At least rancher won’t sell out for ‘a million bucks’ From where he sits, Duane Shimogawa has the best job on Kaua’i and works in the most beautiful place on the island. Shimogawa owns the 1,000-acre A’akukui Ranch in east
At least rancher won’t sell out for ‘a million bucks’
From where he sits, Duane Shimogawa has the best job on Kaua’i and works in the most beautiful place on the island.
Shimogawa owns the 1,000-acre A’akukui Ranch in east Kaua’i, a family-operated ranch that produces a grass-fed lean beef that he and a growing number of ranchers on Kaua’i say is in growing demand.
Within the valley that’s home to his ranch, a carpet of grass runs to the borders of Haupu Ridge, a sacred site for Hawaiians, and other shrub-dotted hillsides. The sky is blue and the air is cooling.
Shimogawa, 49, has laid the foundation for his family’s continued involvement in Kaua’i’s cattle industry. His grown daughter, Shantelle Manibog, 25, will work side by side with him and his 76-year-old father, “Stoop” Shimogawa, and other family members in the development of another 2,000 acres for the ranch operation.
Shimogawa said his current operation is making a successful go of it, selling 4,000 pounds of meat per week, all on the island.
Shimogawa’s ranch is among 100 or so ranches on Kauai that range from 10 to 12,000 acres. The largest are Gay and Robinson Ranch, Kipu Ranch and Princeville Ranch.
Big Island and Maui boast the largest number of ranchers, followed by Kaua’i and Oahu. The latter has less land available for cattle-grazing due to its urbanization.
The first cattle came to Hawai’i from California in 1793. Following the first importation of a small group of them, King Kamehameha I placed a taboo on cattle, allowing herds to grow in great numbers before the decree was removed in 1930.
The wild cattle became so numerous and difficult to breed that Kamehameha had Mexican vaqueros brought to Big Island to teach Hawaiians (who eventually became known as paniolo, or cowboys) how to ride horses, rope and tame wild cattle.
Between 1850 and 1900, Angus, Devon, Dexter, Shorthorn and Hereford cattle were imported, boosting the development of large-scale ranching operations, some which still exist. Among them is Parker Ranch on Big Island, which covers more than 100,000 acres and is considered the largest ranch in the United States.
All of the 100 or so Kaua’i ranches raise grass-fed cattle, but most ranchers eventually send their cattle to mainland feed lots for fattening before the final product is sold to consumers worldwide.
Shimogawa and five other ranchers have taken a different direction, preferring to raise grass-fed cattle to meet the demands of Hawai’i customers who ranchers say want a lean, equally tasty and less expensive cut of beef.
Shimogawa’s cattle are raised on the island until they are slaughtered and sold to the local market.
To build up his herd, he relies exclusively on Hereford and Angus bulls, which originate from England. Shimogawa brings in new bulls each year to ensure the best stock of heifers, he said.
He and all the ranchers get their bulls from Bobby Ferreira, manager of Kipu Kai Ranch, which is owned by the Waterhouse family.
Ferreira said he is a seedstock operator who, through artificial insemination and a regimen that incorporates embryo transfer, “creates the bulls that are in demand in Hawaii’s cattle industry.”
To make the best use of his land and to ensure his product will meet market demands, Shimogawa rotates the cows from pasture to pasture and fertilizes the grass, resulting in more tender and choice meat cuts at markets.
Shimogawa works at Kipu Ranch daily, but because he is only five minutes away, he can get to his ranch quickly.
At the ranch seven days a week, Shimogawa mends fences and monitors the cattle constantly to make sure they are healthy.
“The work is hectic, but it is something I just love to do,” Shimogawa said. “It is something I enjoy doing every day.”
A highlight is taking a day off or staging the yearly roundups at the ranch for family, other ranchers and friends, Shimogawa said.
Shimogawa got a glimpse of his future livelihood as a young boy watching his father work as a butcher. He eventually began raising cattle on his own, operating small ranches of 100 or so cattle in mountainous areas, the only type of land that was available at one time because more soil-rich land was used for cane cultivation.
Shimogawa joined the Air Force and worked as a firefighter at Pacific Missile Range Facility from 1970 to 1973. At the same time, he broke colts for the Rice family, who were impressed by his work and offered him a job. He has worked at Kipu Ranch for 27 years and is currently its manager.
With $200,000, he started his own ranch in 1997 and now runs it with his brother, David Shimogawa, his sisters, Kathy Caveiro and Keiko Pu’u, and their families, his father and brother-in-law Egeumar Manibog.
In the works is a plan to add 2,000 acres to the ranch operations, an expansion made possible because of his daughter’s interest in the family business, Shimogawa said.
His daughter, Shantelle Manibog, was raised on a ranch and was always in interested in cattle. She went away to college and worked as a teacher on Maui for two years before coming back to Kaua’i,.
“Having my daughter get involved with this project is a real source of pride for me,” Shimogawa said. “It means that I won’t be afraid to expand, because I know I have somebody to take care of it after I am gone.”
His son, Duane Shimogawa Jr., is working as a program director for a radio station in Ellensberg, Wash., but could return to Kaua’i to help the family business.
Shimogawa said he wouldn’t sell his ranch even if somebody offered him a “million bucks.”
“Ranching is my life,” he said.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
