Jerry Egami
2026
Year Inducted: 2026
Ranch Name | Hawai'i
Jerry Egami took an unusual road to becoming a cattleman. Jerry was born in Kona, Hawaiʻi. His family was originally from Japan. They came to work on the plantation and to farm coffee. He is the only rancher in the family, and he never intended to be a cattleman, it just happened that way.
Jerry began ranching in 1975, but he started with cattle in 1970. Jerry was asked to lend someone some money, and they put up four head of cattle as collateral. Jerry didn't know much about cattle at the time, but when they couldn't pay back the loan and forfeited their cattle, Jerry sold those cattle for a profit. That sparked his initial interest in cattle. A little while later, Jerry was asked to lend the same man some money again, and he was quick to accept. This time twelve head of cattle were put up for collateral, which he did not sell. This became the starting herd for his ranch. But it wasn’t an easy road; many people at the time said, "Japanese don't raise cattle."
Clarence Medeiros, a good friend and rancher from South Kona, got a look at some of Jerry's cattle and his operation and said all he needed was a bull. It was through Clarence that he got his first bull, and he ended up with too many cattle for his 35 acres. This led Jerry to need more land to support the cattle, and this was the start of him picking up leased land for pastoral use.
The cycle of his ranching operations getting larger due to an abundance of cattle, driving his need for more land, and then needing more cattle to make the added land profitable led to continual physical expansion. Today, Jerry's operations include large lease lands at Pu'uwa'awa'a, some smaller pieces throughout Kona, the purchase of Daleico Ranch in 2014 in Kaʻu, and some leased lands in Pahala.
Of the 50 years that Jerry has been in the cattle industry, 42 of those years he was working full-time for lsemoto Contracting Co Ltd. His ranching operations, second to his full-time work, took place after pau hana and over the weekends. At 72, Jerry decided to retire so he could spend all his time ranching.
When Jerry thinks about the cattle industry in Hawaiʻi, he shares some words of wisdom: "Don't get greedy" and "We're in business to stay in business." Being in a market boom doesn't rattle Jerry, nor does it deter him from the path he's kept for the last 50 years, staying consistent with his business model. “Throw out the top, throw out the bottom, and keep focused on the middle, on the average," meaning, don't sell next year's replacement heifers and market steers just because the price of wean-offs is the highest it has ever been. This sure and steady approach and focus on making good decisions for his future operation has helped Jerry build his ranching operation up to being one of the largest in the state, especially as a rancher who built it up all on his own. Many ranches around the world are handed down over the generations, while Jerry carved out his place in the industry with his own blood, sweat, tears and hard-earned money.
At this point in his life and career, Jerry can reflect on his own journey with a beer in hand and a smile on his face. Very few people have the opportunity to be a rancher, to live this lifestyle where you don't have to answer to anybody but yourself. "Ride," Jerry says, "Enjoy it. It might be the last time in your lifetime."