How appropriate for the beginning of the A to Z challenge. The thing I love most in the world, agriculture! Since moving to Hawaii eight years ago, we’ve had the opportunity to visit many farms on Maui. Looking for lavender, papaya, coffee, wine, hydroponically grown lettuce, seed corn, grass fed beef, sugarcane, or mangos? We have that. Our family’s top two agriculture tours have been of Maui Wine and Haleakala Ranch. Both were private events for the Maui County Farm Bureau, and wow, did they go all out.
Haleakala Ranch
Sustainability, 
Grass-fed Beef, and 
Chicken Tractors all come to mind when I think of Haleakala Ranch.
The people caring for the land in this corner of the earth are going above and beyond to make sure they get it right. Their biggest battles are weeds and water. Too much of one and not enough of the other. The well trained cattle dogs were the icing on the cake during this tour.
Haleakala Ranch is also looking at diversifying their operations by marketing venison sticks, and soon, they will be turning some of their Koa wood into guitars. Stay tuned for more info about this development!
Bonus Family Favorite on Maui:
Apple Bananas!
Once you’ve had one of these sweet little fruits, you’ll never want to go back to that store bought Cavendish.
If you’re on Maui, don’t forget to check out Ag Fest this weekend!
Maui Wine comes on a different letter – any guesses which one?
You can check out other blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge here!
Photos (the good ones) courtesy of Photograph Bug
Iowa Meets Maui 
I’m intrigued! A ranch? I think my husband would appreciate the venison sticks. I’ll take the wine instead. 🙂
I’m with you! Cheers.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention pineapples! I’m also guessing Maui Wine will come under letter K. I’m looking forward to more of your posts.
Mary
Twitter: @KnottyMarie
Literary Gold
Jingle Jangle Jungle
I think I have pineapple down for ‘G’ -Maui Gold! Maui Wine is later in the alphabet than ‘K’, it’s way at the end.
And now I am hungry… and I also miss sunshine… 😉
Happy A to Z! I have never been to Hawaii, but I have read a lot about it, and I would love to read more about what it is like to live there 🙂
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
The Multicolored Diary
MopDog
It’s a great place to live, but like everywhere, it has its quirks. The weather is a big selling point for me, and no snakes!!
I want to Maui when I was in elementary school because my grandma had a condo there. Mostly I remember reading Nancy Drew and tracking the progress of a banana tree (now I want to go looking for those photos) and I only have vague memories of doing vacationy stuff. I was a strange kid. Interestingly, my other grandma was a beef farmer! In Indiana though.
You got the best of both worlds then: beach and farm! Aloha!!
Things I miss about Iowa: the corn fed steaks and pork chops, the grid system of roads set forth by the NW Land Ordinance, Fareway, and family.
(I moved to Georgia about 3 years ago).
The grid! So perfect. Directions there don’t include, ‘Turn left by the third mango tree’. 😄 Of course, it’s pretty hard to get truly lost on an island.
Very nice! I like it!
Sent from my iPhone
>
This is going with a great theme! Maui is a place I’d like to visit. 🙂
I was surprised by the number of cattle farms I saw on Big Island when I was there a few years ago. I don’t know why I didn’t expect to see farming like that, but it was everywhere.
There is a lot of farming throughout the islands, but yet we import 90% of our food. Land prices are high, water is scarce, and mainland farmers can do it all for less. It’s a tough place to be a farmer in spite of the amazing weather!