In this episode we speak with Susan Collins, owner of Bird and Bee Hawai‘i on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. As you will hear, Susan has gone to great lengths to educate folks about bees, bee keeping, and legislation related to bees in Hawaii. We talked about how she got here, where things are going, and then heard a very recent update related to colony collapse on the mainland, and the impact of government cutbacks, DOGE (the US Department of Government Efficiency) and the spending freezes implemented by the Trump administration.

Brought to you by University of Hawaii College of Tropical Ag. and Human Resources (CTAHR), and the Seeds of Well-being (SOW) Project. This podcast is supported by the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

Resources:

• Bird & Bee Hawaiʻi
• Richard Spiegel Course
• Crops that rely on pollinators
• Hoʻola Farms Programs for Veterans
• Hawaii County “Bee Bill” 144
• World Bee Day 2025 in Hilo
• Our earlier podcast with another bee keeper

Find out more about us:

• Seeds Of Wellbeing website
• Seeds of Wellbeing Resource Hub
• All the SOW links

When we attended the 2024 Hawaii Agriculture Conference on Oahu, we noticed that the name Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawai‘i figured prominently, so we decided to find out more about it. In this episode we speak with Board President Diane Ley about the history and vision of ALFHawaiʻi, how and why ALFH started and continues the Hawaiʻi Ag Conference, and details about their 14 month Agriculture Leadership Program from Diane but also from Molly Mamaril, a recent graduate we spoke with at the Conference.

Brought to you by University of Hawaii College of Tropical Ag. and Human Resources (CTAHR), and the Seeds of Well-being (SOW) Project. This podcast is supported by the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

Resources:

• Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaiʻi
• Hawai’i Agriculture Conference
• ALFH’s Agriculture Leadership Program
• Hawaii Farm Bureau
• Hawai’i Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) 2023
• The impact of The Jones Act on Hawai’i shipping logistics
• Future Farmers of America
• GoFarm Hawaii
• Molly’s Oahu Economic Development Board “Above the Sides” Podcast
• Greenpoint Nursery
• Our podcast with Tim Richards

Find out more about us:

• Seeds Of Wellbeing website
• Seeds of Wellbeing Resource Hub
• All the SOW links

We hope you enjoy this rebroadcast of an earlier, "Voices from the Field" podcast. In this episode, we speak with the Reppun brothers on Oahu about some of the struggles they have faced, and solutions they have either found or invented, over the 50 years they have been farming.

Want to learn more about them? Watch a "Mālama the Farmer" video here: https://youtu.be/z7vTrNfJcvM

This podcast is brought to you by University of Hawaii College of Tropical Ag. and Human Resources, and the Seeds of Wellbeing or SOW Project. This podcast is supported by the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

We are between podcast seasons, so while we work on new episodes, we are uploading this popular previous podcast for your listening enjoyment, and in case you missed it. Mahalo!

We are between podcast seasons, so while we work on new episodes, we are uploading a popular previous podcast for your listening enjoyment, and in case you missed it. Mahalo!

Find out more about us:

• Seeds Of Wellbeing website
• Seeds of Wellbeing Resource Hub
• All the SOW links