#134 In Practice, Nov/Dec 2010

healthy land. sustainable future.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2010

NUMBER 134

In Search of Perennial Grasses in a Mediterranean Climate—

WWW.HOLISTICMANAGEMENT.ORG

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

MONITORING

The Paicines Ranch

by Tracy Favre & Frank Aragona

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n April 2010 we visited the Paicines Ranch in San Benito County California to assist Sallie Calhoun in developing monitoring protocols to measure variables of critical interest to ranch management. In particular, we measured oak tree saplings and seedlings and cataloged them using GIS and simple field measurement techniques because these trees are relatively scarce on the landscape.

Various pressures are affecting the ability of oak trees to achieve intermediate size, but the viability and germination of acorns is an unresolved issue. We developed a monitoring protocol to better understand what is happening with acorn germination and oak seedling establishment.

We also designed a field methodology on the Paicines Ranch to monitor the relatively rare native perennial grasses to help us determine which factors are likely factors for native perennial establishment. The four factors we identified were aspect, oak trees, soil phosphorus, and soil texture.

We then presented three management scenarios as part of the Holistic Management monitoring feedback loop to promote debate and discussion about management possibilities on the Paicines Ranch. We share them in this article in the likely order of feasibility and relative ease of adoption. They include Holistic Management of purple needlegrass, water harvesting/keyline design, and silvopastoral development.

Monitoring for Oak Regeneration In California, the regeneration and establishment of oak trees is an important issue.

Literature on the subject suggests that it is common to find seedlings and mature trees, but there is a lack of saplings and intermediate size

trees (McCreary 2009). Research has focused on pressures that may be preventing seedlings from developing into saplings, and has emphasized the detrimental effects of weeds, wildlife herbivory and the grazing, trampling, and rubbing of domestic livestock; this research suggests the use of tree protectors and herbicides to ensure adequate oak regeneration (Adams et al 1997, McCreary and Tecklin 2005).

Very few instances of oak saplings and seedlings exist on the Paicines Ranch, so HMI worked with Sallie and Paicines Ranch Manager, Chris Ketcham to monitor the condition and growth of these small trees, and to identify the rare instances of regenerating oak trees. Three oak zones were delineated for those areas where oaks are known to be regenerating. Within these zones, we counted total numbers of seedlings and saplings. Additionally, we identified five saplings within each zone with flash tape, and we recorded and mapped the GPS coordinates of these five saplings as well as noting height in inches from the uphill side. It seems that oak trees, once germinated and established, experience slow and stunted growth. Subsequent years of monitoring will help to clarify the actual growth rates of these trees.

We also thought it would be beneficial to provide some protection to select oak trees to ascertain the impact of cattle, feral hogs, and other wildlife on the overall growth of oak saplings in these zones. We could then perform a comparative analysis of annual heights on protected and non-protected trees which would provide useful information on the effectiveness of these approaches.

Scarcity of intermediate trees is only one facet of oak regeneration. To date there has not been a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Sallie Calhoun, owner of Paicines Ranch, tags oak samplings so they can be identified for future monitoring as part of the monitoring protocol HMI developed for her ranch.

To learn more, read the article on this page.

FEATURE STORIES Back to Basics DON CAMPBELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Low-Input Grassfed Livestock Production and Planned Grazing for a Triple Bottom Line MATTHEW K. BARNES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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A Rewilding Experiment MARY GIRSCH-BOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Developing Solution-Focused Research FRANK ARAGONA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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LAND and LIVESTOCK Modular Food Systems with an International Scope DOUG WARNOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Using Grazing Tools Effectively BEN BARTLETT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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The Briar Experiment MARK BROWNLEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Beef and Birds on Public Lands— Mob Grazing Event on Jeffery Island MAE ROSE PETREHN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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NEWS and NETWORK From the Board Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Texas Regional Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Development Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

healthy land. sustainable future.

Holistic Management International works to reverse the degradation of private and communal land used for agriculture and conservation, restore its health and productivity, and help create sustainable and viable livelihoods for the people who depend on it.

STAFF Peter Holter . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chief Executive Officer Tracy Favre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Senior Director Kelly King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chief Financial Officer Ann Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor, IN PRACTICE and

Senior Director of Education Frank Aragona . . . . . . . . . . Director, Data/Documentation Amy Normand . . . . . . . . . . . Regional Director, Texas Tom Levine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Development Advisor Donna Torrez . . . . . . . . . . . Manager: Administration & Executive Support Peggy Cole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Regional Project Manager, Texas Brady Gibbons . . . . . . . . . . Field Advisor Mary Girsch-Bock . . . . . Communications Associate Valerie Grubbs . . . . . . . . . Accounting Associate Carrie Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . Education Associate

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ben Bartlett, Chair Ron Chapman, Past Chair Roby Wallace, Vice-Chair John Hackley, Secretary Christopher Peck, Treasurer Sallie Calhoun Lee Dueringer Judi Earl Gail Hammack Dennis Wobeser

Clint Josey Jim McMullan Jim Parker Ian Mitchell Innes

The David West Station for Holistic Management Tel: 325/392-2292 • Cel: 325/226-3042 westgift@hughes.net Joe & Peggy Maddox, Ranch Managers

Paicines Ranch single observation by the ranch management of a germinating oak acorn or a newly germinated oak seedling. Published research theorizes that the invasion of non-native annual grasses has reduced soil moisture availability in April, a critical time of the year for acorn germination and seedling establishment (McCreary 2001).

It seems that there has been little research done on predation or parasitizing of oak acorns by animals, insects, fungi, and other pathogens, so we developed a qualitative and observational monitoring methodology to shed some light on this issue.

Adapting Monitoring Protocols Native perennial grasses are also relatively rare on the Paicines Ranch, so we had to adapt the standard Holistic Management monitoring protocol given the scarcity of those grasses in most areas of the ranch.

First we established zones for native perennials using GPS and mapping software. We also used maps to determine areas where native perennials had been previously observed, then field checked the maps by onsite observation and marking the perimeter with GPS. Each zone was defined as an area where continuous patches of native perennials could be observed. As zones became patchier and sparser, the zone boundary was defined.

We then established monitoring transects at each site according to the general size of each site.

Smaller sites only had one monitoring transect, medium sites had two, and the largest site had three. Although acreage was measured for each perennial zone, we determined the number of transects per site by how many transects would fit within the zone reasonably well.

We established each transect by placing a TPost at the beginning of each transect. The location of each T-Post was recorded using GPS. A 1 meter by 1 meter quadrat was then placed at the

continued from page one head of each T-Post. At each transect, the quadrat was flipped once before recording any data. The quadrat was then flipped along a general transect line. In areas on hills, contour lines were followed to the greatest degree possible. The beginning point for each transect was determined to be the area where the most flips could be accomplished within the established perennial grass zones.

With each flip, the presence of a perennial grass was recorded. Perennial grasses were not counted, just tallied as a simple yes or no if a grass fell within the meter quadrat. This establishes a frequency percentage per total number of flips. Grasses were recorded if 50% or more of a single specimen fell within the quadrat.

If less than 50%, the grass was not recorded. On each transect, GPS points were recorded at regular intervals along the transect. These points were then used to map the transect.

A soil sample was taken at approximately the midpoint for each transect. Soil samples were taken several feet to the side of the transect.

Aggregate soil samples were used in cases where multiple transects were located in a single zone.

Why So Few Perennials?

No single variable accounts for the limited but notable presence of perennials on the Paicines Ranch. Management may play a role in the current distribution and frequency of perennial grasses, but it is more likely that biotic and abiotic factors are largely responsible for the distribution of these grasses on the landscape.

As we put together a series of different data points, a picture emerged suggesting that a number of different factors converge to create suitable conditions for the growth of native perennial grasses. Variability between transects can also be explained by such key factors as: • Aspect, or the cardinal direction which a hillside faces • Oak trees

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by: Holistic Management International 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: hmi@holisticmanagement.org.; website: www.holisticmanagement.org COPYRIGHT © 2010

HMI was originally founded in 1984 by Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield. They have since left to pursue other ventures.

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Frank Aragona flipping the quadrat along a 100 meter transect.

• Soil phosphorus • Soil texture Aspect Clearly, aspect is a key factor in the establishment of perennial grasses. All identified perennial grass zones were found on northerly hillsides. Some zones, like Zones 2 and 3, face true North, while others face north-east (Zone 5), and others still face north-west (Zones 1 and 4). No perennial grass zones were identified on south or south-west facing slopes. Possibly increased solar radiation and reduced soil moisture preclude the possibility that these grasses will establish on these harsh sites.

Based on the aspect map generated for this project, many unvisited sites show good potential as perennial grass zones, as northerly facing slopes are abundant on the Paicines Ranch. It is also highly possible that perennial grasses are present in less accessible parts of the ranch, but have not yet been identified.

Oak Trees Oak trees are an important constraint to greater perennial coverage on the Paicines Ranch because perennial grasses seem to compete with oak trees for similar habitat on northerly slopes.

Previous research indicates that purple needlegrass (Nasella pulchra) is very scarce in areas where tree cover exceeds 50% (Steinberg 2002).

Moreover, when we analyzed aerial imagery from the ranch we noticed that perennial grasses occur in areas where natural breaks occur in existing stands of oak trees. Zone 5 is an area where the highest frequency of purple needlegrass was observed, an open clearing on a north-east facing slope.

Soluble Phosphorus In regards to the collected soil samples, the only visible comparative difference in the data averages between perennial and non-perennial sites is in the Mehlich III Phosphorus (P2O5), a measure of soluble phosphorus in the soil.

Interestingly, the phosphorous values are quite a bit higher for the perennial sites than the nonperennial sites.

Are perennial grasses better suited to high phosphorus sites? Or does this represent a significant shift in soil biology, as is suggested by the limited presence of oaks in perennial grass sites? In experimental trials with maize, fungi in the genus Aspergillus have been shown to dramatically increase the solubility of soil phosphorus (Richa et. al. 2007). Perhaps similar phosphorus solubilizing soil fungi are associated with purple needlegrass and other native perennials so that the perennials are actually affecting soil phosphorus levels. Purple needlegrass is symbiotic with arbuscular

Grass frequency by species and Grass Zone

mycorrhizal fungi, which most likely greatly enhance the growth and vigor of individual plants and potentially assist in solubilizing soil phosphorus (Steinberg 2002).

Soil Texture When we looked at a map of the geographic distribution of native perennial grasses, we noticed there was a higher frequency of purple needlegrass on the western portion of the ranch, and a higher frequency of Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda) on the eastern portion.

By adding soil type to a frequency distribution map, we noticed that sites with the soil series Soper Gravelly Loam have a higher frequency of Sandberg bluegrass and Torrey’s melicgrass (Melica). Both of these species are mostly absent from the sites with higher purple needlegrass frequency. Those sites with high purple needlegrass frequency occur on the Diablo Clay soil type. It is more likely that soil texture is what causes these variations in species composition. These soil series have a reported clay content of 40 to 60 percent for Diablo Clay and a clay content of 18 to 27 percent for Soper Gravelly Loam. Perennial zone 5 had the highest frequency of purple needlegrass at 54%.

This same zone also had the highest soluble phosphorus value at 350 lbs/acre.

Next Steps Through GIS and on the ground analysis, we developed a few suggestions for preliminary management scenarios that may enhance the overall management of the ranch and move the ranch forward toward its holisticgoal through further integrating the whole under management, improving the ecosystem processes of the ranch, and increasing the productivity and profitability of the resource base. We believe that Scenario 1 is the most viable, but Paicines Ranch personnel will have to test these decisions toward their holisticgoal.

Scenario 1: Holistic Management of purple needlegrass

Purple needlegrass is the native perennial species most likely to respond well to more robust management through grazing planning, land planning, monitoring, and experimentation because of the following reasons: • The aspect and soil type characteristics favored by this species are found in abundance on the ranch • The longevity of this species (up to 200 years) makes it an excellent candidate for longterm production • The forage quality and quantity is expected to be much greater than other species, like the delicate Sandberg bluegrass • The species’ drought tolerance and deep root system are characteristics well-suited to the Paicines Ranch.

• The relative abundance of this native perennial makes regeneration and expansion of total area more feasible than isolated species like melicgrass We know that purple needlegrass reproduces and expands vegetatively when tussocks are fragmented, which can potentially be induced by grazing and animal impact. In established stands, research has shown that wet season grazing can enhance reproduction via plant fragmentation, leading to an increased density of purple needlegrass plants relative to ungrazed plots.

Removing mulch/old plant matter from tussocks also has been shown to increase seed production and improve seedling establishment (Huntsinger et. al. 2006).

The timing of grazing is also important.

Defoliation during periods of rapid growth or flowering may decrease seed production and should be avoided. Seed germination is reduced and slower in the presence of annual competitors.

Annual grass roots cause rapid water depletion in surface soil, which interacts with shading to cause high seedling mortality in spring. Therefore, early spring grazing can suppress the faster germinating exotic annual grasses, thereby CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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Paicines Ranch continued from page three reducing the competitive suppression of native perennials whose seedlings germinate later and grow more slowly early in the season (Huntsinger et. al. 2006, Steinberg 2002).

Studies have shown that annual grasses have larger seeds than purple needlegrass and are better adapted to establishing in litter layers, but fire (and animal impact) can improve establishment as a result of increased soil temperature, light intensity, nutrient release, and decreased standing litter.

The next step is to develop a land plan that targets sites suitable for the expansion of purple needlegrass on the Paicines Ranch. Likewise, in developing next year’s grazing plan, we can use this information to reduce the competitive advantages of annual grasses and promote the regeneration of purple needlegrass either vegetatively, through natural seed production, or through a direct seeding program.

Timed grazing at ultra-high stock densities around established purple needlegrass zones may create the type of exposed environment often associated with fire. Allowing established purple needlegrass plants to produce seed within adjacent perennial zones by deferring grazing the previous spring could provide the seed required for natural germination and establishment.

Alternatively, seed could be broadcast on sites that have been determined suitable based on soil texture, absence of oaks, and aspect. Ultra-high stock density grazing could be used as a tool to prepare the area for seeding in the early spring, and then again to reduce the competition from nonnative annuals in mid to late Spring.

Obviously seed costs can be a significant factor when considering this option. At a cost of approximately $40/lb and an application rate of 15 lbs/acre, the seed cost alone is an estimated $600/acre. Additional labor costs may double or even triple this figure.

A potentially more cost effective option might be to use animal impact around the edges of established perennial zones to induce the fragmentation of grass tussocks and promote vegetative reproduction.

Scenario 2: Keyline Design and Water Harvesting Keyline is a system developed by Australian farmer P.A. Yeomans. Since his discoveries and pioneering work, many permaculturalists and Holistic Management practitioners have taken Yeoman’s ideas and implemented them on their own farms and ranches. This strategy has proven to be effective in brittle environments, where seasonal rainfall is the norm and long arid periods are the single biggest constraint to greater productivity.

Additional water at targeted areas on the Paicines Ranch has the potential to greatly expand the coverage of perennial grasses, thus providing green forage during the driest parts of the year. Using elevation data from the ranch, a key point has been identified close to the areas associated with the perennial-riparian species, creeping rye grass (Laymus tritichoides).

Using the principles of keyline design, a simple system of dams and canals could be built to allow for seasonal irrigation of lands directly below these ridges. Such an attempt will most likely favor the continued expansion of creeping rye grass from the adjacent riparian zone, stabilizing soil as well as increasing productivity.

Similar design principles could be used as a strategy for increasing the coverage and productivity of the purple needlegrass. It is highly possible that this species will respond well to the increases in soil moisture, and will allow a more rapid expansion of the total surface area in which it can be found.

However, the application of keyline design and water harvesting on the Paicines Ranch does require significant design engineering and construction (cost) for implementation.

Perennial grasses seem to compete with oak trees for similar habitat.

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Scenario 3: Silvopastoral Development The Paicines Ranch is an annual grassland-oak savannah primarily managed for grasses and grazing. This management framework is effective but limiting.

A broader approach to the whole under management has the potential to greatly increase the productivity and profitability of the operation.

A silvipastoral development at the Paicines Ranch would take full advantage of available forest

resources. To effectively manage oaks on the ranch would require the measurement and monitoring of this resource. Such work might include: • Delineation via aerial imagery of high density oak sites • Establishment of a sampling protocol within these sites • Measurement of trees/acre and standing basal area within oak sites • Estimates of total acorn production per acre to quantify potential animal feed stocks • Analysis of production capacity for alternative products like free range hogs, ostriches, oak timber, and shitake mushrooms The implementation of such a system will undoubtedly increase the labor requirements on the ranch. For such a program to prove feasible, the additional production must compensate for increased labor costs and generate additional profit. In this scenario, market and logistical constraints may present more of an obstacle than ecological limitations.

By focusing on the key concerns of the ranch management at Paicines Ranch, we designed monitoring protocols to focus on oak regeneration and native perennial grasses. By developing three management scenarios that would begin to address the issues that arise from the natural resource situation at Paicines, we have begun the process of research, discussion, and testing necessary before land planning can begin.

To learn more about HMI’s Biological Monitoring Services, contact Tracy at tfavre@holisticmanagement.org or call 505/842-5252.

Resources of Interest *Adams, T.E. Sands, P.B. Weitkamp, W.H. Stanley, M.E. 1997. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSWGTR-160. [Online] Available: http:// www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/ psw_gtr160/psw_gtr160_04b_adams.pdf *McCreary, D.D. 2009. Regenerating Rangeland Oaks in California. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Oakland, California.

McCreary, D.D. Tecklin, J. 2005 USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-35.

Richa, G. Khosla, B. Reddy, M.S.Improvement of Maize Plant Growth by Phosphate Solubilizing Fungi in Rock Phosphate Amended Soils. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 3(4): 481-484 Steinberg, Peter D. 2002. Nassella pulchra. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http:// www.fs.fed.us/database/feis

Low-Input Grassfed Livestock Production and Planned Grazing for a Triple Bottom Line

by Matthew K. Barnes

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he ecological resilience, economic viability, and social sustainability of rangeland livestock operations may be maximized through grassfed livestock production, which relies on biological diversity and ecological complexity with minimal external inputs inputs. Grassfed production keeps land in permanent vegetation, rather than annual crops harvested, trucked, and fed to livestock in confinement. Potential benefits of shifting land use from cropland and feedlots to perennial pasture include reduced pesticide use, greatly reduced soil erosion, increased soil fertility while eliminating commercial fertilizer application, increased carbon sequestration (mitigating climate change), and increased plant and wildlife diversity.

Grassfed beef is more energy- and cost-efficient in terms of meat and protein production than grain-finished beef (Cook et.al.). The fossil fuel consumption of grassfed meat production is much less than that of grain-finished meat, production, and Americans could still exceed their recommended daily allowance of meat and dairy protein without grain-finished meats (Pimentel 1997). And, demand for alternative livestock products, such as grassfed, local, organic, and humanely raised, has risen in recent years.

The Society for Range Management (SRM) and the American Grassfed Association (AGA) held a session on “Sustainable Rangelands Through Low-Input Grassfed Production” at Working Landscapes: Providing for the Future, the 63rd SRM annual meeting, on February 11, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. The producer-oriented session involved five presentations by ranchers producing grassfed meat or genetics primarily on native rangelands of the western U.S., one presentation by dairy-farming veterinarians, one scientific study, an overview of grazing management, and presentations by the AGA and the Southwest Grassfed Livestock Alliance. AGA sponsorship enabled ranchers, many of whom were not SRM members, to attend the session; those who spoke became members of SRM through Colorado Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative scholarships. Videos of the presentations are available on the Society for Range Management website. This article summarizes some of the presentations.

Ranching in Sync with Nature Dale Lasater Ranching in sync with nature on the prairie—stewardship of the land, forage, livestock, and wildlife—is “akin to heaven,” according to Dale Lasater.

The Lasater Ranch has focused on two of the central concepts of planned grazing, animal impact and long recovery periods, since learning about Holistic Management from Allan Savory in the early 1980s. The range has greatly improved; now only the cell centers are degraded, and there is some western wheatgrass coming into them.

The highest grass diversity tends to be closest to the cell centers. There are 11-15 paddocks at each cell center and they move cattle by opening gates.

Recovery periods are about 80 days during slow growth, which is most of the year.

Remnants of tall and mid-grasses, such as switchgrass, prairie sandreed, sand bluestem, and green needlegrass are returning to the shortgrass prairie. By grazing a cheatgrass-infested pasture early in the spring, they allowed perennial grass to return. The ranch has thriving wildlife populations: pronghorn, mule and now whitetailed deer, wild turkeys, and many raptors; and at least 80 species of birds in one riparian area. They do not allow hunting of coyotes, and their cattle are capable of defending themselves against them. They have even reintroduced black-tailed prairie dogs.

Livestock should be tested in the environment they are going to produce in, allowing culling by natural selection (Lasater 2000). Tom Lasater

developed the Beefmaster breed, a three-way cross between Hereford, Shorthorn, and Brahman cattle, during the Great Depression; the herd has been closed since 1937. The Lasaters stopped using insecticides in the 1960s, and their cattle now have few flies or lice, at least partly due to planned grazing. Many years ago Tom Lasater changed the calving season from February-March to August, which was a great improvement, but in order to be more in sync with the annual forage cycle, the ranch is now shifting the calving season back to June.

Lasater Grasslands Beef is now sold on the internet and in Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers stores in Colorado.

Multiple-Species Grassfed Production Richard Parry The benefits of multiple-species grazing include improved diversity and utilization distribution, and thus increased production and profit per acre, and reduced risk, said Richard Parry, a fourth-generation sheep rancher now also raising cattle, goats, chickens, and pigs. Parry learned holistic planned grazing from Allan Savory and Stan Parsons in the 1980s.

It is possible to increase total forage utilization significantly with sheep and cattle compared to cattle alone, due to a greater diversity of plant species being grazed; thus, a higher stocking rate can be sustained under multiple-species grazing.

Sheep select forbs, including many weeds, and will forage near cow dung. For instance, in Montana, sheep grazing for several years significantly reduced leafy spurge abundance. Goats prefer browse, and so have even less dietary overlap with cattle than do sheep. Chickens eat mostly insects, but do graze some grass and forbs.

Multiple-species grazing mitigates risk by diversifying income and bringing multiple paychecks per year. Producers considering CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

George Whitten applies low-stress livestock handling in the San Luis Valley of Colorado.

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Low-Input Grassfed Livestock Production different species of livestock should determine their centerpiece enterprise based on their competitive advantage, and the species with the highest gross margin. The net income should be at least half of the gross. Stacked or ancillary enterprises should feed off of surplus inputs and labor from the centerpiece. Richard believes too many operations use cattle as the centerpiece.

Multiple-species grazing can be done with leader-follower, flerd, or complementary grazing.

In leader-follower grazing, the animals with the highest nutrient requirements graze a paddock ahead of animals with lower requirements, in a single grazing period. For instance, with sheep and cattle, stocker cattle should lead, followed by sheep, then cow-calf pairs, with dry cows last.

A flerd means a flock of sheep bonded to a herd of cattle, usually in pen confinement for 14-30 days. The flerd will then stay together, but the cattle will not necessarily protect the sheep or goats from predators, so guardian animals are still recommended.

In complementary grazing, the flock and herd are kept separate and graze in an alternating movement pattern from one grazing period to the next. One species conditions the paddock for the next, like in leader-follower grazing, but with a recovery period in between.

Many ruminant parasites have about a threeweek life cycle, so parasite loads can be greatly reduced by any form of planned grazing that involves short graze periods followed by a month or longer non-grazing interval. Multiple-species grazing with sheep or goats plus cattle can further reduce parasite loads, especially in complementary grazing, because sheep and goats are dead-end hosts for cattle parasites, and vice-versa. However, Richard believes sheep and goats do share many parasites, and should be kept separate from each other, especially in organic operations. Animals identified as carriers should be culled.

Benefits of Low-Input Ranching Kit Pharo “Agriculture that is not profitable and enjoyable will never be sustainable,” Kit Pharo is fond of saying. Profitable ranches make the most efficient use of their forage resources. While the average producer breaks even over the course of the cattle price cycle, the low-input producer can make a profit most years, if not every year.

Over the last four decades, input costs have risen five times faster than cattle prices. The beef industry is at a tipping point: what has worked so well for the past 40 years probably will not work 6

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for the next 40 years. While most industries accept and implement change within about two years, the livestock industry seems to take about two decades to accept and implement proven concepts.

The problem is that the generation currently working the land is often living in their parents’ paradigm. The producers who dare to quit the herd-mentality way of thinking are the ones who are leading the change, rather than being led by it. Following the crowd is seldom the best way to manage a business because it forfeits any possible competitive advantage.

To increase their profit potential, ranchers should produce a differentiated product rather than an undifferentiated commodity (e.g., grassfed beef vs. feeder calves). This is not easy: it requires planning, managing, and marketing.

Producers need to believe in their product in order to market it.

Pharo identified three keys to increasing efficiency and profit in the livestock business, which can be summed up as ranching in sync with nature.

The first key is planned rotational grazing, although only a small minority of ranches is actually applying it. Planned rotational grazing can improve range and pasture health, and thus increase livestock production (Teague et.al. 2008).

Pharo said that he has increased cattle production by 50% since 1994 with planned grazing. It can also help reduce or eliminate supplemental feeding. Pharo now only feeds hay when the snow is too deep and crusted for cattle to dig through.

The second key is matching the livestock production cycle to the forage cycle. In most of North America, this means calving in May and June, as elk and deer do. Pharo said that this can reduce feed and labor costs by 70%. Most producers could eliminate all winter feeding except in emergencies. Calving in May and June, the vast majority of calves will be born without calving problems and in the first 30 days of the calving season. Individual weaning weights will be lower than with winter/spring calving. However, with reduced death losses, a producer can usually wean more total pounds, which are worth more per pound because of the price slide.

The third key is matching livestock size and type to the forage resources. “I want a cow that can support the ranch, instead of being supported by the ranch,” Pharo said. “Require cattle to live within their means.” Livestock need to fit their environment, ecologically and economically,

November / December 2010

Dennis Moroney irrigating pasture with gated pipe.

Photo by Matt Barnes.

rather than having their environment artificially changed to fit them. By culling every animal that does not fit, inputs will be minimized. For instance, Pharo’s inputs have been essentially reduced to vaccinating calves at weaning, and a 50/50 mixture of salt and mineral; he does not vaccinate cows, or use insecticides or wormers.

Fertility is more important than growth, and biological type is more important than breed.

Pharo’s optimum cow is a 2 to 4 frame cow that weighs 1,000 to 1,200 pounds (450 to 540 kg).

Smaller cows wean a higher proportion of their body weight, while eating less.

Ranchers, especially grassfed livestock producers, are in the business of converting free solar energy into a high-quality food product.

Properly done, the livestock will do nearly all the work. Keeping it simple (low-input) is the way to keep it profitable—and enjoyable.

Organic Grass-Finished Beef on a Forage Chain from Conception to Consumer George Whitten, Jr. and Julie Sullivan George Whitten was raised in the pastoral sheep camps of the San Luis Valley, where the flocks and herds were controlled by drought, snow, and the flu. Whitten has spent his lifetime figuring out how to live in the ecosystem, and meeting Allan Savory helped him discover how to do this (Bingham 1996). “Allan taught me a whole new way to look at the world,” Whitten says. “The answer is literally beneath our feet.”

Shortly after Julie Sullivan came to the ranch, she told Whitten that she could not ranch if it meant sending animals to feedlots, and he agreed.

They now produce organic grassfed beef, finished on a forage chain and direct-marketed to consumers. “Unfortunately, the term ‘organic’ has

been marketed into meaninglessness,” Sullivan said, “but we try to be true to real meaning of the word. One of the dictionary definitions of ‘organic’ is the fundamental constitution of a thing, and grassfed is the inherent, inborn, constitutional reality of a cow.”

Pastoralism was, and is, a way of life with promise for the future. While grassfed livestock production is relatively low-input, pastoralists have always invested in a high-maintenance relationship with their land and livestock.

Some inputs are high: time, love, and deep thinking directed by values. According to Sullivan, “our ranch is a high maintenance ranch because it demands our time and love, and like our marriage, it reflects the quality and quantity of time spent together. Agriculture lost part of its soul when we started calling it ‘management’ rather than stewardship, husbandry or partnership.

Think about the word ‘manage’; You might try to manage your partners, but you’ll rarely be successful,” Sullivan said as she and Whitten exchanged knowing smiles.

They see their ranch as a partnership between the land and the animals, from soil microbes to cattle to dung beetles to people, including not only the agrarian ranchers but also their interns, customers, and colleagues in organizations such as Holistic Management International and the Quivira Coalition. All these partners are equals, and each brings a new opportunity.

Whitten and Sullivan will not do anything for a cow that she can do for herself. They feed hay in the winter, but they do not bale it. They cut and swath it, and then rake it into piles about the size of a small square bale, so that it does not blow away in the fierce spring winds. The piles are rationed out over the winter by strip grazing with electric fence, so that the nutrients are recycled back into the ground right there, rather than transported and concentrated (Howell 2003).

The Baca National Wildlife Refuge, an old Spanish Land Grant, needed to continue agriculture while managing for ground-nesting birds and controlling invasive weeds without chemicals. The Baca also has a large herd of elk without predators to move them off of riparian areas. Local customers see Whitten and Sullivan’s cattle grazing on the refuge before they buy their beef at the farmers’ market, and some of those customers have gone out on the San Juan Ranch BLM allotment to pull black henbane by hand. To Whitten and Sullivan, this exemplifies their belief that ranching is a partnership of many players engaged in mutual and reciprocal support.

They sell about 100 finished animals per year.

The market is much bigger, so they are working on a cooperative with other ranchers who can meet their criteria. An animal can finish in 18-24

months and grade high select to low choice. They do an ultrasound test to determine tenderness, and only those animals that pass will be marketed as grass-finished.

The Low-Carbon Foodprint of Local Grassfed Livestock Production in a Semiarid Environment Dennis Moroney Dennis and Deb Moroney and their family are becoming native to place, a double challenge of restoration and production. The arid and semiarid Southwestern landscape has been degraded, like much of the American West, with the most severe damage done a century ago by well meaning people who did not understand their environment (McClaran et.al. 1995). Still, the cowboy/vaquero culture is the closest thing to combining EuroAmerican and indigenous fabrics of living, and with an understanding of the land it is the most native to the region.

Commodity livestock income could not make the payment on the ranch, even in a year of ideal climatic conditions. Desperation is the mother of creativity, and the traditional cow-calf paradigm was clearly not sustainable for the 47 Ranch, so Moroney started looking for pre-fossil fuel era models to reduce its carbon footprint. Carbon sequestration means increasing the organic matter in the soil, our most important capital.

This requires planned grazing, and finishing animals on range or pasture to minimize use of harvested and transported feeds.

The ranch is about half mountains, and half desert grassland. The ranch uses planned rotational grazing with 24 paddocks. The overall pattern is reverse transhumance, because the coolseason grass in the mountains grows in the winter, while the warm-season grass in the lower country

grows in the summer monsoon. In the spring, cattle eat the mesquite beans on the desert grassland.

“Genetics is our link to a more sustainable past,” said Moroney. He values calm disposition, and the ability to adapt to changing conditions, biodiversity, and poisonous plants, and finish on native rangeland.

“I haven’t seen 10 calves born in the last 20 years,” Moroney said. Some of them die, which is natural culling as well as nutrient cycling.

Predators are partners: they control the rabbits and rodents. To prevent losses to predators, the sheep and goats are penned every night during lambing and kidding.

The Moroneys saw endangered species as a form of wealth, even though—and partly because—their presence reduced the ranch’s market value. There is now a conservation easement on 1,000 acres that had several listed species. The ranch sold the development rights to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and used the money to pay off the mortgage. The ranch retains the agricultural rights, and its only debt is an operating loan. Southeastern Arizona is under increasing development pressure, and part of the ranch’s goal is for all but a small portion to be under easement.

Renewable energy is part of reducing the carbon foodprint. The 47 Ranch already has 20,000 watts of solar panels to run the headquarters and pump water. They are net metering with their local power company, and investigating opportunities for wind power generation.

Sky Island Brand grassfed beef, lamb, and goat meat are direct marketed to consumers in southern Arizona. Currently this includes farmers’ markets, and the ranch is starting a buyers’ club.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Resources of Interest Bingham, S. 1996. The last ranch: a Colorado community and the coming desert. New York, NY, USA: Pantheon Books.

363 p.

Cook, C.W., J.W. Walker, M.H. Ebberts, L.R. Rittenhouse, E.T. Bartlett, D.A. Cramer, P.T. Fagerlin, and M.C. McKean.

1981. Alternative grass and grain feeding systems for beef production. Colorado State University Experiment Station Fort Collins Bulletin 579S. 101 p.

Howell, J. 2003. The Whitten Ranch—creating more with less. In Practice 90:8-12. Available at: http://www.holisticmanagement.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=8&Itemid=31.

Lasater, L.M. 2000. The Lasater philosophy of cattle raising. San Angelo, TX, USA: Santa Cruz Press. 116 p.

McClaran, M.P., and T.R. VanDevender. 1995. The desert grassland. Tucson, AZ, USA: University of Arizona Press. 346 p.

Nabhan, G., D. Blair, and D. Moroney. 2010. Ranching to produce tacos sin carbon: the low-carbon foodprint of grassfed beef and sheep production in the semi-arid West. Quivira Coalition Journal 35:28-34.

Pimentel, D. 1997. Livestock production: energy inputs and the environment. In: S.L. Scott and X. Zhao [eds.]. Canadian Society of Animal Science Proceedings 47:17-26.

Teague, R., F. Provenza, B. Norton, T. Steffens, M. Barnes, M. Kothmann, and R. Roath. 2008. Benefits of multi-paddock grazing management on rangelands: limitations of experimental grazing research and knowledge gaps. In: H. G. Schröder [ed.]. Grasslands: ecology, management and restoration. Hauppauge, NY, USA: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. P. 41-80.

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Low-Input Grassfed Livestock Production continued from page seven The quintessential meal of the Arizona-Sonora borderlands, tacos al carbón, made of grassfed beef, sheep, or goat, with wild-harvested chiltepines on a Sonora wheat tortilla, can be called tacos sin carbon for its low carbon footprint. Moroney and his colleagues in the Sabores Sin Fronteras (Flavors Without Borders) Foodways Alliance are pursuing grant funding for a taco truck which would not only sell this and other low-footprint local foods, but would also use digital screens to educate consumers about ranching and managing land to sequester carbon (Nabhan et.al. 2010).

Grassfed for Resilience There is now strong evidence that ruminants are healthier when grazing range or pasture rather than being fed harvested grains in confinement, and that these health benefits are then passed on to the consumers of grassfed meat and dairy products. A forage diet and freedom from confinement are therefore the essence of the definition of “grassfed” and central to both American Grassfed and Animal Welfare Approved certifications.

Grassfed livestock products appear to be an expanding segment of the overall U.S. livestock industry. All six producers in the session implied that their grassfed enterprises were profitable, but most indicated that these enterprises require more skill and investment in business planning, marketing, and overall management. A producer has to believe in their product in order to sell it, especially in direct marketing enterprises, where customers are effectively the producer’s partners. But, the local grassfed meat industry currently has a bottleneck at the processing stage.

All of the speakers emphasized land stewardship and said that their grassfed operations were low-input compared to feedlot operations.

Moreover, all of the producers said that they used some form of rotational grazing, and most referred specifically to holistic planned grazing, or said that they had learned grazing management from Allan Savory or others in the Holistic Management network.

Editor’s Note: This article is comprised of excerpts from a paper to be published in an upcoming issue of Rangelands. Planned rotational grazing is defined as moving a herd through a series of paddocks based on plant growth, use, and recovery rates. While this may appear similar to holistic planned grazing, the key distinction is that holistic planned grazing takes in many other factors (social needs, land restoration goals, wildlife needs, etc.) to develop a grazing plan that is adaptive to change and increases the resiliency of the landscape. The session was organized by Dan Nosal, Harvey Sprock, Matt Barnes, and Carrie Balkcom. Videos of these presentations are available on the SRM webpage at www.rangelands.org/education_symposium_ workshop.shtml.

Contact information for presenters and the author is: Dale Lasater of Lasater Grasslands Beef (www.lgbeef.com); Richard Parry of Fox Fire Farms (www.foxfirefarms.com); Kit Pharo of Pharo Cattle Company (www.pharocattle.com); George Whitten, Jr. and Julie Sullivan of the San Juan Ranch; can be reached at: moovcows@gojade.org; Dennis Moroney of 47 Ranch can be reached at: cowhippy@mac.com; Carrie Balkcom of the American Grassfed Association (www.americangrassfed.org) can be reached at: carrie@americangrassfed.org; Matt Barnes of Shining Horizons Land Management (www.shininghorizons.com) can be reached at: mattk.barnes@gmail.com. Photos by Matt Barnes.

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November / December 2010

A Rewilding Experiment

by Mary Girsch-Bock

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n a recent issue of Discover magazine, writer Andrew Curry spent some time in Amsterdam, just outside the town of Almere, at a nature reserve called Oostvaardersplassen. Not your typical nature reserve, Oostvaardersplassen is a carefully planned experiment in ecosystems called rewilding, designed to showcase the impact that wild animals have on their environment.

Based on a theory by Dutch ecologist Frans Vera, rewilding is built on the premise that if you return large herbivores to the land, they will be able to re-create prehistoric ecosystems.

Bucking the process of “succession,” which generally accepts the premise that if you have a specific area and do nothing with that area, forests will take over, Vera’s theory, proposes that canopy forests are not the natural dynamic of unspoiled land, but the result of the demise of creatures such as the woolly mammoth, and other large herbivores that once roamed the land freely.

Oostvaardersplassen is not a conventional nature preserve, but a former inland sea, walled off by a dike, and subsequently drained, allowing the soil to settle. Initially designated as a bird refuge, Oostvaardersplassen came to the attention of Vera in the early 1980s, when it was found that over 60,000 geese populated the reserve, up from the few thousand that had initially landed there in 1978 for their annual molting season.

Vera, then a biologist at the forest service saw this occurrence as an excellent way to test his theory of letting animals graze freely. He fought to both expand the reserve and re-route a proposed train track that would have split the reserve in two.

Ultimately winning both battles, Vera tested his theory by introducing 32 Heck cattle to Oostvaardersplassen. A year later he added 20 konik ponies. Finally, in 1992, 44 red tailed deer were introduced to the refuge. It’s now estimated that there are over 3,000 animals living in the wild at the Oostvaardersplassen reserve.

Though Oostvaardersplassen is the largest experiment in rewilding, it is not the only one. Russian biologist Sergev Zimov is running a similar experiment at a Siberian research station.

Pleistocene Park, as Zimov calls it, has been monitoring moose, horses, and reindeer, hoping to change the tundra back to the grasslands that originally existed throughout Eurasia. Rewilding experiments have also been proposed in the United States as well, with elephants standing in for the extinct mammoths and mastodons.

Not everyone is on board with Vera’s theories or testing methods.

In 2000, his doctoral thesis, Grazing Ecology and Forest History drew mixed reviews in the forest ecology arena, with those lining up to support Vera, with others accusing him of cherry-picking data to fit his theory. Animal and environmental activists are not Vera fans either, as his theory foregoes human intervention, even with species at risk.

Though humans, by nature, want to intervene in the fight to save near-extinct species, in Vera’s eyes, under the right circumstances, nature can take care of itself simply by recreating prehistoric ecosystems through rewilding.

Developing Solution-Focused Research

by Frank Aragona

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he use of grazing as a tool to heal the land has been a controversial topic for decades. Indeed, the tools of grazing and animal impact have often been the principle points of contention between the Holistic Management community and the scientific community. In actual fact, this debate stems more from philosophical differences than from irrefutable empirical facts. In order to move forward in our efforts to heal the land, we must understand the nature of these philosophical differences and recognize their shortcomings.

There are several key principles associated with Holistic Planned Grazing including: • Total and partial rest degrades brittle environments • Grazing animals can restore brittle environments via animal impact • Animals managed at high densities can improve animal impact • Paddocks should be exposed to short grazing periods to reduce overgrazing • Individual perennial grasses should be allowed adequate recovery before grazing again.

In many cases, researchers and practitioners alike have been so focused on determining the truth to these statements, we sometimes forget that Holistic Management is a decision-making framework; it is a management framework that helps people move toward their articulated holisticgoal.

When evaluating scientific research, it is critical to remember this point. Much research attention has been given to what is commonly known as Short-Duration Grazing, or SDG. SDG is often equated with Holistic Planned Grazing, though there are some key differences. In general, SDG is usually characterized by higher stocking rates, high stock densities, short grazing periods, and an adequate recovery period for grazed paddocks.

The research results between grazing systems are variable. For example, in research conducted

by Dormaar et. al. (1989), range condition of a fescue grassland decreased from 50% cover to 39% cover under SDG, but increased within a grazing exclosure from 51.6% to 56.2%. Yet in a study conducted by West et al. (1984) in west-central Utah, total standing crop did not increase following 13 years of livestock exclusion. Taylor et al. (1993) compared High Intensity Low Frequency (HILF) to SDG and found no differences of annual net primary productivity between grazing systems. However, Norton (2003) “cites nine examples from the published literature… in which stocking rates 50% greater (or more) than the recommended district rates were sustained…”

Often these increases in stocking rate can be attributed to grazing management.

Examples such as these abound. For every grazing study that seems to conclusively prove the efficacy or failure of a grazing system, there is counter-study that contradicts it. On HMI’s Data and Documentation Blog, I’ve been addressing this issue in a number of ways. Much of the research I have reviewed has some important shortcomings.

Scale, for example, is an important constraint.

Researchers are often limited to herd sizes ranging from a few head of cattle to about 50, yet ranchers are often dealing with herd sizes in the thousands.

Experimental paddocks also tend to be small, as researchers have limited access to land, and therefore rotations are limited, making commercial operations difficult to simulate.

Replication is another critical limitation.

Laboratory sciences like physics and chemistry rely on total control over environmental variables to limit the gap between theory and observation. In ecological research, changing climates, evolving soils, random disturbance, market fluctuations, and social anomalies, make total control a practical impossibility. Therefore, it is pure fantasy to believe that we can accurately replicate a study in a complex ecological environment.

However, although the shortcomings mentioned above are significant, I do not believe that they fully expose the nature of the grazing debate. The nature of this controversy, as I have said, is philosophical, and cannot be resolved through an analysis of methodologies or landscape scales. After reviewing numerous grazing studies, there is a common but subtle thread that one begins to discover.

Researchers assume a level of objectivity, a sense of separateness, in the development and execution of their research designs. There is an unwritten and unspoken assumption underlying their approach. If they were to articulate this assumption, it might sound something like this: “We are trying to discover which grazing system works best in our environment. We design the

grazing system in a way that is ‘archetypal,’ try to control for variability, collect our data, and generally try not to get in the way. We set the experiment, and then passively observe the results.”

Most managers will not be impressed with this approach, but it stems from a long-standing tradition in Western science where humans are viewed as apart from Nature, separate and discrete entities. The discoveries of early 20th century physics, where the observer influences and creates the observed reality, have not yet caught up with range science.

In Holistic Management, the manager is viewed as part of the whole, and therefore seeks to manage and modify the landscape as articulated in that whole’s holisticgoal. This is the key philosophical difference between research and Holistic Management. Researchers are passively observing the results of contrived experiments, while Holistic Management practitioners are actively seeking to effect change on the landscape.

What would happen if research was conducted in a similar fashion? Let us imagine how research questions might change. Now, a research experiment might ask: “How do grazing systems affect water infiltration?” Objective oriented research would ask: “What management tools, or combination thereof, optimize water infiltration in our environment?”

Though the difference seems subtle, it is critical. In the first question, the researcher’s only challenge is to design and compare two or more theoretical abstractions, in this case “grazing systems.” In the second question, researchers are challenged to design and compare systems that are optimized to improve water infiltration; they must find a solution to a difficult problem, and demonstrate their results. Most likely, when confronted with such challenges, researchers will have no choice but to reach out to innovative land managers, who most often have the practical insights needed to solve such difficult problems.

To be fair, there are many published papers that apply this approach. Unfortunately, these papers are often overshadowed by “objective” and passive research. Now, the challenge falls to researchers and practitioners to develop a management-oriented approach, one which recognizes the observer-created nature of human reality and seeks to solve the urgent problems we now face.

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& Modular Food Systems with an International Scope

Huesby says the opportunities are mind boggling and that money is available from people looking for sound investments. Currently, one in four consumers wants locally grown, organic, grass fed meat products from animals that are humanely treated. They’re looking for better quality, for accountability and transparency in the way the animals are raised and

by Doug Warnock processed. The demand is growing.

The Huesbys have operated Thundering Hooves, which is a vertically hundering Hooves, a Walla Walla Valley based holistically managed integrated family farm that produces pasture finished meat, since 1994. The operation, has recently started a sister business, this time with a family includes Joel and his wife, Cynthia, Joel’s parents, Gordon and Lois national and international scope. “Modular Food Systems, LLC will Huesby, and Joel’s sister Clarice and her husband, Keith Swanson. They direct be selling mobile slaughter units and modular processing facilities market beef and lamb that receive no hormones or antibiotics and are totally as well as helping folks set them up and get started,” Joel Huesby, cofinished on organic pastures. Their pork and poultry are sustainably raised. owner and manager said. Huesby reports that since the development and All stock is humanely treated. remodeling of his abattoir, he has had inquiries from around the world.

Not all of the animals marketed by Thundering Hooves are raised on the Many inquiries have come from across the U.S., but others came from Huesby ranch. Keith Swanson, Sales Manager, reports that animals places as far away as Brazil and Australia. purchased by Thundering Hooves to finish on the ranch must meet their He said that some beef producers in Hawaii are looking at making a protocol. This includes being 100% grass fed, from a traceable origin, no change. They currently see cattle from their state being shipped to the added hormones, no antibiotics, no confinement and beef animals must be mainland for finishing and processing, moving 5,000 miles before the of British breeds that finish well on grass. products come back to Hawaii for consumption. People in Brazil that have The development of their own abattoir to process animals seemed to be a 36,000 goats need the infrastructure to get the animals processed so the meat natural progression of the Thundering Hooves operation. Joel designed and can be delivered to people in the cities. built a mobile slaughter unit (MSU) and began processing livestock three In response to the interest, Modular Food Systems was formed and will years ago. Since then, Thundering Hooves has processed 4,000 cattle, sheep, sell mobile modular units and other systems support on operating them.

“More and more local folks want to overcome increasing food insecurities and hogs on their place using it only one day per week until this past month when volumes became too much for one day. The unit has seen many and also want to have more ownership in the system. We can bring the slaughter to the animal. This is a way to empower producers and to invest in revisions and modifications since the first days of its operation.

“We’re working toward eventually marketing other products like tanned our local communities,” he said. hides, pharmaceuticals, pet foods and other things that are byproducts of “We’re making modular units available so that others can bring back livestock processing. We want to sell that moo, oink and baa as well!” Huesby money to the land. It’s a systems approach, perhaps a national brand with said. localized stories provided by the individuals involved,” Huesby says.

The Thundering Hooves pastures were certified organic in the year 2000 “We’ll provide them the system and they will provide their own product, and they have been finishing livestock on grass since then. The family marketed in their own way.” purchased and began operating its own meat shop in east Walla Walla in 2004. This small artisan butcher shop is where their meat is fabricated and packaged prior to sale or shipment. Meat products are sold through neighborhood buying clubs, on-line via the internet, to restaurants and some grocery stores. Much of their sales are in Seattle and Portland though there is strong local growth as well.

Thundering Hooves continues to change and add activities Joel Huesby as opportunities are recognized. “I’ve always been a contrarian standing by one and I guess I will always be,” Joel says. of his modular processing units Doug Warnock is a Holistic Management® Certified which pass USDA Educator from College Place, Washington. He can be inspection. reached at: dwarnock@charter.net.

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Land & Livestock

November / December 2010

Using Grazing Tools Effectively

by Ben Bartlett

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razing can seem so simple. Just put up some fence, have a creek or water tank, turn out some livestock, and you are in the grazing business. But grazing is not really that simple. If grazing is “balancing the needs of plants and animals to achieve the desires of people,” you need some “tools” to accomplish this balancing act. The three most important tools are: 1) having a holisticgoal or decision compass to help you create the future resource base you desire, 2) having a clear, written, measurable goal or outcome for your grazing operation to create structure for your annual grazing planning, and 3) a written grazing plan that helps you map the moves based on a host of management considerations to help you achieve your short- and longterm goals.

In addition to those tools or management techniques, there are four tools that can help you accomplish your grazing goals. These four tools are: • Water systems • Fencing • Plant and animal knowledge • Grazing strategies The one important thing to remember about “tools” is that they are neither good nor bad; they are just aids to help you accomplish you goal.

Water Systems We know that water in an important nutrient and it is also a very important grazing modification tool. Research and observation have confirmed that most domestic grazing animals will go to water as a group/herd/flock if the water is over about 900 feet (275 m) away from where the animals are grazing. When closer to a water source, animals will tend to come as individuals. When animals go as a group, it means we need a water system with more capacity. That means we will probably see more manure and urine spread outside the grazing area (in the lane and around water source), and we will see less uniform grazing if the animals are in a multi-day grazing paddock. Due to the law of least effort, the animals will graze so as to minimize the amount of walking they have to do to get to water.

What this really means is that if you move the water, you move where the animals will graze. Grazing stock can trail long distances to water, stock can use loose snow for water, and even high output animals like lactating dairy cows can get by on water only at the barn. However, knowing the power of water to move where animals graze, knowing that depending on distance from water, stock will have different watering patterns, and appreciating that new technology has provided us with so many low cost and effective ways to move water, we can use water as a powerful way to influence our grazing animals.

Fence and Fencing Systems Barbed wire has had the greatest impact on how we graze animals in the U.S., and I think has been one of the most misused tools. Barbed wire was not as costly as herding or rail or rock fences, but too costly (we thought) for us to put up a lot of small paddock fences, so we ended up with animals confined to season long pastures. While I said tools aren’t good or bad, there is no doubt that how tools are used can lead to unproductive results. I think that barbed wire allowed us to make a lot of unproductive decisions when it comes to how we balanced the plant/grazing animal interaction.

The flip side to barb wire is the power, flexibility, and low cost of electrified fencing which is a psychological barrier and not a physical barrier. I see a similar analogy to using new herding techniques that move animals out of riparian areas by “placing” them where we want them and not just “chasing/forcing them out of the creek.” Electrified fencing is the cheapest machinery around to ration out pasture to grazing stock over a yearlong basis. With a reel of poly wire or poly tape and a portable fencer, you could graze your way around the world (almost). Most people have enough grass, they just don’t have enough fence or control of where they place their animals.

Plant and Animal Knowledge We usually think of tools as “things”—shovels, hammers, etc,. but knowledge is as powerful as any tool you can acquire to park in your shop.

Knowing why things happen, knowing what to do, knowing the response to your actions are all very powerful tools that we can use to our advantage every day. Do you know the names of every plant that grows in your pasture? How many bites per minute you cows are taking on your pasture?

How your grazing this year will impact plant growth next year?

Grazing is both an art and science, and to be a “good grazier,” you need to study and learn everything you can about what makes a healthy soil and productive plant community, what needs a grazing animal has to meet to productively turn that solar energy into a saleable commodity (meat, milk, fiber), and most importantly, how little you can do to let all these good things happen. Please invest in yourself. Your new knowledge will not rust or rot and will return with compound interest.

Grazing Strategies There’s a lot of talk today about “mob” or “ultra –high density grazing” and all its advantages. We have heard about the evils of continuous or set stocking, but the different grazing strategies are just tools.

You wouldn’t use a tack hammer to pound rail road spikes and using a sledge hammer to hang pictures in the house may generate some collateral damage. My point is the different grazing strategies are all just ways to control the plant/animal interaction and all have pros and cons. I think of mob grazing as using a sledge hammer. It can get quick results, but takes lots of effort and mistakes can be costly. However, is it very powerful tool for landscape reclamation.

Set stocking is of course the easiest way to go, can actually generate good per animal performance if stocking rate are low enough, but, over time, the animals will eat the best and leave the rest. You will have a decline of landscape or plant and soil community health and per land unit productivity will be low and decline from there.

There is a lot of middle ground and that’s where most people graze— some type of rotational to management intensive grazing. But there is no one grazing strategy that is right for all people in all situations. Each grazing operation is unique. The different ways to graze are just tools to help you achieve your grazing goals. For some people, mob grazing is the tool they will find most effective and then there are people for whom lower stocking rates are the way to go. The outcome of grazing is to achieve your grazing goals as they apply to your holisticgoal and the desired outcomes you want to see on the land and in your business. The other point may seem obvious but is often overlooked. During any given grazing season, you may graze some paddock as set stocked, you may mob graze some paddocks, and then next year you may apply your grazing strategy tools in a different routine or sequence. In fact, you should probably use a diversity of grazing methods with a diversity of grazing animals as we want to have diversity in the plant and soil community. With a written grazing plan you CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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The Briar Experiment

by Mark Brownlee

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had one corner of a paddock that was pretty thick with briars as tall as 4 feet (1.3 m). I also had multiflora rose and a variety of sprouts, some big tall weeds. I put the cows in there to graze what they could and to trample as much as possible without being too hard on animal performance. Those briars make moving polywire a real challenge.

I had noticed that there are no briars in the farm lanes so it seemed to me that there must be a threshold of abuse that the briars could not handle.

I thought it would be great if I could use stock density to provide the abuse, but the cows made paths through them and then stick to their paths.

I noticed while walking through the briars if I stepped on the big stemmy ones, quite often they would stay flat on the ground. If I had a way to get them flat on the ground, the grass would have a chance to grow over them and smother them out. Also, the next time through the paddock, the cows would now walk on top of any briar laying down flat.

I tried mowing them, which looks really good, but they immediately start regrowing from the roots, and the grass cannot get ahead of them. I believe that once my desirable forages get thick enough I can outcompete the briars with the help of stock density.

I first thought of knocking down the briars with a field disk, but opted for two fresh cut cedar trees chained together and dragged behind my tractor. It doesn’t get them all, but it was a huge improvement.

I started with that first patch in September 2009 and liked the results well enough to do all the rest of my paddocks that had a briar problem in the fall of 2009. In the spring and summer of 2010 where the briars had been very thick, grass and clover came in. I also had lots of new briar seedlings. It seems to me that high density grazing stimulates every seed in the ground—good and bad.

My method thus far has been to graze these areas first with two per day moves and let the cows graze and trample as much as possible. Then I drag over the briars. My recovery currently is over 120 days, so it will be quite a while before the cows are back. I don't have any real conclusions about timing on this method yet. I have been wondering if the time of year might be a major factor in how effective this method is. The one thing I am certain of that there is a level of abuse that briars cannot withstand because my farm lanes have hardly any briars at all.

Most people with a briar problem would use a chemical application for the entire field and maybe that is what I should have done years ago, but I have a problem with killing all of my clover and native prairie forbs. It seems that some areas that I treated with the cedar tree last year are much better this year, while some areas are only a little better this year.

Brushhogging seems to only stimulate briars, and they are already The area on the right in this photo has had the cedar tree dragged over it.

The area on the left has not been done yet. You can see the large areas with briars.

This hill side has never had much grass on it, mostly broom sedge and a little bit of little bluestem.

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This is a lead plant photo taken around the middle of August 2010 on the same rocky hillside as the photo below.

This is the steep shallow hillside. This photos was take during a dry spell in the summer of 2010, but this hillside is as green as if it had been watered, thick with little blue stem and other native species.

This is the third year of high density grazing on this farm.

growing back in a week or so, while dragging them flat gives the grass a chance to grow over the top of them. I'm fairly convinced my theory is correct, but I am not sure I have figured out the best method yet because many of the shorter briars spring right back up.

The exciting part to me is that for years I have fought the briar and sprout problem, and really was starting to fall further behind. Now with the tool of high stock density and using the cedars to help with the herd effect, I feel that I have finally started to win the battle.

To tell the complete story, I have to admit that I spot spray rose bushes and small clumps of briars. That may not be completely holistic, but I opted for this as opposed to spraying the whole field. I still have too much farmer in me.

What I have noticed about the briars is that there are very few seed bearing plants this year. I believe that nearly all of the briars that I have are new plants. Whether they grew from seed or from old roots I cannot say for sure.

This area was recently grazed (July 2010) at around 150,000 pounds/acre (kg/ha) stock density. You can see that the blackberry briars are still standing. Cows make paths through them leaving the briars and a lot of other plant material standing.

Mice-chewed cocklebur showing increased wildlife herbivore activity

An interesting side note is that rodents were thick all winter in the tall grass. I have seen lots of field mice in hay fields in the summer time before, but I never saw so many in the winter before. I suppose that mice have always eaten cocklebur seeds; I just never saw it before. I have seen rabbits return on both farms after being absent for many years. Rabbits do run in cycles, but the additional cover has to be very beneficial to wildlife. Deer like the tall grass and hang around more often.

Turkeys also like to nest out in the tall grass. I still have some quail around and thought there were a few more last year than the year before. Last year several Missouri Department of Conservation biologists came to see the farm. They were very impressed with the amount of year round cover this type of grazing provides. They were a little afraid that my plant population might be too thick for baby quail. I believe that if they get behind the cows the additional insect population will be very beneficial and the cover will be about perfect for them.

Mark Brownlee farms near Lowry City, Missouri and can be reached at: mark.brownlee@mo.nacdnet.net.

Beef and Birds on Public Lands— Mob Grazing Event on Jeffery Island

by Mae Rose Petrehn

I

n early June 2010, over 50 people gathered to learn the story of how, with some innovative ranching, collaboration and open minds, an island off of Nebraska’s Platte River was dramatically transformed in six years. Attendees came from as far as Texas and Iowa to spend a day in South Central Nebraska with speakers from a wide variety of experience with the area. Some had been involved with the management of the island since it was purchased by the Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District in 1999, and some had been brought on to manage and monitor in recent years. Kent Aden, Assistant Real Estate Administrator for the Jeffery Island Habitat Area (JIHA), has seen the complete transformation of not only the physical landscape, but also of the attitude of the managers involved in making decisions about the area due to the improvements on the land from well managed, high stock density grazing.

JIHA is a sandy riparian area with a mixture of upland grasslands and some timber within a channel of the Platte River, one of the most developed rivers in the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) deemed the area part of critical habitat for cranes migrating north to Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. When the Public Power and Irrigation District took on management of JIHA, much of it was directed towards cranes in specific, but wildlife in general. A number of factors from past management encouraged the thick Canada thistle, cheatgrass and hemp. Attempts to eradicate these species were unsuccessful, including aerial and boom herbicide application at least once annually, and periodic burning. The USFWS as well as the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission expressed concerns regarding economic and environmental costs of the herbicide program, with an annual tab of about $25,000.

As a tool to increase the presence of native grass cover and quality wildlife habitat, the District agreed to work with Chad Peterson of Newport, Nebraska to gear a grazing program towards this objective. Chad had by this time gained a reputation in a style of grazing that has generated much interest, popularly termed “mob” grazing. Using not only high stocking densities

Using Grazing Tools Effectively

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

continued from page eleven have a better chance a managing that diversity and complexity successfully.

These four tools for grazing can aid you in achieving your grazing goals and most importantly, can be part of your “planned grazing program.” With the clearly defined focus of your holisticgoal, your annual grazing objectives, and the written grazing plan that maps out the moves based on management considerations, you have the key ingredients for an effective grazing plan. In my next article I’ll focus on how to write a user friendly grazing plan that will guide your grazing strategy.

Ben Bartlett is a Holistic Management Certified Educator, a DVM, and an Extension Educator at Michigan State University. He can be reached at: bartle18@msu.edu.

Cows in a mob eating thistles.

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Beef and Birds on Public Lands

continued from page thirteen

(between 500,000 lbs. –1.5 million lbs of liveweight/ac or 567,500 kg/ha to 1,702,500 kg/ha), Chad and manager Alex Milbach adapted to the changes in vegetation from year to year using different species and classes of livestock.

Goats were used initially, in combination with cow/calf pairs, due to their ability to target species mentioned above, but also leafy spurge, salt cedar, eastern red cedar, and common mullein. Once these species were controlled by perfecting the timing and intensity of the grazing program, stockers were used because of Milbach’s observation that they tend to stick closer together as they graze, allowing for more animal impact. Animal impact, as practiced on the JIHA, allows some plants to be severely grazed and others to be trampled. The combination of these two actions opens even a dense grassland canopy to light, but also allows litter to cover bare ground and, in the right conditions over time, be absorbed into the soil as organic matter. Using these principles, the JIHA saw the incidence of thistles in monitored plots go from almost 50% of plant species in 2006, to only 13% in 2009. They have also documented over 109 bird species on the island.

Ultra high stock density in combination with animal impact and rest prove to be promising for both wildlife management and a profitable livestock enterprise.

Mae Rose Petrehn is a Certified Educator trainee. She can be reached at: treadearthintometaphor@gmail.com.

An area that was almost 100% thistle immediately after grazing

Grass begins to establish among the residue of thistle trampled down by cattle.

Chad Peterson, son Luke, and Bob Scriven estimate tons of forage during the event among thick warm season grasses.

Estimations in June were 10,000 lbs of DM/acre (11,350 kg/ha). By September, grasses were significantly taller than in this picture.

Same area after sufficient recovery for grasses to begin growing and establish.

Goats being used to control leafy spurge.

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November / December 2010

2010 musk thistle count in sample areas was 2 plants.

F ro m t h e B o a r d C h a i r

A

by Ben Bartlett

s I prepare to step into a new role as Past Chair of HMI and Sallie Calhoun prepares to step into the new role of Board Chair for HMI, my number one feeling is that I am very excited about Sallie bringing her energy and ideas to that role. HMI is in great shape; we have an excellent staff, a good number of for pay and non-profit activities, and the Board/staff team are working together to keep the focus on our statement of purpose. The past three years have been eventful; we hired a new CEO, our founders, Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield, stepped away from HMI to start a new for profit organization, and the general economy took a serious nose dive.

Maybe I am the eternal optimist, but these changes and challenges have really had a silver lining for me. HMI is a small not for profit organization that is dedicated to “teaching and spreading the practice of Holistic Management,” an decision making tool. If we are about “making good decisions,” then the real test is “did HMI use Holistic Management decision making tools as an organization when facing these changes and is Holistic Management really that good of a decision making tool?” The short reply is YES and YES. There is no doubt in my mind that HMI would not be here today if it wasn’t for the power of the Holistic Management decision making. Holistic Management decision making is about having a clear understanding of who are all the decision makers who need to be part of the decision and who are part of the resource base, but not part of the decision—done. Holistic Management decision making asks you to have a clear statement of purpose—done. Holistic Management decision making also helps you focus on what you want and test your actions towards your purpose and your decision-making compass (the holisticgoal)—done. Holistic Management decision making is about monitoring those decision to make any corrections as quickly as possible—done.

I believe HMI is more robust, more focused and in better shape than ever to accomplish its purpose because of our practice of Holistic Management through challenging times.

The challenges of the last three years have resulted in improvement, refinement and a re-focusing of our products and services to better serve the Holistic Management network and take Holistic Management mainstream. I know Sallie will be building on these changes to make HMI more effective and more productive in the future.

Thank you to everyone who has an interest in Holistic Management. Your interest, practice and support of Holistic Management and HMI is vital. I strongly encourage you to get more involved; call HMI or a Holistic Management Certified Educator for more information on how Holistic Management can help you achieve your goals. Take a class and make Holistic Management part of your life. And if you find Holistic Management valuable in your life, please support the HMI organization with your time, talent, and treasure. Thank you to all. I hope you find as much increased peace and prosperity with the practice of Holistic Management as I have.

Book Review

by Randy Holmquist

Did you know that: Teaming with • Bacteria are among the earth’s primary Microbes decomposers of organic matter and without By Jeff Lowenfels them we would be smothered in our own & Wayne Lewis wastes in a matter of months.

Timber Press • • Anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 bacteria 2010 • pp.

220 could fit inside the period at the end of this sentence.

• There are 7,000 or so species of earthworms, and that before early European settlers transported them in potted plants, ship ballast and other means, there were no earthworms in North America.

• Some plants prefer soils dominated by fungi; others prefer soils dominated by bacteria.

• Most grasses do best in bacterial dominated soils, and most trees and shrubs prefer fungally-dominated soils.

• Applications of synthetic fertilizers kill off most or all of the soil food web microbes.

These are just a few of the fascinating facts you will learn in the revised edition of Teaming with Microbes. Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis team up to bring ing with Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to The Soil Food Web. Although this book was written primarily with gardeners in mind, we all hold a stake in understanding what a healthy or unhealthy soil food web consists of.

The authors depict a healthy soil food web as teeming with life and describe the interactions between plants and the various microorganisms.

Although these interactions in the soil food web are extremely complex, they explain this complexity in a way that allows the story of life in the soil to be easily understood. This revised edition updates the original text and includes two new chapters on mycorrhizae (beneficial associations fungi form with green-leaved plants) and archaea (single-celled organisms once thought to be allied to bacteria).

When we use chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, and other inorganic toxic substances, we injure or destroy the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus we become more and more dependent on these crutches that are toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But, there is an alternative to this approach by managing in a way that strengthens the soil food web.

In the Holistic Management framework we know that living organisms are a tool for managing ecosystem processes. Allan Savory says that with the development of synthetic fertilizers, we changed our focus from feeding the soil to feeding the plants, with catastrophic consequences. Life begins and is duplicated in the soil food web which in turn sustains all life on earth.

Teaming with Microbes describes this interaction, which unlike the approach of conventional agriculture, is entirely sustainable. The title of the last chapter in the book is “No one ever fertilized an old growth forest.” The authors describe the complex interactions between plants and all the community of organisms as a natural system operating without interference from humanmade fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Plants flourish, nonetheless , thanks to bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and the rest of the soil food web gang.

I have come to the realization that as a land manager I used to call myself a cattle rancher, then later a grass manager. Now I feel my true job description is microbe farmer.

Randy Holmquist is a Certified Educator trainee and cattle producer.

He can be reached at: randy@zhvalley.com.

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Texas Regional Report

Development Corner

I

Beginning Women Farmer Training A Success

n August, HMI Texas held the final of 4 Drought Mitigation Workshops funded by a Farm Aid grant. Walt Davis had been teaching all the drought mitigation classes. He was injured in a fall just 2 weeks before this class. Guy Glosson to the rescue! We had a full house of 30 participants in Bastrop, Texas, one of the hardest hit areas in the nation during the 2007-2008 drought. Participants came from as far away as Iowa and Florida to absorb the wisdom of both Walt (through the printed notebook) and Guy (live and in person).

Discussions during the two-day workshop were lively and participant perception was, “we all learn from each other.” Much attention was given to the testing questions as one of the most valuable tools in Holistic Management. Several real-life actions were tested, first using scenarios from Guy’s situation at Mesquite Grove Ranch then working through situations from several of the participants.

Our lunch sponsors had an opportunity to speak to the group during the lunch hour. Lee Rinehart was there from Fayetteville, Arkansas representing ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural America), which is considering opening an office in San Antonio. Alan Rossing of Lakota Water Company showed photos of a variety of rainwater catchment systems, and Graeme Wright of Advantage Metal Roofs enlightened the group about new innovations in roofing materials and design.

Written evaluations indicate the dominant “golden nuggets” gleaned from the workshop centered around holism—the importance of a holisticgoal, testing decisions and working with the whole system to create healthy resilient land. Many mentioned the concept that healthy soil is covered soil. The tools of grazing, animal impact and rest created an “ah-ha” for some in the group.

It is one thing to attend a workshop like this, and another to actually take the actions to implement the new knowledge. Participants each wrote one step they would take in the next 21 days as a result of this training. Entries indicate people are ready to pay more attention to the condition of the land and modify grazing accordingly. Several are ready to really sit down with their management teams to create a holistic goal and enjoy the planning process. One intends to start saying “y’all.”

Spring Branch Ranch Field Day wrapped up the Bastrop event August 14.

The guest list topped out at 59! Ranch owner Melissa Cole described her holisticgoal and explained some of the management decisions we would see on the ranch tour. The group enjoyed head-high little bluestem and other prairie grasses. Carl Brockman of Natural Texas sponsored a great “Elgin Barbecue” lunch and demonstrated his forestry mower, which can selectively mulch individual trees where they stand in the forest. Long time holistic manager and wildlife biologist Mike McMurry did a great job helping folks understand the role of Holistic Management in managing a wildlife ranch like this one.

Melissa Cole, owner of the Spring Branch Ranch, checks bird boxes as part of the field day events at the ranch.

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I

n October 2009, HMI received a $639,301 grant from USDA/NIFA to teach Whole Farm Planning to Beginning Women Farmers in the Northeast. Our key objectives in the first year were to recruit and train 90 beginning women farmers (farming for less than 10 years) in six states (New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine). Each state had a local coordinator that helped to coordinate the 10 trainings that took place throughout 2010, both on farm and off farm.

To support these trainings, Project Director, Dr. Ann Adams worked with Regional Coordinators, Phil Metzger and Seth Wilner to prepare instructors. In addition, we held two webinars and hosted a Yahoo Group that listed course events on a group calendar and allowed participants to share files.

In addition, HMI recruited 12 sites on which we would collect baseline biological monitoring data (soil surface health, organic matter %, plant species diversity, etc.). In turn, the participants selected agreed to try various soil health improvement practices (planned grazing, bale grazing, cover crops, etc.) and we would then repeat biological monitoring at the end of years 2 and 3. HMI is also responsible for training 9 Whole Farm Planning Trainers. We recruited 11 trainers who prepared for the first training sessions that began in October 2010.

Change Due to Program Based on the evaluations collected (averaged across states), there was a number of changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavior.

Course Intro. to Holistic Management Financial Planning Business Planning Time Management Soil Fertility Land Planning Holistic Planned Grazing Leadership & Communication

% Change in Knowledge 100% 100% 100% 97% 100% 100% 100% 100%

% of Correct Answers 71% 84% 80% 71% 47%

When queried about attitude change, 95% of participants said they had gained confidence about writing a business plan and indicated they understood the value of a written business plan beyond its usefulness for obtaining a bank loan. Likewise, just under half of participants (44%) reported that the testing questions would be helpful to them on their farms. In regards to marketing, 83% of participants said they will tie their marketing decisions to their holisticgoal/farm mission statement.

Other changed behavior noted was that 100% of participants said they would use the life planning/time management tools taught in the time management class, 82% of participants committed to monitoring soil health on farm as a result of the soil fertility class, 58% of participants will use some method to assess forage based on knowledge they learned in the holistic grazing class, 88% of participants said they would structure farm or family meetings differently based on the skills they learned in the leadership and

communication class, and 76% of the participants increased their conflict resolution skills as a result of their training in communication.

While there have been many comments about the profound change women have experienced in this program, one comment in particular gives voice to the collective experience this program has generated: “Being involved with this class has been significant for me in two ways—it has given me a completely new approach to planning for my own land and farming aspirations, and it has shown me a system for assisting farmers that views all aspects of their lives, land, and business as equal parts of the whole that can be managed sustainably without sacrifice.

“From a young age, I have wanted to farm. ‘You can’t make a living farming,’ was often the refrain. The broader question in my mind was always ‘How will I ever be able to make a go of this on my own?’ Holistic Management has changed my perspective on how farming as a livelihood can be approached.”

The New York Beginning Women Farmer Group met at Adele Hayes’ farm to learn about her farming operation.

Instructor Dean Bascom with New Hampshire NRCS (left) and Local Coordinators Kate Kerman of Small and Beginning Farmers of New Hampshire, Jessie Schmidt of University of Vermont, and Bill Duesing of Connecticut NOFA all participated in the Beginning Women Farmers’ Coordinator Meeting that took place in August of this year.

Instructor Erica Frenay of Small Farm Program of Cornell (left), Regional Coordinator Phil Metzger of Central New York RC&D, and Local Coordinators Lauren Lines of Central New York RC&D, Devon Whitney-Deal of Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, and Gail Chase of Women in Agriculture Network of Maine also participated in the Coordinators’ Meeting held in Rensselear, New York.

The Connecticut Beginning Women Farmer Group was coordinated by Connecticut NOFA. It had the highest percentage of farmers who had been farming for one year or less, with 45% falling into that category.

The Massachusetts Beginning Women Farmer Group met at Silvermine Farm for the soil fertility session.

The Vermont Beginning Women Farmer Group met at River Berry Farm for their soil fertility session.

The Maine soil fertility program was held at Bagaduce Farm.

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Nebraska Gathering On September 14-15, 2010, Terry Gompert of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension hosted a Holistic Management Conference in Creighton, Nebraska.

Approximately 70 people attended this conference to hear presentations from Rodger Savory (Allan Savory’s son and long time Holistic Management practitioner), Neil Dennis (high stock density grazier), Dilak Thiman (researcher on how grassfed production influences animal fats), Ann Adams (author of At Home with Holistic Management), and George Wagner (dung beetle expert).

Also at the event were some of the members of HMI’s 2008 Certified Educator Training Program for which Terry Gompert was the instructor. Most of these trainees will be graduating at the end of 2010. Congratulations to Ralph Tate and Joshua Dukart, for completing all requirements!

George Wagner, a Nebraska goat and cattle producer, has become an authority on dung beetles. He shared his photo archives of multiple dung beetle species in action.

Certified Educator trainee Torray Wilson explains Holistic Management while juggling.

T he news from holistic management international

Meeting with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

H

MI’s Texas Regional Director Amy Normand attended a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack to discuss what needs to be included in the 2011 Farm Bill. Amy Normand presented HMI’s background and our work with agricultural producers as a lead in to asking how the 2011 Farm Bill can begin to support farmers and ranchers who are improving ecosystem results on their lands rather than just supporting certain types of practices.

Secretary Vilsack asked for more information about HMI and our work which we have given him. If you get an opportunity to make comments on the 2011 Farm Bill, be sure to mention the importance of Holistic Management.

Sustainability Certification

C

hico State University in Chico, California is in the process of developing a Sustainability Management Certification through a consortium organized by the College of Business. HMI is involved in this effort as part of the consortium that is looking at all stake holders focused on sustainability including—government, non-government, academia, and industry.

One of the key focal points is a certification exam. Senior Director of Education, 18

IN PRACTICE

people, programs & projects

Rodger Savory, Allan Savory’s son, presented on the Beginnings of Ultra-High Stock Density Grazing and talked about the results he was able to achieve in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Dr. Ann Adams, is working with Chico State Agriculture professor, Lee Altier to determine how Holistic Management will be integrated into this exam. There is currently a sustainability minor at Chico State, but this consortium is also developing study guides for this national program which will begin in 2012.

Holistic Manager Win Environmental Award

H

olistic Management practitioners Glen and Dawn Ekert of Wapella, Saskatchewan, Canada won the 2010 TESA (The Environmental Stewardship Award) from the Saskatchewan Stockgrowers Association. Their first words about winning the award was “It was Holistic Management that got us this award.”

The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and RBC Royal Bank recognize excellence in environmental stewardship in the ranching industry through this award, looking at innovative and successful approaches to environmentally and economically sustainable cattle production. This award has been received by a number of Holistic Management producers in the past, including Don and Bev Campbell and Tom and Lois Wood. Congratulations Glen and Dawn!

November / December 2010

From left to right: Certified Educator Trainees: Ralph Tate, Tom German, Joshua Dukart, Torray Wilson, Erin Wilson, and Mae Rose Petrehn (not pictured here: Katie Rosing Miller and Chad Peterson).

Terry Gompert began the conference with a talking circle in which all presenters and participants spoke. Here Holistic Management Educator Margaret Smith (left) and Terry Gompert, listen to Certified Educator trainee Mae Rose Petrehn talk about her experience combining her work on obtaining a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture with her Holistic Management training.

UNITED STATES

Certified Educators

PENNSYLVANIA

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.

For more information about or application forms for the HMI’s Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Ann Adams or visit our website at: www.holisticmanagement.org.

◆ These educators provide Holistic Management instruction on behalf of the institutions they represent.

*

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

UNITED STATES CALIFORNIA Richard King 1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954 707/769-1490 • 707/794-8692(w) richard.king@ca.usda.gov * Christopher Peck 1330 Gumview Road, Windsor, CA 95492 707/758-0171 Christopher@naturalinvesting.com ◆ Rob Rutherford CA Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 805/756-1475 rrutherf@calpoly.edu COLORADO Cindy Dvergsten 17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323 970/882-4222 hminfo@wholenewconcepts.com

NEBRASKA Terry Gompert P.O. Box 45, Center, NE 68724-0045 402/288-5611 (w) tgompert1@unl.edu Paul Swanson 5155 West 12th St., Hastings, NE 68901 402/463-8507 • swanson@inebraska.com Ralph Tate 1109 Timber Dr., Papillion, NE 68046 402/932-3405 • Tater2d2@cox.net NEW HAMPSHIRE ◆ Seth Wilner

24 Main Street, Newport, NH 03773 603/863-4497 (h) • 603/863-9200 (w) seth.wilner@unh.edu NEW MEXICO ◆ Ann Adams

GEORGIA Constance Neely 1421 Rockinwood Dr., Athens, GA 30606 706/540-2878 • clneely@earthlink.net MAINE Vivianne Holmes 239 E Buckfield Road Buckfield, ME 04220-4209 207/336-2484 • vholmes@umext.maine.edu

Holistic Management International 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 505/842-5252 anna@holisticmanagement.org Kelly Boney 4865 Quay Road L, San Jon, NM 88434 575/760-7636 kboney@plateautel.net Kirk Gadzia P.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004 505/867-4685, (f) 505/867-9952 kirk@rmsgadzia.com

MICHIGAN

* Ben Bartlett N4632 ET Road, Traunik, MI 49891 906/439-5210 (h) • 906/439-5880 (w) bartle18@msu.edu * Larry Dyer 1113 Klondike Ave, Petoskey, MI 49770-3233 231/439-8982 (w) • 231/347-7162 (h) dyerlawr@msu.edu MONTANA Roland Kroos 4926 Itana Circle, Bozeman, MT 59715 406/522-3862 • kroosing@msn.com * Cliff Montagne P.O. Box 173120, Montana State University Department of Land Resources & Environmental Science, Bozeman, MT 59717 406/994-5079 • montagne@montana.edu

NORTH DAKOTA Wayne Berry 1611 11th Ave. West Williston, ND 58801 701/572-9183 wberry@wil.midco.net Joshua Dukart 2539 Clover Place, Bismarck, ND 58503 701/870-1184 Joshua_dukart@yahoo.com OREGON Jeff Goebel 52 NW Mcleay Blvd.

Portland, OR 97210 541/610-7084 goebel@aboutlistening.com

Jim Weaver 428 Copp Hollow Rd. Wellsboro, PA 16901-8976 570/724-7788 • jaweaver@epix.net TEXAS Guy Glosson 6717 Hwy. 380, Snyder, TX 79549 806/237-2554 glosson@caprock-spur.com Peggy Maddox P.O. Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943-0694 325/392-2292 • westgift@hughes.net ◆ R. H. (Dick) Richardson University of Texas at Austin Section of Integrative Biology School of Biological Sciences Austin, TX 78712 • 512/471-4128 d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu

WASHINGTON Sandra Matheson 228 E. Smith Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226 360/398-7866 • mathesonsm@frontier.com Doug Warnock 1880 SE Larch Ave., College Place, WA 99324 509/540-5771 • 509/856-7101 (c) dwarnock@charter.net WISCONSIN Andy Hager, 715/678-2465 W. 3597 Pine Ave., Stetsonville, WI 54480-9559 Larry Johnson, 608/455-1685 W886 State Rd. 92, Brooklyn, WI 53521 LarryStillPointFarm@gmail.com * Laura Paine Wisconsin DATCP N893 Kranz Rd., Columbus, WI 53925 608/224-5120 (w) • 920/623-4407 (h) laura.paine@datcp.state.wi.us

INTERNATIONAL CANADA

AUSTRALIA Judi Earl 73 Harding E., Guyra, NSW 2365 61-2-6779-2286 judi@holisticmanagement.org.au Mark Gardner P.O. Box 1395, Dubbo, NSW 2830 61-2-6884-4401 mark.gardner@vbs.net.au * Paul Griffiths P.O. Box 3045, North Turramura, NSW 2074, Sydney, NSW 61-2-9144-3975 • pgpres@geko.net.au George Gundry Willeroo, Tarago, NSW 2580 61-2-4844-6223 • g.gundry@bigpond.com Graeme Hand 150 Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 3302 61-3-5578-6272 (h) • 61-4-1853-2130 (c) graeme.hand@bigpond.com * Helen Lewis P.O. Box 1263, Warwick, QLD 4370 61-7-46617393 • 61-7-46670835 helen@insideoutsidemgt.com.au Brian Marshall P.O. Box 300, Guyra NSW 2365 61-2-6779-1927 • fax: 61-2-6779-1947 bkmrshl@bigpond.com Dick Richardson Bonnie Doone 1497 Little Plains Road, Boorowa NSW 2586 61 0 263853217 (w) • 61 0 263855284 (h) 61 0 429069001 (c) • dick@bdynamic.org Bruce Ward P.O. Box 103, Milsons Pt., NSW 1565 61-2-9929-5568 • fax: 61-2-9929-5569 blward@the-farm-business-gym.com Brian Wehlburg Pine Scrub Creek, Kindee, NSW, 2446 61-2-6587-4353 brian@insideoutsidemgt.com.au Jason Virtue P.O. Box 75, Cooran, QLD 4569 61-2- 07 5485 1997 jason@spiderweb.com.au

Don Campbell Box 817 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y6 306/236-6088 doncampbell@sasktel.net Linda & Ralph Corcoran Box 36, Langbank, SK S0G 2X0 306/532-4778 rlcorcoran@sasktel.net

* Allison Guichon

Box 10, Quilchena, BC V0E 2R0 250/378-4535 allison@guichonranch.ca Blain Hjertaas Box 760, Redvers, Saskatchewan SOC 2HO 306/452-3882 bhjer@sasktel.net Brian Luce RR #4, Ponoka, AB T4J 1R4 403/783-6518 lucends@xplornet.com Tony McQuail 86016 Creek Line, RR#1, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519/528-2493 mcqufarm@hurontel.on.ca Len Pigott Box 222, Dysart, SK, SOH 1HO 306/432-4583 JLPigott@sasktel.net Kelly Sidoryk P.O. Box 374, Lloydminster, AB S9V 0Y4 780/875-9806 (h) 780/875-4418 (c) sidorykk@yahoo.ca

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INTERNATIONAL KENYA Richard Hatfield P.O. Box 10091-00100, Nairobi 254-0723-506-331; rhatfield@obufield.com Christine C. Jost International Livestock Research Institute Box 30709, Nairobi 00100 254-20-422-3000; 254-736-715-417 (c) c.jost@cgiar.org * Belinda Low P.O. Box 15109, Langata, Nairobi 254-727-288-039; belinda@grevyszebratrust.org MEXICO Ivan A. Aguirre Ibarra P.O. Box 304, Hermosillo, Sonora 83000 52-1-662-281-0990 (from U.S.) 51-1-662-281-0901 Rancho_inmaculada@yahoo.com.mx

AFFILIATES NEW ZEALAND John King * P.O. Box 12011 Beckenham, Christchurch 8242 64-276-737-885 succession@clear.net.nz

UNITED KINGDOM NAMIBIA

Holistic Management® Certified Educator Training Program

Usiel Kandjii P.O. Box 23319, Windhoek 264-61-205-2324 • kandjiiu@gmail.com Colin Nott P.O. Box 11977, Windhoek 264/61-225085 (h) 264/81-2418778 canott@iafrica.com.na Wiebke Volkmann P.O. Box 9285, Windhoek 264-61-225183 or 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@mweb.com.na

* Philip Bubb

32 Dart Close, St. Ives, Cambridge, PE27 3JB 44-1480-496-2925 (h) +44 7837 405483 (w) philipbubb@onetel.com

Want to make the world a better place?

Interested in teaching others about Holistic Management?

Colorado Branch For Holistic Management® P.O. Box 218 Lewis, CO 81327 www.coloradoholisticmanagement.org Cindy Dvergsten, webmaster 970/882-4222

PENNSYLVANIA Northern Penn Network Jim Weaver, contact person RD #6, Box 205 Wellsboro, PA 16901 717/724-7788 jaweaver@epix.net

NEW YORK Central NY RC&D Phil Metzger 99 North Broad Street Norwich, NY 13815 607/334-3231 ext 4 phil.metzger@ny.usda.gov

TEXAS HMI Regional Texas Office Peggy Cole 5 Limestone Trail, Wimberley, TX 78676 512/847-3822 pcole@holisticmanagement.org

NORTHWEST West Station for Holistic Management Peggy Maddox PO Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943 325/392-2292 westgift@hughes.net

Holistic Goal Setting and Facilitation Services Are you ready to make the most out of your resources?

Do you need help dealing with critical human resource issues?

Has change taken you by surprise?

HMI provides skilled, objective facilitators to help you achieve your goals!

BENEFITS OF HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT FACILITATION INCLUDE:

TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT: Ann Adams • hmi@holisticmanagement.org • 505/842-5252 http://www.holisticmanagement.org/n7/Certified_Educators/CE9_ITP.html

IN PRACTICE

Oklahoma Land Stewardship Alliance Charles Griffith, contact person Route 5, Box E44 Ardmore, OK 73401 580/223-7471 cagriffith@brightok.net

COLORADO

Managing Wholes Peter Donovan PO Box 393 Enterprise, OR 97828 541/426-5783 www.managingwholes.com

HMI’s Certified Educator Training Program is an individualized two-year training program developed to produce excellent Holistic Management facilitators, coaches, and instructors. Tailored to meet your needs and interests.

20

HRM of Arizona Norm Lowe 2660 E. Hemberg Flagstaff, AZ 86004 928/214-0040 loweflag@aol.com

SOUTH AFRICA Jozua Lambrechts P.O. Box 5070 Helderberg, Somerset West Western Cape 7135 27-83-310-1940 • 27-21-851-2430 (w) jozua@websurf.co.za Ian Mitchell-Innes P.O. Box 52 Elandslaagte 2900 27-36-421-1747 blanerne@mweb.co.za

OKLAHOMA

ARIZONA

November / December 2010

To learn more, call HMI at

• Elicits key motivators and values 505/842-5252 or from the group for more effective email Tracy at tfavre@ group decision making holisticmanagement.org.

• Improves communication • Improves conflict resolution • Creates a safe environment to have crucial conversations including generational transfer • Creates common ground from which to make management decisions and plans

T H E

M A R K E T P L A C E

ADVANCED I SOIL FERTILITY WORKSHOP

DAY 1: WORKING WITH SOIL TESTS AND LIMING

REGISTRATION: $695 per person.

Meals and Lodging not included in this price.

Soil Test Methods, Ideal Soils & Structure, Defining Excellent Soil Fertility, Soil Sampling, Soil pH Studies, Liming Materials, Using Lime Samples & Worksheets, Calculating Previous Lime Applied.

Determining and Calculating Needed Nutrients

DAY 2: BUILDING FERTILITY LEVELS Cation Displacement Rules, 5 Liming Rules, Calcium & Heavy Soils, Magnesium & Heavy Soils, Magnesium / Heavy Soils, Calcium-Magnesium / Sand, Sulfur, Compost (Analysis & Evaluation), Using Compost or Manures.

December 6-8, 2010 LOCATION: INDIANAPOLIS MARRIOTT DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

For more information see www.kinseyag.com

For consulting or educational services contact:

WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARD ORDERS (VISA, MC)

Kinsey Agricultural Services, Inc. 297 County Highway 357 Charleston, Missouri 63834

Ph: 573/683-3880, Fax: 573/683-6227 Email: neal@kinseyag.com

DAY 3: WORKING TO BUILD NUTRIENTS Phosphate, Potassium, Sodium, Boron, Iron, Manganese, Copper, Zinc.

Number 134

IN PRACTICE

21

T H E

M A R K E T P L A C E

CORRAL DESIGNS

Resource Management Services, LLC Kirk L. Gadzia, Certified Educator PO Box 1100 Pasture Bernalillo, NM 87004 Scene 505-263-8677 Investigation

The Business of Ranching

kirk@rmsgadzia.com

• On-Site, Custom Courses • Holistic Business Planning • Ranchers Business Forum • Creating Change thru Grazing Planning and Land Monitoring

Roland R.H. Kroos (406) 522.3862 • Cell: 581.3038 Email: kroosing@msn.com 4926 Itana Circle • Bozeman, MT 59715

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

HMI GRAZING PLANNING SOFTWARE • Save Time!

• Does all the grazing planning calculations for you Low • Easy SAU feature Introductofr y • Keep track of rainfall Price o $ • Works on Macs or PC’s that run Excel • Easy forage assessment tool • Comes with User’s Manual

100

TO SEE A DEMO OF THE SOFTWARE GO TO: http://holisticmanagement.org/store//page8.html Call 505/842-5252 or order online at www.holisticmanagement.org 22

IN PRACTICE

November / December 2010

Holistic Management Resource Classes February 14-19, 2011 Introduction to Holistic Management Feb. 14-16: $495 Advanced Holistic Management Training (Requires prior attendance at Intro. Session)

Feb. 17-19: $495 Comprehensive Holistic Management Training Feb. 14-19: $895

Remember, profitable agriculture is not about harder work.... It is about making better decisions!

For more information and registration, visit our website: www.r msgadzia.com

Christine

Jost

Veterinarian • Researcher Project Design • Certified Educator 20 Years of International Experience !

Participatory approaches for development projects: • • • •

Design and implementation Monitoring and evaluation Assessment and lessons Workshop facilitation

Group and individual training with NGO’s, communities, and farm families: • • • •

Holisticgoal setting Decision testing Financial planning Biological monitoring

— CONTACT CHRIS AT — c.jost@cgiar.org • +254-736-715-417

T H E

M A R K E T P L A C E

See the Big Picture ~ Respond to Change ~ Be Sustainable

Get Started Today – Join Our

Holistic Management Distance Learning & Mentoring Program Realize Immediate Benefits Save money on education — and get more for your money with highly personalized training.

All you need is a telephone, a computer is NOT needed. Learn at your own pace; apply what you learn to your situation and get results now!

Don’t change your life to learn.

Let your education change your life!

Visit: www.wholenewconcepts.com Email: hminfo@wholenewconcepts.com Call Cindy at 970/882-4222 for a free consultation!

Cindy Dvergsten, is a Holistic Management® Certified Educator, offering you over 15 years experience in training, mentoring, and facilitation; 30 years in natural resource management; and a lifetime of experience in diversified farming.

Offered By Whole New Concepts, LLC P.O. Box 218 Lewis CO 81327

Western Canadian Holistic LLOYDMINSTER, SASKATCHEWAN, Management CANADA Conference

Save the Date!

February 15-16, 2011

SPEAKERS and PRESENTERS INCLUDE:

PLUS . . .

Kier Barker Dr. Dwayne Beck Dr. Elaine Dembe Dr. Roger Epp Jeff Goebel

MANY HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT PRACTITIONERS AND EDUCATORS

WANTED: More Grass

REWARD: Heavier Livestock and Greater Profit Kelly Boney, Certified Educator 4 8 6 5 Q U AY R O A D L SAN JON, NM 88434 575/760-7636 K B O N E Y @ P L AT E A U T E L . N E T

Number 134

IN PRACTICE

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healthy land. sustainable future.

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID ALBUQUERQUE, NM PERMIT NO 880

a publication of Holistic Management International 1010 Tijeras NW Albuquerque, NM 87102 USA return service requested

please send address corrections before moving so that we do not incur unnecessary postal fees

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT MAIL ORDER EMPORIUM Subscribe to IN PRACTICE

Software

_ A bimonthly journal for Holistic Management practitioners

Holistic Management® Financial Planning (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $149 Grazing Planning software (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100

Subscribe for 1 year for only $35/U.S. ($40/International) 2 years ($65/U.S.; $70/International) 3 years ($95/U.S.; $105/International)

_ Gift Subscriptions (same prices as above). _ Special Edition: An Introduction to Holistic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5 _ Compact Disk Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14 _ Bulk subscriptions available.

Pocket Cards Holistic Management® Framework & testing questions, March 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$4

Planning and Monitoring Guides

One year for $17 each/U.S., or $22 each/International ______ Please indicate number of one-year subscriptions

_ Policy/Project Analysis & Design August 2008, 61 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_ Back Issues: $5 each; bulk orders (5 or more issues) $3 each. List

_ Introduction to Holistic Management

Please indicate issue numbers desired: ___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$25

August 2007, 128 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$25

_ CD of Back Issues: #71 - 130

_ Financial Planning August 2007, 58 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

Books & Multimedia

_ Aide Memoire for Grazing Planning August 2007, 63 pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision-Making,

_ Second Edition, by Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $39 _ Hardcover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $55 _ 15-set CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $125 _ One month rental of CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35 _ Spanish Version (soft). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40 _ Holistic Management Handbook, by Butterfield, Bingham, Savory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29 _ At Home With Holistic Management, by Ann Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20 _ Holistic Management: A New Environmental Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10 _ Improving Whole Farm Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13 _ Video: Creating a Sustainable Civilization—

_ Early Warning Biological Monitoring— Croplands April 2000, 26 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15

_ Early Warning Biological Monitoring—Rangelands and Grasslands August 2007, 59 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_ Land Planning—For The Rancher or Farmer Running Livestock August 2007, 31 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15

Planning Forms (All forms are padded – 25 sheets per pad) _ Annual Income & Expense Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17 _ Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 7 _ Livestock Production Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17 _ Grazing Plan & Control Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

An Introduction to Holistic Decision-Making, based on a lecture given

by Allan Savory. (DVD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30 Stockmanship, by Steve Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35

_ _ The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 _ The Oglin, by Dick Richardson & Rio de la Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 _ Gardeners of Eden, by Dan Dagget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 _ Video: Healing the Land Through Multi-Species Grazing (DVD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30 _ PBS Video—The First Millimeter: Healing the Earth (DVD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 TO ORDER

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