The 16th Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range continues to highlight and feature locally grown grass-fed beef that has been aged for 21-days.  The tradition continues with raising cattle in our tropical climate and ranchers are perfecting their grass-fed beef for chefs and families to enjoy!

Hamakua Landscapes

Advantages of Grass-fed Beef
Many of us are eating grass-fed beef and forage-fed animals today for their health benefits.  Yet, many of us are unaware of the environment, social and economic factors.  In The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook by Shannon Hayes she discusses all of these advantages of the grass-fed beef industry.

Health Benefits
Grass-fed meats are rich in the “good fats” known as omega-3 fatty acids which helps in lowering high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.  It is a rich source of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA’s) which have been linked as a source in cancer prevention.  Hayes also shares, “these meats are known to contain antioxidant vitamins and are much less likely to carry the virulent strain of E. coli 0157:H7.”

Environmental Benefits
Pasture raised animals encourages and improves land management with soil fertility, eliminates waste management problems and keeps our wide open landscapes.

Social Benefits
Cattle and animals raised in open pasture fields have less diseases and stress, are able to exercise and act on their own natural instincts.  Ranchers and farmers have less respiratory related illnesses found in large scale operations.

Grass-Fed Beef Burger with Local Greens & Sweet Potato Fries from Eddie Aikau Restaurant & Museum.

Economic Benefits
Locally owned based ranches and farms provide a service to their community with the product of grass-fed beef and forage fed animals.  They tend to hire local workers and the most important benefit is that when you purchase grass-fed beef from a farmer or rancher locally – it keeps them in business!!!

Prepare great meals with your family with locally grown grass-fed beef from our island: hamburgers, tacos, chili, stews, kabobs, teriyaki and kalbi, stir fry with local veggies, pot roast and more…

Want to learn more?  Join us for Cooking Grass-fed Beef 101 at 3:00 p.m. with KTA’s Derek Kurisu for $10 at www.brownpapertickets.com. Free shuttle service will be available from Anaeho`omalu Bay.

Open since the 1960′s, the Mealani Research Station is part of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). It’s located on the east side of Waimea on Hwy. 19 and investigates and demonstrates products for farmers and ranchers. We hooked up with Marla Fergerstrom, interim manager, for an update on agricultural research.

Genetic Selective Breeding Achieves Milestone

Mealani Interim Farm Manager Marla Fergerstrom, a UH Hilo agriculture grad, has served at the research station for 23 years.

Mealani practices selective breeding to produce the best quality, 100 percent grass-finished beef. Fergerstrom reports a crossbred Angus steer recently was harvested at 20 months of age and was graded as a U.S.D.A. Prime carcass—a first for Mealani. U.S. Prime is the highest grade of beef and is of limited supply, with the nation’s foodservice industry widely using U.S. Choice. The main difference between the two is prime has more intramuscular fat, or marbling. Other meat grades include U.S. Select, the lowest grade sold at retail, followed by Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner.

Mealani harvests about 20 grass-fed beef carcasses annually for market, though it maintains a herd of 220 animals. Each year, it selects market animals and keeps about 15 heifers for breeding (cow herd replacements). The rest of the animals are sold to local ranches for finishing or breeding.

For details on how Mealani produces quality, grass-fed beef through research and intensive pasture rotation, visit the Mealani page on the Taste website

Serving as a Classroom
The research station recently hosted six animal science students from U.H. Manoa for a week-long field trip as part of their curriculum. Mealani goes into “breeding mode” during the summer, bringing cows into heat for artificial insemination to ensure a quality, grass-fed herd. Students conveniently stayed in the on-site cottage, attended lectures and got valuable hands-on experience.

Corn Varietal Trial
Under the direction of Dr. James Brewbaker of UH Manoa, Mealani is doing a study to ID corn varieties that are resistant to Northern Corn Blight. The disease, which weakens plants, is found in high-moisture or high-dew environments.

Blueberries and Tea Trials
In the works since 2005, blueberry research continues with efforts focused on disease resistance and techniques to eliminate rust. The acre of tea, first cultivated in 1999, is processed for evaluation at Mealani’s on-site tea facility. Different varieties of tea continue to be made with technicians cooking the raw leaves in the microwave. Dependent on volume, leaves are hand- or machine-rolled and dried in a box drier.

Be sure to stop by Mealani’s booth at this year’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range on September 30 for more project info.