Eligible Hawaiʻi farmers once again offered free disaster-related soil, water testing
Hawaiʻi farmers affected by storms and flooding in 2026 can once again apply for free testing from University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience with the reopening of applications through its GoFarm Hawaiʻi program.
The program now offers an expanded range of services, including soil, plant health and agricultural water testing.
GoFarm Hawaiʻi’s Farm Disaster Response Project covers the cost of eligible soil and agricultural water tests.
Farmers can apply if:
- Their farm or commercial agricultural operation was impacted by the March kona low storms, hurricanes and/or tropical storms, extreme flooding or related heavy rainfall throughout 2026.
- The owner or manager thinks the event might have affected soil health or agricultural water, or contributed to plant disease.
- The owner or manager wants testing to better understand those concerns.
Farmers can complete an application online or call GoFarm Hawaiʻi at 808-956-3530. They can start by describing the weather event, what happened on their farm and any concerns about soil, plant health and/or agricultural water.
GoFarm will use its post-disaster farm testing decision guide to help farmers determine whether testing would be beneficial and which tests to consider.
Testing can help farmers understand how severe weather could have changed their soil or agricultural water and guide decisions about how to recover.
Flooding and runoff can affect soil and plant health, spread plant diseases, leave sediment on farmland or affect a farm’s water supply.
“This support is the next step in our work from earlier this year to make testing accessible when severe weather strikes,” said College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience Dean Parwinder Grewal. “Whether it’s assessing soil health after floodwaters recede or diagnosing crop diseases, [College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience] is committed to helping our farmers get back on their feet and protecting our agriculture and natural resources.”
The college launched the GoFarm Hawaiʻi in April after the reopening of its Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center, offering about 3 months of free soil and plant testing to farmers affected by the spring kona low storms.
