Kuilima Farm is among this year’s honorees for Pacific Business News’ annual Inno Fire Awards. To view the other winners, click here.
Located on 468 acres of ag land on Oahu’s North Shore, Kuilima Farm is owned by Turtle Bay Resort and managed by Pono Pacific Land Management. The farm not only provides fresh produce for the restaurants at Turtle Bay, but it also operates a roadside stand for the community and offers tours to educate resort guests as well as residents on sustainable food production. In the last year, the farm expanded its list of crops, grew its staff by 28%, upped produce distribution by 48% and increased sales at its farm stand by 87%.
Responses from Ramsey Brown, vice president of diversified agriculture at Pono Pacific
What’s been your organization’s biggest accomplishment to date? Kuilima Farm is currently [U.S. Department of Agriculture] food safety certified — one of only 30 farms in Hawaii, out of 6,500 farms total statewide, that currently meets the high standards of USDA GAP and GHP [Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices] Acceptance Criteria. This is a big accomplishment because it enables Kuilima Farm to increase food security for the island community, which currently imports 90% of its food, and decrease Turtle Bay Resort’s carbon footprint, setting a thriving example of farm-to-resort operations and regenerative tourism.
What about your business excites you the most right now? Growth is what excites us the most right now! Kuilima Farm distributed nearly 100,000 pounds of produce in 2023! Chefs at Turtle Bay Resort source 800 pounds of fresh produce weekly from Kuilima Farm, including salad greens, vegetables, herbs and fruits. Turtle Bay Resort's Nalu Spa regularly sources mamaki tea for guests and rosemary and lavender for their spa scrubs from Kuilima Farm. Kuilima Farm's solar-powered hydroponic facility is undergoing an upgrade, too! The system produces eight varieties of lettuce, which grow 25% faster and use 90% less water than growing conventionally in soil — and the best part, it’s all done free of pesticides. Kuilima Farm produces over 1,200 pounds of lettuce greens per month and is currently exploring other possible hydroponic produce, too.
How do you go about cultivating a culture of innovation within your business?
Kuilima Farm cultivates innovation by celebrating it! We celebrate when our farm crew invents a new way to solve an old problem, and there are no shortages of challenges in farming. For example, when our customers were asking for more lilikoi and we had a need to create wind protection for our smaller crops, our team built a lilikoi windbreak and walking path to provide protection — fresh lilikoi and a fun walking path for visitors! When using spreadsheets on mobile devices became impractical, our fulfillment lead shifted to an app to track our planting and harvests. Along with many other farm partners and collaborators, we are innovating toward more regenerative practices that are healthy for the environment and sustainable for the local economy. To this end, our farm manager is teaching our crew how to develop and use compost tea to nourish a variety of crops throughout the farm, and we hope to share the success of this innovative practice with other farmers nearby.
