Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives.
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M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 3
Food for Thought & Decision-Making BY ANN ADAMS
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hen I talk to people about what I have found helpful about the Holistic Management DecisionMaking process, I focus a lot on how it really helps with group decisionmaking because it moves the conversation from the typical dynamic of conflict to a more collaborative conversation. Usually, two or three people in a group will have different ideas about some decision and they try to convince the rest of the group about which one’s idea is the best. But, if there is no holistic goal to test a decision toward, how can the group make an informed decision? Likewise, if the conversation is focused on one person having the best idea, the conversation will
Holistic Innovations INSIDE THIS ISSUE Holistic Management encourages innovations at all different levels. People have thought of new ways of marketing their products and services, like the Zinnikers on page 4. Likewise, producers are exploring how animals can be used to improve land health whether on mine reclamation sites like the story on page 7 or scaling high stock density on page 12.
In Practice a publication of Holistic Management International
NUMBER 209
lend itself to someone “winning” and someone “losing”. Rather, if the conversation can be about how do we take the best thinking of all these ideas and run them through the testing questions toward our holistic goal, how might we have an even better final outcome then the original ideas presented? It is this kind of positive group dynamic that focuses on what is best for the group rather than protecting individual territory or ego that made me particularly interested in a study done by Dr. Soyoung Park from the Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Berlin in 2017. You can see the study at: https://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5488927/ . I read about this study in a book titled Eat and Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional WellBeing by Mary Beth Albright published in 2023 by Countryman Press. In the study, they had 87 volunteers who ate either a protein-laden breakfast or carbohydrateladen breakfast. Researchers drew blood from the participants before and after they ate. Then, three hours after they ate, they had to play a game where they were given cash and told they were playing against another person in another room. The “person” was on the research team, but the research subject didn’t know that was the case. The rules of the game were that the “proposer” in the other room could decide how much cash the proposer got and how much the “subject” got as well. If the subject accepted the offer, they both got cash. If the subject rejected the offer, no one got cash. The focus of the study was on the following questions: • How do we respond when we are being treated unfairly but still being arbitrarily enriched? • How do we view our random, unearned fortune in relation to other? • How do we view acceptable sharing of resources? • What guides humans when choosing between options, when we see ourselves
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being treated unfairly in favor of another person? Dr. Park also wanted to know how someone’s diet might affect their decisionmaking. But, she was surprised by the results. On the days where subjects ate more protein, they were more likely to accept the offer (even if the amount they got was less than what the proposer was getting). “Their self-interest and logical thinking outweighed their sense of injustice or anger,” says Dr. Park. On the day where they had more carbohydrates, the outcome was reversed with the subjects’ sense of injustice and anger outweighing their willingness to take the smaller amount of cash offered. One big reason for this difference is that eating protein means that you have more of the amino acid tyrosine which is a precursor to dopamine, a “feel good” neurotransmitter that may make someone more likely to be agreeable. The difference in diet responses also caused some anthropologists to hypothesize that when we were hunter/gatherers, we ate more protein. Since we couldn’t store large quantities of food, we shared what we got when we got it (it was hard to hoard). This focus on sharing increased group survival, because it increased the ability to have greater protection and power for survival. If someone got a few extra bites that was okay because there wasn’t that much inequity. Thus, our bodies adapted to producing dopamine when we gorged on the big kill, which affected thoughts about equity and survival. But, when we shifted to agriculture, we were able to store these carbohydrates, which then became “private property.” With private property came new cultural norms around what was fair (inequity was more acceptable now). In this way, carbohydrates became tied to a sense of possession and acceptance of greater inequity in a society. With decreased protein, there was less tyrosine and dopamine being produced that also affected thoughts about scarcity, private CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives.
®
In Practice a publication of Hollistic Management International
HMI’s mission is to envision and realize healthy, resilient lands and thriving communities by serving people in the practice of Holistic Decision Making & Management. STAFF
Wayne Knight. . . . . . . . . . . . . Executive Director Ann Adams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education Director Carrie Stearns . . . . . . . . . . . . Director of Communications & Outreach Dana Bonham. . . . . . . . . . . . . Program & Grants Director Marie Von Ancken . . . . . . . . . Program Manager Adelene McClenny. . . . . . . . . Instructional Designer & Office Manager
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bre Owens, Chair Jim Shelton, Vice-Chair Delane Atcitty Alejandro Carrillo Jonathan Cobb Jozua Lambrechts Daniel Nuckols Kelly Sidoryk Casey Wade Brian Wehlburg Seth Wilner
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT® IN PRACTICE (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by: Holistic Management International 2425 San Pedro Dr. NE, Ste A Albuquerque, NM 87110 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: hmi@holisticmanagement.org.; website: www.holisticmanagement.org Copyright © 2023 Holistic Management® is a registered trademark of Holistic Management International
FEATURE STORIES
Stress Management Through… a Decision-Making Framework?
ERICA FRENAY............................................................................ 2
Zinniker Family Farm— Biodynamic Farming Since 1943
ANN ADAMS................................................................................. 4
Stress Management Through… a Decision-Making Frame-work? BY ERICA FRENAY
Farmers are particularly susceptible to both chronic and acute stress, and one underappreciated strategy for reducing this stress load is our mindset and approach to decision-making.
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hat causes you to feel stressed out? Major sources of stress in my life include, in no particular order: money, kids, livestock, off-farm job, my farm business, and the general overwhelm of having taken on too much. You may of course experience many other sources of stress. As if that wasn’t enough, the stress of our individual experiences is compounded by the miasma of collective anxiety that comes from local and global events: stories of racism, natural disasters, dire economic predictions, the national political circus, war…so much suffering at home and around the world. It’s a challenge to protect your mental health while remaining a reasonably informed citizen. These pressures—among many others—are sources of chronic stress. Acute stress can come in the form of major shocks that occasionally rock our lives, like illness, accidents, or that time all of our markets, kids’ schools, and life as we know it were suddenly shuttered in the Spring of 2020. Those stressors don’t have to weigh you down or impact your mental health. You’ve likely encountered many strategies to reduce the impact of both forms of stress: meditation, mindfulness, yoga, etc. But if you haven’t yet explored your approach to decision-making, you may be missing out on a major opportunity to lower your stress levels by improving your relationships, feeling clear that your decisions are moving you toward your vision of an ideal
LAND & LIVESTOCK
A Holistic Approach to Regenerating Ranches & Mines in Chihuahua
ANN ADAMS................................................................................. 7
Jeffers Cattle Company— Quadrupling Stocking Rate through Drought in the Chihuahuan Desert
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While watching the heart of our farm burn down was traumatic, our recovery was hastened by using the holistic decision-making process to create a plan to rebuild. Photo Credit: Erica Frenay
NEWS & NETWORK Board Chair.............................................................. 16 Program Round Up................................................... 17 Grapevine................................................................. 17 Reader’s Forum........................................................ 18
ANN ADAMS ..............................................................................12
Certified Educators................................................... 20
Bar J Grassfed Beef— Transitioning to Holistic Planned Grazing
Development Corner ............................................... 24
HEATHER SMITH THOMAS ......................................................14
2 IN PRACTICE
life, and improving your financial situation. I can illustrate with some examples from our farm: The most challenging period of chronic stress for my husband Craig and me was the 3 years that we were building our home on our brand-new farm. We had a newborn infant—who was cool with about 4 hours of sleep in 30-min increments each night—and a 4-year-old. I worked 3 days/week at my office job and my husband ran his construction business full-time, while we were also building the farm’s physical infrastructure, building our home, developing markets, and managing livestock. It was a slog to get through each day. The most life-altering acute stressor we’ve experienced at Shelterbelt Farm was a major fire in Fall 2021. The “barn” that contained our friends’ home, our farm store, workshop, and farm storage space burned down while we watched in horror.
Market Place............................................................. 21
As different as these two experiences were, the primary tool that helped us move through them both was the same: Holistic Management. For over 20 years, Holistic Management has been improving our well-being by helping my husband and I feel clear on how we want our life together to be and giving us tools to make decisions that move us toward that vision. Ultimately, this has given us a sense of control over our lives, which is a useful illusion that can alleviate stress. I say ‘illusion’ because there is so much in life that we can’t control—like pandemics or fires—but Holistic Management helps you take control of what you can: your values and behavior, including the choices you make and where you focus your energy. Maybe you’ve heard of Holistic Management as a grazing or financial planning tool, and it is helpful for both of those things, but the core of it is about decision-making. Not exactly sexy, but considering the hundreds of decisions we make every day, harnessing their power can have sexy results, like increased profitability, joy, and stronger relationships. Practicing Holistic Management begins with identifying your fellow decision-makers in whatever you’re managing, whether it’s a family, a farm business, an organization…or even just yourself. Who gets to decide what happens within that entity? In our case, my husband Craig and I are the decision-makers, though once our kids reached the age of 7 or 8, we started including them in decisions too. The decision-makers sit down together and have some deep conversations about how they want their lives or their work together to be: harmonious? Financially lucrative? What does each decision-maker need to feel content? Statements usually cover time, money, relationships, creativity, spirituality, health, and ecological impact, but can include any themes important to the decision-makers. Responses to these questions form the very beginning of a “Holistic Context” or “Holistic Goal”. Craig and I wrote our first Holistic Goal in 2002—long before we had children or a farm-and fully revised it at least 5 times in the first decade, usually after realizing that we were failing to use it for decision-making because it was too basic, too poetic, or paraphrased too much from the Holistic Management textbook (because we wanted it to be “perfect”—ha!) It needed to be in our own words, straightforward enough to easily use to guide our decisions. Our most recent draft articulates our desire for a thriving farm, loving family, strong sense of community, cozy home, good health, and enough time and money to travel and learn. We also describe living in a place where the people feel
a strong sense of community, where farming is to invest time and love in our local community-valued, biodiversity and soil health are strong, reminded us to look to the Holistic Management and all people feel welcomed and supported decision-making process that had served us regardless of their identity. so well. Despite the haze of our trauma, having Of course, not all of this has been realized a familiar framework to guide us meant that yet, but the power of a Holistic Goal is in stating we were able to quickly assess our available your intentions and desires in the present tense, resources, consult our Holistic Goal, and use and then investing everything you have within the decision-making process to figure out what your power—your time, energy, and money—to to do next. We are now well into rebuilding the make it happen. structure, and its next iteration will include an There’s much more to the whole process of writing a Holistic Goal; I only described the first part. And while writing it is a helpful exercise, it’s only when you actually use your Holistic Goal to make decisions that it comes to life. There’s a series of questions from Holistic Management to guide that process too. Because it’s better learned from practicing with help during a course, as opposed to simply reading about it, I encourage you to take an Intro to Holistic Management course if you’re curious. “Building our “nest” while simultaneously building the farm and So how did any of this help our family could have been a disaster for our relationship!” Craig and I survive the periods Photo Credit: Erica Frenay of both chronic and acute stress in our lives? During those early years improved farm store and apartment, as well as of building our home, family, and business all a community gathering space and a commercial at the same time, we could look at our Holistic kitchen, both of which will allow new possibilities Goal and see that even though our lives felt to emerge for the future of our farm and family. exhausting and hard in the moment, we still There’s a lot we don’t have control over, and had (or were moving toward) the life we had stressful things happen almost every day. But we described. We were building that cozy home to can control how much we allow this stress to shelter our growing family. We were creating affect our health. Holistic Management helps you that farm that would nourish our family and remember that you have control over your focus, community, and we were surrounded by loved time, and money. It helps you plan how you want ones who enriched our lives with good food your life to be and harness your decisions to and laughter. We could also see that at some move you toward that. And when the worst point it would get a little easier (the baby would happens, it still offers a framework to recover and eventually learn to sleep more than 30 minutes keep yourself moving toward your vision. In at a time, right??) Having this shared perspective short, it helps you to be resilient, which is a life on our life helped us know that even though the skill that seems increasingly critical in these days were hard, we were moving in the right uncertain times. direction. This knowledge allowed us to operate Erica Frenay is the Online Course Manager as a team and support each other through that and Livestock Specialist for the Cornell long challenging period, rather than taking out Small Farms Program and an HMI Certified our frustrations and exhaustion on each other. When the fire took away the heart of our farm Educator. She and her family also own and operate Shelterbelt Farm in Brooktondale, in 2021, our 10 years of intentionally investing New York. This article was previously in the nebulous concept of “building community” published in the Spring 2023 issue of the paid off in ways we never could have imagined. Natural Farmer, as well as the Summer 2023 Eighty people showed up to 7 work parties to clear the mess left by the fire. Their presence—a issue of the Small Farms Quarterly, and is reprinted here with permission. direct result of intentions set in our Holistic Goal Num ber 2 09
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Zinniker Family Farm—
to leave more residual behind. “We are fairly do grow small grain and corn for them. The heavy in legumes so that fits very well for us,” outwintered areas go to corn as part of our says Mark. “If the alfalfa is in bloom we can rotation. A lot of fields stay in grass and hay for graze it because the chance of bloat isn’t high 5–10 years. With our first grazing we go in at especially with balanced nutrients and not too knee high then we leave a foot when we leave. BY ANN ADAMS much rank growth. When ark Zinniker’s grandparents began we first started farming in 1943 with the goal of our recovery becoming biodynamic farmers. periods were The 164-acre Zinniker Family 30–40 days Farm, located in southeast Wisconsin, is now and we were the longest-running biodynamic farm in the focused on United States. It has been organic from the very grazing that beginning and was certified organic in 2000 lush growth. through Oregon Tilth. The focus on improving Now we soil fertility without off-farm inputs has been a have a much hallmark of the farm. That heritage remains the more diverse, bedrock of Zinniker Family Farm today as Mark mature forage and his wife, Petra, continue that biodynamic stand. tradition as they prepare for the succession of “We may the farm to the next generation of farmers at do our first Zinniker Farm. graze at 35 days, then our Pastured pigs are another enterprise at Zinniker Farm. Integrating Holistic second graze Photo credit: Zinniker Farm Management & Biodynamics at 40–45 days, Mark learned about Holistic Management and our third graze at 60 days. All together we We are working for good trampling to feed the through reading ACRES USA. After reading get four to five grazings/year. We produce all soil. We also don’t reseed the pasture. We work articles he started exploring these concepts the feed for the winter time whether through for the pasture to reseed itself by letting forage on the farm. “We started implementing what stockpiled feed or hay. We winter the cows and go to seed at some point during the year. We we could,” says Mark. “Biodynamics is about young calves in the barn, and the young stock also don’t clip after grazing. This can cause treating the farm some issues with multi-flora rose as an organism. coming in some time. The main goal “We move the cattle every 12 is to improve hours and may only give them the health of a half an acre a day on the first everything. Holistic grazing. We have a total of about Management 35 SAU which includes cows, grazing fits that calves, steers (but not heifers that I model too. It is don’t want to get bred). not just looking “We do a lot of single polywire at maximum fencing. They are not locked into a production, but paddock as they can back track. I also increasing the was concerned about pugging with health of the soil, water in the field so I wanted to give plants, and animals. them space. I also like to make sure We use these two they get lots of exercise and shade. practices as a The stream we have is intermittent hybrid model on so we use lanes for them to get to our farm.” water. We’ve found that if you keep One key grazing heights up, the land can area that the take a lot. We had 12 inches of rain Zinnikers have above normal a couple years ago Land resilience has increased with changed grazing practices that include longer integrated Holistic and we have fairly heavy soils so recovery, and waiting for a taller plant before grazing and leaving a taller residual. Management into we have to be careful.” Photo credit: Zinniker Farm their operation is “We have upland soil,” says with holistic planned grazing. In particular, they are outwintered. We put bales out in the field in Mark. “It is easier to improve the soil with a beef have worked to increase recovery periods and different places. herd than with a dairy herd. With dairy there is the graze heights, and they are making a point “We also raise chickens and pigs so we a bigger nutrient load leaving. Not that you can’t
Biodynamic Farming Since 1943
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manage that concern, but it is more difficult because of the dairy genetics and because of their output.” Their improved grazing practices along with the production of biochar help them increase their soil’s water holding capacity to address drought and to eliminate erosion.
paid a fair and competitive wage and look at what are we valuing as well as the production systems that have to be the base for this financial model.
The Value of Stewardship
To assist the Zinnikers in this succession, current loyal customers are working to form the Zinniker Farm Stewardship Association (ZFSA), which is “a group of individuals who are committed to help steward the legacy of Zinniker Farm into the future and who wish to benefit from the extraordinarily vital, flavorful, nutrient dense food produced on the farm.” Their goals are to: 1. Ensure the farm continues to be selflessly stewarded in perpetuity using the best organic, biodynamic, Honey is one of the enterprises at Zinniker Farm that also and regenerative farming contributes to pollination. Photo credit: Zinniker Farm practices; 2. Grow the number of people who can as members will be responsible for managing benefit from a connection to the farm and outreach, distribution, and farm-based and to the vital, nutrient dense food produced community events. on the farm; “We would like to get started in the spring 3. Help Mark and Petra Zinniker, the current with a new farmer and start with the members stewards of Zinniker Farm, earn a we have. We are building the legal structure for good living and start stepping back from full responsibility for the farm operations and move toward, and eventually retire 4. Help a new farm family to get established on Zinniker Farm who can help move the current farm enterprises into the future and diversify the farm’s offerings so that the farm can provide more and more of the food needs of the ZFSA Mark Zinniker moving fence for the cattle. members; Photo credit: Zinniker Farm 5. Nurture the farm’s role as a center for cultural renewal and farmer the community, but it is still in the works. We are and consumer education. taking our time because it is important to get our The idea is that each year the ZFSA steps right.” members will work with the farmers to establish In addition to getting members to sign up an annual budget for the farm. The budget for the ZFSA they are raising donations through will include not only the operational budget, their Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/ but a living wage for the farmers as well as zinnikerfarm investments necessary to insure the long-term The farm has a long history of hosting interns sustainability of the farm. ZFSA members will and volunteers as well as engaging in research CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 then pledge money to address any financial
As part of preparing for this succession Mark and Petra are interviewing new farmers. They readily admit this is a challenging situation as they have found that there are not a lot of incentives to really try to heal the soil so the pool of experienced regenerative farmers is small. “Most farm businesses need to export a lot to improve their bottom line,” says Mark. “We are looking at a business model that will keep us at a certain market size and we have to articulate
Mushrooms are a high value crop that is suited well to this wet climate. Photo credit: Zinniker Farm the value we provide. We have to change the relationship to the customer to something that helps them see that the farm needs stewardship and we have to put a value to that. We want to move away from a sales product transaction to the community recognizing the value of stewarding this land and the value for the community committing to that effort. We are trying to develop something that parallels those ideas and has the ability to bring income to both us and the new farmer. It is a big task and there are a lot of layers to sort through. “It really boils down to true cost accounting. Let’s level the playing field so the farmer gets
The Zinniker Farm Stewardship Association
shortfall evident from this budget. In return, the entire output of the farm (including various potential services and benefits beyond food production) will be distributed among the members. Clearly this is a hands-on approach to “consumer involvement” beyond the usual Community Supported Agriculture (CSA model)
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Zinniker Family Farm
knowledge of biodynamics is important, or they if there has been a lot of that exporting during at least have the interest in learning. the past 200 years. A lot of people are missing “Biodynamics is an all-encompassing this point or don’t want to address that healing and education program with organizations such farming philosophy. If the farmer really wants process. It will take time and resources to get as: the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, to be a steward that will come. Biodynamics the Mandaamin Institute, University of Illinois, addresses nutrient quality not quantity University of Wisconsin, and the Upper Midwest and disease management. It guides you Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer in how you can create a balanced farming organism— streams, landscape, wildlife—they are all built into the biodynamic balanced farm picture. Biodynamics approaches these areas from a slightly different perspective than most organic management systems do. Adding the biodynamic This log cabin on the farm is part of the potential agro-tourism option for preparations Zinniker Farm Stewardship Association. Photo credit: Zinniker Farm adds an Biodynamic preparations are made both to Training (CRAFT). The idea is that the farm important aspect to achieve these goals and increase soil fertility on the farm but also as a would continue to operate in this collaborative brings a healing component to the land. marketable product. Photo credit: Zinniker Farm space. “Can biodynamics create fertility? Currently the farm these soils fertile again. In over 80 years produces grass-fed we haven’t imported any major fertility. beef, pasture pork, That comes with some disadvantages. free-range eggs, honey, You get more productivity if you import mushrooms, and soap fertility. If you don’t import, then you for direct sale to their have to set up systems to create it from community of longwithin. Over the 20 years we’ve learned term, loyal customers. a lot about how to create soil fertility They also produce internally.” all 9 biodynamic It is evident that Mark and Petra preparations, as well are committed to creating a new as biochar, indigenous way to transfer their farm to the next microorganisms, and generation of not only producers, but the other regenerative members of the ZFSA as co-producers farming inputs. in this farming system that focuses on While there are all the value that small family farms many opportunities for provide—soil fertility, nutrient-dense a new farmer interested food, wildlife habitat, open space, in this position, the carbon sequestration, improved water bottom line is they quality, and so much more. With a core Small amounts of grains are grown to feed the chickens and pigs. Crop fields need to be passionate committed group of members they are are part of a rotation of grazing and haying to address soil fertility issues. about land stewardship. finding a new way to value, finance, Photo credit: Zinniker Farm “When we talk to and participate in the succession and prospective farmers we are looking to see if they Economics is one of the biggest barriers to sustainability of agricultural operations and land. value carbon sequestration or soil fertility and creating fertility because you have to limit your To learn more about Zinniker Farm and soil stewardship,” says Mark. “We also think that exporting, at least in the short term, especially ZFSA visit: https://zinnikerfarm.com CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
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A Holistic Approach to Regenerating Ranches & Mines in Chihuahua BY ANN ADAMS
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nrique Guerrero from eastern Chihuahua, Mexico learned about Holistic Management about 10 years ago. He grew up on the family ranch about 100 miles south of El Paso, Texas with his three brothers on the family’s 20,000-ha (50,000-acre) ranch. He helped to manage the ranch at an early age as his father had a job in the city. Later, Enrique and his wife bought their own 2,000-ha (5,000-acre) ranch in the mountains of eastern Chihuahua where they get as much as 800 mm (32 inches) of rain but could only run 140 cows because of how degraded the land was. After learning about Holistic Management, he began practicing it on the family ranch and was excited about the results he saw and his ability to increase his carrying capacity. Along with 500 ranchers from Chihuahua they formed a grazing association and continued to learn about regenerative grazing. One of those ranchers involved in the association was the CEO of Agnico Eagle, a gold mining company. He hired Enrique as a consultant on a mine reclamation project in Pinos Altos west of the city of Chihuahua in Mexico that resulted in Agnico Eagle winning the “Towards Sustainable Mining” (TSM Award) in 2020 from the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum. That pilot project continues to expand and Enrique has also been hired to help regenerate the 350,000-acre Longfellow Ranch in Texas as well as working with Boomitra, a carbon credit company, to identify
regenerative ranches in Chihuahua that are sequestering carbon in their grasslands.
Turning the Tide
Enrique initially learned about Holistic Management in 2014. He had been involved in the ranching community for a while and many of his friends were noticing that they were losing their perennial grasses. “We have very good ranches in that part of the country,” says Enrique. “We can get more than 650 mm (26 inches) of rain. Even with good rains we realized we were losing our
With improved grazing Enrique has been able to triple his productivity growing his carrying capacity from 500 cows to 1,500 cows.
An aerial view of the mine before cattle treatment and after cattle treatment. Num ber 2 09
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A Holistic Approach to Regenerating Ranches & Mines in Chihuahua
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“Then we started making money. My ranch went from 500 animals to 1,500 in three to four years with poor rainfall. With less rain, we could still do this. I also went from four perennial grass species to 12 species, with some that I never saw before. After that, we started working on genetics and how to choose our own bulls from our own cows, which helped us. We had just been castrating and selling steers. Instead, we started paying attention to which animals were doing well and changing the composition of our herd. Now our own bulls are always fat and in good body condition even during challenging conditions or environments.” Enrique started out with 20 paddocks and now has 1,000 paddocks made from permanent electric fencing. With adequate water, this infrastructure now means he can travel and consult as his wife oversees the ranch. The two cowboys they hired move the animals six times a day to achieve the 500 cows/ha (200 cows/acre) stock density he is using.
Expanding the Work
Luis Felipe Medina, the CEO of Agnico Eagle mining company, was one of those ranchers in the grazing After the cattle treatment and adequate recovery, even a small amount of association. He hired Enrique to be his consultant for his precipitation helped to get the plants growing. ranch. He had good water and 1,000 cows so he quickly saw the results of regenerative grazing on his ranch. perennial grasses because of our conventional grazing, so our carrying Then one night he called Enrique and said he wanted to do a pilot capacity was less, which meant we had to start selling cows. Also, project with cattle as a mine reclamation tool. At first, Enrique thought it because we were capturing less rain than before, we saw our growing wouldn’t work, but then he talked to Johan about this idea. After looking season shorten. We used to have 120–150 days with green grass, but then we started getting only 70–100 days with green grass so we had to start using protein sooner. “We invited Johan Zietsman to Chihuahua to give some workshops and he went to my ranch. I had 500 cows and he told me I had an amazing ranch and that I could have 2,000 cows if I did the proper grazing. He taught us how to do the ultra-high density grazing. We were so excited about what we were learning so we formed the Regenerative Ranch Management Association. We hired Johan to be our consultant, we put a lot in of electric fences so we could do non-selective grazing. “We had a lot of problems with low body conditions and conception rates as we transitioned. The first year was terrible because we were losing body condition. Johan told us how to adapt our grazing to address Cattle were fed oat hay and protein in a 20 X 25-meter area every these issues. We could day. Corn stalks and seed were put down in the area before they see the soils were came into an area. improving. Even with at the site, he said they needed to do some bulldozing work to less rain we got double help create some terracing of the mine tailings as the slope was production, so we knew too steep for the cattle. All the material was rock and there was no we needed to keep topsoil so they would have to create their own soil. going. His suggestion So, they started with throwing seeds and 15 cm (6 inches) of was that during calving corn stalks and then feed the cattle oat hay and 500 gm (17.6 oz) of we shouldn’t do the protein in an area about 20 X 25 meters for one day. Next, they used high-density, but do it Another sign of improved mineral cycling on only 7.5 cm (3 inches) of corn stalk. Finally, they tried using no corn before the rainy season Enrique’s ranch is the significant increase stalk. All three methods worked, but the best results were with the so it wouldn’t affect in dung beetles. 7.5 cm (3 inches). conception rate. 8 IN PRACTICE
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you can grow more grass. When people watch the Youtube video about Enrique used 99 open cows and one bull he had for this work and the project they are inspired.” he said they did an amazing job. Despite the challenges, over 50% of the cows bred back during that time. The reclamation area now has Crossing the Border four kinds of perennial grasses, including some native grasses and With those experiences and knowledge under his belt, Enrique all the grasses grew well in August. They had good rainfall during the began working as a consultant on other ranches. His next job was at the growing season with about 800 mm (32 inches). They also had snowfall 350,000-acre Longfellow Ranch in Texas where the owner wanted him to in February so by May they started to have green grasses. They were aiming for 2,500 cows/ha (1,000 cows/acre) stock density. The total area treated was 30 ha (75 acres). Given the steepness of the slopes they had to alternate with cows on the slopes and then having them in flatter areas. Normally mechanical reclamation work yields poor results and costs around $10,000/ha ($4,000/acre). With the biological treatment with cattle, it cost $6,000/ha ($2,400/ acre). As the pictures show, this treatment was a huge success with a great deal of forage grown. This forage has attracted numerous wildlife including whitetail deer, wild turkey, mountain lions, numerous migratory birds, squirrels, and dung beetles. The plan is to expand the pilot to other areas of the mine. They will also go back and graze the area already treated in January after 18 months of rest. Soil analysis has shown that there has been a substantial increase in soil nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, nitrates, and manganese. Likewise, the ultra-high stock density promoted a diversity of plants—44 different species. “This project is a great example for ranchers in the Wildlife, such as this deer, has returned to the reclamation area now that desert who think that this kind of grazing won’t work for there are over 40 species of plants. them because they only get 200 mm (8 inches) of rain,” says improve land health and get the cattle enterprise to make a profit. “They Enrique. “We have shown that even with really poor soils and a little rain were losing money with 2,500 cows,” says Enrique. “They used to have 4,000 cows, but with the drought they had to sell some of the herd. The owner had read about Allan Savory and Holistic Management and wanted to try it. They have a lot of hunting and wildlife on the ranch and the owner realized that the land needed cattle to make better grasses and soils for the wildlife. “I started working there in January 2022. We focused on the 100,000 acres in the central part of ranch. The last ranch manager had overgrazed that central part because he used it so much. The first thing we did was give it a long rest. Now we have a lot of perennial grasses. During that time, we put in more water lines and fences. The previous manager had the cattle everywhere with several herds.” After they gave the land sufficient recovery, Enrique moved the cattle to the main area and they worked on increasing stock density to get the animal impact up. They had 1,000 cows per herd and used electric temporary fencing to get the density to 500 cows per hectare (200 cows/acre). They used water and protein tubs and herding to get this density as some of the pastures are 12,000 ha (30,000 acres). Now they have good cover on the ground even though they only got 300 mm (12 inches) of rain. The annual rainfall is usually 350 mm (14 inches). “We also got good gains,” says Enrique. “We did an experiment and had a herd of 100 steers that we moved every day. They gained 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg) /day. We had another herd of 100 steers that weren’t getting daily moves. Enrique Guerrero standing in the grasses that have returned and They only gained 1.5 lbs (.68 kg) /day. They just didn’t have increased using planned grazing. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 Num ber 2 09
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A Holistic Approach to Regenerating Ranches & Mines in Chihuahua
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these areas because of the lack of appropriate disturbance. This grassfed operation has calving seasons in the spring and fall and are currently selling 40 head/month to Whole Foods. They hope to get their production up so they can sell two lots/month in 2023. To improve the finishing time, they are working on developing a low-maintenance cow with a smaller frame. Currently cows are 635-726 kg (1,400-1,600 lbs) and they want to get them down to 544 kg (1,200 lbs). To do that they want to create a composite Mashona/Angus.
Due to changing soil fungal:bacteria ratios, many of the invasive cedar trees and shrubs are now dying on Enrique’s ranch. They already have purchased 12 Mashona bulls and the rest of their bulls are Angus. “We are in the desert,” says Enrique. “We need to change the color of the hair to red to help with heat. We’ve seen how the red-coated animals suffer less. Last July and August we were at 110 degrees all day. We saw the black cows in the water more.” They feed alfalfa hay from January-June for the grassfed steers. The cows just get access to a protein tub and get 200 gm (7 oz)/cow per day. Enrique is working on making a lick just to feed the rumen bacteria in the future so they can stop offering the protein tub.
the competition for feed that makes the difference to get animals eating and increasing their weight.” Enrique said that the conception rate when he got there was around 50%. Now they are up to 81% with improved grazing management. Also, they were struggling as a grassfed operation because it was taking them 28-30 months for finishing. Now, with improved grazing practices they are able to finish them at 22-26 months with a finishing weight around 590 kg (1,300 lbs). Given the importance of hunting on this ranch they are also glad to hear from the hunters that they are seeing more animals, particularly a lot more elk. Currently Enrique is managing five cowboys with two cowboys on each 1,000head herd, and one cowboy working with a 500-head herd of young heifers. Now that they have grazed the central area, they are working on creating more infrastructure for the outer areas and moving the cattle with temporary water until they can build waterlines. Some of these areas have not had Enrique has invested in permanent electric fencing as well as using cowboys for six moves a day to cattle on them in 5-10 years. Enrique notes create a stock density of 500 cows/ha (200 cows/acre). that they have lost a lot of good grasses in 10 IN PRACTICE
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More Time for Other Ventures
of these ranchers began working with Boomitra in 2015 and are already getting paid for their contract of five years of carbon capture. Boomitra is using satellite imagery and proprietary technology alone to verify carbon sequestration on these ranches so there is no upfront or maintenance costs of soil sampling. So far, they have worked with 500,000 ha (1,250,000 acres) of ranches in Chihuahua. They have noted they are seeing an average of 3.75-7.5 ton/ha (1.5-3 ton/ acre) of carbon sequestration on these ranches. They are paying between $20-30/ton so this is an additional source of income for these ranches. Enrique sees lots of opportunities for regenerating ranches using planned grazing at appropriate densities for different times of the year so that you focus first on creating soil fertility. Then, you focus on the genetics and the art of grazing that will give you the profit you need to reinvest in more infrastructure to continue to improve soil health and profitability, as well as the quality of life of all those on the ranch. “Sure, it takes some money,” says Enrique. “But, would you rather spend $100,000 on fencing and water that will help you triple your carrying capacity or buy a new ranch for $1 million?” If you have to buy a new ranch because your grasses are disappearing, what is going to happen to the new ranch? You have Enrique allows for full recovery of grasses after ultra-high density which has to change your management.” moved his perennial grass species composition from four species to 12. Enrique has found that once you have your infrastructure in place,
To see the work of the Agnico Eagle’s mine reclamation go to: the workload drops dramatically so you can explore other things to do https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ovg_H6-uIlw. To learn more about with your time. After four years of getting the infrastructure into place he heard his cowboys talking amongst Boomitra, go to: https://boomitra.com/. All photos themselves. They were worried that he courtesy of Enrique Guerrero. was going to fire them because there wasn’t as much work to do. He told them not to worry that there would be other projects to improve the land health even more. But, he notes that once you start producing grass, 80% of ranch problems are solved. He wants his cowboys to look at the cows every day so he can improve his genetics and know which ones are paying for themselves. But with less time pressures, now they can go on vacation or he can take on other work to earn more income. He also acknowledges that in Mexico labor is very cheap, which is their advantage. In the U.S. labor is expensive, so ranchers need to produce grass and do more permanent fencing to reduce labor. He has consistently seen that the return on investment for infrastructure happens after 3-4 years if there is good grazing management. Part of Enrique’s fence infrastructure However, the cows will pay for any strategy was to put fences on contour so management mistakes with reduced that the animals did not create so much animal performance. If you are doing damage trailing up and down slopes. With improved grazing, Enrique has been able to it right, you should see results on the increase his green grass period from the 70–100 days he ground immediately and still be able to had before with conventional grazing to the 120–150 day maintain animal performance. growing period with a mixture of cool and Another contract Enrique has is working with Boomitra, a carbon warm season grasses. credit company, to help them identify ranches in Chihuahua that are doing regenerative grazing and check their management practices. Some Num ber 2 09
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Jeffers Cattle Company—
Quadrupling Stocking Rate through Drought in the Chihuahuan Desert BY ANN ADAMS
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he Jeffers Cattle Company, owned by father Jaime Jeffers and Marcos Jeffers, is situated in the northwest corner of Chihuahua, Mexico near Tapiecitas. This 2,500-ha (6,250-acre) ranch is part of the larger family ranch where Jaime began practicing Holistic Management in 1985 and trading ideas with other Holistic Management Mexican ranchers and educators like Jesus Almeida. In 2011, Jaime and Marcos started their own Marcos Jeffers cattle company and then faced four to five years of drought. Then in 2016 Marcos graduated from high school and he began adapting the practice of Holistic Management in a way that took into account the specific needs of their ranch. The ranch is in the foothills of the Sierra Madres so elevation ranges from 5,000–8,000 feet. The key infrastructure already in place by 2011 was a large earth dam that captures rainfall on the high end of ranch and feeds the water through a 2-inch (5-cm) pipe to a 500,000-liter (132,000-gallon) storage tank that then pressure feeds the buried poly water line that goes through the center of the ranch with hydrants every 500 meters (500 yards) to couple as much as one kilometer (.6 miles) of portable, aboveground polypipe that they attach to the portable water trough that is moved around the ranch by four-wheeler (an approximately $80,000 investment). They started building this water infrastructure about 10 years ago and added 2 km (1.2 miles of waterline) each year. They buried it a foot deep and with their custom rig attached to their heavy equipment they could lay that in one day. There is permanent perimeter fence and all other infrastructure is temporary, including the portable panels they This fence line contrast picture tells the story of use for sorting the abundance on the Jeffers’ side of the fence or handling (right) and the neighbor’s (left). The Jeffers conanimals. tinue to retain more heifers and run more cattle as Marcos built their land productivity has increased fourfold. the water trough 12
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from the frame of an old minivan and has welded on a hydraulic jack to one end to allow the trough to be leveled easily as well as to pick it up to move or bring it down low for calves to be able to drink from it. Over the years the Jeffers have experimented with different stock densities. In 2019
With usually a year or more of recovery, the grasslands respond to the heavy utilization of the high stock density that Marcos implements with portable fencing.
Grasses are allowed to fully recover before grazing. Note the seedheads already formed. they even tried as many as 25 moves a day in quarter-acre paddocks for 15 minutes with 400 cow/calf pairs resulting in 907,000 kg/ha (800,000 lbs/acre) stock density. They were giving the cattle about 10 ha (25 acres) a day. Currently they are running 500 cow/ calf pairs with 200 stockers and have 500 paddocks of approximately 5 ha (12 acres) for approximately a 57,000 kg/ha (50,000 lb/acre) Marcos uses a Battlatch that is set to release a stock density. spring that allows the fence to ride up a fiber glass Their stocking post that the cows then walk under. rate has gone
from 8-12 ha/cow (20-30 acres/cow) down to 3 ha/cow (7 acres/cow) for an almost fourfold increase in stocking rate in a four-year period. They use PastureMap to record their grazing plan and implementation. They use a nine-strand branded polywire for all their temporary fencing, fiberglass posts, and a 10-joule charger. They do run two herds most of the year separating out the bulls from the cow/calf herd except for the breeding season in November/December with calving in July during the monsoon season. Stockers Marcos added a hydraulic lift to the portable water trough to allow for easy movement with the four-wheelare run with the bulls. They move the er and the ability to raise and lower the height of the trough to allow calves to drink. herd every morning at 7 am using a share of having to destock in times of drought, but will usually cull their Battlatch designed to bring the hot wire up so the cattle can move under the wire. They then come out later to build fence for the next day. The daily cow herd more heavily through preg-checking and removing all open cows early while continuing to retain heifers. paddock of 500 meters X 100 meters (5 ha or 12 acres) and water takes The Jeffers run small-framed Black Angus as they like their high fertility Marcos about eight to 30 minutes on a four-wheeler to set up depending and the premium they get for them in the U.S. market. The cull cows are on the type of terrain. sold into the national Mexican market and the The Jeffers have also been steers are exported to the U.S. All heifers are experimenting with different recovery retained to continue to grow the herd. Currently periods moving from a 300-day input costs are between $70–80/cow since only recovery all the way up to 425 days. minerals and salt are provided for the cattle. The They build in a 90-day reserve for cow’s calf is sold from $700–800 for a tidy profit drought as part of their grazing plan. in this low input system. With this system they are The cattle graze 80–90% of the grass able to produce 60 kg/ha (53 lbs/acre) and $120/ in the paddock for an even utilization ha ($48/acre) profit. which necessitates the longer Marcos’ five-year goal is to be able to continue recovery. Because they have such to grow the capacity of the ranch and begin acquiring leased land nearby so that he can run 5,000–6,000 stockers or 1,500–2,000 mother cows.
The small-framed Black Angus cows do well in this low-input production system. If they don’t maintain body condition or remain open after breeding, they are sold into the Mexican market.
In this picture you can see the heavy utilization that Marcos aims for (80–90%) on the left side of the picture. The right side is where they will graze next. Recovery periods average 300–425 days to make sure plants are fully recovered from the severe graze.
high winds in the spring, they prefer that all litter is passed through the animal to come out as fertilizer. They also experimented with giving the cows more space in the summer time to allow for more selective grazing when they were calving, but they have decided to have the same size of paddocks year-round for better utilization and to reduce calf losses. They have had their
To see more about the Jeffers Cattle Company operation watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=AwJwbm4BtR0&feature=emb_logo All photos are credited to Marcos Jeffers.
The Jeffers have created an attachment that allows them to lay 2 km (1.2 miles) of polypipe a foot deep in a day. Num ber 2 09
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Bar J Grassfed Beef—
Transitioning to Holistic Planned Grazing BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
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am Jones has been practicing Holistic Management and planned grazing for many years on his farm near Coupland, Texas. “My wife Margaret and I bought a black land farm near Austin in 1980. She has a farming background and I ranched with my dad growing up. Margaret and I have both been around livestock all our lives, but we didn’t get into Holistic Management until early 2000,” says Sam. With the help of a mentor, they began making management changes and seeing results.
Sam has installed permanent electric fence for some paddocks and works for full recovery of grasses, usually 120 days.
Making Progress even in Drought
The home place was a small 250-acre property, so Sam didn’t begin practicing planned grazing until 2004 when he purchased a larger property of 1,500 acres about 100 miles west of their home place. “It’s in the northern Hill Country and at the southern end of the Post Oak Savannah area of Texas,” says Sam. When settlers first came to this area, it was tall grass prairie. Now, with the exception of some dry land farming, it is pasture land for cattle, sheep and goats. Currently our ranch is just pasture for cattle.” This is where he started to try to improve the pastures. The Holistic Management training he had was very helpful. “The emphasis and idea of grazing systems really began to make sense
Sam uses temporary electric fencing for easy moves. The paddock on right was already grazed and the cattle have just been turned in on the left.
Making the Transition
Like many people, Sam was helped in his management changes by talking to someone who was already practicing Holistic Management. “Betsy Ross Builta who was involved with Holistic Management for many years and founded Sustainable Growth Texas was a neighbor, dear friend and mentor for us. She did a lot of microbiology studies, and hosted numerous educational events,” Sam says. “With Betsy’s help, we started converting our home place into a more ecofriendly environment, trying to address soil health and biology. Up until that point we’d raised cotton and milo and fertilized our coastal pastures heavily, and like most farmers in the area, used weed-killers frequently. It seemed like we had to keep spending more money to try to keep up production, but were making less profit all the time. It was interesting to us to see what Betsy had done on her farm, and we decided to give it a try. We began using less commercial fertilizer and weed killers and started applying compost tea on our farm. “We lost some production in the process, but we cut back on our herd numbers a little and managed to get by easier, without as much feed and hay. Our expenses went down tremendously, and we began to see a profit in our operation. Over the years we’ve seen a lot of improvement in soil fertility and the amount of grass we can maintain on the pastures.”
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This is an example of the spring growth they get with a diversity in the forage stand. Bare ground was at 85–90% when Sam brought the property and now it is at 30-40%.
when we began to put it into practice,” says Sam. “Betsy Ross toured the property with us and pointed out the diversity in the native plant life even though it had been overgrazed. Her input was invaluable as she would point out the importance of the various ‘weeds’ and ground cover plants we had. She would say that the weeds are nature’s way to replenish nutrients lost from overgrazing and abuse. “Once the soil recovers sufficiently, higher succession plants will replace the weeds. We planted a lot of native grasses with a no till drill, trying to get them started but did not see much immediate response. “Then in 2010–2011, the drought hit us severely, and we couldn’t grow any grass in 2011. The cattle were just eating the old growth from earlier times. We sold about half our herd, divided the pasture into more paddocks and expanded our watering system. Being an absentee owner, it was not feasible to move cattle in an intensive grazing system but with the help of USDA programs like EQIP, we were able to finance a water well and pipeline system to serve the pastures and cross fence the property in such a way that we had water in each paddock. The paddocks average around 50 acres
Left to right: Sam, Margaret, Wyatt, Rhett, Charlotte, Caroline, and Jason.
Sam has found that calving in tall grass makes for healthy calves. don’t have the expense of feeding hay through the winter except those rare occasions when Texas gets snow and ice storms.” Sam says. The cattle are commercial Beefmaster cows bred to Angus bulls. This makes a good cross for cattle that can do well in central Texas. Likewise, they are improving profits by improving the forage stand and being a part of premium markets. “We are members of the Audubon Conservation Ranching Program. We’ve kept fairly good records and have seen a lot of advantages to the Holistic Management we’ve been practicing,” Sam explains. “When we first bought the ranch, the native grasses like Indian Grass, Big Bluestem and some of the other taller grasses were scarce or nonexistent, but now we see a substantial amount of Indian Grass, Little Bluestem and Sideoats Grama. We are also seeing quite a bit of Big Bluestem coming in. We are very excited about that. “Our son Jason, his wife Charlotte, and three children are now becoming more involved with the ranch. They are still working at other jobs but help us on the ranch and have expressed a desire to raise their family closer to the ranching way of life. Of course, Margaret and I are more than happy to let them do that!” The ranch is just raising cattle now, but they had experimented with other types of stock. “For a while we tried running some Spanish goats and did that for a few years, but the predators were taking a toll and we had to have
each, using permanent and temporary electric fencing.” Since that drought, he has been regularly taking the cattle off the CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 paddocks for about four months’ recovery, on average. “We graze each paddock for just 5 to 10 days, depending on the conditions, then move on to the next one,” says Sam. “We’ve been doing that now for 10 years. When we bought it, the property had been leased out for many years. This is sheep and goat country and some of it had been grazed down heavily; hardly any tall grass species still existed. “A lot of the old seed was still here in the ground, however, because we are now seeing a lot of grasses come back as the soil conditions improve. We have also planted a native grass mix in some of the old fields on the property and have seen good results from what little rainfall we get. We haven’t had much heavy rainfall since that drought in 2011, but we’ve had sufficient rain to keep some grass growing. “We try to keep track of that progress, and now I think we have about 60 to 70% of the ground covered, whereas it was only about 10 to 15% covered, when we started. That’s been very encouraging to see this improvement.” Sam is excited to see Big Bluestem coming back into some of his pastures as a higher The cattle have also done well as changed management successional grass along with others like Sideoats Grama and Indian Grass. These types has resulted in profit. “Even though we cut back on the of grasses were almost non-existent when Sam bought the ranch. number of head, our profits have improved because we Num ber 2 09
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Holistic Management and Community Development
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“We found that it was critical to communal work in Africa that the right people take responsibility for the right reasons. As consultants and trainers, we cannot take responsibility for the future of a community, it remains the responsibility of the local people. For example “When we worked with the village communities, they worked to put together their livestock as one herd for better management. There was a lot of complexity around making that happen as well as using the livestock to prepare the villagers’ cropfields. Taking responsibility for your own future becomes even more difficult the moment you have donor money propping things up”. “The community mobilization process, and the focus on how people learn and develop, helped people understand that even though there is free money, they have to take responsibility for their community. We worked really hard to acknowledge that and stay honest about it. After two or three years, sometimes a community would abandon a project even though they saw improvement in the cropfields. We knew we would not be helping if we stepped in to start it up again.
“We asked ourselves, ‘How do you value another human on an equal level?’ It is to allow people to take that responsibility and choose their own future. Most development programs in Africa are not run that way as the outside organizations continue to try to make decisions for the villages they serve. With our program, after we provided them with an opportunity to develop their holistic goal and have those community discussions, then they must make their choices.” Jozua was inspired to join HMI’s board because of the other South Africans who have served on HMI’s board over the years. “We have a very long history of being involved with HMI and Holistic Management. When I became part of Community Dynamics in 2004 (a southern Africa Certified Educator group started by Dick and Judy Richardson), we had this very caring group of people who focused on what Holistic Management could offer to people in southern Africa. “While we act locally, we also have the opportunity to think globally as HMI’s board. It is a privilege to be part of the HMI Board of Directors, to help an international organization and think on that global level. Given the inspiration from previous board members from southern Africa, I am still representing people of southern Africa as well.
Bar J Grassfed Beef
“I’ve done most of my strategic work where I’ve used Holistic Management around the first key insight of managing holistically. I’m really keen how we can use the Holistic Management framework to manage and continuously improve HMI. Often when we trained facilitators for NGO’s at the Africa Centre for Holistic Management, these NGO’s never looked into the opportunities to use Holistic Management in the organization itself and for example to develop appropriate projects. But, with Holistic Management and creating a holistic goal for an NGO, you can drive your development of a project or programs. I’m really interested in what can we learn in using the framework at HMI. “The discussions we’ve had on the HMI board are about integrating Holistic Management in our decision-making and management, getting clear on the purpose for the organization and how that will drive projects and programs, and learning opportunities. We are exploring how can we create learning pathways for all different backgrounds, looking at where people enter and how they can make progress to learn Holistic Management and slowly implement it, and how to continuously improve your practices and your family, farm, etc. We are being more intentional in consciously developing these pathways.”
Food for Thought & Decision-Making CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15
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guard dogs with the goats. The pastures were too far away to properly take care of the dogs and goats,” Sam says. After looking at a video that was posted on the HMI newsletter, Sam got to thinking about grass cover on so many ranches; when driving through west and central Texas he sees places that are grazed down to nothing, with no ground cover. “We get some hot days here, higher than 100-degree temperatures, and that kind of heat scorches the ground when there are no plants to shade it,” says Sam. “I am not faulting any ranchers; much of the land has been purchased by absentee owners and simply leased out to the highest bidder or to some local ranchers who have always overgrazed it. I have been guilty of that, too. A person tries to make a living and you try to make as much money as you can from a leased property, and in our struggle to survive we sometimes use the land too hard.” Learning about Holistic Management and planning the grazing in ways to improve the land made all the difference. The cattle on his ranch have also done better. Sam is now trying to get more legumes growing in the pastures, and also some bird-friendly plants. “It just takes a long time to convert an old, overgrazed place and get it back to a healthier balance. A person can put out seeds, but if the ground is not in good condition, the seeds won’t grow. It takes a lot of time and patience!”
possession, equity, and survival. While this experiment provides some interesting data, I don’t think we can assume someone’s diet will solely impact their decisionmaking. We can’t assume that if we feed everyone a lot of protein, they will automatically make decisions that will keep them focused on the health and well-being of the “whole.” I would be more inclined to want to help people, regardless of their diet, to learn how to use the Holistic Management Decision-Making process to help them override potential ego, self-dealing, or crisis management that might be impacting decisionmakers in a group so they can get better outcomes for their decision-making. It is a process I have seen work time and time again regardless of the group or what situation they are facing because they have taken the time to articulate values, behaviors, systems, and vision to create the common ground and group alignment necessary for effective decision-making. They have articulated the “why” behind the “what” they are doing and provided more information to help decisionmakers identify the opportunity for achieving their “enlightened self-interest” (the survival of the whole), which provides the motivation and persistence necessary to address the challenges that lie ahead in creating symbiotic relationships in an often reductionist-focused world.
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PROGRAM ROUND UP HMI’s Workshop at OEFFA Conference 2023
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n February 16, 2023, during the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) conference outside Columbus, Ohio, HMI’s Executive Director, Wayne Knight, led a workshop entitled “Holistic Planned Grazing: Balancing Work, Business, and Ecosystem Improvement for Optimal Results.” The workshop attracted 39 participants. The goal of the workshop was to emphasize the importance of a values-based goal to guide management in an inherently complex farming environment. Traditional schooling and business training tend to focus on problem-solving and breaking down and isolating concepts and components of our lives. To manage money, we focus on financial management. To measure successes, we evaluate profit in monetary terms; to measure family happiness we may measure and managing time. We tend to approach each aspect in isolation. However, Holistic Management’s unique strength lies in its appreciation of complexity and the interconnectedness of the world in which we produce food, live our lives, raise our families, and balance our books. During the workshop, attendees completed assignments to identify values and emotions that motivate changed management and guide decisions. They also worked on real-world scenarios and decisions that compared different actions using a decision-making process to
GRAPEVINE The
help clarify which actions, or if inaction, would be the best solution to the “problem” confronting a farmer. After lunch, the workshop focused more on low-cost, low-risk animal production methodology and management, with Holistic Planned Grazing as the primary tool to match animal performance, risk of forage variability, and profitability. 80% of participants rated the program as good or excellent, and 100% said they would recommend the workshop to others. Thanks to OEFFA for hosting a wonderful conference, and thanks to the Nippert Foundation for support of this workshop.
Online Adaptive Monitoring Report
As part of our online course offerings in 2022 HMI ran a course “Advanced Monitoring: Analyzing Results for Improved Regenerative Ag Practices” beginning in the fall of 2022 and ending in January. This course was taught by HMI Certified Educators Roland Kroos and Christine Martin. 47 people signed up for the course to learn more about the different ways to monitor rangeland health and analyze the effect of management practices. The focus of the course was to help participants learn systems of observation that they could integrate into daily farm/ranch activities so that they could build resilience and increase productivity by managing for biodiversity and maximizing the potential for photosynthesis. Evaluations showed that 100% of the participants completing the survey were satisfied with the course and would recommend it to others. They also all increased their knowledge of what indicators to look for monitoring land health and they increased their ability to use that knowledge to monitor their land. Thanks to the L&L Nippert Foundation for scholarship funding for this course.
people programs projects
educational opportunities that align with HMI’s mission to promote healthy, resilient lands and thriving communities Welcome, Adelene!
N E W S F R O M H O L I S T I C M A N AG E M E N T I N T E R N AT I O N A L
New Staff at HMI
H
MI is excited to introduce our latest staff member, Adelene McClenny, who will serve as Instructional Designer and Office Manager for HMI. Adelene is a native of Arkansas and loves exploring the state’s natural trails. Her passion for education and technology led her to earn a master’s in learning systems technology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. With Adelene McClenny her professional experience managing student/client databases and instructional design, Adelene will bring skill and understanding to her role at HMI. Her focus on making education more accessible to diverse communities is evident through her volunteer work as an executive director for a scholarship program and as a member of the student affairs committee. Adelene is devoted to creating
HMI’s Newest Certified Educator HMI is excited to announce our newest Professional Certified Educator, Christine Martin. Christine runs the Regen Ranch in Oakwood, Texas where she raises and sells beef, turkeys, lamb, and farm-fresh eggs. Christine was born in Argentina, raised in Brazil of British parents. Her paternal family in Argentina lived in the city but also had a ‘camp’ (what the Argentine’s call a farm/ranch) where Christine Martin they raised cattle and grains. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Michigan State University and a masters in Agricultural Economics. She lived overseas doing corporate work until she arrived in Texas in 2001 and began CONTINUED ON PAGE 19
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Reader’s Forum
Fundamental fears and the meat-out freak-out BY ARIEL GREENWOOD
2
021 was the 36th annual Meat Out Day, and a lot of people were upset that Colorado—whose most lucrative export is beef—is observing the day following a proclamation by its governor. To be honest, I don’t blame them. Governor Polis seems to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth as he awkwardly navigates a culturally bifurcated population, and his attempts to cater to the interests of all may simply result in greater polarization. But what’s more interesting to me is observing the responses of many ranchers online as they seek to defy MeatOut Day by various versions of rallying around meat consumption and production. You know, I love meat. Our freezer is full of beef we raised, elk from this land, pork from the next ranch over, and wild pig a friend shot while were out together. I feel better after eating meat than any other food, and I hope for a future where more people, not less, can consume sustainably raised meat. I have written about meat publicly. I wrote something for Civil Eats promoting consuming well-raised meat that still re-cycles on the web every few months. I’ve argued online with George Monbiot about what I consider to be the erroneous aspects of his vegan-centered rewilding rhetoric. Friends new and old check in with me when they’re trying to understand if they should be eating beef, or meat at all. There’s plenty I don’t know, but I tell them how I approach the question. Perhaps more to the point, I’ve raised it and sold it. In California, I worked for grassfed operations and even had my own fledging beef brand for a short while. These days, I work with thousands of head of commercial cattle on three ranches (seasonally) in two states with my partner, working collaboratively to make a living on the land while incrementally building up the health of the range. It’s my life’s work, and I have literal skin in the game. I really, really believe in the power of where we source our protein to rehabilitate ecosystems. And, it’s also true that meat as we know it
18 IN PRACTICE
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has a rough past. Cattle ranching was used to “win” the west, leaving heinous violence in its wake. We don’t talk much about it, but it’s no secret, and the consequences of that period of history are still playing out today. Yet, speaking about this in many ranching circles would be akin to discussing politics and religion. For such tough people we sure can be scared of talking a bit of history, even history where we emerged as the relative victor.
Ariel Greenwood Ranching-done-wrong has a rough biological legacy, too. Over- or poorly-timed grazing has reduced the soil profile of many western landscapes to shadows of their former selves—rubbly parent material remains where plant roots once grew. Pollution from packing plants continue to be a problem often externalized on those who can’t defend themselves. (The fact that the industry is “working on this” is good, but the very fact that progress is being made does not repudiate the problem - it affirms it). And though this is thankfully changing every day, basic training in low stress livestock handling or even an ethic around it is still not universal in the industry. Meanwhile, during the pandemic, reports suggest tens of thousands of packing plant workers contracted Covid when their employers failed to implement basic safety standards, and hundreds died. So far as I can tell, this is something that industry publications seem to have largely ignored. We often say thank a farmer, thank a rancher. But we owe our access to food—our lives, put differently—to truckers, veterinarians, and plant workers, too. Why am I ragging on my own industry?
Why not just put up a sly Meat on the Menu post and leave it that? Because I love what I do, and I just can’t stand to see my work tarnished by the attitudes of people behaving at their most defiant and fearful, whose actions and rhetoric just might have us lose the trust of the people we really depend on to buy our product, to lease us land, and to legislate on our behalf. I know the good that responsible ranching can do for land and lives, and it’d be a real shame if the many exceptional and progressive operations out there dwindled because we ruined our relationship with the people we need to trust us. Without the trust of the public, we will find ourselves unmoored and unable to raise animals, to tend land, to ranch. And it will be at least as much our fault as anyone else we choose to blame. How do we gain trust? Well, first we have to be trustworthy. If we ranchers want to have a place in the world as this century marches on, we might have to exchange our attitude of somewhat cavalier self-certitude to one that confidently speaks to what we’re doing right, specifically addresses where we need to improve, and humbly acknowledges our shortcomings. Agricultural communities often espouse the value of hard work, accountability, of owning up to mistakes, and being honest. Let’s extend that to how we talk about our work. After all, think of the people you most trust in your own life. I don’t know about you, but if I meet someone who only speaks of their accomplishments, responds to questions with condescension, and ignores my criticism, I am probably not going to trust them with much. Ranching is chock full of cultural tenets that I really like and think are rare and worth expanding. But our conversations are often laced with fear, and understandably so. We fear that the public’s misconception of us will result in our AUMs being reduced on forest service permits. In response, we claim that all grazing is good. Who would believe that? When a hiker strolls through a riparian area wrecked by unmanaged grazing and then hears cattle grower groups sing the praises of grazing as an unqualified monolith, are we surprised when they distrust what we say about other matters - like antibiotic use and stock handling? We fear tokenized predators will kill our animals, and they do. In response, we launch campaigns vilifying wolves, discrediting ourselves as we fail to address much of the public’s interest in trophic diversity and intact
wild populations. We cast ourselves as the defensive bad guys rather than conscientious stakeholders concerned about more than our calves. The more absurd the legislation that is proposed or ridiculous the holidays, the more we double down in our reactions. Online, in public, producers can be seen calling all vegans idiots, complaining about city-dwellers, and worse, wielding that particularly nasty brand of internet cynicism that, for all of our claims of being misunderstood victims, really makes us seem like bullies. I know this attitude well, because I have demonstrated it myself. It gains accolades from people who already agree with us, but alienates those who aren’t already bought-in, creating the illusion of winning hearts and minds when we’re really sowing further distrust. These behaviors seem rooted in anger and fear—emotions usually emerging from
concern over loss of resources, of livelihood. Perhaps what we fear most is that we will not belong in the world that is unfolding. For people born and raised on multi-generational ranching operations, the thought of being the last generation to make an honest living, in a tangible way, on our family land must chill to the marrow. Anger and fear are pretty understandable. Yet while responding to criticism and threat from a place of scarcity-induced cynicism and rage may be understandable, it’s just not effective. And more and more, effective communication is all we’ve got. As a population, ranchers are often an autonomous bunch, self-selecting for more solitude and self-reliance than much of the population. Yet we are in a precarious position right now. If we want to have a place amidst the present and coming reckonings over racial
equality, land ownership, immigration, import beef, water rights, public lands management and the myriad other issues on which we—as <2% of the US population - depend on having effective dialogue with the non-ranching public, maybe we could consider changing our tune from one of authoritativeness, defensiveness, and victimhood, to one of confident humility, honesty, and collaboration. Our livelihoods depend on it, and so much more. This article originally was written in response to Meat Out 2021 and appeared at: http://www.arielgreenwood.com/newblog/2021/3/21/fundamental-fears-and-themeat-out-freak-out
Ariel Greenwood and her husband Sam Ryerson manage ranches in New Mexico and Montana. To learn more about their work visit grassnomads.com.
From the Board Chair BY BRE OWENS
O
ur perspective of the world is determined through our collection of experiences. In Jerome Lubbe’s book, The Brain-Based Enneagram, he explains that how we transfer short-term information to long-term memory is based upon the Intensity, Duration, and Frequency of experiences. Sound familiar? Lubbe further discusses the “Law of Three,” which describes that “any whole phenomenon manifests in three aspects: an active, passive, and reconciling force.” Our decision-making is driven by the three united segments of our person—instinct (gut), intuition (heart), and intellect (head), which I see reflected in the elements of a Holistic Goal. HMI Board and staff have recently revisited the Holistic Goal for the organization, which has been a tremendous learning opportunity for me, to work through the process with some of the most talented Holistic Management educators. A rancher and Holistic Management practitioner, recently shared a thought that “resilience is inefficient.” I’ve been thinking on this statement a lot over the past several weeks and wondering how to reconcile this idea
that resilience might seem inefficient in the short term, but is an investment in a future where reduced resources or increased volatility will make such resilience potentially a matter of life and death. We need to communicate this investment perspective within prevailing cultural and economic bureaucracies that value efficiency and profit, particularly in the short-term or through single resource lenses. It is through diligence, continued learning, and sharing that I hope we as a community can support individuals and communities in building resiliency. The HMI Board is looking to engage more with our community, particularly Certified Educator’s to better understand how the organization can be in service to those teaching, practicing, or desiring to engage in Holistic Management. Please reach out if you want to visit, to myself bre_owens@ yahoo.com or any board member. Thanks much, Bre
The Grapevine CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
homesteading on 5 acres. Christine learned about HMI’s Certified Educator Training Program in 2012 when she took HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer course. She started homesteading while her children were young, but decided to start ranching for profit by selling direct to consumers in 2015. She moved to her current ranch in 2019 and sells at the farmer’s market as well as shipping her product. She has been working hard regenerating the soil, grasses and infrastructure and creating a learning space for others.
Christine has raised Dexter cattle, Dorper sheep, Standard White turkeys, and an assortment of egg layer chickens. She uses regenerative agricultural and Holistic Management principles and practices, and offers ranch tours for those that are interested in learning. She has also taught and consulted with large and small-scale producers from around the country. Congratulations, Christine!
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Certified
Educators
NEBRASKA
The following Certified Educators listed have been trained to teach and coach individuals in Holistic Management. On a yearly basis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to be affiliated with HMI. This agreement requires their commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives and to seek out opportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management.
Joshua Dukart
Ralph Tate
Randal Holmquist
Hastings 402/463-8507 • 402/705-1241 (c) pswanson3@unl.edu Papillion 402/250-8981 (c) tateralph74@gmail.com NEW HAMPSHIRE
Seth Wilner
Newport 603-543-7169 (w) • seth.wilner@unh.edu
U N I T E D S TAT E S
NEW MEXICO
Ann Adams ARIZONA
Tim McGaffic
Christine C. Jost
Silver Springs 773/706-2705 christinejost42@gmail.com
Cave Creek 808/936-5749 tim@timmcgaffic.com
Lee Altier
MARYLAND
CALIFORNIA
College of Agriculture, CSU Chico 530/636-2525 • laltier@csuchico.edu
Owen Hablutzel
MICHIGAN
Larry Dyer
Petoskey 231/881-2784 (c) dyer3913@gmail.com MISSISSIPPI
Preston Sullivan
Los Angeles 310/567-6862 go2owen@gmail.com
Meadville 601/384-5310 (h) preston.sullivan@hughes.net
Richard King
Petaluma 707/217-2308 (c) rking1675@gmail.com
MONTANA
Roland Kroos (retired)
Doniga Markegard
Half Moon Bay 650/670-7984 doniga@markegardfamily.com
Kelly Mulville
Paicines 707/431-8060 kmulville@gmail.com
Bozeman 406/581-3038 (c) kroosing@msn.com
Cliff Montagne
Montana State University Bozeman 406/599-7755 (c) montagne@montana.edu
Don Nelson
Red Bluff 208/301-5066 nelson-don1@hotmail.com
Rob Rutherford
San Luis Obispo 805/550-4858 (c) robtrutherford@gmail.com COLORADO
Joel Benson
Buena Vista 719/221-1547 joel@paratuinstitute.com
Dolores 808/936-5749 tim@timmcgaffic.com IDAHO
Angela Boudro
Bonners Ferry 541/890-4014 kregandangie@hotmail.com KANSAS
Winfield 316/322-0536 info@grazetheprairie.com
20 IN PRACTICE
Kirk Gadzia
Bernalillo 505/263-8677 (c) • kirk@rmsgadzia.com
Jeff Goebel
Belen • 541/610-7084 goebel@aboutlistening.com NEW YORK
Erica Frenay
Brooktondale 607/342-3771 info@shelterbeltfarm.com
Craig Leggett
Chester 518/275-5484 • craigrleggett@gmail.com
Elizabeth Marks
Chatham 518/567-9476 (c) elizabeth_marks@hotmail.com
Phillip Metzger
Norwich 607/316-4182 pmetzger17@gmail.com
SOUTH DAKOTA
Mitchell 605/730-0550 • randy@heartlandtanks.com
Deborah Clark
TEXAS
Henrietta 940/328-5542 deborah@birdwellandclarkranch.com
Kathy Frisch
214/417-6583 • kathytx@pm.me
Wayne Knight
Holistic Management International Van Alstyne 940/626-9820 waynek@holisticmanagement.org
Tracy Litle
Orange Grove 361/537-3417 (c) • tjlitle@hotmail.com
Peggy Maddox
Hermleigh 325/226-3042 (c) peggy@kidsontheland.org
Christine Martin
Oakwood 936/245-9505 christine@theregenranch.com VERMONT
John Thurgood
Stowe (1/2 year in Oneonta NY) 802/760-7799 thurgood246@gmail.com WISCONSIN
Laura Paine
Columbus 608/338-9039 (c) lkpaine@gmail.com
AUSTRALIA
Coolatai, NSW 61-409-151-969 judi_earl@bigpond.com
Graeme Hand
Mt Coolum, QLD 61-4-1853-2130 graemehand9@gmail.com
Dick Richardson
Tim McGaffic
Linda Pechin-Long
Judi Earl
Warwick, QLD 61-4-1878-5285 hello@decisiondesignhub.com.au
Dolores 970/739-2445 cadwnc@gmail.com
Holistic Management International Albuquerque 505/842-5252 ext 5 anna@holisticmanagement.org
Hazen 701/870-1184 • joshua_dukart@yahoo.com
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Helen Lewis
Cindy Dvergsten
NORTH DAKOTA
Paul Swanson
Ralph Corcoran
Langbank, SK 306/434-9772 rlcorcoran@sasktel.net
Blain Hjertaas
Redvers, SK 306/452-7723 bhjer@sasktel.net
Brian Luce
Ponoka, AB 403/783-6518 lucends@cciwireless.ca
Mt. Pleasant, SA 61-4-2906-9001 dick@naturesequity.com.au
Noel McNaughton
Jason Virtue
Tony McQuail
Cooran QLD 61-4-27 199 766 jason@spiderweb.com.au
Brian Wehlburg
Mid North Coast, NSW 61-0408-704-431 brian@insideoutsidemgt.com.au CANADA
Don Campbell
Meadow Lake, SK 306/236-6088 • doncampbell@sasktel.net
h May / June 2023
Edmonton, AB 780/432-5492 • noel@mcnaughton.ca Lucknow, ON 519/440-2511 • tonymcquail@gmail.com
Kelly Sidoryk
Blackroot, AB 780/872-2585 (c) kelly.sidoryk@gmail.com FINLAND
Tuomas Mattila
Pusula 358-407432412 tuomas.j.mattila@gmail.com
Philipp Mayer
Pirkanmaa 358-409306406 mayer_philipp@gmx.at NAMIBIA
Usiel Seuakouje Kandjii Windhoek 264-812840426 kandjiiu@gmail.com
Wiebke Volkmann Windhoek 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@afol.com.na
NEW ZEALAND
John King
Christchurch 64-276-737-885 john@succession.co.nz SOUTH AFRICA
Jozua Lambrechts
Somerset West, Western Cape +27-83-310-1940 jozua@websurf.co.za
Ian Mitchell-Innes
Ladysmith, Kwa-Zulu Natal +27-83-262-9030 ian@mitchell-innes.co.za
2-Day Workshop
Grass-Fed Ranching in the American West WATER | LAND | LEGACY
June 15 – 16, 2023 San Juan Ranch of Saguache, CO Register at www.holisticmanagement.org/sjr
Special thanks to funders Martha Records and Rich Rainaldi Scholarship funding provided by the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation
HMI’s 6-Week Online Grazing Course April 25 – June 6, 2023
For small- to large-scale livestock managers.
Holistic Grazing Planning
Learn the steps to this simple approach to grazing planning so you can better determine forage inventory, animal needs, and grazing/recovery periods.
www.holisticmanagement.org/training-programs/onlinegrazing/ Scholarship funding provided by the L&L Nippert Charitable Foundation
Num ber 2 09
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THE MARKETPLACE
S i n c e 1 947 We’ve stood the test of time, and so do our fences!
Electra-Lock Electric Agriculture (800) 527-0990 www.twinmountainfence.com
THE Resource Management Services, LLC
CORRAL DESIGNS
Kirk L. Gadzia, Certified Educator PO Box 1100 Bernalillo, NM 87004 505-263-8677 kirk@rmsgadzia.com www.rmsgadzia.com
How can Kirk help you? On-Site Consulting:
All aspects of holistic management, including financial, ecological and human resources.
Ongoing Support:
Follow-up training sessions and access to continued learning opportunities and developments.
Property Assessment:
Land health and productivity assessment with recommended solutions. Pasture Scene Investigation
22 IN PRACTICE
h May / June 2023
Owen Hablutzel CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
310-567-6862 • go2owen@gmail.com
Whole Systems Design, Consultation and Education
By World Famous Dr. Grandin Originator of Curved Ranch Corrals The wide curved Lane makes filling the crowding tub easy.
Includes detailed drawings for loading ramp, V chute, round crowd pen, dip vat, gates and hinges. Plus cell center layouts and layouts compatible with electronic sorting systems. Articles on cattle behavior. 27 corral layouts. $55. Low Stress Cattle Handling Video $59. Send checks/money order to:
GRANDIN LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS
2918 Silver Plume Dr., Unit C-3 Fort Collins, CO 80526
970/229-0703 • www.grandin.com
farm/ranch planning planning • Integrated whole farm/ranch Design/Permaculture Design Design • Keyline Design/Permaculture Assessments • Resilience Assessments Speaking • Tailored Workshops and Speaking Experience • International Experience
Group Facilitation Individuals // Groups Groups // Organizations Organizations •• Individuals Co-creative Participatory Participatory Group Processes •• Co-creative •• Opportunity Opportunity Mapping Mapping / Strategic Planning •• Holistic Goal Vision Workshops Vision Workshops
Let Let’’ss discover solutions er!! eth tog ther toge
THE MARKETPLACE
Grow a New Future
HMI Grazing Planning Software
Know that change is needed, but don’t know how to start? Want someone to walk along side you?
• User-friendly excel-based interface • Let the computer do the math while you plan • Easy SAU and ADA calculations • Account for multiple herds • Grazing Manual hyperlinks • Livestock and Land Performance Worksheet • And many more features
Professional Certified Educator angelaboudro@gmail.com Bonners Ferry, ID 541-890-4014 On-site or remote Consulting & Teaching—large or small groups Facilitating change for new results!
O $40 TDE A UPGR
“This tool has already given us a many fold return beyond our initial investment and we have just begun to use it.”
— Arnold Mattson, Agri-Environment Services Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Whole Farm Planning, Grazing, Financial Planning and more!
TO LEARN MORE or TO ORDER: Call 505/842-5252 or visit us at www.holisticmanagement.org/store/
Services, Inc.
ITY L A U Q D E E F E S INCREA
For consulting or educational services contact:
Kinsey Agricultural Services, Inc. Charleston, Missouri 63834
Regenerative Agriculture Leadership Training
Angela Boudro
$150
ral KINSEY Agricultu
Become a Holistic Management® Educator
Ph: 573/683-3880, Fax: 573/683-6227 www.kinseyag.com • info@kinseyag.com
Are you passionate about helping more producers learn how to transition to regenerative agriculture? Do you want to take your practice of Holistic Management to a whole new level and be a resource to your community? Is becoming an HMI Certified Educator or Whole Farm/Ranch Community Trainer your next career move or an opportunity for professional development? Visit our website for more information: https://holisticmanagement.org/ce-trainingprogram/ Email Ann Adams at anna@holisticmanagement.org
Rangeland can provide an abundance of plant varieties for livestock nutrition. But what about the more “developed” pastures and hay meadows? Soil tests from all types of livestock producers show 95+% of all such soils do not have the correct nutrient levels to provide the best nutrition for livestock. You can change that! Choose an area, split it and soil test both sides separately. Test your hay or forage from both sides too. Treat one side as normal. On the other side, correct the fertility based on soil tests using the Kinsey/Albrecht fertility program. Test feed quality from both sides again next year. Take soil tests again and treat accordingly. Depending on nutrients requirements it may take two or three years to achieve the top potential. Test each year and, as fertility needs are met, feed value and yield tend to increase for all three years. Increased yields will more than pay for the investment with increased feed quality as a bonus. Prove it for yourself!
Num ber 2 09
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Nonprofit U.S POSTAGE
PAID Jefferson City, MO PERMIT 210
Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives.
®
a publication of Holistic Management International 2425 San Pedro Dr. NE, Ste A Albuquerque, NM 87110 USA
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
please send address corrections before moving so that we do not incur unnecessary postal fees
DEVELOPMENT CORNER Holistic Management and Community Development
22
years ago, Jozua Lambrechts started working in some of the poorer communities in South Africa. He was part of an educational team on the west coast in South Africa and was responsible for the mathematics education program. Some of the project managers were ecologists and in his discussions with them Jozua came to realize that if these communities didn’t look at the social, environmental, and economic issues they face, then they could never escape the challenges they were facing or really be able to make use of the educational programs they were offering. At the same time, Jozua was also working on making the home ranch more sustainable and having discussions with his father on how they could do that. It was traditionally a merino sheep ranch, but they expanded Jozua Lambrechts their enterprises to include a guest house and growing tulips. He also took a permaculture design course which spurred his enthusiasm for designing and managing more sustainably. Then, in 2000 he read about Holistic Management and took his first practitioner course with his wife, Therese, and parents with HMI Certified Educator Dick Richardson in 2002. “The challenges I saw in those impoverished communities and on our ranch were in a sense similar and challenged me to find solutions,” says Jozua. “With Holistic
Management it was the first time that I saw a management process and a way of thinking that deals with sustainability and resilience in a clear way.” Jozua then went on to attend HMI’s Certified Educator Training Program in 2004. “At that time, I was tempted to do an MBA,” says Jozua. “Judy Richardson sent me materials about the Certified Educator Training Program and when I read the materials about it, I thought that it was like an MBA in Sustainability for ranchers and farmers. After I finished the course, I worked on some mentorship programs at the Africa Centre for Holistic Management. Holistic Management really opened my own eyes and changed my paradigms about community development in poor rural areas. “Most of my work has been with communities where people don’t own their own land. I was involved with HMI’s USAID program with the Africa Centre in Zimbabwe at the time where we had the opportunity to develop an appropriate Holistic Land and Livestock Program for agropastoralist communities. We also developed a program for community facilitators and ran training courses for them. In this way we supported organizations who implemented the trainings in communities where they served. “A lot of this work was done in Zimbabwe in the Hwange communities. What was exciting for me was that we could adapt the materials and processes to fit the communities at the educational levels they were at. We worked with a U.S. consultant, Lisa Howard-Grabman, who helped us integrate a community mobilization process to help us more effectively work with the tribal leadership and community. In this way we could get a group of people interested in Holistic Management and embed Holistic Management in that mobilization process.” Jozua also works with commercial farmers and ranchers in South Africa, but he notes that even those individuals who own their own land are a part of their communities and there is a certainly a need to think about community development when working with them as well. “Although we own our own ranches there is a huge need to work collectively in our communities to ensure we consciously invest in the ecological, social and economic aspects of our collective future resource base,” says Jozua. “How can you make that happen if you don’t work collectively?
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