Since 1980, Hawaii’s total land use for agricultural production has shrunk by about 68 percent, according to data from the University of Hawaii. Roots and graffiti cover the remains of a long-abandoned sugar mill on property owned by Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar in Puunene. Tenant farming is now restricted on state agriculture land. With statehood came U.S. labor laws, inspiring Hawaii’s biggest sugar and pineapple producers to embrace cheaper foreign labor. Sugar was a dominant agricultural product for decades in Hawaii, but the last sugar mill in Hawaii had its final harvest in December 2016.

Source: Washington Post December 17, 2017 22:30 UTC