There’s a lot going on on the local beef front.

» This month, Hawaii Ranchers Natural Beef will debut in Hawaii restaurants.

Beef cattle born on local ranches are shipped to Country Natural Beef in Oregon to graze on grass for 14 to 18 months, then are finished with potato, hay and corn feed. All beef are antibiotic- and hormone-free.

The arrangement allows island beef to be consistent in quality and available all year.

» The Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council and the Hawaii Beef Industry Council awarded Zippy’s Restaurants the 2011 Beef Backer Award for its support of the Hawaii beef industry.

The restaurants’ research and development chef, Wayne Komamura, developed an old-fashioned, homemade hamburger recipe using local grass-fed beef.

Zippy’s is now a finalist for the National Beef Backer Award, which will be presented at the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show in February in Nashville, Tenn.