Kupa‘a Farms

Kupa‘a Farms is a 4-acre organic farm in upcountry Maui run by Gerry Ross and Janet Simpson. A few of my favorite things about Kupa‘a Farms:

- When we were visiting, Kupa‘a's CSA box contained pineapples (how many CSAs in the country can boast that?!) and red, white and blue potatoes in time for July 4. 

- Like other good organic farms, Gerry and Janet are truly cultivators of the soil; last winter, while heavy rains washed away neighboring farms' crops, so that onions were found rolling around Kula Highway below, Kupa‘a Farms lost barely an inch of soil, a testament to its soil health. 

- In a recent cupping competition hosted by the Hawaii Coffee Association, Kupa‘a Farms coffee placed 7th out of 69 entries. It placed first of all the Maui coffees and bested quite a few Kona coffees.  

- And my absolute favorite thing about Gerry and Janet: with a trap, they catch would-be predators of their crops–small birds and pheasants, mostly–eat them. Gerry admits that sometimes they're kind of tough, but it's all part of eating what the farm provides.