Corteva Agriscience March 2022 Newsletter

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Aloha from Corteva Agriscience!

NEWS FROM OUR FARMS

Hawai‘i Research Center employees assist with Waimea landslide food distributions

In January, employees at the Hawaii Research Center joined in with the community to help the nearly 40 families who were stranded on the other side of the landslide in Waimea. Only accessible by UTV, volunteer groups crossed the river to deliver food packages and conduct wellness checks to those on the other side. The county worked on construction and stabilization efforts to ensure the community's safety.

"At this point we're just trying to make sure that no one goes hungry and everyone has some basic need," said community leader and Corteva Hawai‘i communications manager Laurie Yoshida. "We're concentrating on food, but we're also saying hey, what else might you need to survive in terms of do you need some batteries? Do you need some laundry detergent?"

Mahalo to our amazing Hawai‘i Research Center employees who provided assistance to the nearly 40 families stranded on the other side of Kauai landslide and made sure no one in our community went hungry! We're grateful that we can serve and support the Waimea community!

Corteva Hawai‘i makes it on Hawai‘i Business’ 2022 Best Places to Work List

This year we’re proud to announce that Corteva Hawai‘i is one of 72 companies on Hawai‘i Business’ 2022 Best Places to Work list, which recognizes companies and non-profits who have gone the extra mile during one of the most challenging and unprecedented times in history.

Each year to create the list, Hawaii Business Magazine partners with the Best Companies Group, the global leader in such rankings. All the nominated companies face two tests: a confidential survey of their employees, which accounts for 75% of each company’s score, and an extensive questionnaire on company benefits and policies.

Corteva Hawai‘i is grateful for all its employees who take pride in this company, make an extra effort to go the extra mile, and do their best work!

Spotlight on Living Safely with Vanessa Kelley

For the last three months, Vanessa Kelley has been at Corteva’s Waimea Research Center as a certified athletic trainer with Pivot Onsite Innovations under Integrated Health Services. Her on-site responsibilities include first aid, monitoring health surveillance programs, occupational and non-occupation injury and illness, prevention and ergonomic assessments.

One of Corteva’s values is to live safely; we embrace safety and the environment in all we do. To Vanessa, this commitment to safety means that we need to always be aware of our surroundings, our body, how we move, the work we do, where we live and what we eat.

“We have to be intentional in what we do and how we take care of ourselves and others,” Vanessa said.

Corteva Hawai‘i embodies this value of living safely in its willingness to learn from one another, not just on the job site, but in its interactions within the community and the cultural diversity of the people who live and work in its community.

“Sometimes it’s hard to find a common ground with so many different backgrounds, but living safely is one everyone can come together and work on,” Vanessa said.

AG IN ACTION

Corteva’s Farmer Incubator Program harvests first lo‘i kalo crop

Adam Asquith of Kaua‘i Taro Company harvested his first lo‘i kalo crop located in Kekaha at Corteva Agriscience through Corteva’s Farmer Incubator Program on Kaua‘i.

“I’ve been looking for kalo lands for more than 25 years,” Asquith said. “This is ideal because, historically, kalo was once grown here. ... This lease restores the true significance of this place.”

The location of the farmer incubator program is on land that Corteva can’t grow corn, so the incubator program and the land leases are available to help local farmers gain skills and achieve the requirements to access state land leases.

Corteva Hawai‘i is committed to sustainability and consent to operate initiatives to strengthen the Kaua‘i community. The overall goal of this program is to supply farm-to-school and farm-to-state initiatives.

Corteva propogates new plum cuttings in Koke‘e

In mid-January, the Corteva Agriscience Kaua‘i team propagated 320 new plum cuttings in Koke‘e! In November 2019, Corteva Hawaii’s Research Center team started propagating plum trees with Hui o Laka to restore a stone-lined terrace and plant 60 to 80 plum trees.

The unique plum variety called “Menthley” comes from South Africa and requires very little cool seasonal weather to flower and self-pollinate, which works well for the Koke‘e area. The trees represent a valued community resource for local families who gather plums in the fall for both eating out of hand and making a pickled delicacy called umeboshi. The trees have been declining for years, so the propagation of more plants is critical to maintaining this resource.

Corteva Hawai‘i’s team hopes to soon amend the soil, plant about 100 of the 320 plum trees, and nurture the two-year-old saplings into the ground at Koke‘e State Park. Methley plums are not only nutritious, they are not invasive and have been part of Kokeeʻs rich history and culture for a century.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Meet Leo Abalos, Research Associate at

Corteva’s Hawai‘i Research Center!

Leo Abalos grew up on Kauai in a little plantation cottage village owned by Gay & Robinson’s sugar plantation. Growing up, he was surrounded by agriculture his entire life, with vegetables in the backyard and even raising chickens and goats. Leo’s childhood gave him the tools to survive and taught him about the value of hard work and chores. Now that he has kids, these are values he wants to instill in them and even inspired him to grow his own vegetables and set up a garden.

Leo started as a part-time regular in 2004 and became a full-time employee in 2009 working in sunflower backcrossing for six months at the Waialua Parent Seed location. After four years in the sunflowers, he moved to soybeans and eventually moved to the Waimea farm on corn. He started in the Wahiawa shade house and later moved to the field where he currently works as a research associate. Leo’s responsibilities include managing the day-to-day operation of HPI/Gen0 and SSD, which is planting prep, sampling prep, selective spraying, field care, pollinating, harvesting, and sorting of the materials.

“Hands down, the best part about working at Corteva is the people and the aloha that we share, not only within Corteva but also to the community,” Leo says. “Everyone here is smart, hardworking, caring, thoughtful, and respectable people. We work together to overcome any obstacles or problems that come up.”

In his spare time, Leo enjoys relaxing at the beach with his kids, boogieboarding on the shore breaks of Polihale, and watching a good Sunday night football game.

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