How do you make the perfect cup of coffee? CTAHR’s Cooperative Extension partnered with the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival and Lehu‘ula Farms to educate coffee producers, consumers, and the public on how to make that perfect cup by making informed decisions when purchasing and brewing coffee.

On Saturday, January 11, Dean Nick Comerford and Interim Associate Dean of Student Affairs Ania Wieczorek traveled to Kailua-Kona to connect with CTAHR alumni. A small but merry group met at Ola Brew to get a guided tour of this brewery, which makes ciders and hard seltzers with locally sourced fruits and herbs such as pineapple, dragon fruit, lychee, rambutan, jaboticaba, and lemongrass.

Research in the college is in good hands with the formation of the new Research Advisory Committee (RAC)! Members are Mohammad Arif (PEPS), Susan Crow (NREM), Noa Lincoln (TPSS), Creighton Litton (NREM), Daniel Owens (MBBE; Senate liaison), Mark Thorne (HNFAS), and Hua Zan (COF).

Agriculture Day at the Capitol (February 5) is an opportunity to showcase CTAHR’s impact on Hawaiʻi. Up to 400 state lawmakers, staff, and stakeholders are expected to attend, and booths fill up fast, so please RSVP ASAP to publicize your program or project with an informational display, interactive activity, swag, or samples.

A recent article in Hawaii Tribune Herald noted that Mark Thorne, Extension specialist with the Department of Human Nutrition, Food & Animal Sciences, is working with the Kona livestock community to combat the two-line spittlebug (TLSB), a recently discovered pasture pest. They "pose a significant economic threat to the Hawai‘i livestock industry,” he says.