Maui Land & Pineapple leases 1,000 acres to Maui’s Ka Ike Ranch to revitalize ranching in West Maui

Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. has leased over 1,000 acres of land in West Maui above Kapalua Airport to Ka Ike Ranch, a local family-owned and operated business, in continued efforts to reactivate its agricultural lands and strengthen local food sustainability.

Ranching operations have begun on an initial portion of the land with Ka Ike initiating the first phase of fence construction and adding 62 head of cattle. 

“Ranching has been a part of our company history for generations, and it’s great to see the Ka Ike family focused on West Maui to create new agricultural jobs on the land, provide locally-sourced food, help lower wildfire risk, and provide renewed connections for local families to the land,” said Race Randle, CEO of Maui Land & Pineapple Company.“This is a wonderful example of our mission to put land to productive use and meet the needs of the community.”

“This lease provides a place for our families to share the knowledge of paniolo culture that we hope to instill in future generations,” explains Ryan Wendt of Ka Ike Ranch. “Ka Ike Ranch is a partnership of four ranching families from Maui who are passionate about local food production and ensuring sustainable ranching while caring the land and the cattle.”

After signing their lease, Ka Ike Ranch has been able to secure grant support to further expand their operations and explore new ways to contribute to agricultural resilience and land stewardship in the area. 

MLP’s roots in ranching stretch back more than a century to the Honolua Ranch, established in 1889, then followed by the Keahua Ranch Company in 1909 as part of the Baldwin family’s agricultural operations. Initially managing both cattle and pineapple cultivation, the ranch evolved into Haleakalā Pineapple Company in 1929 before merging with the Maui Agricultural Company to form Maui Pineapple Company, Ltd. in 1932. 

Ranching remained integral to the company’s land management strategy as its holdings expanded across East and West Maui. By 1969, Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. was established as the island’s largest employer with a vision of balance between agriculture, conservation, and responsible land stewardship. This legacy continued with the creation of the Pu‘u Kukui Preserve, an over 9,000-acre land grant to The Nature Conservancy in 1992.

Today, MLP carries forward this history by integrating sustainable ranching into its operations, ensuring that agriculture remains a vital part of Maui’s landscape while supporting food sustainability and fire mitigation efforts.