Bill Text: HI SCR245 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Convening Of A Cattle Ranching Task Force To Create A Cattle Ranching Economic Development Implementation Plan For The State.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-25 - Re-Referred to WAM. [SCR245 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2021-SCR245-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	245
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE CONVENING OF A CATTLE RANCHING TASK FORCE TO CREATE A CATTLE RANCHING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR the state.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the average United States resident consumes 57.2 pounds of beef per year; and

 

     WHEREAS, annual demand for beef is 81,200,000 pounds, or the equivalent of 161,124 market animals; and

 

     WHEREAS, more than 9,900,000 visitors travel to the State each year, and spend a combined total of 88,600,000 days in the islands; and

 

     WHEREAS, at an average of 2.37 ounces of beef per person per day, the demand for beef from those visitors alone is 13,900,000 pounds of beef, or 27,752 market animals per year; and

 

     WHEREAS, approximately thirty-five years ago, ninety percent of the beef raised in Hawaii was consumed locally; and

 

     WHEREAS, prior to 1992, cattle in Hawaii were fed locally in one of several feed yards on the islands; and

 

     WHEREAS, as of the date of the Statewide Agricultural Land Use Baseline 2015 report, Hawaii Island had 557,000 acres of active pasturelands, or seventy-three percent of the State's pasturelands; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2014, two of Hawaii's largest cow-calf operations, Parker and Ponoholo Ranches in North Hawaii Island, were among the top twenty-five largest cow-calf operations in the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2014, Hawaii island shipped 25,700 pounds of beef, or about eighty percent of the total state beef exports, to the United States mainland, while another nine hundred to one thousand heads of beef were raised for the grass-fed market, with more local producers shifting portions of their herd to remain at home; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2018, local ranchers marketed 54,600 head of cattle, or about 22.9 percent of the State's total demand for beef; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2018, due to market conditions and better prices in the mainland United States, Hawaii exported more than 43,500 head of cattle; and

 

     WHEREAS, overall annual production of local beef is 7,400,000 pounds, which represents 5.8 percent of the beef consumed in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, approximately 18,850.36 acres of pasturelands are under the control of Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate; and

 

     WHEREAS, approximately three hundred seven lessees under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, cumulatively hold approximately 18,287 acres of pasturelands; and

 

     WHEREAS, as of 2015, Hawaii Beef Producers in Paauilo and Kulana Foods in Hilo are the only two slaughterhouses on Hawaii Island, and the former is the only plant that is certified by the Global Animal Partnership; and

 

     WHEREAS, capacity at both slaughterhouses is a limiting factor if the market is to expand; and

 

     WHEREAS, although mobile slaughterhouses exist, they currently do not have the capacity or regulatory status to significantly impact the commercial market; and

 

     WHEREAS, currently, when cattle reach five hundred to seven hundred pounds (normally at age nine to twelve months), the animals are transferred to a "feeder", weaned cattle are sold to buyers and sent to feed yards in the mainland United States; and

     WHEREAS, it is important to ensure the continued viability of the beef industry in Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, or the Chairperson's designee, is requested to convene a Cattle Ranching Task Force and serve as the Chair of the task force; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following individuals are requested to serve as members of the Cattle Ranching Task Force:

 

     (1)  The Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

     (2)  The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

     (3)  The Dean and Director for Research and Cooperative Extension at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, or the Dean and Director's designee;

 

     (4)  The Mayor of each county, or the Mayor's designee; provided that if the Mayor declines to be a member of the task force and declines to appoint a designee to the task force, the Chairperson of each county council or the Chairperson's designee is requested to serve as a member of the task force;

 

     (5)  The President of Hawaii Island Meat Cooperative, or the President's designee;

 

     (6)  The President of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, or the President's designee;

 

     (7)  The President of Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; or the President's designee;

 

     (8)  The Chief Executive Officer of Parker Ranch, Inc.; or the Chief Executive Officer's designee;

     (9)  The Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools, or the Chief Executive Officer's designee; and

 

    (10)  Representatives of owners of any large private pasturelands in the State, as determined and invited by the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to create a cattle ranching economic development implementation plan that is intended to ensure the continued viability of the beef industry in Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit its implementation plan and any proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be dissolved on June 30, 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture; Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; Dean and Director for Research and Cooperative Extension at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; Mayor of each county; Chairperson of each county council; President of Hawaii Island Meat Cooperative; President of Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; President of Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Chief Executive Officer of Parker Ranch, Inc.; and Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Cattle; Beef; Hawaii Island; Task Force; Implementation Plan