It doesn’t seem to make sense to ship a beef calf to the mainland, then bring the meat back to Hawaii. But right now, that’s the sensible thing for isle ranchers to do.

A program started six months ago by the Hawaii Cattle Producers Coop involves calves that Hawaii ranchers send to Country Natural Beef in Oregon. Hawaii-born cattle are kept in designated pastures where they graze on grass. For their last three months they are finished on a vegetarian diet of alfalfa, corn, hay and potatoes.

Once slaughtered, the hormone- and antibiotic-free beef comes back to Hawaii as steaks, roasts, short ribs, tri-tips and other cuts, graded as low choice or high select. Also produced are hot dogs, corned beef, pastrami, roast beef and other seasoned products.

This island-born beef is being served in dozens of restaurants statewide, with chefs recognizing the tasty, consistent beef with a Hawaii connection. Hawaii Ranchers Natural Beef is the name to look for, distributed by HFM Foods.

This program allows ranchers to continue to produce calves year in and year out as they have for generations. It helps preserve the pasture lands that the ranchers need for breeding stock and calves. And it gives the rancher a fair financial return to continue ranching operations.

For the consumer it’s a beef product that is healthful, tasty and consistent.

Hawaii-born, mainland-raised and brought back to Hawaii is hardly an ideal loca­vore product. But the Hawaii-born aspect does help to sustain island ranching, and it’s a program gaining momentum throughout the state.

Café Laufer will feature this product on Monday; call 735-7717.

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Hawaii food writer Joan Namkoong offers a weekly tidbit on fresh seasonal products, many of them locally grown.