Letters for Oct. 15, 2016

Grove Farm should continue caring for people, land

On Wednesday, you ran a well-deserved complimentary article (TGI, Oct. 12) about Grove Farm’s support for the Worksite Wellness program. Over the years concern for the well-being of Kauai’s people and environment has been characteristic of Grove Farm. Given this tradition, I find it puzzling to learn that this same business is willing to lease pristine property at Mahaulepu for the establishment of a dairy farm.

In spite of Bettyjo Dux’s glowing endorsement of this effort (TGI, Oct. 13), there are downsides to locating a dairy farm near heavily populated areas, Poipu and Koloa, for example. We would have to bear the unintended consequences of winds blowing foul stench of cow waste over our properties and coping with flies that herds inevitably attract.

Further, there are negative effects on the environment, including potential danger to ground wells and to the ocean into which large amounts of waste would be sent. Check facts about the demise of the dairy farm at Moloaa.

Apart from environmental concerns and the personal discomfort a dairy farm would cause, there is the threat to the economy. Less inviting living conditions would lead to a decline in property values and to fewer visitors seeking an attractive place for their vacation. The likely effect on the visitor industry for the area would be drastic.

I am not opposed to dairies per se. Nevertheless, location matters and awareness of possible and realistic deleterious effects on nearby communities and on the environment need to be part of the calculation about whether or not to build. I am hopeful that Grove Farm will place human and environmental concerns at the center of its thinking and that its quite admirable traditions may continue unblemished.

Robert Springer

Koloa