AoR 190: Keoki Wood - Livestock Manager on Parker Ranch, Hawai'i

Parker Ranch is the oldest and biggest ranch on the island of Hawai'i and one of the top cow-calf operations in the country. Keoki Wood traces the ranch's history from John Palmer Parker's founding in 1847 and the arrival of the Mexican vaqueros who gave rise to the paniolo tradition to its current role as a national industry leader and local community supporter. The ranch team culture, which Keoki has been instrumental in shaping for 22 years, values low-stress animal handling and strong people relationships. This tradition led to Parker Ranch receiving the 2025 National Beef Quality Assurance Award from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Keoki describes lessons learned from a 40,000-acre wildfire, and tells why using grazing to reduce fuel loads needs to be treated as a public good. Listen to hear more about the challenges of managing lands from sea level to 8000 feet elevation, cycles of drought and abundant grass, and keeping calves healthy shipping halfway across the Pacific Ocean. The Art of Range is supported by RanchBot Monitoring Solutions. Host: Tip Hudson, Washington State University Extension Producer: Matt Ziegler, WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resources Communications Keoki photo credit: Dustin Acdal Photography Music by Lewis Roise Visit the episode page at artofrange.com for the transcript of this interview and links to other resources mentioned in this episode.