Mahalo to Sarah McLane Bryan for her aloha and encouragement. Any

findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those

of the author and do not imply endorsement by UH Maui College.

Founded by Claus Spreckels in 1882, Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar (HC&S) is the sole sugar plantation

operating in Hawai’i today. Augmenting their own land investment, control of HC&S passed in 1898 to

Samuel Thomas Alexander and Henry Perrine Baldwin, childhood friends who planted their first sugarcane

crop in 1870 on their Alexander and Baldwin plantation below Makawao. In 1878 the Hamakua Ditch, a

system of tunnels, ditches, flumes and reservoirs was constructed over 17 miles of mountainous terrain to

supply water to their crops. Today water from the EMI ditch, Na Wai ‘Eha and brackish water wells is used

for irrigation. It wasn’t until 1962 that HC&S merged with and became a subsidiary of Alexander &

Baldwin, Inc.

On the 36,000 acres in the Central Maui area HC&S plants with sugar, over 200 million gallons per day of

water is consumed. Profits are down as operating costs rise and less expensive labor can be found in other

parts of the world. Other costs to consider are the environmental damage done to the air through cane

burning, as well as to the land by contaminants such as herbicides and pesticides.

In 2010 HC&S land was selected as the site for federal biofuels research for two federal grants – one

program funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the other by the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval

Research (ONR). Funding by the DOE is to research energy crop by the University of

Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). The USDA will direct research

initiatives for the ONR funding.

Problem Statement

HC&S’s vision is to pursue “farming that is sustainable – economically, socially and

environmentally.” The goal of this analysis is to determine what other crop could be a

profitable replacement for HC&S that may also have potential to repair damaged land.

Currently, a wide variety of bio-fuel crops including jatropha, (contains toxins)

sugarcane, (consumes too much water, requires fertilizer / herbicides) sweet sorghum

(labor intensive) and banagrass (requires fertilizer / herbicides) are being tested

throughout numerous locations at HC&S to determine where they will thrive.

Given the primary drawbacks of the above listed bio-fuel crops, the question remains

as to what replacement plant, if any, should be considered. Industrial hemp is known to

be a “mop” crop, clearing impurities out of wastewater, and is currently being used to

clean contaminants at Chernobyl in a process called phytoremediation.

Looking at the carbon footprint industrial hemp leaves, which is smaller than most

other crops, its wind tolerance and drought resistance, as well as its biomass potential,

it should be studied as a replacement crop for sugarcane.

"USDA ERS - Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status and Market

Potential" (PDF). Ers.usda.gov. Retrieved 2013-11-09.

"Industrial Hemp". Agriculture and Agrifood Canada. Government of Canada.

Retrieved 2013-02-28. Could hemp ...topple graphene for making the ideal

supercapacitor?

Callaway, J. C. (2004-01-01). "Hempseed as a nutritional resource: An

overview" (PDF). Euphytica (Kluwer Academic Publishers) 140 (1–2): 65–72.

doi:10.1007/s10681-004-4811-6. Retrieved 2013-03-13.

“Ku’au Bayview at Paia”, www.kuaubayviewmaui.com/php/hcs-history.php.

NNFCC. "NNFCC Project Factsheet: Guide to Building with Hemp-Lime

Composites, NNFCC 07-001", "National Non-Food Crops Centre", Retrieved

on 16 Feb 2011.

“HCS_Fact Sheet” (PDF). www.hcsugar.com.

“Natural Cane Sugar” (PDF). www.mauibrand.com/history/aboutoursugary.

"Thermoformable Composite Panels" (PDF). Composites World. 2006.

Dewey and Merrill, U.S.D.A. Bulletin No. 404, Hemp Hurds as Paper-Making

Material, Washington, D.C., October 14, 1916. Page 25.

"David P. West: Fiber Wars: The Extinction of Kentucky Hemp". Gametec.com.

Retrieved 2011-04-20.

"Phytoremediation: Using Plants to Clean Soil". Mhhe.com. Retrieved 2011-

04-20.

"Hemp Facts". Naihc.org. Retrieved 2011-02-17.

“The Great Book of Hemp: The Complete Guide to the Environmental,

Commercial, and Medicinal Uses of the World's Most Extraordinary Plant.”

Robinson, Rowan. Rochester, VT. Park Street Press, 2010. Chapter 5:129-135.

Print

“Hemp Husbandry” by Robert A. Nelson, Internet Edition, Copyright 2000

http://www.hempbasics.com/hhusb/hh2cul.htm#HH22

Lynn Robins et al.: Economic Considerations for Growing Industrial

Hemp:Implications for Farmers and Agricultural Economy, Department of

Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky,July 2013.

“The Importance of Sugar Across the State,” Anthony Sayles.

Blog.emauirealestate.com/2013/12/2/hcs-maui-hawaii-history-future-plans/,

December 2, 2013.

“Ecological Footprint and Water Analysis of Cotton, Hemp and Polyester” Nia

Chadwick, John Barrett, Alexandra Clemet, Matthew Chadwick and M.J.

Chadwick, (PDF) 2005. Stockholm Environment Institute. SE103 14

www.sei.se

CANE & ABLE: Conditions Determine What Is Able To Be Planted After The Cane GIS 180 – Ecosystem Management By Marti Buckner

Photo by: Tony Novak-Clifford

Photo by: Jim Petruzzi

Looking at growing conditions presented on Maui, from the assembled GIS information:

location, soil type, wind, and water availability, industrial hemp could fit the bill as a

replacement crop for sugarcane.

Show me the money: because this industry is in its infancy of making a comeback, data on

profitability is unreliable. Research from international sources lead to the following numbers

-

Assuming conservatively, at each acre yielding 6 – 10 tons (dry weight) and priced at $250

per ton, would equal $1,500 - $2,500 per acre. With estimated growing costs of

approximately $400 per acre, potential profit per acre could be $1,100 - $2100. On 36,000

acres, an estimated $39,600,000 - $75,600,000 might be realized. Doubling that if two crops

were grown per year yields $79,200,000 - $151,200,000.

With growing attention to the environment, industrial hemp with its positive attributes and

potential products could be a viable and valuable agricultural commodity in the near future,

once infrastructure is established.

Acknowledgement

Methodology

References

Map 5: Rainfall is illustrated with data from SOEST, University of Hawai’i (Right)

Results and Discussion

Photo 1: Aerial view of sugarcane on Maui - Photo By Ron Dahlquist

Map 1 – Shows

Alexander and

Baldwin property

where HC&S

plants sugarcane

on the island of

Maui. Hawai’i

State Department

of Health

furnished the

sugarcane

potential

contaminated

areas (PCAs)

delineated on this

map (Left)

Map 2 – Location

map data obtained

from the State of

Hawai’i Office of

Planning’s

Statewide GIS

Program (Right)

Map 3 – Illustrates the average wind speed in meters per second on Maui with data derived from the

Hawai’i State Planning Division (Above)

Map 4 – Soil information is demonstrated using soil series information from the USDA Geospatial Data

Gateway (Below)

The analysis of existing conditions was conducted using existing raster and shapefiles

sourced from the Hawai’i Office of Planning’s Statewide GIS Program, United States

Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Geospatial Data Gateway, Hawai’i

Department of Health and School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology,

University of Hawai’i.