Soil to Fiber Baseline in Hawaii

Commodities

• Agronomic: hemp

Practices

• Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research
• Soil Management: organic matter, soil quality/health

Hawaiʻi farmers are hearing many promotional claims about fiber hemp as a "miracle" crop, but almost all of the numbers they see-yields, soil benefits, and costs-come from mainland trials that do not match Wahiawā's climate, soils, or small diversified farms. Producers around Ohana Hui Ventures are asking three basic questions: How does THC-compliant Yuma fiber hemp perform on about one acre? What does it do to their soil in rotation? And does it pencil out once land, labor, and processing are included?

This project will establish a producer-led, one-acre soil-to-fiber baseline trial of Yuma fiber hemp at Ohana Hui Ventures in Wahiawā. Using a randomized complete block design with two planting windows and a nearby no-hemp reference area, the team will measure stand establishment, plant height, stalk diameter, and dry biomass yields; track soil organic matter, pH, bulk density, and simple infiltration before and after hemp; and document retting duration, bast fiber and hurd yields (including short vs. long fractions) and a simple fiber-cleanliness score. These data will feed into a partial budget that summarizes per-acre costs and realistic revenue ranges for fiber and hurd under Hawaiʻi conditions.

The project's significance is to provide clear, local benchmarks so producers can decide whether and how to integrate Yuma fiber hemp into rotations without relying on hype or continental data. Expected outcomes include Hawaiʻi-specific soil and yield baselines, an economic snapshot, and practical guidance on small-scale retting and decortication logistics. Together, these results will advance sustainable agriculture by reducing financial risk for small farms, documenting soil-health impacts, and strengthening producer-to-producer learning around a new rotation option.

Results will be disseminated through two on-farm field days in Wahiawā and a concise producer factsheet and slide deck shared via partner networks and online channels to reach producers across Hawaiʻi.

Research Objectives

Establish a producer-led hemp trial.
Set up a one-acre on-farm trial of the fiber hemp variety "Bocephus" at Ohana Hui Ventures in Wahiawā, comparing two practical planting windows in a randomized complete block design (three replications plus a nearby no-hemp reference area) to generate directly usable data for Hawaiʻi producers.

Quantify agronomic performance.
Measure stand establishment, plant height, stalk diameter, and dry biomass yields for each planting window and replication, producing Hawaiʻi-specific benchmarks for fiber hemp grown under real farm conditions.

Track soil-health response.
Measure soil organic matter, pH, bulk density, and simple infiltration in hemp plots and the reference area at baseline and after hemp production to detect meaningful improvements or declines in soil health associated with hemp in rotation.

Measure fiber and hurd yield and economics.
Record retting duration and visible quality, quantify bast fiber and hurd yields (including short vs. long fiber fractions and a simple cleanliness score), and develop a partial budget summarizing per-acre costs and realistic revenue ranges for fiber and hurd.

Education Objectives

Provide hands-on producer education.
Conduct two on-farm field days in Wahiawā-one focused on planting and soil-health monitoring, and one on harvest, retting, decortication, and economics-using Western SARE surveys to document knowledge gain and producers' intention to trial fiber hemp on their own farms.

Create and distribute practical learning tools.
Produce a concise, producer-friendly factsheet, a slide deck, and two short captioned videos summarizing methods, results, and lessons learned, and distribute them through partner networks and online channels to reach at least 100 producers across Hawaiʻi.