Hawai'i, I wish I was there
Hawai’i, I wish I was there. Sandy beaches and palm trees. (Sigh.) The guest speaker at the November meeting of RCEMG was Dr. Ted Radovich of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. While he was talking and showing pictures of the lush greenery with verdant mountains in the background, we sat here in cold, windy Kansas dreaming about sandy beaches and palm trees (at least I was.) Here in Kansas we tend to think of Hawai’i as a tropical paradise. Dr. Radovich, from his perspective of agricultural systems, showed us the more practical side of the islands. Born and raised on O’ahu, Dr. Radovich is an extension specialist in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. He leads the sustainable and organic farming systems laboratory and oversees a small plot of organic land. His current state-wide program is focused on understanding how crop yield and quality can be optimized in agricultural systems that reduce reliance on conventional chemical fertilizers and increase use of e