News Summary: Drought crushes Hawaii beef industry
ALOHA BEEF: Nearly all the beef consumed in Hawaii arrives from the mainland, while Hawaiian cattle ranchers ship 40,000 live cattle each year to the mainland.
ISLANDS HOME-GROWN: Interest in locally grown food and grass-fed beef has now caught on in Hawaii, but the opportunity comes as crushing drought has made it difficult to keep enough cattle in Hawaii to meet demand.
LEI OF THE LAND: Slaughterhouses elsewhere process beef more efficiently than smaller ones in Hawaii, and it's cheaper to send cattle to the mainland to be fattened than to bring in feed for calves after they're weaned.
