#203 IN PRACTICE May/June 2022

Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives.

®

M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 2

Review Your Holistic Goal Annually

BY WAYNE KNIGHT, HMI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

B

y the time you read this article you will well into 2022 and perhaps comparing your New Year’s resolutions to what you have been able to accomplish in the last four months and what you hope to still accomplish with the remainder of the year as it speeds by. Having a decision compass to help you determine if the goals you set will really move you toward what you value is critical. Just as critical is taking the time to review and update your holistic goal to make sure it accurately reflects the values of the current management

Holistic Planned Grazing INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Holistic Grazing Planning has helped many families not only improve the health of their land and animals, but also their financial bottom line and their quality of life. Read how Troy Bishopp (pictured here with his granddaughter) has focused his grazing to insure that the next generation stays on the land (page 6), and how Sarah Chase has worked to develop a successful grass-based dairy to continue the succession of Chaseholm Farm (page 7) as well as numerous stories in this issue.

In Practice a publication of Holistic Management International

NUMBER 203

team and where they are in life.

So, I challenge you to update your holistic goal and management inventory focusing on these FOUR specific areas.

1. Management Inventory: Has there been a change in the management team?

Who is a decision maker and who should be incorporated into the holistic goal discussions? Then, define the assets you have at your disposal, not only physical assets, like cash and land but education and contacts, experience, and potential.

2. Holistic Goal (Quality of Life): Review and clarify the values you want to live by, those things that fundamentally make up what you, your family and your business must live to be and feel fulfilled.

3. Holistic Goal (Behaviors & Systems): Review and clarify the behaviors and systems you need to have in place to create the quality of life you have articulated. What has been a challenge for you last year? What behaviors and systems are missing or could stand to use some attention?

4. Holistic Goal (Future Vision): Describe how your work, land, business, community and social environment must be well into the future to sustain you and your family.

Again, what have you learned from the last year that you might want to use to clarify this section?

From personal experience, the Holistic Goal needs revising. As your situation changes, as kids arrive and leave, as family members’ aspirations grow or change, the goal is the beacon, but the beacon is not fixed. As life changes, so do our aspirations and goals.

For example, when I joined my parents, my fiancé and I were ambitious and broke. My parents were still happy with expansion and growth. My soon-to-be wife and I had goals and wanted to build wealth. We didn’t value time for leisure and comforts. Everything was geared to accumulation. My parents knew what they

W W W. H O L I S T I C M A N A G E M E N T. O R G

wanted, and these were incorporated into the business’s reason for existing. But not too many years later, we had changed, but our goal had not. We had kids, we needed to slow down.

We needed to make time for family and each other. All the voids had been filled out. The goal and the activities matched, but they did not match who we had become. It was the same for my parents. They were eyeing retirement.

Slowing down and not taking risks was far more important to them. We had changed, but our goals, as written, had not.

Abraham Maslow said “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization.” It refers to man’s desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actually what he is potentially: to become everything that one is capable of becoming.”

We seek actualization in our lives, and this year I challenge you to take an especially close look at the “quality of life” portion of your holistic goal. Use those statements to create some SMART goals that you can test toward your Holistic Goal. Remember, we are more likely to achieve those objectives that are SMART: S – specific M – measurable A – achievable R – realistic T – time-bound For some inspiration, you may wish to look up Carol Dweck. She’s the author of the book Mindset, The New Psychology of Success. Her TED Talk, “The Power of Believing You Can Improve”, which has been viewed more than 14 million times is worth every second of the 10-minute viewing. I have found the concepts she speaks of very comforting and inspirational both professionally and over the years as a parent to our three children. If you like it, please let me know.

Wayne Knight can be reached at: waynek@holisticmanagement.org.

Conducting Effective Meetings

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . Interim Executive Director Ann Adams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education Director Carrie Stearns . . . . . . . . . . . . Director of Communications

& Outreach Stephanie Von Ancken . . . . . Program Manager Dana Bonham. . . . . . . . . . . . . Program & Grants Manager Oris Salazar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Program Assistant

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Walter Lynn, Chair Breanna Owens, Vice-Chair Jim Shelton, Secretary Delane Atcitty Jonathan Cobb Ariel Greenwood Daniel Nuckols Brad Schmidt 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 © 2022 Holistic Management® is a registered trademark of Holistic Management International

FEATURE STORIES

Conducting Effective Meetings

DON CAMPBELL.......................................................................... 2

Back to the Earth Farm—Bringing People Back to the Land ANN ADAMS................................................................................. 3

The True Meaning of Grazing

TROY BISHOPP............................................................................ 6

LAND & LIVESTOCK

Chaseholm Farm— Developing a Grass-based Dairy in New York

ANN ADAMS................................................................................. 7

2 IN PRACTICE

h May / June 2022

BY DON CAMPBELL

T

oday I want to talk about effective meetings. I am sure we have all experienced successful meetings and some that were not so successful.

Wouldn’t it be great to know how to conduct a successful meeting? I want to share some tools that have helped me to conduct successful meetings. I hope these tools will benefit you.

In the early years of Holistic Management, I was introduced to the concept of using a circle and a talking stick. Traditionally most meetings start around a table or with a leader at the front and people behind tables. We break with this tradition. We begin our meeting with our chairs in a tight circle, we are all facing each other. There is nothing in the center of the circle. Sitting like this changes the energy flow in the room. Each person becomes more open and more willing to listen and to share. A circle makes us all equal.

For clarity I will write this as if I am leading the meeting. I open the circle by introducing myself: “I am Don Campbell. I am holding the talking stick (any object you can pass around the circle).”

I explain that who ever has the stick is to talk. The rest of us are to listen. I usually point out that we have two ears and one mouth.

Perhaps we are to listen twice as much as we talk. I encourage people to share when it is their turn. I recognize that some people find this exercise difficult. I invite people to share what they want. I point out that the more you share the more you will benefit.

I then share some of my experiences both as a Certified Educator and as a rancher. My sharing sets the tone for being honest and vulnerable. I keep things light.

I have five statements posted on the wall.

The statements are to help people get started.

These statements can be changed to fit your

situation. The statement given here were used during an Holistic Management course.

1. I am (your name). Stating your name is important (even if everyone knows you); it brings your presence into the room.

2. I am thinking.

3. I am feeling. Asking a thinking and a feeling question activates both your left and right brain. It increases learning.

4. I would like to learn.

Note: I record these points on a flip chart.

Towards the end of the course, we review and make sure we have covered all the points.

5. Please share something about yourself.

When a person is done sharing, I thank them by name. I let the circle go as long as people want. Some circles take much longer than others. I never worry about the time. A circle is an investment in creating a save environment. Time spent here will pay dividends down the road.

I have had excellent results using a circle and a talking stick. When people feel save and listened to it is amazing what they will share.

A circle makes us all equal. A circle promotes learning and sharing.

I want to share a couple of circles that really stood out for me. The first one was where a husband and wife came to the course together.

The wife was obviously dealing with some challenges. When we started our first circle she sat outside the circle near her husband.

I invited her to join, she declined. I carried on and never invited her to join again. On the last day as we were starting our closing circle the lady brought her chair and joined the circle.

Another time we were meeting with three management clubs at once. The circle was long and very personal. One young woman shared some thoughts on the difficulties of working with her in-laws. Another couple shared about some marriage challenges. When the circle was done and we were moving to the CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Coolwoola Plains— Increasing Resilience & Profit Through Reducing Inputs

ANN ADAMS................................................................................. 9

Spring Grazing—Managing the Season of Contrast

NEWS & NETWORK Program Round Up................................................... 18 Book Review............................................................. 19 Reader’s Forum........................................................ 19

DICK RICHARDSON...................................................................12

Board Chair.............................................................. 20

Mixing Pecans with Livestock for Profit in New Mexico

Certified Educators................................................... 21

The Jones Corona Ranch

Development Corner................................................ 24

ANN ADAMS...............................................................................14 CHRISTY EVERETT...................................................................16

Market Place............................................................. 22

Back to the Earth Farm—

Bringing People Back to the Land

BY ANN ADAMS

T

om and Janice Henslee had been thinking about getting a farm for a while before they finally purchased and developed the 110-acre Back to the Earth Farm near Asheboro, North Carolina in 2013. Tom had taken an Introduction to Holistic Management training in 2006 from HMI.

connected with it and learned about traditional diets. He also got involved in policy work around raw milk and helped Judith McGeary and the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA), eventually becoming a board member. Those connections opened up other networks and contacts where he heard about HMI. With a deep appreciation of all that farms and ranches provide for their rural communities as well as the food they raise for those in cities, Tom and Janice started Back to the Earth Farm in 2013 with a mission to create a place for experiencing nature, community, healing and celebrating in nature.

Building Back a Farm

Tom did not grow up on a farm but had lots of relatives who farmed. “I was certain I wanted a farm and animals,” says Tom. “I have

There was a lot of rolling hills and heavy clay so it wasn’t good land for farming. Tom got some practice cows to start with and then six months later got a starter herd of Red Devons. He didn’t sell his first beef until 2016/17.

There are approximately 80 grazeable acres on the farm. When they first bought the place there was just one big paddock, so Tom used EQIP and other government programs to fence out the river and creek. The programs also paid for an additional water well, drinkers, and some cross fences. He now has eight permanent paddocks which he subdivides with polywire.

Although his numbers fluctuate with sales, Tom runs approximately 45 SAU consisting of momma cows, finishing steers and heifers, and calves. He is able to harvest the offspring as two year-olds and holds back some replacement heifers. He has a leased farm where he holds a bull with a buddy or two.

Tom started moving away from the Red Devon genetics because they took 30 months to finish, although they had very good meat.

He started crossing his cattle with South Poll genetics to create a South Poll/Red Devon/

Tom and Janice Henslee “I thought I was going to be learning about how to start grazing, but we covered a lot more,” says Tom. “It was exactly where I was supposed to be.”

Tom continued with additional training because he knew he wanted a farm and to transition out of corporate law, but he stopped his training in 2010 as he hadn’t been able to find property that suited the various parameters they wanted in Texas where they lived. With his work as a corporate lawyer, Tom spent a lot of time in North Carolina and so they decided to look there.

“When I evaluated what I wanted when looking for the land we were thinking about, I knew I didn’t like the water laws in Texas,” says Tom. “In North Carolina we found our property with a river running through it, two water wells, a pond and 45 inches of rain a year. It had views, trees, pastures and water which was just what we were hoping to find.”

Another impetus for their journey was a 2004 cancer diagnosis for Janice. While Tom had always been interested in healthy food, Janice’s health journey ramped up their exploration and interest in producing healthy food. Tom saw a Weston A. Price chapter near them and got

a connection with the land, and I feel grounded when I’m out working on the land. The Holistic Management training really helped us focus on the whole which we had been looking at from the human health side. It Tom has developed his summer pasture using his bottomland and drills became very clear in cover crops that include oats, sorghum, Sudan, millet, cowpeas, hemp, that what we were grazing brassica, and sunflowers. learning all was really the same with the land, soil, animals, and Angus genetics that also added heat tolerance human health. We wanted to work together with for the hot North Carolina summers. As his nature, find the root cause of the issues we were grass got healthier and he improved his cattle dealing with and work to address them. management, the cattle got more adapted to “Over time we saw our work as the spiritual the farm and he was able to bring the finish time side of looking at what life is providing right now. down to 24 months.

We’ve learned not to fix things but embrace Increasing Productivity what is being provided to us.”

Like many people in his area, Tom’s big They moved from Dallas in 2013 when they forage problem is the predominance of fescue purchased the 110-acre farm near Asheboro.

The previous owner hadn’t actively farmed it and and the problem with fescue toxicity in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 had even moved some of the farm into timber.

Num ber 2 03

h IN PRACTICE 3

Back to the Earth Farm

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

summer. Fescue is an advantage in the cooler parts of the year as it continues to produce new forage above 25 degrees (F). He’s found that you need to push the animals to graze fescue harder than other forages, or your management will end up favoring the fescue over more desirable options. Some of the take half leave half lessons do not apply with management of fescue pastures in a non-drought environment.

Observation of the herd eating 95% of the clover and palatable grasses versus 5% of the fescue led to the realization that the herd moves had to occur after the fescue was also grazed down.

Tom stumbled onto an advantage that

herd an acre/day, and depending upon the season moves them daily or even twice a day. He does provide free choice minerals and usually has free choice hay available in case the herd needs to balance anything they are being exposed to in the pasture.

“Everyone who is trying to raise grassfed beef in

Tom moves the cattle as much as twice a day to keep up with his highly productive fields.

North Carolina is the fescue and winter annual pastures at about faced with forage 12 inches tall and our summer annuals at about slumps in January/ 24 inches tall. Our summer recovery is 30 days February (cold, depending upon the weather. By moving to the dormant forages) winter annuals in the spring, I let the fescue and again in July/ explode for two to three extra weeks in the August (fescue spring which greatly helps the plants recover toxicity). We from the winter grazing before moving the herd use the fescue back.” as stockpile for As Tom has worked to get his grazing plan to the winter with a maximize forage growth throughout the growing transition to winter season, he has also worked to get his cattle annuals to get a genetics to a sweet spot. “Our finish weight is head start on the at 1,100 pounds,” says Tom. “As my frame size growing season. gets more consistent, we are finding a middle Then the summer ground between size and finishing time. The pastures more than South Poll bulls are 1,500-1,600 pounds and the cover us through beef quality has been great.” the summer slump Tom has another advantage of three Mobile shade structures help to keep cattle weight gain up during the hot with 2–3 lbs/day excellent processing plants within a 1.25North Carolina summers. gain. hour drive, but in May 2020, even he had his his farm provides over other farms in fescue “I’m doing more traditional farming, planting challenges. “By May of 2020 all the processors country. In 2018 Hurricane Florence hit and cover crops than I thought I would. I even drill were booked for the whole year,” says Tom. sat over the farm. By the time it left, the farm summer annuals had received 10–12 inches of rain and the into the summer lower pastures were under up to 15 feet of perennials to add to water for two days, which drowned the fescue. the summer forage.

With a clean slate to plant new forages, Tom The winter annuals began planting annuals. Tom has developed are all nitrogen tying his summer pasture using his bottomland and plants and feed the drills in cover crops that include sorghum-Sudan microbes all winter grass, sorghum, Sudan, millet, cowpeas, sunn while the summer hemp, grazing brassica, and sunflowers. For his annuals are nitrogen winter cover crops he follows up with cereal rye, pigs so it works oats, winter peas, hairy vetch, clovers, brassica, out. We get a good and turnip. On the other side of the lower mix of forage in the pasture Tom put in Big and Little Bluestem, fescue pastures Indian, and eastern Gama. “It’s taken five to six as we do not want years to get a good stand of that going,” says monocultures The genetics for Tom’s herd are a South Poll/Red Devon/Angus cross that Tom. “We’ve had four rounds of grazing this anywhere on the will finish at 24 months. year in those bottom pastures. He gives the farm. We’re grazing 4 IN PRACTICE

h May / June 2022

“Now I can make reservations six months in Keeping Rural producer a government supported price. There Communities Alive advance with some ability to modify those is a disconnect as most of their production goes While the Henslees are enjoying their appointments two to three months in advance. for purposes other than food for people. The experience on the farm, their future vision for We’re selling about 15 head/year. I usually sell environmental impact of conventional row crop the farm isn’t clear yet. “We’ve talked about the two beeves by the package to folks who have plough and spray farming does not receive the options,” says Tom. “On the one hand we could been supporting the farm from the beginning, consideration it should when considering the say, ‘It was a great experience, and we pass our impact on the whole. However, it is a tough sell four or five go to our restaurant customers, operating farm along to whomever.’ On the other to convince our fellow farmers that producing and the rest are direct sales to individuals as hand, we can use our business experience to halves/wholes. We get $5.50–6.00/lb hanging real food in an environmentally friendly manner weight, so we gross about $3,500 for an animal. grow our farm in a way that will create a space can be economically sustainable when the for more regenerative farms and farmers in the Processing costs have continued to go up to current business model says otherwise. marketplace. the point we are paying on average over a $1/ “From my lb for processing. We sold out of our inventory in May 2020 when grocery stores started feeling perspective the U.S. ag policy the effects of the pandemic on the concentrated from the ‘70s on meat processing plants. We didn’t want to cut has been to kill off our old customers and the restaurants, so rural America we have been careful about taking on new with its get big or customers. get out policies.

“We have a great relationship with a local And, it has been restaurant, The Table, and they buy a lot of very successful. ground beef because they serve burgers two We have fewer nights a week which are very popular. That amount of sales work for us and is a sustainable farmers and dead relationship having recently had our 5th anniversary of selling to them.”

The other key enterprise on the farm is the cabin rental that “Our farm is about quality of life Janice runs through for us, but we do a lot of outreach Airbnb. “The cabin has to connect the people back to been packed because of the land through our sales and the pandemic year round,” the tours where they can visit the says Tom. “Some of our animals and interact with them.

Airbnb customers are very That’s what our goals for the farm interested in what we are are.” The Henslees’ focus on good doing with the land. We stewardship was recognized in 2017 are only 10 miles from when they received the Randolph Asheboro and 30 miles County Conservation Farm Family from Greensboro and 65 Award from the Randolph Soil and The Airbnb cabin at Back to the Earth Farm has been fully booked since miles from Charlotte. We Water Conservation District. the beginning of the pandemic as people want to experience life on a are in the center in the Whether creating healthy soil, regenerative farm. state and in a fairly rural healthy animals, or healthy food, the county. We put the cabin Henslees see Back to The Earth rural communities spread across the country. on Airbnb in 2016 and it has done well. We Farm as the perfect way for them to contribute We need to realize that was intentionally done could make a comfortable living with the AirBnb to their rural community in the Piedmont area. rental and our grassfed beef sales. People come through governmental policy. If you value rural As they open their farm to hundreds of visitors America, there are things that need to be done from all over the state who are often visiting and provide meat to retail and wholesale to make it feasible to make a living in rural Asheboro’s main attraction, a gigantic zoo. customers, they are working to create the America again.

“We’ve also done farm tours through Airbnb sustainable food system they believe is so “We have to solve the demand for Experience or if people call us directly at the important to this country. As they work to set an convenience needs of our customers as well farm. I’ll spend one to four hours with them example of how to engage in this type of food as develop the skills of the farmers. Can we depending upon the tour they choose. We want system, they are fulfilling their mission of connect the consumer and the farmer through them to know how good food is raised and lead “reconnecting people with the earth and soul.” aggregators, buy local initiatives, and other them to know their farmer and buy directly from To learn more about Back to the Earth community-based solutions? The conventional their farmers.”

Farm go to: https://www.backtoearthfarm. agriculture model incentivizes farmers to play the corn and soybeans game which ensures the com/.

Num ber 2 03

h IN PRACTICE 5

The True Meaning of Grazing

BY TROY BISHOPP

M

anagement Consultant, Peter Drucker said, “Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” During this past pandemic pasture season, I’ve had some time to ponder the farm’s reflection upon the guy in front of the proverbial mirror. Amongst a sea of seed-heads, in a Zen-like moment, on June 28th, 2020, I asked myself: What is the true meaning of this thing, we call grazing?

On this day, I was seemingly flailing (pissed) over not “getting the grazing right”; according to the playbooks of proper grazing management information, my own rollercoaster of a grazing plan and this damn weather. After moving the finishing beef animals into their pre-determined strip of 5 foot prairie, I just plopped down in the rank, carbon bio-mass, like a good healthy shit, stuck in self-pity. What am I doing here?

I was chastised by my inner demons with “I’m not relevant anymore”, “I can’t be teaching people this” and “how could this possibly be regenerative”? What is the true measure of grazing again? I broke down unceremoniously to cows munching and flies sipping on my tears.

Carl Jung once said, “Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes”. Many would agree grazing is a “tool” to help you achieve a certain objective like profit, animal performance or soil health. However, on this day my Granddaughters, Emerson and Hadley taught me about the true meaning of grazing with one simple premise.

You see my wife, Corrine and official “Nonna” brought my 6th generation for an ATV ride in the pasture and let them out to be “kids”. As I watched, their context of grazing was picking plants to feed the stuffed bovines, chasing after butterflies, hiding in the tall grass and splashing in the water tub. On their way back to the house

with armfuls of pasture “weed” flowers, I heard, have a “Happy Caterpillar Day Pop Pop.” Well, like the Grinch, my heart grew 3 sizes that day.

If I would’ve gotten my head out of my “right”-eous ass, I would have seen the symbiosis and layers between the caterpillar and the cow.

In my “failed” over-rested paddock, I could clearly see the cows shucking the grass seeds to the ground, picking from a salad bar of plants and forbs while grassland birds swooped in for lunch. I could see the “The ultimate goal of our farm is to build a loving, resilient bees pollinating, caterpillars eating diversity where all the parts: The soil biology, the pastures, milkweed, dung beetles swimming the livestock, the flowers, the insects, the trees, the water, in pumpkin pies, spiders weaving the wildlife, and the people come together as one, while webs and earthworms leaving dancing arm and arm with Mother Nature.” —Troy Bishopp behind a plethora of castings.

The soil was soft and the understory lush The soil biology, the pastures, the livestock, the with diversity as it waited for the tiniest dewdrop flowers, the insects, the trees, the water, the or shower. The sward had rodent tunnels, fawn wildlife, and the people come together as one, beds and hidden predators waiting on the fringe while dancing arm and arm with Mother Nature. for careless prey. This particular paddock is Our passion is to create a place for the next also surrounded by a tapestry of trees, bluebird generations to thrive. This land represents the houses and planted shelterbelts that create a premise of Professor Dumbledore, who said kind of micro-climate for all seasons.

‘You are protected, in short, by your ability to What was I thinking? This was an absolutely love.’” beautiful example of the true meaning of The quarantine protocols have given rise to grazing. The activity of providing feed and this virtual learning and limited engagements for us landscape for my custom grazing customer who relish field work but the time has been and creating life is worth, on paper, only 50 beneficial to explore the finer points of all things bucks/day but the true accounting of grazing grazing. I hope to shake the seedheads of and its ecosystem service benefits are almost on-farm trials from 2020 and get folks to immeasurable. question the true meaning of grazing. I’m at a The “grazing” also had a profound meaning point in my life where the art and decisionduring this pandemic as a picturesque wedding making of using this practice to holistically venue for my daughter, Katie. The farm wedding improve life on the planet is my true measure had been a 130 years in the making since our even if I can’t do it “right”. family started here in 1890. Under our iconic, Troy Bishopp is a 35-year well-seasoned “Thinking Tree”, above our riparian buffer, and next to adjacent green pastures with Red Angus grass farmer, a grasslands advocate, and a voice for grassfed livestock producers to the “ushers”, we celebrated the union of beautiful media, consumers, restaurateurs and policylove between our Katie B and Katie A. My makers. Troy owns and manages Bishopp speech etched the significance this way: Family Farm in Deansboro, NY. You can read “The ultimate goal of our farm is to build a more of his work at: https://thegrasswhisperer. loving, resilient diversity where all the parts:

Conducting Effective Meetings

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

other side of the room one of the people came up to me and said, “Thank you for creating a safe environment.”

A circle and a talking stick can be used in many different settings. It is a great tool 6 IN PRACTICE

h May / June 2022

for a management club. It can be used for a business, a family, inter-generational transfer or even two individuals looking to strengthen their relationship.

I encourage you to try using a circle and a talking stick. It may feel uncomfortable but that

is a good thing. Remember you need to get out of your comfort zone to grow. We all need to grow to create a better future.

Don Campbell can be reached at doncampbell@sasktel.net.

LIVESTOCK

&

Chaseholm Farm—

Developing a Grass-based Dairy in New York

BY ANN ADAMS

S

arah Chase knew from an early age that she enjoyed working with the cattle on her father’s conventional dairy farm, 350-acre Chaseholm Farm, in Pine Plains, New York. “My dad was really passionate about breeding and we had a book where we kept record of all the cows. I got a cow when I was little and I got to make breeding decisions for her and showing her. I was praised for my mastery of that skill and understanding the genetic side of things. The whole community was there at the county fair where we showed our animals. We all came to see who was doing what, I could see how special that was,” says Sarah. While she loved to work on the farm as a kid she left to go to college. It was there that she realized how special life was on the farm and she returned.

But while she was away at college, Sarah’s dad had double knee replacement and he couldn’t keep up with the work so he sold the herd in 2007, believing there was no future for dairying. It was a very emotional time. Luckily, he had gotten the land in a conservation easement, protecting it from development. By 2010 when Sarah moved back to the farm, there was a hired man/lessee and he bred show cows.

Sarah’s brother, Rory, also moved home from California to start a cheese business. Sarah started doing farmer’s markets and making cheese for her brother and managing the cheese plant for him. About that time, the lessee couldn’t pay the lease, so Sarah’s father started buying out infrastructure that the lessee had invested in on the farm.

She also started milking cows at Hawthorne Valley and learning about organic production. “I wanted to gain some experience in Photo Credit: Jennifer Young organic production so I was able to do that at Hawthorne Valley,” says Sarah. “Then when the lessee left I decided to take over from him. He was in the process of getting rid of cows so I inherited 14 cows of my dad’s that had been part of the lessee’s herd and purchased some of my own.

All those heifers were ready for milking and I purchased four Jersey cows that first year.” At the age of 24 in 2013, Sarah took over management of Chaseholm Farm.

Taking the Reins

Sarah acknowledges that it was a really steep learning curve to move into ownership and management that way. “I was definitely excited,” says

Sarah. “I was ready to take it on and I wanted to move us toward organic production. I had to consider what the pace was for that change especially given my own skill level. The first four years were the hardest. I culled a lot of cows and I was buying a lot of cheap cows as I figured out the way I wanted to breed them.

If I had the first four years to do over, the biggest change would be to move to baleage faster. Initially, I was feeding corn silage. Because of the size of our herd I didn’t grow enough corn for the corn silo to function properly and we had major mold issues. If I could have been feeding them better, those earlier cows might have performed better. But, I still cull pretty heavy which has benefited my herd. I still have larger Holsteins, but they do great on grass. You have to stress the cow epigenetically to make a calf for you that won’t experience the same stress.

Now I have to hold on to milk production. I have had some cows that make 14,000 pounds of milk for me and I have had some that made 6,000 pounds that need to be culled. I feel like I’m fortunate that I have a good farm that is flat and has alfalfa on it which gives me good production, although I’m always experimenting.”

Sarah said that her early mentors, Paul and Phyllis Ambaugh, were really helpful.

“The first month I took over the farm, I learned about Holistic Management from them,” says Sarah. “They must have sensed Sarah Chase some desperation in my call when I ordered minerals from them and they agreed to bring the order. We had lunch and started talking about the farm. They really encouraged me to get into Holistic Management and I had already read the book. Paul helped me to put the principles into practice. We’ve been using the grazing planning, financial planning and goal setting for years.”

Sarah had also been introduced to Holistic Management through a Farm Beginning course she took at Hawthorne Valley Farm and she later took a class with her wife, Jordan Schmidt, and had additional training with Troy Bishopp. With that foundation, Sarah and Jordan do their business planning together. She also learned about Holistic Management from Claudia Kenny of Little Seed Gardens where she would meet up with a CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Num ber 2 03

h

Land & Livestock

7

Chaseholm Farm

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

at the height of grass. I want to see three to four leaves with the grasses in a relaxed phase (bent over in the wind) before we come back in. I don’t want too many seed heads, as I want the grasses in a vegetative state. I noticed that the species composition has changed because of the increased recovery times. I don’t have brome grasses coming back now. I thought about what kind of change I wanted. We are heavy in orchard grass and I want the legumes to come up. Sometimes we will hit something harder to shift to other plants in the field.”

Her summer milking schedule is a 12-18-18 hour interval. She uses 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. as her milking times so she can reduce labor while increasing milk production without having to go to twice a day milking. This has worked well for her in combination with her grazing management and feeding molasses on the hay she feeds to the dairy herd.

few farmers to go through their logjams and adverse factors as part of their financial planning.

“The financial planning helps me to not let the day-to-day run me and to keep my head above water,” says Sarah. “I can focus on what do I want from this business. The goalsetting is the thing that facilitates my life and it’s the most important part.

It’s really hard to manage the quality of life part, so the goal is a beacon that reminds you why you are working so hard. What you are working toward. Like if you are thinking about taking on a loan then you put your idea about the loan against the goal.

Sometimes the process might seem complicated, but usually it’s Photo Credit: Jennifer Young very simple and helps you know Chaseholm Farm’s Holstein/Jersey dairy herd performs what is important.” well on grass and a 12-18-18 hour milking schedule.

Marketing Adaptation

Photo Credit: Freda Banks

One of Sarah’s unfair advantages is the Chaseholm Farm Creamery run by Sarah’s brother, Rory, where he turns the grassfinished milk into artisanal cheeses such as Making the Switch Nimbus cheese, raw milk In 2015, Sarah stopped feeding grain because she Stella Vallis, Chaseholm was ready to rely on her grazing management skill and Camembert and Barrett’s knew that there was a growing interest in grassfed milk.

Blue. Currently, 35-40% of To feed her base herd of around 30 cows in the winter the milk and yogurt revenue and approximately 45 in the summer, Sarah grazes comes through retail outlets 220 acres on Chaseholm and 350 acres on leased land like buyers’ clubs and the where she grows hay and grazes heifers. farm store (where she also It took Sarah two years to fully transition to grassfed sells other products from which required aggressive culling from her starter herd other farms as well as their from the Holsteins and Jerseys she purchased from cull beef and pastured pork) her father. She was able to accomplish this by focusing and 10-15% revenue is from on balancing her grazing management and hay wholesale to stores. The production to keep the milk production up and the cows remaining 40% revenue is healthy and able to breed. She enjoys the day to day from Rory for the milk used Sarah enjoying some of Chaseholm Farm’s management required to read the grass and the forage. in his cheesemaking which raw milk at the farm stand.

“Within my context I’ve learned so much about what I is sold through wholesale need to see out here and how to distributors. manage to get what I want, the Sarah notes that she has a competitive milk production and breed back advantage with her grassfed dairy as there really results,” says Sarah. “I started aren’t any other grassfed dairies around. And, raising my own bulls the last COVID has also actually increased sales as well couple years to improve my grass as she continues to figure out how to get more genetics. I’ve got a longer growing money for her milk and increase her production. season and the land is more “I’m making $31/cwt from my brother and my weather resilient in regards to cost of production is $29,” she says. “When I’m drought. Earlier years we weren’t doing a value-add product like yogurt I pay the grazing a lot of hay fields, but now milk enterprise $36/cwt. I’ve really learned to we are grazing into December with value my own labor. People are wanting more some bales. The dairy cows go local food and I can get $53/cwt when I sell retail.

The Chaseholm Farm milk is turned into artisan cheese until November 15th. I can use the Our yogurt is the primary reason for getting our made by Sarah’s brother, Rory. heifers on stockpiled forage for a hundredweight (cwt) price up. We sell it as plain month or a month and a half more than that. and maple-flavored. It has great shelf life and we have Hawthorne Valley “I am also noticing more residual in the fields. We had much shorter as the co-packer. Our milk sales are raw. We’re aiming to sell more yogurt recovery periods in earlier years. In May we used to have a 22-day and more milk as we have 45 cows in the summer. recovery period. Now we have a 35-day recovery in May and 45 to 50-day “I’ve chosen to farm the way I do and I don’t use label certification.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 recovery period in August. We really monitor body condition. We also look 8

Land & Livestock

h May / June 2022

Coolwoola Plains—

Increasing Resilience & Profit Through Reducing Inputs

BY ANN ADAMS

J

ames & Donna Winter-Irving have a passion for regenerative agriculture that is part of a much longer journey of 30 years of holistic living, culminating in their learning about Holistic Management and bringing that practice to their farm and lives.

James came from a farming background and Donna’s father was a stock and station agent, so farming was part of their background.

But, Donna started out as a hair dresser with lots of plants in her shop, then studied horticulture and permaculture and became a Sustainability Educator in the local primary school. With children and other commitments, it wasn’t until about 2016 that James and Donna really began their exploration into the implementation of regenerative agriculture on their farm.

For the last 40 years, James has been in a farm partnership with his brother, Andrew. James and Donna, along with Andrew and his wife, Sandra, have operated Boosey Creek Partnership, which included two properties near Nagambie, Victoria, Australia. The Burnt Creek property they shared was 1,977 acres (800ha), with another 988 acres (400ha) of leased land.

As their children have gotten older it was time to do some succession planning, which was completed one year ago. “With Holistic Management we knew how we wanted our lives and the opportunities we wanted for the kids, so as part of the process we completed the dividing up of land, water, stock and machinery,” says James. “We wanted to get it planned in case something was to happen to anyone in the partnership”

Four-year-old ewes grazing with brolgas (Australian cranes) on a multi-species cover crop.

After taking a Holistic Management course in 2016 with Brian Wehlburg, one of James and Donna’s goals was to achieve 100% ground cover. They say they’ve almost reached that goal. “We are pretty close to 98% cover at 100% of the time,” says James. “Five years ago we started monitoring the landscape function, closely looking at the four ecosystems functions. We had 30% bare soil which caused water runoff and evaporation, slow mineral cycling and less plant, insect, and microbe diversity. We’ve been implementing Holistic Management for six years and we are really seeing the benefits of planning, monitoring and replanning.

It helped that Donna had a permaculture/horticulture and landscape design background. We did the basic dart throwing monitoring in 2018 and found we had 30–40% of the leased land (124 acres or 50 ha) covered in Paterson’s curse (Echium plantagineum). Now it’s hard to find one of those plants.

Changing Management Practices

The Winter-Irving’s current sheep enterprise includes 900 Corriedale ewes and 1,000 lambs, which they run on 1,359 acres (550 ha). In 2020 they added more diversity to their grazing enterprise with their 25-year-old son, Kyle purchasing 11 heifers, which to his excitement will calve in May 2022. Their primary products are wool, mutton, and lamb sold through the commodity market and they sell their irrigation water. Multi-species cover crops are grow on 40 acres (16 ha) for grazing from October to March without irrigation. The purpose is to grow a large biomass, cycle it through the animals to build soil biology and health, then sow a diverse perennial grassland. In 2021 they purchased Merino rams to improve wool quality by lowering the micron and Dorset rams are joined to a third of the flock to produce lambs that go to market.

2,000 ewes grazing ¼ acre (1,000 sq m) for three hours in 2018 in a safe to fail trial.

James assisting an EOV (Ecological Outcomes Verification) assessor, Harry Watson.

This is the same area three and a half years later in November 2021.

“It did take five years of planned grazing management using temporary electric fencing to improve the environment to encourage more desirable annuals and native perennials such as wallaby, windmill, and kangaroo grasses. We highlighted the time of flowering on our grazing chart so the sheep could graze it before it produced seed. We put a big mob of ewes there, but didn’t push the density. We also did a trial where we grazed 2,000 ewes for three hours on an area of ¼ acre (1,000 sq meters) which was dominated by onion grass (Romulea rosea) indicating low fertility. Three years on CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Num ber 2 03

h

Land & Livestock

9

Coolwoola Plains

create pastures and adjust grazing movements based on grass and water availability. “We also adjust our grazing plan based on social considerations or animal gut fill,” says James. “The animals move to the there has been a real shift in plant species diversity through the herd effect gate when they need a change. The grazing plan ensures we have the of trampling and the concentration of manure and urine.” animals in the right place at the right time depending on social activities James and Donna are participating in a trial with the Goulburn-Broken and environmental considerations. We may graze a pasture for half a day Catchment Management Authority. That trial has a monitoring protocol where there isn’t water or in an advanced tree plantation, but water is a of 90 or 180 days’ recovery on 12,17, 9 and 6 ha paddocks. After two key factor. We see the soil health improving because of our grazing. It’s years they had to replan satisfying that we have achieved a 15% increased carrying capacity over and adjust the trial as they the last five years.” lost 20 grazing days due to All infrastructure considerations are explored as part of their farm the constraints of the trial. plan on an aerial map and they often use temporary fencing to test if it is They have also determined the right location for a fence before they put in something permanent. In they don’t want to go less March, James and Donna are also taking a Natural Sequence Farming than 90 days of recovery, course to improve their knowledge of reading landscape and of landscape but will probably need 120 rehydration. Likewise, they have made some financial decisions to days in most years. While sell silos and excess the average rainfall is 20 machinery to invest in inches (500 mm) they have fencing and water as had anywhere from 14–24 their financial weak link This photo was taken in April 2016 and inches (350-600 mm). was resource conversion shows the large amount of Paterson’s Paddock sizes normally and the need to grow curse (Echium plantagineum) proliferating average about 50 acres more grass. They have in the paddock.

(20 ha) and the sheep now shifted their financial graze for seven days. In the growing season, May–November, they use weak link to marketing. temporary electric fencing to reduce the size of the paddocks for optimum They are currently in the feed utilization. In April and November, James and Donna complete a commodity market but comprehensive grazing chart by rating the paddocks according to size and have become members This photo is taken in the October 2021 feed availability and adjust grazing days up or down. of the Savory Institute’s after five years of Holistic Management “While there has been lots of experimenting with various Holistic Land to Market program and the Paterson’s curse is eradicated.

Management practices over the last six years, it was after the succession as well and are working planning in 2021 where on really being able the Winter-Irvings to articulate their had the freedom to story and brand for really expand that premium wholesale experimentation. and direct markets.

Supplementary grain They have done some feeding from February direct marketing of to May was phased out cull lamb. But the lack in 2019. They adjust of local processing animal numbers based infrastructure and gaps on seasonal outlook and in the supply chain are the availability of grass. a logjam to local product Predicted low rainfall distribution. outlook prompts the As they continue decision making of “Sell their infrastructure early, put money in the development, James bank, protect your grass and Donna still have cover, lower stress, and 6 miles (10 km) of go on holidays,“ says fencing to do. They Heifers and lambs grazing happily together.

James. “We are rain purchased some ready, even in summer,” says Donna. equipment to do the fencing themselves when it suited them. They started They have been running their ewes as one herd although there is a with 25 paddocks and are now up to 40 permanent paddocks. They use a joining period in January and December when they split their mob for six seasonal creek and rainwater-filled dams as the water source. Each new weeks during breeding given the dual interest in meat and wool. They also dam costs between $5–7,000, but they can reduce costs by increasing split the mob again in May-June when they put the twin lambing ewes in a dam’s water holding capacity and creating several new gateways for smaller mobs of 100 and singles in a larger mob of 150–300. Once the access to several paddocks rather than constructing a new dam. They lambs are mothered up, all mobs are put together. have a vision to invest in pipes and troughs to distribute water across the James and Donna use permanent and temporary fencing to farm to enable grazing paddocks with low water more efficiently in drier 10

Land & Livestock

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

h May / June 2022

periods. They are currently converting dams to wetlands to encourage birdlife through revegetation and limiting animal access to ½ of the dam.

Water quality is good even with cattle watering directly from the dams as the cattle are only in a given dam two times a year. One challenge may be that they have seen less run off because of improved soil cover and other signs of improved soil hydrology, which may mean that dams fill up more slowly in the coming years.

the Holistic Management practices have helped them focus on efficiency.

“It has a lot to do with time management,” says Donna. “We love half days, and are always asking ourselves ‘do we need to do anything or just let nature be?’ We do a lot of planning and reading. It’s all about the management. You look at the grass on the roadside versus what it looks like inside the fence. Christine Jones says she’s never seen nitrogen deficient roadsides so it’s the management inside the fence that’s the problem.”

Support Is Key That focus on management has allowed James and Donna to stop James and Donna using any herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. “Ten years ago, I wouldn’t readily admit that they are have thought that was possible,” says James. continuing to learn and “We have a lot more dung beetles and worms in the soil that we didn’t improve implementation have before,” says Donna. “Every day we get excited about trying to since that first training in add more life to the land, more birds, microbes, insects, etc.” With their 2016. “We have a support shovel as their best friend, Donna and James look at how the land is group and we see that responding to their improved management. some people are still James and Donna have also been able to improve their gross profit struggling to put down per animal by no longer needing costly inputs which has allowed them to In October 2021, James and Donna had a holistic context,” says invest in their business. “We’ve bought some land from the partnership 280 ewes mowing their lawn and cycling Donna. “Having our holistic and we cleared the debt nutrients using temporary electric fencing context really helped. We through the succession to contain the animals and then relaxing are very fortunate to have we just completed so we while the sheep did the hard work. two of us coming up with have 100% equity,” says ideas and having someone James. “Looking to the else to flesh those ideas out. It’s helped us to live consciously and future, and an opportunity simply. Over the past year we have been assisted by Paul Ayton as our to buy the adjoining business coach to guide us in developing a company vision and to keep land lease presents, the us accountable. We recognized financial/business skills as a weak link so decision will be tested we took the appropriate action to ‘up our game.’ rigorously using the “The decision making process is critical and now imbedded in our holistic framework. We brains. Brian gave us the framework to make decisions, test them against have a framework to think James & Donna enhancing fenced off a matrix, and then implement. I’m not an academic, but I love learning. that decision through.” wetlands with James planting oaks grown We went to the Holistic Management course to get the training and be In the meantime, James

by Donna from collected local acorns. able to apply that knowledge. When I first looked at Brian’s grazing chart I and Donna will wait to thought ‘What is this?’, but now that’s what ours looks like.” see what their four sons “It was hard at first to create the chart,” says James. “But, we can want to do as they enjoy building the resilience of their landscape. do a grazing chart in a couple of hours now. It gets easier and we are James and Donna note that having a mentor, long-time Holistic more efficient.

Management practitioner, Gill Sanbrook, has inspired them. Graeme “The challenge was that Victoria doesn’t have access to regenerative Hand’s visit to their property helped them apply the theory and practice agriculture consultants like in New South Wales, but we got help from they learned in Brian’s course to their situation. “When we had Graeme [HMI Certified Educator] come out and mentor Graeme Hand to help us, it helped us to learn assess our land and key issues like ground what we were doing, cover that was our guide and help us determine to really begin practicing the next step. I thought Holistic Management,” about putting all the says Donna. “Brian has sheep together during been an ongoing support the course, and I came and generously makes home after the course himself available for and just did it.” But, not phone calls. Our HM everyone is ready to take support group, composed those risks and having of people who we a consultant who can trained alongside, have step them through the been great socially and logistics and potential professionally as this type consequences helps of transition can present people make those shifts. many challenges and can CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 Donna also notes how James and Donna Winter-Irving.

Num ber 2 03

h

Land & Livestock

11

Spring Grazing—

Managing the Season of Contrast

BY DICK RICHARDSON

Editor’s Note: This information is partially from an article that was originally published on Dick’s website: grazingnaturally.com.au and is used by permission. The rest is from an email exchange to further elaborate on the points Dick made in his original web article.

I

Photo Credit: Grazing Naturally

n northern regions (of Australia) October (spring) spells the onset of what is traditionally a mostly hot and dry few months that can be interspersed by periods of stormy humid conditions. These intermittent and often isolated storms may produce enough rainfall to stimulate fresh shoots in some grass plants at the same time as enhancing the deterioration of existing dry feed. The hard work done through priority grazing during the growing period can be highly beneficial here where the areas of better quality dry feed may provide better animal performance and heavily browsed plants like the Seca stylo (forage legume) plant could provide some high quality protein supplement where adequate moisture allows.

It also reinforces the need to revisit non-growing season plans, potentially on a regular basis to maintain stocking rate in line with carrying capacity. It also may require decisions to be made about feed allocations depending on feed quality changes.

or inadequate to keep up with the growth rate. Matching stocking rate to carrying capacity is focused on growing as much feed as possible of high quality and diversity of species.

Grazing Naturally sees a key part of this as being a focus on keeping as much of our pasture in a vegetative state as we can, thereby guaranteeing some very high quality feed being available when growth ceases. The main aim of this is by keeping more plants vegetative we save on soil water and extend the green season while producing feed of higher digestibility. Some additional bonuses of this “priority grazing” technique is the increase in soil carbon that results from microbial activity building humus—a process stimulated by actively growing vegetative plants exuding sugars into the soil and lower methane production in the digestion phase.

Photo Credit: Grazing Naturally

Root exudates down to over 8 inches (20 cm) as can be seen here in soil that had no roots below 1.6 inches (four cm) two years ago.

Shelley Piper and Matt Cherry of Trio Angus with Dick Richardson (center).

Key to a sound non growing plan is to have a good measurement of feed available which can be easily and quickly achieved using the STAC method. Go to the Grazing Naturally Resources webpage where you can read and/or download a copy of the STAC fodder measuring tool. For those who prefer a more interactive experience, view the short video of the STAC in practice.

In contrast, October for producers in the southern regions sees them in the midst of the growing season where temperature is beginning to have less of an effect on limiting growth and moisture is either adequate 12

Land & Livestock

h May / June 2022

The long term ecological benefit of this method is increased soil water holding capacity and nutrient storage and exchange ability.

Navigating through this period can be nervy when you are being fed contradicting viewpoints and one of the most classic errors is to speed up stock moves when the growth rate increases. Fast growth - fast moves mantra only results in lighter, more selective, grazing through the prime growth period allowing the less desirable plants to rob the water and nutrients from the soil to the total disadvantage of all the desirable plants. Under-utilization of the pasture results in poorer quality feed being produced throughout the sward and a shorter green season.

Why is it a classic error to speed up stock moves when the growth rate increases? This principle is one of the major differences between the Grazing Naturally method and Holistic Planned Grazing (HPG).

HPG suggests faster moves when growth rates occur. Faster moves always result in lower grazing demand. A lower grazing demand means that selectivity is increased and the less desirable plants rush on while the more desirable plants are reset / retarded into slower growth. Some important things then occur.

1. The ungrazed plants become reproductive, stop conditioning soils through root exudates and increase water and nutrient use by more

than fourfold, thus thieving the resources from the more desirable plants. Usually water and or nutrients are the most limiting resources for productivity in grazing ecosystems.

2. In tall grasslands, the ungrazed plants shade out the desirable plants by over shadowing them.

3. In wet areas and in humid tropics, the more desirable plants are smothered by humidity and are often attacked by viruses and rusts as well as the decomposing saprotrophs as noted below.

4. Excess leftover plant material from less desirable plants then ends up at soil surface creating seedling impairing mulch and a major feed source for the decomposer organisms to feed on creating ideal conditions for the germination of woody weeds, shrubs and trees.

5. In Mediterranean climates point 4 applies during the over wet winter months when evaporation is limited. Points one and two majorly affect and overpower the more desirable plants during the mad dash of growth during the short spring periods in climates where the season shuts off really quickly like nearly all the winter rainfall areas of Australia and Southern Africa.

6. Spikey and difficult seed heads, often the reason for lower desirability in plants, then hinder the animals’ ability to select the more desirable plants going ahead causing major animal performance issues.

The final outcomes of speeding up are: • Depressed animal performance • Increased shrub, woody weed and tree invasion of grasslands • Die back of root systems, soil acidification and the destruction of

Chaseholm Farm

The Grazing Naturally method is not based on the Rational grazing methodology which lead to the development of cell grazing and HPG. The Grazing Naturally Method, The Venter-Drewers Method, and standard adaptive grazing used by many intuitive graziers was and still is the go to basis for herders and shepherds across the world. Natural Grazing revolves around animals keeping certain areas in optimal grazing condition, while other areas are naturally spelled into the dormant periods or subsequent slow growth periods.

So when growth speeds up, rather than speeding the moves up, the stock will simply return to the ‘priority’ area (paddock) sooner allowing the whole of the other areas to get away in a level playing ground situation.

When growth slows down, the grazing simply extends further into the available feeding areas (paddocks). This keeps some whole areas (paddocks) in prime growing and nutrition conditions and reduces water and nutrient use with more time for growth and soil conditioning through root exudates.

To learn more about Grazing Naturally visit: https://grazingnaturally. com.au or email Dick Richardson at: home@grazingnaturally.com.au

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Rory and I have worked out the price we have for the last five years because if he were paying locally for milk he could get it for $25/cwt, although it would not be the same quality. I do rely on him to balance my milk supply for my end of the business. I couldn’t do it without him. I feel lucky and feel we’ve made a creative solution. I work to collaborate more to make each business and enterprise work.”

To build brand and bring customers out to the farm, Sarah also had developed a monthly burger night that drew as many as 300 people in pre-COVID times. In 2021 they had live music events and picnics with 150 people attending.

Moving Forward

soil structure.

• Buildup of too heavy a litter layer and therefore mulching • An increase in less desirable species over more desirable species • Decreased effective root exudates driving the development of the humus compounds and soil structure.

Sarah’s parents were worried when she first started managing the farm. They knew it wasn’t an easy life. But, as Sarah gained confidence in her ability to graze the dairy cows, she really enjoys her work. 2021 marks the 9th year for Chaseholm Farm under Sarah’s management.

“This seems doable now,” says Sarah. “This past year I finally feel like I’m capable of mentoring someone. I was learning so much and focused on what employees needed and now I’m confident in my skill set and knowledge base. It’s cool to finally feel like that.”

The big challenge for Sarah, as with many other farmers, is labor. “It has been a problem hiring folks,” says Sarah. “We lost someone last year and we had several part timers that filled. There is always that feeling of insecurity because you are training people on the go and then they leave.

But, I hired some really awesome people and have paid a little more, so how I have 2.5 FTE, which means I can have a day off which has been one of my goals. I made investments in the business to be able to move toward that goal. Like we have more value added products to increase revenue and so we are getting our 100 weight up so it really changes the

scale of the business. We hope we can start a family so I need to make more room for life and the farm to grow into more retail and sales outlets.”

Sarah continues to think about how she might be able to continue to improve the farm through infrastructure that would help reduce some of the physical demand of the work and improve the quality of life for her and her employees. “I am desperate for a barn, but I want to be smart about what I put up,” says Sarah. “The tie stall is too small. The way I feed, I have to hand feed and there is so much physical labor. There is a different way to do winter to improve fertility management with a bed pack barn. It’s a big investment so I’m really testing all the parts of it. I’m also looking at a loafing shed barn. I am also questioning the role of pigs in the pastures.

I’m thinking they should just be in the trees. I’m not fully convinced that pigs are great for the soil, but with the creamery and the whey, the pigs make sense that way. But dairy cows are the main focus and I’d like to have a wood chip path and have a good barn that keeps it simple for the employees.”

Sarah had thought perhaps they would add a chicken operation for pasture health and partner with someone to have it at the right scale without Sarah having to run it. But, due to having in excess of grazing with her leased lands, Sarah has begun building a cow/calf herd for beef to augment the milk sales and will be able to start harvesting animals in a couple of years.

While Chaseholm Farm is an LLC owned by Sarah’s parents, her mother and father are transitioning ownership to Sarah and her two brothers so everyone has equal ownership in the farm. Sarah is glad that all the siblings are in agreement to keep the farm in the family as a working farm. With this transfer structure in place and agreement within the third generation of the farm, there will be more opportunity for Sarah, Jordan, and Rory to grow the farm and hopefully prepare it for the fourth generation to come.

Num ber 2 03

h

Land & Livestock

13

Mixing Pecans with Livestock for Profit in New Mexico

BY ANN ADAMS

C

oley Burgess had been pondering for a while how to bring livestock grazing into the 15-acre pecan orchard he and his wife own near Loving, New Mexico. He talked to other pecan growers and they all said it couldn’t be done and he’d ruin the orchard if he tried. They purchased this conventionally-managed orchard in 2011. Coming from conventional farming backgrounds they continued with the conventional practices for a while. Then drought struck and given the significant amount of bare ground, they decided to plant a grass, clover, and alfalfa mix to get some growing plants between the trees to retain whatever moisture they got from the sky or put down in flood irrigation.

with. Coley is looking at possibly buying some stockers who haven’t been wormed that they can run through their grazing season of June-November.

In addition to potential for increased livestock sales, Coley has been able to reduce his fertilizer costs dramatically as he lets the natural biology of his forage stand do the work of feeding the soil through planned grazing that provide sufficient animal impact and grazing and plant recovery for root exudates to feed the micro-organisms in the soil that can now survive when there are no pesticides, herbicides, or wormers being used. With fertilizer prices at an all-time high, the savings to reduce or eliminate fertilizers adds to the profit margin as does the elimination of the pesticides, herbicides, and wormers.

With a healthy forage mix of Bermuda grass, clover, perennial rye, and other forages now covering the soil, the water infiltration and storage capacity of the soils in the pecan orchard has increased dramatically. Now when Coley puts four inches of irrigation water on the orchard, it will be absorbed in 12 hours and he can walk in the orchard after one to two days (compared to the seven days it took before they switched to regenerative practices). And with more plants and plant litter knocked to the ground by the tightly bunched herd, Coley can still feel moisture in the soil under the litter even after four weeks has passed from the last flood irrigation event.

With more moisture and soil cover, the micro-organisms are so active that cow pies break down in a couple of days making for an effective mineral cycle that continues to feed the soil That kind of resilience can bring a lot of peace of mind to an operation that relies on rain and irrigation water, both of which tend to be scarce during a drought while reducing dependence on expensive off-farm inputs.

The Regenerative Agriculture Journey

Coley runs the cattle in the orchard from JuneNovember and then feeds his cows hay in the winter from December to April. He hadn’t been feeding the hay in the orchard because he didn’t have a non-freezing water source to water them with. He started with grazing each “bench” of his orchard as a pasture (usually 1.5-3 The Burgess eclectic cattle herd enjoying the predominantly Bermudagrass forage. acres each).

But after talking to Ralph Tate, he began to bunch the cattle into as By the 2013/2014 growing season, they started with their first cow and stopped spraying for bugs and weeds. They got the milk cow because their daughter had extreme GERD and they wanted the access to raw milk to help her. Where there is one cow, others will follow and they currently run between 15-22 animal units in the orchard. In 2015 they stopped worming the livestock. In 2017–2018 they saw the dung beetles come back. 2018 was also the year that Coley took HMI’s One-on-One Distance Learning Grazing Planning Course with HMI Certified Educator Ralph Tate who helped him step through some grazing planning and implementation questions to improve stock density and increase recovery.

Now Coley and his wife, Tamsen, have started their pecan business, We’re Nuts LLC, and a grassfed beef business selling whole and half beefs mostly to friends Coley says it takes five minutes to move the electric fence that helps increase stock and family. They currently sell between three to five density and lay more plant litter to the ground to improve soil health. steers or open cows. Through increasing their stock small as ¼ of an acre. Currently with his 17-18 Animal Units (AU), that density to about 70,000 lbs/acre and providing 45–60 days of recovery, equates to 70,000 lbs/acre of stock density. Tightening the herd like that they have seen the forage produce more than they cattle can keep up 14

Land & Livestock

h May / June 2022

has meant more of the forage gets grazed evenly and there is more berms from being stepped on by the cattle. Likewise, the grass on the trampling to create the plant litter that is covering the soil. The forage and berms also stabilizes them. plant litter (creating 99% cover in the orchard) also mean that he doesn’t While Coley could use 10 more animal units to handle all the grass he have to disc or spray or do that kind has, he wants of standard orchard maintenance to make sure mechanically, allowing the biology any yearling to create another source of income stockers he besides the pecans. brings in doesn’t With the improved water cycle, he come with didn’t have to wait a week after every wormers of irrigation (as many as 13 irrigation any kind as he events during the growing season) doesn’t want to or heavy rain event, which means he set back the soil didn’t have to feed as much hay while biology. They waiting for the land to dry out. With don’t do any of his fencing the cattle into one bench, the vaccines, he can irrigate the other pastures and tetanus, or even then can move the cattle on to those vitamin shots.

Electric fencing increases not only stock density but recovery times for forage to allow for benches once they are dry. With the He has what he deeper roots that increase plant resilience and productivity. tight bunching of animals he’s been calls a “genetic able to keep down the weeds that used to sprout up and grow more quality mishmash” of Jersey, Angus, Brangus and Hereford. He now is introducing forage that can be grazed down by the cattle during the last graze before a South Poll bull as he wants to get to a smaller frame and more gentle disposition in his herd. Ideally he’d like his cows down to 1,000 pounds as he has some of them currently weighing in at 1,600 pounds. Even with those larger animals, Coley has not seen soil compaction issues from a water infiltration or forage growth standpoint because all the grass roots help stabilize the soil even when it is damp.

One of the big challenges for him with the heavier animal is that they will leave hoof prints in the wet soil where six pecans will fall and the harvesting machine won’t pick them up below the surface. That’s a lot of unharvested nuts that he would like to be selling.

Another challenge he is noticing is the mesquite encroachment as much of the land around the orchard has mesquite. Because he is getting such quick regrowth due to his biologically active soils, that means the forages are pretty tall by the time the cattle come back to area after the 45-60-day recovery, which means the mesquite seedlings are pretty tall and he spends 100 hours a season keeping the mesquite under control.

So Coley wants to introduce hair Post-graze on left and pre-graze on right. sheep (possibly Katahdin) to keep the pecan harvester is brought in at the end of the growing season. With the mesquite in these practices, Coley has cut his fertilizer needs by 80% and is thinking check and he will he might be able to not use it at all this year given the biology in his soil keep them with (and the high price of fertilizer). the cattle which He uses one wire internal fencing with Gallagher polywire and has means he’ll need beefed up the charge switching from solar chargers to a 120v to kick to tweak his up the volts to keep the calves in. He says it now takes him about five fencing and go minutes to set up fence using the one wire and the Gallagher one ring to second wire. posts. They were running water hoses to water the livestock, but he However, the Pecan tins are part of the value add efforts the recently buried a one-inch polyline so he can water them in the winter. additional profits Burgesses are making with their pecan harvest.

He has valves where he can connect his hoses and run them to a garden from increased dump cart that he has outfitted with a float. It’s easy to dump the water carrying capacity will make the additional labor worth it. when he has to move the cart to the next paddock. He runs the fencing The pecan trees go through cycles of production both in terms of CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 over the berms that separate the benches which mostly protects the Num ber 2 03

h IN PRACTICE 15

Mixing Pecans

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

quantity and quality, but with these new practices, the nut quality and streams from the same piece of land, the Burgesses have decreased their consistency have remained high while the size has increased. The risk and input costs while increasing gross revenue per acre, with more Burgesses sell mostly wholesale, but they are now dipping their toes into potential for increased profit in the future as they increase their direct direct marketing and were able to direct market 5% of their crop last year. marketing opportunities.

Given the price fluctuation for pecans this gives them the opportunity to hold on to some of the pecans and see what they can direct market in a given year or hold on to them to get better prices later. Luckily they have a great local sheller that takes care of shelling. Tamsen then is in charge of the value add of flavoring (and selling in tins), and turning the pecans into pies, breads, and candies for all occasions. They sell these products online and at the local market.

In these challenging times of high input prices and droughts, the Burgesses’ story offers hope through innovation and successful implementation of regenerative agricultural practices. By providing the right mix of appropriate disturbance and adequate recovery, this pecan orchard went from a monoculture that required high inputs to a polyculture that improved the water cycle and mineral cycle to continue to feed the soil biology. By increasing the stock density, more plant matter was grazed and plant litter was trampled to improve the water cycle further. By increasing forage production and income Portable water trough with float in foreground makes moving water easy during the growing season.

The Jones Corona Ranch

BY CHRISTY EVERETT

T

he Jones Corona Ranch is approximately six sections (3,840 acres), located in central New Mexico mesa/ canyon country, a small ranch for the area. It is a combination of several parcels originally homesteaded in the 1920s and ‘30s, and some state lease land. There was open grazing from the mid-1800s until the homesteaders arrived.

It was leased by our grandfather and father from the mid-1940s until 1964, when Dad purchased the ranch. He continued to run it until 2000, when he sold his cattle and leased the grazing to the neighboring ranch manager.

The ranch has always been run as a cow-calf operation, with numbers ranging as high as 100 pairs in what is considered to be an area with an average of 17-inch annual rainfall. In the 1980s, after the ranch was paid for, Dad put in two new wells, two pipelines, two new drinkers, fencing to divide the main pasture into four smaller pastures, and implemented a rest-rotation grazing system, with the help of the Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resource Conservation Service). Unfortunately, the grazing schedule was not continued by the lessee, so from 2000 to late 2014 the ranch was grazed continuously year-round, with up to 60 cow-calf pairs.

Mom and Dad both died in 2010 and the ranch passed to myself and my two sisters. Although I had always wanted to be a rancher and got my degree in range science, Dad had always said that the ranch was not big enough to make a living on. He had a day job until he retired in 1990, and I 16

Land & Livestock

h May / June 2022

Christy and Rod Everett expected to have to do the same, so I took a job as a range conservationist for the Bureau of Land Management, with the hope that I could begin to help my dad with the ranch as he grew older.

Then life intervened. I met my husband and moved to his home in Alaska in 1987, where we lived for 25 years and raised five sons. In 2011, I had the opportunity to take an early retirement. My husband retired six months later, and agreed to try spending part of the year living on the ranch. We’ve spent at least six months there every winter since.

We worked out an Operating Agreement with my sisters and their Hills, Sandy and Loamy ecological sites. families to spell out our roles and responsibilities with respect to the ranch, The smaller pastures are largely in canyons, so the most eroded and began rehabilitating the house and fixing fence. No one had lived in the areas are receiving the most rest. We have been truly fortunate to have house for over a dozen years, so it needed a lot of work. My sister donated enough rain at the right times, even though much of the time we have her mobile home, since she was building a new one, and we brought water technically been in drought status. Much of the erosion is beginning to heal and power to that, and lived in it while we made the old house livable. because of rest during the rainy season, even without specific structures or The internal fences and gates were also in poor shape, so those took other treatments. some work before we could begin a grazing system. There was a bad We began another EQIP contract this year to add more water, fencing, drought in 2013 and 2014, and all cattle were taken off the ranch from brush management and erosion control structures. We plan to split the September 2014 through November 2015. largest pasture in two and add three more drinkers, as well as another I was introduced to the Quivira Coalition around 2008, and first attended 100 acres of mechanical brush management and some erosion control their conference in 2010 on a visit to New Mexico, where I was energized structures. The monitoring is beginning to show improvements in species by the idea of regenerative ranching. diversity, litter, and amount of bare I had heard of Allan Savory in the ground, although there is still a lot early 1980s when I was in college, of room for improvement. We are and was intrigued with the idea of seeing a lot more forbs coming in, as high intensity, low frequency grazing, well as cool season grasses like vine but had not kept up with the Holistic mesquite and western wheatgrass.

Management movement.

The Conservation Stewardship In 2012 and 2013 the Southwest Program changed with the latest Grassfed Livestock Alliance (SWGLA) Farm Bill, so we are now required offered a Whole Ranch Planning Series to monitor utilization for the next five of four 2-day workshops, led by HMI years, but we are continuing with the instructor Kirk Gadzia. I was only able other monitoring. to attend two of the four workshops, We still have challenges, of course. but this brief introduction to Holistic The biggest challenge is that our Management opened my eyes to a new lessee moved 400 miles from the ranch way of planning and ranching, as well as a few years ago, so there is no on-site introducing me to Kirk and a neighbor/ management during the summer mentor, Nancy Ranney. months. His father lives nearby and will Together with my sisters and their check on things from time to time, and spouses/partners, we developed some the lessee has a camera on the largest goals and began to work on them. In storage tank to watch water levels, but 2015, Kirk spent a day on the ranch and it is worrisome, and precludes more helped refine our goals. We knew we intensive management ideas, such wouldn’t be able to run our own livestock as using temporary electric fencing to Example of Monitoring Point with 100 foot transect, and Christy’s because one of our goals was to spend move cattle more often. sister Connie. part of each year in Alaska or travelling, We are also in the middle of a so we found a grazing lessee who would let us direct cattle movements, as soon to be constructed wind farm, and are weighing the climatic and well as placement of feed and supplements. financial benefits with the impacts to the land from turbine and connection With the help of the NRCS EQIP program, in 2015 we began adding installation and maintenance. We are also struggling with a succession pastures and drinkers to better distribute the grazing across the ranch, and plan. There are currently no members of the next generation showing much selectively thinning the heavy juniper stands, which have been increasing interest in continuing our efforts, although several of them would like to due to lack of fire and historic overgrazing. We also built some net wire keep it for hunting and possibly retirement living in the future. diversions to reduce erosion in our most heavily eroded canyon, above a We recently took an HMI workshop titled “Leaving a Land Legacy”, and dirt tank. found some useful tools through it to further the discussion, such as the At the same time we joined the Conservation Stewardship Program, Holistic Approach to Transfer Planning Manual and the Holistic Wheel and began a monitoring program and managing the grazing to improve Worksheet. My sisters and I plan to meet with our significant others and at diversity and health of plants and wildlife as well as livestock production. least some of our children to discuss the succession planning process, and The monitoring included the Bullseye Land Monitoring System, line hopefully begin to develop plans. Some of our original goals we developed intercept transects and permanent photo points at key monitoring points for the ranch speak to our desire to pass on the peace and beauty of this (one per pasture). ranch to future generations, as well as to improve the watershed and I attended a weeklong Holistic Management class in January 2017, to wildlife habitat values on the ranch. Many of the infrastructure learn more, as well as continuing to attend the Quivira Conferences, which improvements have been aimed at making it more feasible to continue are now held jointly with HMI and American Grassfed Association. Kirk has producing livestock from the ranch as well. It’s time to check in with the next been out to help with advice a few times since then as well. generation about these goals, and potentially revise them. Whatever the The lessee is currently grazing 40 bred cows (up from a starting number future holds, it’s been a rewarding experience, and I’ve been extremely of 21), set to calve in March. We now have six pastures, ranging from lucky to live a life-long dream and hopefully leave the land better than I approximately 175 acres to 1,000 acres, and with a mixture of Limestone found it.

Num ber 2 03

h

Land & Livestock

17

PROGRAM ROUND UP Open Gate Holly, CO: One-Day Grazing Exercise, LongTerm Lessons

D

up an Online Interactive Holistic Cropping Planning course with twenty-six participants from Canada, Great Britain, Mexico and the US. We had a vocal group this session and lots of great conversations were had about good intercropping candidates for asparagus, prairie dog management, how cover-cropping can benefit grass-fed sheep ranchers, how to transition from no-till fertilizer and herbicide to no-till cover crops for healthy soils and more.

Preston and Elizabeth covered the key crop planning principles, ecosystem processes and soil facts, crop rotation and sequencing and they guided participants to create a first draft of their Holistic Cropping Plan.

espite the below zero temperatures, thirty-two people showed up for the Open Gate Field Day hosted by Corey Stephens (owner/operator at Willhite & Willhitte, Inc) on March 11, 2022. They came to In November 2021, the University of New Hampshire learn about the ecological benefits of high stock contracted HMI to develop a Holistic Management density grazing, holistic grazing planning and how Online Course for a cohort of LGBTQ+ farmers. This Holistic Management can increase production and Open Gate participates discussing six-week online course, taught by HMI Certified Educator profitability. ecosystem health on the land.

Ann Adams, covered key components of the Holistic The legendary ranch manager from Brett Gray Management® Framework including goal setting and on-farm/ranch Ranch, Louis Martin, led the morning conversation facilitated by owner/ decision-making, as well as key aspects of the Holistic Financial Planning operator of Graze the Prairie and HMI Certified Educator trainee, Linda process. The course began in February of 2022 and ran through the Pechin-Long. Attendees participated in an on-the-land safe-to-fail exercise where they observed and discussed the ecosystem health of a small grazing middle of March.

49 LGBTQ+ farmers registered for the course from all over the U.S. and paddock before moving 71 cattle into the paddock and leaving them there Canada, and there was a 50% participation in the course with participants for a couple hours.

Corey shared his expected outcome from the trial as well as results from attending webinars and/or completing assignments.

75% of the participants surveyed said that what they learned from this a previous trial he had run. These safe-to-fail trials allow ranch managers course helped reduce their mental stress or increased their quality of life. to experiment with very little risk, only using a small paddock of land. In This on-demand course included three live, interactive webinars with the afternoon, Storm Casper, a retired NRCS Soil Team member, gave a guest speakers and breakout sessions. compelling talk on the importance of healthy soils for increased rainwater Key learning that participants noted were: infiltration and high forage production. Linda finished off the day with a • Planning for profit presentation on forage assessments showing the group how quickly and • Gross Profit Analysis easily one can estimate the amount of forage available to meet animal • Holistic goal setting and decision testing demand in each paddock.

• Investing in logjams Thanks to everyone who came out to join us, to the presenters, our • That financial things can be accessible funders Martha Records and Rich Rainaldi and especially to Corey • New ways to approach decision making Stephens and his team at Willhite & Willhite, Inc. • Allowing for more emphasis on social and environmental factors • The importance of returning to and reflecting on a whole farm goal regularly If you would like to be notified of additional training opportunities with Certified Educators Preston Sullivan and Elizabeth Marks just wrapped this cohort, please contact HMI.

LGBTQ+ Farmer Online Course a Success

Interactive Online Holistic Cropping Planning Course:

Coolwoola Plains

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

be very isolating.”

Donna was the one that pushed James to come to the Brian’s course.

“It’s the best thing I’ve done,” says James. “I wish I would have done it early. It helped to be able to have both of us at the course as a couple.

You can go home and talk about what you’ve learned. That experience gave us the confidence to go to other trainings and learn other things.

We also got to know other people to help us to continue to learn. Now we are ready to push to the next level of expertise and to be mentors as well. We’ve been to courses on fungi, no stress stock handling, soil health, weeds, tree health, human health, land planning, Gabe Brown, Joel Salatin, Christine Jones, Walter Jehne, and Nicole Masters.

18 IN PRACTICE

h May / June 2022

“A lot of the benefits have been intangible, but we are always learning. When we went to the Land to Market Conference there was this feeling in the room and in the people we met of real authenticity.

Holistic Management is a lifetime journey for us because you have to take the knowledge and apply it to your situation. We hope to use our shearing shed like a training hub and share what we learn from our monitoring sites and trials as well as steer people in the right direction like to Brian’s courses. We will continue having field days to encourage curious and creative land management and share the information about what we are doing and what we’ve learned. That’s the way to grow the movement.”

Book Review by ANN ADAMS How to Think Like a Grazier: Inspiration, Mentors, and Getting It Done

By Greg Judy; 201 pages

F

or those of you who have followed Greg Judy’s experiments within the regenerative grazing space, his latest book, How to Think Like a Grazier, is a great opportunity to read what Greg has learned over the years on such topics as key grazing concepts, what he’s learned from his mentors, getting and keeping leases, and how to develop and manage infrastructure.

While there was so much of the book that gave lots of valuable information, one of my favorite portions of the book was his explanation of how to calculate potential income from a piece of land to develop a lease that works for everyone. We get that question all the time at HMI as people are eager to put into practice the concept of not having to own land to make a living from farming. Greg notes that as he walks the land he is calculating the potential income from various income streams like grazing, timbered pigs, hunting, and firewood. That all needs to be considered before a lease is signed.

Greg then writes about how he estimates the forage availability given that they move paddocks quickly and only graze the top 1/3 of the plant and usually get five grazings per year. With a grazing stick telling him he will get 200 lbs of forage per inch, he knows he gets 600 lbs of forage off of a 10-inch sward. If he has 30 acres that’s 18,000 lbs/pass or 90,000 lbs forage total. Using the 3% dry matter intake on a 1,000 lb animal, he determines he will get 3,000 animal days for a year. Since he custom

Reader’s Forum

Regeneration is the Status Quo

BY WENDY MILLET AND KEVIN ALEXANDER WATT

H

uman beings have a strong tendency to make decisions or adopt ideas that maintain how we think things are.

This “status quo bias” emerges from a range of well-studied quirks in our brains, such as our disproportionate fear of loss and our strong preference for the familiar. While useful at times, these evolutionary survival tactics— remnants from our earliest days as humans —can be a severe limitation as we work with natural systems that are more complex and farreaching than our ancestors ever dealt with.

Marketers and negotiators know that if you frame your position, even dishonestly, as the

grazes at $1.25/day per head he can use that figure to determine $3,750 in grazing income per year.

Greg shares similar calculations for other enterprises and then moves on to expenses like perimeter fencing or water if that is not already in place. Clarifying need and cost for this kind of infrastructure is important because this is also a point of discussion for the lease.

Also, how you got about creating that infrastructure, particularly the fence line, to consider aesthetics is very important to the land owner and can save you work and money as the lessee.

With his estimates on labor and supplies for fencing and water (in this case, $10,370 for a 10-year lease for 120 acres), he now knows that the expense is $8.64/acre/year—well worth the cost given that land values are $4,000/acre or the land value of the farm is $480,000.

Greg gives this type of detail on so many topics—details you might not even think about if you haven’t leased land or dealt with land owners. As Greg notes, 70% of their farms are leased by absentee owners that only visit once or twice a year. He has learned how to engage these land owners in a variety of ways to make sure that leases are renewed. One of the ways he figured out how to do this was to offer them an opportunity to own their own cattle. He sells his bred heifers to the owners and runs those animals with his own herd as one mob for a win/win for everyone—Greg, the land owner, the animals, and the land.

You can purchase a copy of How to Think Like a Grazier for $30 (including shipping) at: https://greenpasturesfarm.net/books/

default or status quo choice, you are more likely to convince people of your position. In today’s world, conversations about food systems are seriously tainted by this bias.

The industrial food system—still in its infancy relative to the timescale in which humans have been eating and cultivating food—is viewed by most as the default way humans ought to raise food, and this framing is widely accepted. As a result, advocates for a regenerative food system are faced with the bizarre task of convincing people of the merits of an alternative — an agricultural system that is ecologically and socially diverse, resilient to inevitable shocks, equitable across race and gender, with the potential to mitigate the devastating impacts of man-made climate change on the only planet we know of that supports life.

The idea that ecological regeneration is a new and untested approach is not rooted in fact. Regenerative systems are the reason life has existed and thrived for 3.8 billion years.

Regenerative systems are diverse, resilient, productive, and support vibrant synergies that are greater than the sum of the parts. In contrast, simple, reductionist systems, like the industrial food system, are brittle, vulnerable, exploitative, and unsustainable. Their numerous inevitable failures are backed by historical as well as scientific evidence that shows how cultivation practices have contributed to the rise and fall of civilizations across the globe for thousands of years.

In our work to grow a regenerative food system that is diverse, inclusive, and resilient, it’s helpful to remember that regeneration is the 3.8 billion-year-old status quo. If people or organizations aim to fabricate systems that exclude or eliminate elements of how the planet has successfully sustained itself and grown abundant and diverse life, it is critical that we continue to use science and fact to guide our collective efforts to sustain and cultivate life.

This work has never been more important—or more urgent.

Num ber 2 03

h IN PRACTICE 19

From the Board Chair

BY WALTER LYNN

I

n this month’s column, I would like to consider the holistic concerns raised by two authors and tie those concerns to our HMI purpose.

Tom Philpott is a food-farming journalist and wrote the 2020 book Perilous Bounty; Art Cullen, a Pulitzer Prize newspaper editor, is with The Storm Lake Times in the Northwest Iowa town, Storm Lake. He authored the book Storm Lake.

Philpott expresses concern about agriculture in California and in Iowa.

He discusses the dependence of California agriculture and its dependence on water for the fruits, vegetables, and nut trees. California grows more than 50% of fruits and vegetables consumed by the U.S. population; 25% of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts are grown on 1% of U.S. farmland in the Central Valley.

Philpott uses data from the Daily Erosion Project (DEP) Index monitored by Rick Cruse, an agronomy professor at Iowa State University.

Rick is a farm kid who grew up in northeast Iowa. His father coached him about “gully washers” from the rainfall deluges. Rick notes a quote from his father he never has forgotten —”Soils are connected to everything.

Without soils we have nothing.’’ This quote stands for the purpose of Rick’s work in Iowa. With over a decade of DEP data, Iowa’s average soil loss is 5.4 tons per acre annually (sheet-and-rill erosion); when we add the ephemeral gully erosion of 3 tons per acre annually, the loss is 8.4 tons.

This results in a 17 times rate greater than nature replenishment.

Art Cullen notes in his book, borings showed 17 feet of muck atop the

Development Corner

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

“I’m really pleased with the way HMI has moved forward over the years. We are a more effective organization. We have our boots on the ground and are helping producers. We are looking at the diversity of our network and we can see we need to reach out to other groups.”

Jim was also instrumental in helping HMI shift to a policy governance approach on HMI’s board. Jim felt that this work was necessary to help establish roles and responsibilities of board members rather than getting into management areas of focus which can happen on a volunteer board. “Without a policy governance approach, it’s easy to slip into programming,” says Jim. “We have too broad a geographic focus as an international organization and we need to focus on the big picture and leave the details up to the management team and wait to be invited in. That paradigm shift has happened on the board which has helped us be more effective.

We’ve been focusing on who are HMI “owners” and who are we responsible to. We believe it is anyone who is on the land and are Some of the Shelton family moving the herd. resource managers. They are also

20 IN PRACTICE

h May / June 2022

blue clay floor of Storm Lake. This lake has had three dredgings. In the last dredging, which ceased in September 2017, seven million cubic yards of mud had been removed to two distant spoil sites and the project was not complete—rather damning evidence of the erosion happening in that neck of the woods. Art challenges the ethanol industry and its focus on a corn monoculture that causes the aforementioned erosion. A Princeton University study indicates that biomass could be produced on 40% of row crop acreage for hydrogen production and economists posit there would be five times more revenue per acre than growing corn for ethanol.

The traditional management decisions relating to agriculture in California and Iowa promote the consumption (mining) of the very resources used in the production’s bounty—living soil.

With the concerns noted, it seems the communities we are involved with need to be engaged to consider other management decisions that could actually stop erosion and create living soil. Humanity needs clean water and nutrient dense food for its survival. HMI has its RAMP groups and other educational programming to interface with the people on farms and ranches.

A recent survey from Minnesota notes 69% of landlords shared they learn from farmer peers. Our Certified Educators are trained to help coach Holistic Management to farmers and ranchers with all kinds of different operations. We have a tremendous opportunity to support great producers inspiring others to make significant progress in their local communities and networks. We have a story to share. Our story is more than encouraging our community, but uplifting others to transformation in their own community.

the people that care about HMI and engage with us. That group is growing as the movement is growing as well.

“Of course, the Certified Educators are very important as well and our engagement with those stakeholders are important. They are the frontline people to represent The Sheltons’ Red Angus herd our organization and we need on pasture. to keep engaging them more.

We train them up and need to support them, and build that relationship.

The opportunities are there because regenerative agriculture is being talked about more and more.”

Jim has enjoyed the relationship and friendships he has developed in his work on HMI’s board and engaging with the HMI community. He has great concerns about the transition of agricultural land to the next generation and keeping working lands working. With the concentration of land into the hands of fewer and fewer people, rural communities are negatively impacted, reducing the number of people necessary to create thriving rural communities. But with Holistic Management, there are tools to help farm and ranch families determine how to change production practices to create more land health and profitability to keep those families on the land for generations to come.

Certified

Wayne Knight

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Educators

Seth Wilner

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.

Holistic Management International Van Alstyne 940/626-9820 waynek@holisticmanagement.org

Newport 603/863-9200 (w) seth.wilner@unh.edu

Tracy Litle

NEW MEXICO

Ann Adams

Orange Grove 361/537-3417 (c) tjlitle@hotmail.com

Holistic Management International Albuquerque 505/842-5252 ext 5 anna@holisticmanagement.org

Peggy Maddox

Hermleigh 325/226-3042 (c) peggy@kidsontheland.org

Kirk Gadzia

Bernalillo 505/263-8677 (c) kirk@rmsgadzia.com

U N I T E D S TAT E S ARIZONA

Tim McGaffic

MICHIGAN

Larry Dyer

Cave Creek 808/936-5749 tim@timmcgaffic.com CALIFORNIA

Petoskey 231/881-2784 (c) ldyer3913@gmail.com

Chico 530/636-2525 laltier@csuchico.edu

601/384-5310 (h) preston.sullivan@hughes.net

*College of Agriculture, CSU Lee Altier

Owen Hablutzel

Los Angeles 310/567-6862 go2owen@gmail.com

Richard King

Petaluma 707/217-2308 (c) rking1675@gmail.com

*Half Moon Bay

Doniga Markegard

650/670-7984 Doniga@markegardfamily.com

Kelly Mulville *Paicines

707/431-8060 kmulville@gmail.com

*Meadville

MISSISSIPPI

Preston Sullivan

MONTANA

Roland Kroos (retired)

Bozeman 406/581-3038 (c) • kroosing@msn.com

Cliff Montagne *Montana State University Bozeman 406/599-7755 (c) montagne@montana.edu

NEBRASKA

Paul Swanson *Hastings

402/463-8507 • 402/705-1241 (c) pswanson3@unl.edu

Ralph Tate

Papillion 402/250-8981 (c) • tateralph74@gmail.com

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

Cindy Dvergsten

Dolores 970/739-2445 info@wholenewconcepts.com

Tim McGaffic

Dolores 808/936-5749 tim@timmcgaffic.com IDAHO

Angela Boudro

Moyie Springs 541/ 890-4014 angelaboudro@gmail.com MARYLAND

Christine C. Jost

Silver Springs 773/706-2705 christinejost42@gmail.com

VERMONT

John Thurgood

Jeff Goebel

Belen 541/610-7084 • goebel@aboutlistening.com

*Chestertown

NEW YORK

518/491-1979 • craigrleggett@gmail.com

Elizabeth Marks

Chatham 518/567-9476 (c) • elizabeth_marks@hotmail.com

Phillip Metzger

Norwich 607/316-4182 • pmetzger17@gmail.com NORTH DAKOTA

Joshua Dukart

701/870-1184 • joshua_dukart@yahoo.com SOUTH DAKOTA

Randal Holmquist *Mitchell

605/730-0550 • randy@heartlandtanks.com

Deborah Clark

*Madison

WISCONSIN

Larry Johnson

Craig Leggett

*Hazen

Stowe (1/2 year in Oneonta NY) 802/760-7799 thurgood246@gmail.com

TEXAS

Henrietta 940/328-5542 deborah@birdwellandclarkranch.com

608/665-3835 larrystillpointfarm@gmail.com

Laura Paine *Columbus

608/338-9039 (c) lkpaine@gmail.com For more information about or application forms for the HMI’s Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Ann Adams or visit our website: www.holisticmanagement.org.

*

These associate educators provide educational services to their communities and peer groups.

I N T E R N AT I O N A L Judi Earl

AUSTRALIA

Coolatai, NSW 61-409-151-969 judi_earl@bigpond.com

Graeme Hand

Mount Coolum, QLD 61-4-1853-2130 graemehand9@gmail.com

*Warwick, QLD

Helen Lewis

61-4-1878-5285 hello@decisiondesignhub.com.au

Ralph Corcoran

Philipp Mayer

Langbank, SK 306/434-9772 rlcorcoran@sasktel.net

Pirkanmaa 358-409306406 mayer_philipp@gmx.at

Blain Hjertaas

Redvers, SK 306/452-7723 bhjer@sasktel.net

NAMIBIA

*Windhoek

Usiel Seuakouje Kandjii

264-812840426 kandjiiu@gmail.com

Brian Luce

Ponoka, AB 403/783-6518 lucends@cciwireless.ca

Wiebke Volkmann

Mt. Pleasant, SA 61-4-2906-9001 dick@dickrichardson.com.au

Noel McNaughton

Windhoek 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@afol.com.na

Jason Virtue *Cooran QLD

Tony McQuail

John King *Christchurch

Dick Richardson

61-4-27 199 766 jason@spiderweb.com.au

Brian Wehlburg

Port Macquarie NSW 61-0408-704-431 brian@insideoutsidemgt.com.au CANADA

Don Campbell

Meadow Lake, SK 306/236-6088 • doncampbell@sasktel.net

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

NEW ZEALAND

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

Num ber 2 03

h IN PRACTICE 21

THE THE MARKETPLACE

Restorat Agricult

Q: What is Strip Grazing?

MARK SHEPARD

Restoraation Agricultu plains how we can h of the benefits of na perennial ecosystem create agricultural s that imitate natture and fu unction while providing fo or our fo o building, fu uel and m other needs — in y own backyyard, farm ranch.

A:

Book & DVD Combo

To confine livestock for grazing in an area of land for a specific period of time. The pasture size is varied to allow access to a specific area.

•Ensures maxium use of available pasture •Provides even and controlled grazing •Reduces waste due to trampling and spoilage •Quick & easy fence installation •Promotes pasture growth yielding more grazing days per acre •Increased production improves profits!

#S-7170 $45.00

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

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 22 IN PRACTICE

h May / June 2022

Phil Metzger

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?

Order online www.acresusa or call toll-free 1-800-355-5

(800) 527-0990 sales@twinmountainfence.com

www.twinmountainfence.com

Resource Management Services, LLC

SAVE $15!

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT® CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

Over 35 years of hands-on experience Over 30 years farms, of hands-on with individuals, small experience businesses with individuals, farms,and small businesses, and groups of all types sizes, including and groups of all types and sizes. facilitating workshops, training, and one-on-one teaching.

• Goal setting Improved decision making •• Goal setting Financial planning •• Improved decision making Grazing planning •• Financial planning Land assessment assessment •• Land Biological monitoring monitoring •• Biological Group&Facilitation •• Land Infrastructure Planning Let me help you maximize profits, regenerate your land and improve your quality of life.

Freeinitial initial phone phone consultation. consultation.

Free Contact Phil Phil at at 607-334-2407 607-316-4182 or Contact or pmetzger17@gmail.com. pmetzger17@gmail.com.

Kid

A un to te th

Kids

Pe

• Of

E

THE MARKETPLACE

l Services, Inc.

ra KINSEY Agricultu

LITY A U Q D E E F E S A INCRE

For consulting or educational services contact:

Kinsey Agricultural Services, Inc. Charleston, Missouri 63834

Ph: 573/683-3880, Fax: 573/683-6227 www.kinseyag.com • info@kinseyag.com

Rangeland can provide an abundanceisof The correct soil chemistry plant varieties for livestock nutrition. But required before any soil pastures has what about the more “developed” and meadows? Soil all types thehaypossibility for tests the from correct of livestock producers show 95+% of all such soil structure, and particularly soils do not have the correct nutrient levels to the needed amounts of water provide the best nutrition for livestock.

You change an area, split it andcanair.

Thethat! idealChoose shelter, feed, and soil test both sides separately. Test your water and air are not solely hay or forage from both sides too. Treat one provided side as normal.byOnsoil the biology. other side, correct the fertility on soil testssupplied using the for Thesebased need to be Kinsey/Albrecht fertility program. the greatest benefits to and Test feed quality from both sides again next fromTakethesoilsoil beginning year. testsbiology, again and treat accordingly.

Depending on nutrients requirements with the plant root and all it may take two or three years to achieve the that supports it in the soil. top potential. Test each year and, as fertility Soil are organisms mayandlive needs met, feed value yieldthere, tend to increase for all three years. but they only thrive under Increased yields will more than pay for the those conditions that are best investment with increased feed quality as a for them. bonus.

Prove it for yourself!

Num ber 2 03

h IN PRACTICE 23

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 The Shelton Ranch Jim Shelton and his wife, Sara, live in Vinita, Oklahoma where they operate (with the part-time assistance of their family members) a cow/calf and stocker cattle ranch with a small direct market business called Sara’s Grassfed Beef. Jim spent 35 years in the banking industry before retiring in 2010 Jim Shelton and has served on HMI’s board for over a decade, including serving as HMI’s Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.

Jim became interested in Holistic Management in the late 1980s after reading about how Holistic Management was being used in the Southwest. He saw an article about Holistic Management in the Livestock Weekly from San Angelo, Texas. He went to his first Holistic Management event at a Kansas ranch and met Allan Savory at that field day. As he developed a relationship with Allan, he was asked to join HMI’s Advisory Council and then came on the board in 2007.

“The Holistic Management concepts resonated with me,” says Jim. “I had already been thinking that there had to be a better way to do things then what we’ve done conventionally. We were struggling with so many issues like how we manage the land, grass, animals and financial aspects. These are ongoing challenges and HMI has helped people with them.”

Jim said the Holistic Management training he has had has helped him as a land manager to be more sensitive about what was happening

on the land and to look at how their management is contributing to improving land health. They use both permanent and temporary fencing to move from their original set stocking they had been doing on their 1,600 owned acres as well as the 2,500 acres they lease. They have been able to develop at least 30 paddocks between the owned and leased land, running 600-800 stockers on the leased land and having 125–150 cow/calf pairs , replacement heifers and some stocker cattle on their owned land. They are constantly focused on getting adequate recovery to protect their asset base and improve their land “I’ve been running cattle since I was kid,” says Jim. “My father ranched and a portion of our current owned property has been in our family since Oklahoma’s statehood in 1907. Now that we are moving the cattle better we’ve been able to stockpile grass in summertime so we don’t have to feed but a small amount of hay.” That’s helped the Sheltons’ bottom line.

The Sheltons’ cow/calf herd is moving toward a Red Angus herd with Kit Pharo influence through his bulls as they work toward a smaller frame size. The Sheltons sell 10–12 head of grassfed beef per year as a combination of retail cuts and wholes/halves. They retain their steer calves through their stocker operation and grow them into feeder steers. They participate in one video auction during the summer with Superior Livestock Auctions which feature feeder cattle. Their heifers are retained to 12–14 months when they are put with the bull for 60 days. They then preg check them at 16–17 months and give the open heifers a second chance to conceive. If they remain open they go into the grassfed program, otherwise they are part of a female sale in the fall.

Jim firmly believes that as HMI moves forward with our educational offerings, we are able to help practitioners provide a positive impact on landscapes and the people and families that are on the land. Jim serves on the board because he believes in HMI’s mission and the work we are doing. “I like how our network is always thinking outside of the box and innovating, and being aware of all the relationships with livestock, land, and, more recently and importantly, the social impact,” says Jim. “The human side of this work is so powerful. There’s lots of group dynamics and we can see how people are struggling with changing their paradigms. But, HMI provides a tool that can help us grow and accept change.

Printed On Recycled Paper

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20