About the Partnership
Lynker Corporation as the prime recipient of this award is working together with a range of partner organizations on the implementation of this $40 million award funded through USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative. Major partners include Hawaiʻi Cattlemen’s Council, ʻOahu Resource Conservation and Development Council, Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United, The Kohala Center, Forest Solutions Inc., University of Hawaiʻi, University of Florida, Colorado State University, Natural Resource Data Solutions Inc., Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative, Synergistic Hawaiʻi Agriculture Council, and Kane Plantation.
The Partnership utilizes a statewide producer engagement team to spearhead a phased approach to producer onboarding and governance grounded in a framework of principles referred to as PEWA with expanded opportunities in Phase 2 for rural small-to-medium scale, innovative farmers and ranchers.
Place-based Support
Science & Data
We are investing approx. $15 million into the measurement, monitoring, verification, and reporting requirements, as well as branding and marketing. Together with our University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa-based team, we have successfully trained our technical assistance workforce to conduct replicable measurements of soil health parameters and built dashboards with our local software-development partner Natural Resource Data Solutions Inc. that allow efficient reporting of producer yield data and market share to quantify the economic and ecological benefits of adopting regenerative practices and support producers’ informed decision-making.
This project will enroll a min. of 6,543 acres in NRCS conservation practices and provide approx. $14 million in direct voluntary incentives to support the adoption of these practices across at least 77 Hawaiʻi-based producers. With the currently enrolled phase 1 producer cohort underway, we will announce a call for applications for our phase 2 cohort in spring 2025.
Producer Information
About Our Partnership
Accelerate the implementation of climate-smart practices centered on Hawaiʻi-based producers and ancestral practitioners who are supported by advocacy, incentives, technical assistance, and market development
Our Governance & Organizational Structure
Circles
- General Circle
- Admin Kōkua Circle
- Sociocracy and Keiki Circle
- Communications Kōkua Circle
- Community Kaiāulu Circle
- EII Keiki Circle
- PET Keiki Circle
- Producer Support Circle
- Eligibility SubKeiki Circle
- Producer Impact Circle
- MMRV Keiki Circle
- Data Keiki Circle
- Models Keiki Circle
- Stewardship Circle
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Our Team
Our Partners
Destiny Apilado
Graduate Fellow, NREM
Sam Aruch
CEO, Natural Resources Data Solutions
Anny Bruch
VP, Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United
Miguel Castrence
Climate-Smart Ag Coordinator, Oʻahu RC&D
Jonathan Deenik
Specialist, CTAHR
Dave Elliot
Executive Director, Oʻahu RC&D
Kamu Enos
Director, Office of Indigenous Knowledge & Innovation
Nicole Galase
Managing Director, Hawaiʻi Cattlemen's Council
Christian Giardina
Research Ecologist, USDA
Megan Gonsalves
Graduate Research Assistant, NREM, CTAHR
Andreanna Kaluhiokalani
Outreach Coordinator, Oʻahu RC&D
Kaipo Kekona
President, Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United
Kenji Loo
Climate-Smart Specialist, Inter-island Supervisor
Tai McClellan Maaz
Assistant Research Faculty, NREM, CTAHR
Angel Melone
Project Coordinator, Hawaiʻi Cattlemen's Council
Albie Miles
Associate Professor, Sustainable Community Food Systems
Javier Mollinedo
Climate-Smart Specialist
Solveig Neilson
Director of Contracts, Lynker
Lala Nuss
Owner, Conscious Concepts
Kirsten Oleson
Professor, NREM, CTAHR
Hayley Peter-Contesse
Postdoctoral researcher
Linden Schneider
Amanda Shaw
Executive Director, OACA
Carlos Sierra
Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Irene Sprecher
President, Forest Solutions Inc.
Brad Stubbs
Administrative Lead
Kathe Todd-Brown
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida
Scott Turn
Researcher, Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute
Melanie Willich
Director of Applied ʻĀina-Based Agriculture, The Kohala Center
Yao Zhang
Research Scientist & Crop Sciences, Colorado State University
Active Members
Christine Tallamy Glazer
Lab manager & Technician, Crow Lab, UH Mānoa
Tanner Beckstrom
PhD student, UH Mānoa
Rebecca Lopez
Chief Financial Officer, Hawaiʻi United Farmers Union
Ken Kiehl
MS Student, HSH Research Hui, UH Mānoa
Logan Motas
Outreach Specialist, Oʻahu RC&D
Yurika Suzuki
Assistant Program Manager, Lynker
Dana Shapiro
Co-founder & General Manager, Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative
Cheryl Kaʻuhane Lupenui
President & CEO, The Kohala Center
Danica Castillo
Operations Coordinator, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Brandon Whitehead
Graduate Student, Dept. of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida
Ashley McGuigan
Coordinator, Hawaiʻi & US Affiliated Pacific Islands, USDA Southwest Climate Hub
Ahmad, Amjad B
Assistant Extension Agend
Jensen Y Uyeda
Assistant Extension Agent