha. Good afternoon, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Richards, Senator DeCoite, and Senator Rhoads. Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser. I'm here as an individual supporting in strong support of the nomination of Dean Matsukawa. I've been had the privilege to Work with Dean closely for eight years.

And during those eight years, we went through COVID 19 together. He's always been very dedicated to agriculture, always been a team player for the Department. And he actually doesn't only participate, but he offers ideas and solutions to help the Department strategically. And he's very logical, very calm.

And you know, he brings not only the private sector experience, but the government experience too. So I think he'll be a great asset to the Department assisting the Chair and also the industry. So mahalo. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of Dean.

Thank you, Phyllis. Anyone else wishes to testify? Please.

Chair, Vice Chair, and Members. I served on the... Mary Alice Evans with the Office of Planning. I served on the Board of Agriculture as DBEDT's designated alternate for over eight years and also worked with Dean Matsukawa when he worked with us as a co-lender for with DBEDT with a co-lender to agricultural businesses.

I think he understands that farming is a business and that it has to be economically feasible. It is also a public service of course, but if it doesn't break even it's in trouble. So that's why I would strongly support and urge you to recommend advise and consent on this nominee.

Thank you, Mary Alice. Anyone else?

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Christy Martin on my own behalf. I'm sorry I didn't submit testimony on this. I was sort of laser focused, but I didn't want my silence to be non-support. I've had very little opportunity to work with Dean.

But every single time I have, he's been open. Sorry, excuse me. He's been open. He's been willing to talk and problem solve. I mean, and that's just within the few couple of months that I've known him. So I'm eager to work with him more in this capacity. Mahalo.

Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Mr. Matsukawa. I'm sorry.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Senators. Greg Takeshima here as an individual. I am in support of the nomination of Dean Matsukawa as the Deputy Director of the Department of Ag. He has assisted the Plant Industry Division Pesticides Branch as well as the Plant Quarantine Branch and Plant Pest Control Branch with the implementation of Act 231. And that has been an enormous help with both the branches themselves as well as the division and the industry. So I am in full support. Thank you.

Thank you. Last call. Anyone else? You better sit down.

Sorry, I was on a phone call. Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Jonathan Ho testifying as an individual. I've worked for the Department for about 17 years now and have had a little bit of interaction with Mr. Matsukawa, but ever since he's come on board as the deputy, hit the ground running. Very calm, very collected, very logical.

Reason based, not excitable. And those are all things that a leader should show. And I believe that his confirmation will enhance the department's ability to effectuate the massive task that it's obligated to do. And thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I appreciate it.

Thank you. All right, Mr. Matsukawa, your turn.

Aloha, Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Richards, Members of the Committee. My name is Dean Matsukawa, and I would like to thank you and the committee for taking the time to meet with me and for considering my nomination for the deputy of the Chair of the Department of Agriculture.

I'd also like to thank Chair Hurd, Governor Green, and his staff for nominating me. It would be a great honor to be able to continue serving the agriculture industry and the Department as I have done for the past four decades. Even though this is a great honor, I understand the tremendous responsibility that comes along with the position.

And throughout this process, I was greatly impressed with the passion for agriculture and biosecurity by the Ag community, Department personnel, other government entities, and the public, as well as the dedication of the legislators that work tirelessly on behalf of their constituents.

Agriculture is the bedrock of our civilization and has a long history in Hawaii. From fish ponds and mahi growing taro, sweet potato, and breadfruit, to paniolos and the sugar and pineapple plantations, to current day diversified agriculture. The ability to feed ourselves has always been important and vital.

The agriculture industry today is facing more challenges than ever from invasive species, climate change, lack of affordable land, increasing costs for transportation, fertilizer, chemical supply, and other inputs. The primary role of the Department of Agriculture should be to fully support, assist, and develop the agricultural industry. Agriculture is the only industry in the state that has a Department solely dedicated to it.

And having the number of farms declining 10% over the past five years based on the Census of Agriculture should be a major concern. My goal, if confirmed, will be to continue to work on turning around this trend and put the Department on sounder footing with sufficient personnel resources to be able to fully support the industry and allow it to meet current and future challenges.

Having a strong Department of Agriculture supporting all forms of government of agriculture and by working together with our hard working farmers and ranchers will help ensure Hawaii's agricultural legacy continues well into the future and continues to provide Hawaii citizens with local meats and produce. The quality of life here in the state would be greatly diminished without these open spaces.

Seasonal and traditional crops such as mangoes, light cheese, pineapples, taro, and traditions such as cattle roundups and rodeos. People say that the public is far removed from the farm, and that's because American agriculture has been so efficient and productive that it has been taken for granted. But if people can't eat, you will immediately see how important the industry is and how agriculture affects us on a daily basis.

The Department role is to support this important industry and to care for Hawaii's environment. How would it be if we could no longer have coconut trees or native bird species? A short while ago, Wiliwili trees were under attack by erythrina gall wasp, and the Department brought in biocontrol agents from Africa to control the pests, saving these Wiliwili trees.

I was asked why I returned to service after retiring. And like I say, there's many days I question that. But it is because agriculture is important and the Department is important and that's why I came back. And thank you for your consideration of my nomination for deputy of the Department. And I hope to be able to work with you to move the Department and agriculture forward.

Thank you. Members, any questions? Senator DeCoite.

I had a great interview with you after I jumped in on his interview. I figured two birds for one. But you know, you've been around the block and back. And what I like about you is you're very open. I'm gonna question this, look at comments. But your, the people that testified on your behalf is so diverse.

Some of them that don't like each other says a lot about testimony they've given for you, especially when they're there. But you know, I think you have the skills, the mindset and, you know, the humbleness. You have the background behind it. I know we have our challenges.

I think if you take a look at the subject matter of agriculture in general and how the Legislature has reacted to much of the struggles that we've had this year. You find a lot of the resources, I believe, that you guys have never had incorporated within the Senate add on of the budget. With that being said, I strongly support you. As we've always said, no water, no food, no eat. So thank you for wanting to serve. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Any other questions? Senator Richards.

First of all, the list of testifiers, like Senator DeCoite said, that's the who's who of agriculture in the state, which is actually impressive because it goes across crops, livestock, it's very broad spectrum. And of course...

Let me interject. There are a total of 45 in support and none opposed.

So. Yeah, thank you, Chair. The point on that is that you do have broad support. I was seriously questioning your mental capacity after coming back from retirement. But okay, we had a good interview. And I don't really have any questions per se. Dean, I really look forward to working with you.

You know, comments were made about being real steady and non-overreactive and that's important. I will hold the comment you made about having rodeo part. And Chair, we can talk about making sure we get rodeo part of agriculture leases. So we'll work on that one together. But I do look forward and wholeheartedly support. Thank you, Chair.

So a question on how do you plan to balance the support for large scale ag operations with the needs of smaller family farms and beginning farmers?

I think the role of the Department is to do support all of agriculture. We need to develop new farmers to replace a lot of our aging farmers and the farmers that we lost. As you see, the number went down. You know, but yes, so it's supporting the smaller new farmers to grow up into the large, larger scale operations. We did a study internally in the Department.

We found that from 70 to 100,000 in gross sales, those were the most profitable operations. So we try to... Right now the census is showing we have a lot of small farmers, and that's why we have food hubs and that type of thing to consolidate this, their sales and everything. But if we can get them up into the larger scale farming, that would be...

That's the goal of the Department. The larger scale guys are very important because they produce the bulk of the food. So we have to make sure that those operations continue. And it's great to see stuff like Mahi Pono and everybody coming on and trying more larger scale agriculture. So I think both the Department's role is to support all of agriculture.

Okay. Is that it?

Chair. If I can just add on. You know, Dean, I'm glad you made that point clear. You know, the large scale farmers, the impacts that large scale farmers have had as they left us have put a burden on the small scale. As you know, we depend on the supplies of irrigation, fertilizers, and and so forth.

It is completely diminished. Our cooperative on Molokai because now the smaller scale farmers are struggling to, whether it be water cost increase because of the lack of acreage being grown. But more so that we cannot fill one container to have prices come down. Is that something you want to consider or do you, have you considered those things as well as well round the ag industry?

Yes. I well understand that. You know, when we had our banana farm, we kind of piggybacked on the sugar and pine, bringing in chemicals and fertilizer. So we were able to get a better deal with that. But one of the things that I was thinking is that I don't... On the mainland, there's purchasing co-ops where the farmers all get together and purchase together and they can get a better deal deal where I don't see too much of that in the state. And that's something I would be interested in pursuing.

Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

All right. If it's okay with the Committee, we'll just go right into decision making. Thank you. Thank you. And before I get into each of those, I just want to say thank you to all the nominees. Thank you for stepping forward to serve our community and our state. Very much appreciated.

Start off with the governor's message 509 for consideration of J. Stone to the Environmental Advisory Council for term to expire June 30, 2028. The Chair's recommendation will be to advise and consent. Any discussion. Vice Chair.

Thank you, Chair. On governor's message, 509, it recommendation adviser consent. [Roll Call] Motion is adopted.

Thank you, Members. GM 531 for Justin Laird to the nominee for the Advisory Council. Excuse me. Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Any discussion? Chair votes Aye. Vice Chair.

Thank you, On Governor's message 531 for the five Members in attendance. Anybody voting with reservations? Any no votes? Chair, you have five in favor. Motion adopted.

Thank you, Members. GM 532 for Nicholas Testa to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Chair's recommendation is to advise and consent. Chair votes Aye. Any discussion? Chair votes Aye.

Thank you, Chair. On governor's message, 532 recommendations, advise and consent of the five Members. Anybody voting with reservations? Anybody? No vote. Chair you have five in favor. Motion.

Thank you, Members. GM533 due to our nominee, Janet Ashman for the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Chair's recommendation is for advice and consent. Any discussion?

Chair, just quickly. Janet Ashman's been a personal friend for a long time. I just want to disclose that I am planning on voting because I don't think there's a conflict, but I just wanted to disclose that. Thank you. Thank you. So on Governor's message 533, recommendation to advise and consent of the five Members in attendance.

Anybody voting with reservations. Any no votes? Chair you have five in favor.

And the final measure. Governor of message 557, excuse me. Second to the last, is for Don Hegar Nordblunk to the Environmental Advisory Council. The recommendations for advice and consent. Any discussion? Chair votes Aye.

God. Just one quick.

You know, noticing the statement that Don had made four Members out of 13, I encourage my colleagues to ask for the vacancies of all boards and commissions so we can help solicit the filling of all these positions so that they can continue with quarantine and to find the best candidates out there as possible to serve in a capacity to help us fill all those seats.

Thank you.

Thank you.

On Governor's Message 557, Chair's recommendations to advise and consent of the five Members in attendance. Is there any. No votes. Any reservations? Chair, you have five in favor. Motion adopted.

Thank you, Members. And on the final measure, GM697 for the Deputy Director for the Department of Agriculture, Dean Matsukawa, for a term to expire December 7, 2026. Chair's recommendation is to advise and consent. Any discussion? Chair votes Aye. Vice Chair.

Governor's message 697. Chair recommendations advising consent of the five Members in attendance. Are there anybody with reservations? Any no votes? Chair you have five in favor. Motion is adopted.

And that concludes the 10 O' Clock.