Employees from Y. Hata and ChefZone dedicated a recent Friday to help our friends at Kunia Country Farms out with much needed maintenance and planting. Dean Okimoto, who most recently worked at ChefZone and is now at Kunia Country Farms, is leading the farm’s rebrand to a more familiar name, Nalo Farms. Dean was the President of his family-run Nalo Farms from 1983, until it closed in 2018 following damaging floods in Waimanalo and is highly regarded as one of the pioneering hydroponic farmers in local agriculture. His wealth of knowledge in agriculture has also led us to host popular public seminars featuring his tips and tricks on produce.

After a tour of the farm, employees from various departments pitched in to assist with clearing weeds between rows of hydroponic lettuce, assembling trays with cups and coconut husk and planting thousands of seeds for the next crop of produce. With guidance from the veteran farm hands, our group was able to help increase production and get the farm looking its best.

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” — Henry Ford