Island Harvest

Andrew Trump and his brother Nathan grew up farming macadamia nuts in North Kohala, Hawaiʻi Island. Their family-owned business, Island Harvest, was passed down to the brothers from their father, who has been farming on the island since the 1970s. Island Harvest has been a member of the ʻUlu Cooperative since 2017, and Andrew has been on the Board in various roles since 2018. Originally from the Midwest, Andrew's parents moved to the island in the late 70s while many sugar plantations were disappearing.

Before he started farming commercially, Jim Trump, Andrew and Nathan’s father, was a teacher — but was always drawn to agriculture. He had gardens with eggplants and tomatoes, and when he noticed the abandoned macadamia nut orchards up for lease, he decided to seize the opportunity. As first-generation farmers then, his family learned by trial and error.

Andrew loves macadamia nuts, and his affection for the crop grows as he learns more about it. Andrew is now pursuing his Master’s degree in tropical plant and soil sciences, making him the first in his family to study agriculture formally. Now a second-generation farmer, he continually reflects on his father’s lessons while exploring new directions.

Small-Farm Values

Andrew says Island Harvest has always been very intentional about a community-based approach. When they first launched their products, the goal was not to make a profit but rather to reinvest back into the community. Like most other farmers Andrew knows, the family prioritizes responsible land stewardship and supporting the people around them.

Island Harvest commits 50 percent of profits back to the farm, 25 percent to employees, and 25 percent to the community. Last year, they donated almost $30,000 to nonprofits in Kohala. He explains that his father has always been conscious of giving back and wants to do right by the people in their community and those who came before.

Island Harvest leases over 500 acres of land in Kohala to produce at least 1 million organic macadamia nuts annually. In addition to macadamia nuts, they also manage over 300 ʻulu trees and a herd of sheep. Andrew and his family are currently exploring adding other crops such as ginger, turmeric, and hot peppers to their farm. They offer various macadamia nut products, including famous chocolate or sea salt-coated nuts.

Island Harvest’s sheep rotationally graze the ʻulu orchards to improve soil fertility and their trees’ nutrient uptake — an agricultural technique called silvopasture. While it is not comparable to their commercial macadamia nut production, they can harvest enough ʻulu to feed their family and 20 farm employees.

As a macadamia nut farmer, Andrew enjoys growing trees and sees ʻulu as having the potential to provide food security to the islands. The tree also has the added benefit of being a canoe crop, brought to Hawaiʻi by Polynesian voyagers centuries ago, making it perfectly appropriate for Hawaiʻi’s culture and climate.

Andrew says he has seen incredible growth over his years on the board of the ʻUlu Co-op, not just from his trees. With almost tenfold the number of members joined and hundreds of ʻulu trees planted, he hopes to contribute more to the co-op with their ʻulu production in the future. Unfortunately, feral pigs have posed a challenge to expanding Island Harvest’s ʻulu orchards.

The Future of Hawaiʻi Farming

Unfortunately, Andrew feels a little pessimistic about farming in Hawaiʻi, he says, “it seems to just be getting harder and more expensive to make a living and compete with off-island producers.”

Most of the islands’ leading macadamia nut brands are imports from Africa and Australia. Despite Hawaiʻi’s nutrient-dense soil, ideal climate conditions, and historically abundant food production by its native people, he has noticed a steady decline in interest.

“A lot of people support agriculture in words but not action,” Andrew says.
Most people who move to the islands are not interested in using their land to grow food; they would instead use it for other methods of earning money. The impact of land division on native Hawaiian agriculture practices is enormous.

Fortunately, Island Harvest's mac nut production has stayed profitable most years, allowing Andrew to reinvest in the company. However, Andrew worries that although he loves the farming lifestyle, it'll take a lot of work to continue making a viable income.

"Waking up early and finishing a hard day of work is rewarding," he adds.

For future generations, he is dedicated to at least keep trying and hopes that it will be an option and lifestyle he can share with his kids.

Some of the positive growth he has seen is within the new farming programs in schools such as FFA (Future Farmers of America), which are crucial in fostering agricultural education, encouraging local food production, and promoting sustainable farming practices.

Island Harvest sells its products throughout Hawaiʻi within the ʻUlu Co-op, in grocery stores and online. Check out their website https://islandharvesthawaii.com/ and their amazon products here.