Haw. Rev. Stat. § 171-14.5
This is the official text of Haw. Rev. Stat. § 171-14.5, part of Hawaii’s Rev. Stat — part of the compiled statutory law of Hawaii, published by the state as "Rev. Stat." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Auction pre-qualification; agricultural and pasture leases.
Official statutory text
(a) Whenever used in this section, unless otherwise apparent from the context:
"Farm" also means "ranch" and "farmer" also means "rancher".
"Individual" means a natural person who is not a part of a partnership, corporation, or joint venture that is a potential bidder under this section.
"Nonindividual farm concern" means a partnership, corporation, or joint venture properly formed under law and that is a potential bidder under this section.
(b) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, to be eligible to bid in an auction for agricultural or pasture leases, a potential bidder shall be a bona fide individual farmer or a nonindividual farm concern:
(1) Who has spent not less than two years, full-time, in farming operations;
(2) Who is an owner-operator of an established farm conducting a substantial farming operation;
(3) Who for a substantial period of the individual's adult life resided on a farm and depended on farm income for a livelihood;
(4) Who is an individual who has been a farm tenant or farm laborer or other individual, who has for the two years last preceding the auction obtained the major portion of their income from farming operations;
(5) Is an individual with a college degree in agriculture;
(6) Is an individual who by reason of ability, experience, and training as a vocational trainee is likely to successfully operate a farm;
(7) Who has qualified for and received a commitment for a loan under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act as amended, or as may hereafter be amended, for the acquisition of a farm;
(8) Who is an individual who is displaced from employment in an agricultural production enterprise;
(9) Who is a member of the Hawaii Young Farmer Association or a Future Farmer of America graduate with two years of training with farming projects;
(10) Who possesses the qualifications under the new farmer program pursuant to section 155-1; or
(11) Who possesses other qualifications as the board of land and natural resources may prescribe pursuant to section 171-6 and this section. [L 1982, c 131, §1; am L 2000, c 51, §14; am L 2024, c 178, §7]
"Farm" also means "ranch" and "farmer" also means "rancher".
"Individual" means a natural person who is not a part of a partnership, corporation, or joint venture that is a potential bidder under this section.
"Nonindividual farm concern" means a partnership, corporation, or joint venture properly formed under law and that is a potential bidder under this section.
(b) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, to be eligible to bid in an auction for agricultural or pasture leases, a potential bidder shall be a bona fide individual farmer or a nonindividual farm concern:
(1) Who has spent not less than two years, full-time, in farming operations;
(2) Who is an owner-operator of an established farm conducting a substantial farming operation;
(3) Who for a substantial period of the individual's adult life resided on a farm and depended on farm income for a livelihood;
(4) Who is an individual who has been a farm tenant or farm laborer or other individual, who has for the two years last preceding the auction obtained the major portion of their income from farming operations;
(5) Is an individual with a college degree in agriculture;
(6) Is an individual who by reason of ability, experience, and training as a vocational trainee is likely to successfully operate a farm;
(7) Who has qualified for and received a commitment for a loan under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act as amended, or as may hereafter be amended, for the acquisition of a farm;
(8) Who is an individual who is displaced from employment in an agricultural production enterprise;
(9) Who is a member of the Hawaii Young Farmer Association or a Future Farmer of America graduate with two years of training with farming projects;
(10) Who possesses the qualifications under the new farmer program pursuant to section 155-1; or
(11) Who possesses other qualifications as the board of land and natural resources may prescribe pursuant to section 171-6 and this section. [L 1982, c 131, §1; am L 2000, c 51, §14; am L 2024, c 178, §7]
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Hawaii?
Find a Hawaii lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.