High Stakes
Maui Cattle Company is betting its brand of premium beef can save ranching in the Islands.
Matt Thayer
Photography by Matthew Thayer
Glenn Souza’s voice echoes through the crisp Kula morning air as he leads a herd of Haleakala Ranch cattle through a grove of towering eucalyptus trees.
Following the paniolo’s soulful call of “come on,” the cattle track the cowboy and his horse through the trees and across rolling meadow on their way to fresh pasture. The morning drive is slow and easy, a mostly stress-free walk in the park for momma cows and their babies. Only laggards and troublemakers need answer to a trailing cowboy and his team of well-trained cattle-herding dogs.
By raising stock with low-stress lives spent entirely on Maui, and free of growth hormones and antibiotics, Maui Cattle Company is learning to turn tender, loving care into tender, succulent beef. The company’s blend of cutting-edge ideas with tried-and-true techniques offers new hope for the future of commercial ranching on the island.
Maui Cattle Company is a consortium of ranches that includes Haleakala, ‘Ulupalakua, Kaupo, Hana and Nobriga Ranches on Maui, and Olumau Ranch on Kaua‘i. The businesses’ cooperation and financial commitment give the resulting company enough wallop to implement two plans for success that are nearly as old as business itself—produce a better product and eliminate the middle man.
