biz briefs 5-7

Farmers invited to Saturday workshop

Kona Coffee Farmers Association will hold a workshop on Saturday at Kona Mountain Coffee in Kealakekua.

Registration and coffee begin at 8 a.m.

At 8:30 a.m., Bob Smith will show how to select the new-growth verticals, demonstrating what to keep, what to discard and why.

At 10 a.m., Merritt Walsh, pest survey and response technician, Big Island Invasive Species Committee, will show samples of the little fire ants, how to distinguish them from other ants and how to treat for them. These ants have caused severe problems in coffee orchards in Puerto Rico where pickers won’t work the orchards because of the severe attacks. They have now been found in the Hilo area and could be transported to Kona on plant materials and soil.

The workshop is free to all farmers. Registration is requested.

Sign up with John McClure at jmcclure@hawaii.rr.com or call 328-9290.

Property managers meeting on May 17

The Big Island Chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers next monthly membership and luncheon meeting will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 17 at Raphael’s Restaurant, Opelo Plaza in Waimea. The meeting is open to association members, affiliates and guests.

This month’s guest speakers will be Paul and Zelda Nash of Atlas Engineering, speaking on residential septic and cesspool systems.

Cost is $18.50 per person and includes lunch.

Call Linda Sasaki at 329-8097 for more information or to make a reservation.

Coffee farmers board meets on May 16

The Kona Coffee Farmers Association board meets at 4 p.m. May 16 at the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, conference room in Kainaliu.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend the meeting to see what the association is all about.

Call 323-2412 for directions to the meeting site or more information.