THEY DON"T MAKE ‘EM LIKE DOC ANYMORE
When Calvin ‘Doc’ Lum retired as a veterinarian, he took up a hobby - cattle ranching.
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By mid-morning the sun is already high,burning down on red dirt and klein grass, the heat haze billowing like silk across the horizon. A breeze rustles through guinea grass, and far off in the distance a paniolo whistles to his dog as together they begin to round up cattle, moving the heavy beasts expertly and slowly from one pasture to another.
We are not, as you might assume, in Texas or central Washington on this hot June morning.We’re on Oahu’s North Shore,where there’s a working cattle ranch, 200 Angus and Texas Longhorns, and one very determined rancher.
Doc Lum is the kind of guy you want on your side, whatever the cause. After a career spent caring for animals as both state veterinarian and head vet at the Honolulu Zoo, he began his retirement 10 years ago with a “hobby that got out of hand” - to the point that he’s given up golf, a game that he formerly played quite often.
“I knew this could be done,“he says, as we ride across the ranch at the foothills of the Koolaus.“I knew that grass-fed cattle could be raised here - I just didn’t know if people would buy the beef.”
People don’t only buy the beef, they love it, in part because at the North Shore Cattle Company - with its breathtaking views across Kaena Point, Helemano Gulch and Kolekole Pass - cattle roam free, eating nothing but highly nutritious grass. This is in sharp contrast to commercially fed cattle, which spend their days eating high-calorie corn and grains with little or no exercise.
“The faster you put weight on a head of cattle, the more fat you’ll get,“says Doc, explaining that cattle in feed lots can get up to market size (with lots of fatty “marbling”) within 12-14 months on a diet of highly caloric food.It takes a whole lot longer on the North Shore, where the Lum family (Doc’s wife of 47 years, Kay, and their son Ryan help, too) let their cattle graze for almost three years before they head to market.
“Grass-fed beef takes longer,” says Doc. “The main criteria in good beef is calm, peaceful animals.We choose ones with a good, quiet temperament, and they’re raised on nothing but grass and water.”
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Nothing also means no hormones or antibiotics.
“We produce beef for a niche market, and we measure our success by the quality of our beef rather than the quantity of beef produced,” says Doc.
If all of this comes as a bit of a surprise, you’re not alone. Most people on Oahu have no idea that there’s a working cattle ranch just 45 minutes or so from Honolulu producing home-grown sausages, burgers, ground beef and steaks. That’s why Alan Wong,award-winning chef and friend to local farmers, is so enthusiastic about this weekend’s Easter Seals benefit, Chefs du Jour.
“The event is all about awareness,“says Wong.“It’s about being aware of the work of Easter Seals in our community and being aware of our farmers and their products.”
Wong has been using his status as one of Hawaii’s best-known chefs to promote farmers for decades. For Chefs du Jour, he’s also using his considerable culinary clout, bringing together top Hawaii chefs and some Mainland superstars. In doing so, he’s cementing the annual event as one of the most important events on Hawaii’s food calendar. (See the sidebar on Page 49 for a list of participating chefs.)
As guests stroll among food booths at Tamarind Park Saturday evening, they’ll meet not just the star chefs of the evening but star farmers, too. With asparagus from Waialua’s Twin Bridge Farms, Hamakua mushrooms, Wailea hearts of palm, Hamakua Springs green onions, Big Island abalone, wild boar, hamachi, Kona kampachi, sea asparagus, Waianae choi sum and North Shore beef, the event promises to be a stunning display of Hawaii’s agricultural diversification.
“We have more farmers in Hawaii today than ever before,“says Wong.“And they are more success-
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