Maui Aloha Aina Body & Soil

2008 Conference Guests

Dr. Paul Hepperly
Paul Reed Hepperly holds a doctorate in plant pathology, a master’s degree in agronomy and a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of Illinois. He has worked with farmers from regions around the world, including Central and South America, the Caribbean, India and Africa. He has extensive expertise in organic and conventional agriculture and has contributed to more than 150 publications on topics such as plant pathology, fungal diseases, plant disease resistance, disease management, epidemiology, diagnosis, fungal ecology, seed pathology, agronomy,horticulture, weed management, carbon sequestration and research program management. In September of 2007, Hepperly was honored as a recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award. In 2005, he receivedthe Rachel Carson Council’s Sense of Science award in Silver Springs, Maryland, and in 2004 he was awarded the Da Vinci in the Community award from the Da Vinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology in Allentown, Pennsylvania." He is presntly the Research Director of the Rodale Institute. The Rodale Institute is a pioneer in the scientific investigation, education and informational outreach in Organic Farming. Besides long term evaluation of organic farming systems, the Rodale Institute is championing the use of novel organic no till technology and systems as well as policies for promoting the continuing advancement of agriculture in tone with our natural resource base.

JERRY BRUNETTI

Jerry Brunetti has been a regular speaker at numerous conferences throughout the United States, Australia, and Europe on topics that include soil fertility, animal nutrition and livestock health. As a result of healing himself of a life threatening episode of cancer utilizing holistic modalities he is often speaking to audiences about the relationship of “Food as Medicine” and “Farm as Farmacy”. Jerry bridges natural and scientific understandings of plant and animal “ecosystems”, such as digestion in soils (decomposition), foods (fermentation) and animal/human G.I. tract health; plant immunity originating from mineral derived pigments (e.g. carotene) called phytoalexins, which in turn contribute to the strength of animal/human immune systems.

Jerry works as a soil and crop consultant primarily for livestock farms and ranches, assisting these operations as they transition away from petrochemical inputs and adopt the practices necessary for organic certification. In addition, he works towards improving crop quality, livestock performance and health on certified organic farms. Jerry was an animal science major at North Carolina State University, prior to running a cow/calf operation in West Virginia. He was a marketing director, who also supervised milk quality at the National Farmers Organization in the Northeast for five years, prior to launching Agri-Dynamics, Inc. in 1979.

Jerry’s “connect-the-dots” systems approach is to assist farmers and ranchers to understand and then implement practices that demonstrate the health of people and communities is linked to healthy land, healthy animals and healthy humans. His DVDs include “The Keys to Herd Health”, “Holistic Veterinary Care” with Hugh Karreman VMD and “Cancer, Nutrition and Healing” Jerry serves on the Lower Mt. Bethel Township Environmental Advisory Council and is active in other community-based organizations devoted to rebuilding local food systems and local democracy. In 2008, Jerry received the Sustainable Agricultural Leadership Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA).

BOB SHAFFER

Bob Shaffer serves as agronomist, horticulturist and viticulturist for Soil Culture Consulting providing 35 years of experience and assistance training farmers in holistic, organic farming systems in both sub tropical and temperate environments
 
As a working consultant/farmer in diverse farming environments Bob offers experienced, science based and hands on assistance to farmers for developing preventative farming systems and solving problems with the intention of elevating soil health and creating sustainable crop health
 
Bob teaches compost development, and use, and in daily cooperation with farmers, restaurants and produce packers he composts tons food scraps recycled from San Francisco and creates millions of tons of compost that is applied to vegetables and vines in northern California
 
Bob is facility at Napa Valley College teaching a class on how to holistically use cover crops in wine vineyards and is a broadly experienced consultant for development and management of cover crop systems for farms, orchards and vineyards nationally
 
Since 1994 Bob Shaffer has worked in Hawaii on Taro, coffee, compost, cover crops, ginger, herbs, macadamia, pines, tea, vegetables, tree crops and winegrapes. Bob is a member of Maui Aloha Aina Association, the Hawaii Organic Farming Association (HOFA), the Kona Coffee Growers Association and the Hawaii Tea Association and a member of the board of trustees of HOFA
 
Kona Keei Farm is small farm in Honaunau managed by Bob Shaffer and is being developed as a demonstration farm and school for locally appropriate, green, holistic, cultural practices in South Pacific, sub tropical, dry land environments for raising food, fiber and medicinal crops of high quality
 
Kona Keei Farm is holistically managed, certified organic by HOFA, practices bio dynamic techniques and currently is producing heirloom avocado, breadfruit, coffee, kava, macadamia, macadamia nut, mango vermipost and nursery stock for flowers, herbs, spices, fruit trees, vegetables that are being planted to diversity the food production capacity and to elevate the educational potential of the farm   

Dr Rich Olree

The soil health and the health of the farmer are both paramount to the health of all those folks who consume food grown by organic farmers. Dr. Rich Olree has been practicing as a Doctor of Chiropractic for the past 28 years with a high emphasis on nutrition and prevention as means of good health. During the last part of the 1900 century Dr.

Rich became interested in the Human Genome project as touted by than President Clinton.

After a couple years of studying, Dr. Olree saw a way to combine minerals, subatomic particles, magnetic forces, gravity, weak and strong electrical forces with the Standard Genetic Chart used by all geneticists. The resulting flow of information is now called the 'Olree Standard Biological Periodic Chart'. The
information released in his talk will start off with 'Minerals for the Gene Code' for both plants and man, followed by a presentation of his new book entitled 'Minerals for Tumor Suppressing Genes'. You will not want to miss this cutting edge technology about minerals and your genes that Dr. Olree has been studying for the past 28 years.