27 minute read
ELIZABETH MARKS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
include: Brassicas (eg. broccoli, kale), peas, fava beans, turnips, swedes, and parsnips.
For winter growing grassland possible summer growing vegetables (while winter growing grasses are dormant or growing slowly) to plant are: Potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, melons, capsicum, cucumbers, and zucchini.
References:
1. Soil Erosion Threatens Food Production David Pimentel * and Michael
Burgess College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Agriculture 2013, 3, 443–463; 2. From Shallow to Deep Organics: Redesigning our Agroecosystems for
Sustainability and Wellbeing, Professor Stuart B. Hill, University of
Western Sydney – October, 2009 3. Managing soil erosion in vegetables, fact sheet 2, Department of Primary Industries and fisheries, Queensland government 4. Landscape Function Analysis, Tongway & Hindley, 2004 5. Dwayne Beck / Buzz Kloot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAE8C3Vr8Zo&t=1s 6. Browns Ranch http://brownsranch.us/ 7. Winona – http://www.pasturecropping.com/pasture-cropping
Graeme Hand is a Holistic Management Certified Educator and CEO of Stipa in New South Wales, Australia. He can be reached at: graeme.hand@bigpond.com. This article was first published in the Stipa Newsletter #59, Feb 2018. To learn more about Stipa go to: http://www.stipa.com.au/index.html.
Photo Credit Gabe Brown
Winter growing broadleaves in a dormant summer growing grassland.
East Brook Farm— No-Till Vegetable Farming to Improve Ecosystem Processes
BY ELIZABETH MARKS
I’ve been told by many organic farmers that no-till organic just isn’t possible. Most farmers who do no-till rely on herbicides and sometimes insecticides to do the practice. More and more information is being discovered about the immense benefits of not disturbing the soil, but what do you do if using these pesticides are counter to your holistic goal? I sat down with Sarah Williford, a
Holistic Management International board member and owner of East Brook Farm in Walton, New York to discuss how she utilizes the four ecosystem processes with no-till organic farming. East Brook Farm is a 92-acre diversified farm with two acres of vegetables and flowers, 70 chickens, 10 ducks, and 9 cows. They run a small
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), sell at farmers markets, wholesale to local restaurants and health food stores, and Sarah has an herbal business called
“Collected Creations” of wild harvested and home grown herbs.
Sarah, you practice no-till organic farming. Why? I believe that if I take care of the soil in the best way possible then I am also growing nutritious healthy food year after year. It is healthier for our bodies and healthier for the earth. Very few organic farmers are practicing no-till. Isn’t it difficult and time consuming? I’ve never farmed any other way so I have no comparison. I have a lot of people who come to work on the farm who had been doing tillage. From them I’ve learned that initially it takes more human power and resources compared to tilling, but after I create the beds using sheet mulch, the maintenance required is much less then conventional farming. Can you describe the methods you use to farm no-till? First, I find the contour of the land (if there is a slope) and mark off where the beds should be perpendicular to the slope. Then I mow the ground cover. I add lime or other soil amendments based on a soil test. Next I roll out multi layers of brown craft or food paper. On top of the paper I layer compost and then mulch hay. I wait a few weeks to let water soak through either from rain or watering. Finally I create “planting pockets.” Using a hand hoe, I dig through the paper and add compost and East Brook Farm has its garden beds set up on then add the plant. This method of farming is contour to increase water infiltration. Even during sometimes referred to as “lasagna gardening.” heavy rains caused by hurricanes, East Brook Doesn’t the plant find it difficult to establish Farm didn’t flood or lose valuable nutrients and in the mass of roots already there? top soil. You wait at least a couple of weeks to
let the paper and mulch kill the living plants underneath. The planting pockets are created after the vegetation dies. Once the vegetation dies, their roots leave corridors of water and air to travel. I also haven’t destroyed the soil structure so there is no compaction. The dying plants and roots of the former vegetation add nutrients and organic matter into the soil. Because the soil isn’t compacted, the plants find it easy to grow.
How does your growing technique take advantage of and improve the four ecosystem processes?
First and foremost, we keep the soil covered. It’s really true what they say; when you improve one ecosystem processes, you improve them all. With the soil covered, it remains cooler and retains more moisture for the plants improving the water cycle. Our soil and nutrients are held in place and the mulch breaks down (mineral cycle) into organic matter which in turn feeds the biological community. The biological community builds soil structure while putting nutrients into the system. The spaces from earth worms and structured soil and the old roots create channels for air and water. That makes the plants and cover crops thrive thereby improving the energy flow.
Perhaps the most amazing thing I’ve noticed is that water does not pool on my fields no matter the soil type, how flat they are, or the amount of rainfall we get. For example, I was farming in the Hudson Valley, and we and the farms around us had a lot of flooding from hurricanes one year. Many farms had a complete loss of crops due to standing water on the fields and CSAs actually had to return money to customers.
What happened on your farm?
Even though our no-till beds were created on clay soil, our drainage was excellent and our crops weren’t affected. We didn’t realize how well we faired compared to our neighbors until we had a potluck and farm tour and discovered we were the only ones to have not had a significant loss of crops. Also, because of our great infiltration rates, we did not have any erosion of our soil. All our nutrients and organic matter stayed in place.
Some farmers worry that they can’t get nutrients into the soil without tillage.
With this method of farming, organic matter increases from day one whereas in a conventionally farmed system, organic matter is burning off and decreasing with each pass of the plow. Organic matter particles have an electrical charge, essentially holding nutrients like a magnet. They aren’t washing or leaching away.
We’re learning that biological organisms in the soil are playing a larger role in the mineral process then we originally thought. What have you found?
You really notice how active the biological community is with a no-till system. When I plant my second crop after I’ve established the beds, I can see that already the new layer has mixed two inches in depth below the paper layer. It’s amazing how fast it works. Each time you till, you destroy the habitat for all the microorganisms in the soil. With our no-till system we are taking advantage of an already established biological community with a mature set of nitrogen fixing and decomposing organisms.
What about the fourth ecosystem processes, energy flow?
To maximize the amount of energy I get from the sun, I extend the season with cover crops. Frost kill cover crops such as crimson clover are the easiest to use in a no-till system. I will sometimes seed under a mature plant so it gets a head start while my vegetables are still growing.
How do you maintain the system especially when it comes to weeds?
We look at the root cause of weeds, basically seed germination, and address that first. When you till, you are constantly moving seeds in the seed bank up to the surface of the soil where they germinate. Our system Sarah’s farm crew harvesting for the CSA.
buries weed seeds so we only have to worry about seeds that germinate on or near the surface. Mulching prevents them germinating, and we will hand pull the few weeds that do spring up. To prevent them entering the system, I cut down plants surrounding the garden when they are flowering (the weakest point in their life cycle) before they go to seed. If a bed gets out of hand and there are a lot of weeds, I’ll plant a cover crop and then re-sheet mulch it the following spring.
How does no-till compare in terms of profitability to other methods of farming? Can you do this on a large scale?
Holistic Management educator Phil Metzger taught me that there is one guarantee in agriculture—when you improve the ecosystem processes, you build wealth on the farm. I’ve found no-till to be much more profitable than tillage because of this. Once you become comfortable with the method and you’ve set up the beds it is a lot less effort to maintain. You are taking advantage of all the ecosystem services that organic matter and the biological community in the soil provides. With 2 acres of veggies in production, I don’t need tractors, diesel fuel, or any kind of equipment other than people, shovels, and a wheel barrow. To do no-till on a larger scale you probably need equipment such as a tractor, roller crimper, no-till drill, and mowers. Also, I’ve farmed marginal soils that previously were only good for pasture but I’ve been able to produce high quality vegetables using this method.
Anything else you like about this method of farming?
One of the most enjoyable aspects for me is how easy the soil is to work. I’ve produced high quality vegetables in areas of marginal, unproductive soils where other farmers couldn’t farm or had difficulty due to how rocky the soil was. I always get to work in soft, sweet smelling earth. It’s like chocolate cake.
Sarah Williford has been practicing no-till organic farming for 12 years. When she isn’t farming she is coordinating Holistic Management International’s Beginning Farming Program in New York. For more information please visit her website at eastbrookfarm.com or email sarahmwilliford@gmail.com.
Elizabeth Marks is a biologist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and an HMI Certified Educator. She teaches online classes and mentors students in Holistic Management and soil health. She owns a net-zero home in Chatham, New York.
PROGRAM ROUNDUP
Colorado Holistic Training
In early February, 15 ranchers gathered at JE Canyon Ranch in southeastern Colorado for a three-day class on Holistic Management. The class was facilitated by HMI Certified Educator Kirk Gadzia, who has over 25 years’ experience teaching the concepts of natural resource management worldwide. The class was comprised of agricultural agency professionals, a veterinarian, and area ranchers. Together, they manage about 1.85 million acres and influence another 3.1 million acres.
In addition to going through the steps to create a Grazing Plan and learning the basics of Holistic Financial Planning, the group went through a real-life decision testing example using JE Canyon’s holistic goal and spent time out on the ranch to practice forage assessment.
Thanks to sponsorship by The Nature Conservancy, participants had the opportunity to stay on this beautiful and unique 50,000 acre ranch and learn Holistic Management.
Texas Cropping and Soils Class
Texas panhandle farmers began filing in early for the March 2nd Crop and Soils workshop featuring Regenerative Ag’s ‘rock stars’ Gabe Brown and Ray Archuleta. Many of the 114 attendees lingered well past the last session, excited and involved in interesting discussions on how to move forward and apply the information they’d learned to the nearly 400,000 acres they collectively manage.
Ray Archuleta explains soil health.
Archuleta, in his characteristically enthusiastic way, started off the day with several demos showing the value and importance of soil biology, sharing his passion for soil health and what we, as stewards of the land, can do to work with nature. He and Gabe tag-teamed the presentations all day, building on each other’s knowledge and experience to show real life examples of using no-till, multi-species cover crops, and grazing animals to build health in the soil while reducing input costs. Research data from Gabe’s ranch, and comparisons with neighbor lands, lent proof of how soil health translates to better water capture, increased production and/or crop quality, and increased profit margins and per acre income. Gabe also talked about how the focus among large food companies is shifting to interest in nutrient density. New technology that allows a quick and easy ‘reading’ of food nutrition will be a ‘game changer’, said Brown. He challenged farmers to start now and begin addressing soil health so they can be on the front line of producing more nutrient dense crops.
The last session of the day was a break out session where Gabe talked to producers interested in direct marketing and multiple enterprises. Ray met with a group of producers who have been applying some of these no-till and cover cropping practices to discuss what works in the Panhandle region.
But the day didn’t end there, as smaller subgroups gathered over supper to discuss how they could work together, share knowledge and support each other’s learning going forward. The Texas Panhandle Soil Health Practitioners Facebook group, created by Timothy Ingalls of The Tecovas Foundation, is one way for Panhandle area producers to stay in touch and support each other.
Thanks to The Tecovas Foundation for funding this event, and for their enthusiasm and support for the regenerative agriculture movement in the Texas Panhandle. Thanks to Rick Auckerman of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Deaf Smith County for hosting this event, and JD Ragland, of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Randall County for assisting.
New Agrarian Training
This spring HMI teamed up with the Quivira Coalition and their New Agrarian Training Program to bring Holistic Management to the apprentices in their program.
As part of HMI’s Hands On Learning we have partnered with a select number of organizations who provide residential production training and Holistic Management so young agrarians can learn basic farming and ranching skills to prepare for a farm and ranch manager position or start their own farm or ranch businesses.
The 2018 New Agrarian Training Program started off with a oneday introduction to Holistic Management taught by Ann Adams in Albuquerque, NM. This workshop included developing draft holistic goals and practicing testing on-farm/ranch decisions and time out on the land learning how to read ecosystem health and understand the impact tools make on the landscape. The rest of the Holistic Management curriculum will be offered online through the summer by other instructors.
Monica Pless, Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian Program Director worked with the apprentices to prepare them for their positions at different agricultural operations around the West including Holistic Management operations such as the Ranney Ranch, San Juan Ranch, Round River Resource Management, the Triangle P Cattle Company, and the James Ranch.
If you currently offer internships, apprenticeships or are an educational farm that meets the outlined requirements and would like to be considered as an approved partnered site, please contact Dr. Ann Adams at anna@holisticmanagement.org.
From the Board Chair
BY DANNY NUCKOLS, PhD
“I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address those problems. But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy…and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation… and we scientists don’t know how to do that.” —Gus Speth (renowned environmental lawyer)
The above quote was shared with me by Walter Lynn, fellow HMI board member and close friend, and soon to be the next HMI chair. Speth’s quote testifies to the notion that the essential understanding that girds the Holistic Management philosophy is that land stewardship has an inescapable ethical underpinning.
And that although there is a very important engineering/scientific aspect to agriculture, it is at the same time biological, economic, cultural, philosophical, and “following the understanding of most farmers in most places and times, religious. Agriculture involves questions of value and therefore of moral choice, whether or not we care to admit it,” as Ellen Davis claims in Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture.
A human-centered world has unfortunately been translated into the further belief that there are really no borders to the progress that could be gained with the right science and technology—in essence, the natural world is only a “means,” a resource to maximize our material utility. Such a myopic perspective cannot, however, be found in the literature surrounding holistic land management, or in HMI’s training materials or the training offered by our Certified Educators.
All who approach a more holistic perspective to agriculture, or seemingly all, speak of a “connection” to the land that is not utilitarian in a cost/benefit dollar sense—sometimes that connection is spiritual, even religious. In his work, Ecologies of the Heart: Emotion, Belief, and the Environment, E.N. Anderson “has concluded that all traditional societies that have managed resources well over time have done so in part through religion—by the use of emotionally powerful cultural symbols that reinforce particular resource management. Folk beliefs are often dismissed as irrational superstitions… (yet) these beliefs do more to protect the environment than modern science does in the West.”
Some Holistic Management practitioners, however, may take a less overtly religious stand, but still invoke a mystical aspect to explain their connection to the land. As Willis Jenkins highlights in Ecologies of Grace, Rachel Carson claims “there is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature.” Jenkins himself feels encountering nature involves a kind of faith, and believes, “in the healing energy of wildness, in the holiness of creation,” as expressed by Scott Russel Sanders.
Jenkins goes on to proclaim that “one of the reasons many of us keep going back to Thoreau and Muir and Leopold and Carson is because they kept that faith.” Moreover, environmental writing seems to dwell within the literatures of faith, and can be seen by nature writer Barry Lopez’s focus on the cultivation of reverence, which allows a landscape to enter and elevate a person. Humans are creatures (paraphrasing Jenkins) in search of…patterns of grace. When the land gets inside of us, writes Lopez, those patterns of grace are crucial for deciding what we will do about it. Little wonder, Gus Speth feels scientists need a spiritual and cultural revolution.
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h h NEWS FROM HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL h
HMI is excited to announce a new Advisory Council member, Deborah Clark. Deborah and her husband,
Emry Birdwell, run a stocker operation of 5,000–7,000 head on the 14,000acre Birdwell & Clark Ranch in Clay
County, Texas. The enterprise mix consists of 2,000 stocker cattle on leased wheat acres and one herd of approximately 5,000 head at the ranch using a high density grazing management plan. The primary goals of the grazing practice are to consistently improve range conditions, soil health, and cattle productivity. A secondary interest is assessing and monitoring the impact of high density grazing on wildlife and habitat with a focus on bobwhite quail. Emry has been a practitioner of Holistic Management since the early 1980s and Deborah has been involved in Holistic
Management since 2009. As a Certified Educator, Deborah works to help others learn to manage their resources in a way that keeps the business, land, family, and community healthy. Deborah Clark
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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.
UNITED STATES
ARIZONA
Tim McGaffic
P.O. Box 1903, Cave Creek, AZ 85327 808/936-5749 • tim@timmcgaffic.com CALIFORNIA * Lee Altier College of Agriculture, CSU 400 West First St., Chico, CA 95929-0310 laltier@csuchico.edu • 530/636-2525
Owen Hablutzel
4235 W. 63rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90043 310/567-6862 • go2owen@gmail.com
Richard King
1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954 rking1675@gmail.com • 707/217-2308 (c) 707/769-1490 (h) * Kelly Mulville P.O. Box 23, Paicines, CA 95043 707/431-8060 • kmulville@gmail.com * Donald D. Nelson 11728 Shafer Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080-8994 208/301-5066 • nelson-don1@hotmail.com
Rob Rutherford
4757 Bridgecreek Rd., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805/544-5781 (h) • 805/550-4858 (c) robtrutherford@gmail.com COLORADO
Cindy Dvergsten
17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323 970/882-4222 • 970/739-2445 (c) wnc@gobrainstorm.net * Katie Miller 22755 E Garrett Rd, Calhan, CO 80808 970/310-0852 • heritagebellefarms@gmail.com KANSAS
Bill Casey
13835 Udall Road, Erie, KS 66733 620/423-2842 • bill.caseyag@gmail.com MICHIGAN
Larry Dyer
1113 Klondike Ave, Petoskey, MI 49770 231/347-7162 (h) • 231/881-2784 (c) ldyer3913@gmail.com MISSISSIPPI * Preston Sullivan 610 Ed Sullivan Lane NE, Meadville, MS 39653 prestons@telepak.net 601/384-5310 (h) • 601/835-6124 (c) MONTANA * Amy Driggs 1551 Burma Road, Eureka, MT 59917 208/310-6664 • adriggs@ldagmachinery.com
Roland Kroos
4926 Itana Circle, Bozeman, MT 59715 406/522-3862 • 406/581-3038 (c) kroosing@msn.com * Cliff Montagne Montana State University 1105 S. Tracy, Bozeman, MT 59715 406/599-7755 (c) • montagne@montana.edu NEBRASKA
Paul Swanson
5155 West 12th St., Hastings, NE 68901 402/463-8507 • 402/705-1241 (c) pswanson3@unl.edu
Ralph Tate
1109 Timber Dr., Papillion, NE 68046 402/932-3405 • 402/250-8981 (c) Tater2d2@cox.net NEW HAMPSHIRE
Seth Wilner
24 Main Street, Newport, NH 03773 603/863-4497 (h) • 603/863-9200 (w) 603/543-7169 (c) • seth.wilner@unh.edu NEW MEXICO
Ann Adams
Holistic Management International 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B Albuquerque, NM 87109 505/842-5252 • anna@holisticmanagement.org
Kelly Boney
4865 Quay Road L, San Jon, NM 88434 575/268-1162 • kellyboney_79@yahoo.com
Kirk Gadzia
P.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004 505/263-8677 (c) • kirk@rmsgadzia.com
Jeff Goebel
1033 N. Gabaldon Rd., Belen, NM 87002 541/610-7084 • goebel@aboutlistening.com
Kathy Harris
Holistic Management International 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B Albuquerque, NM 87109 505/842-5252 • kathyh@holisticmanagement.org
INTERNATIONAL
AUSTRALIA
Judi Earl
“Glen Orton” 3843 Warialda Rd. Coolatai, NSW 2402 61-409-151-969 (c) • judi_earl@bigpond.com
Paul Griffiths
PO Box 186, Mudgee, NSW 2850 612-6373-3078 paul@holisticmudgee.com
Graeme Hand
150 Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 3302 61-3-5578-6272 (h) • 61-4-1853-2130 (c) graemehand9@gmail.com
Dick Richardson
PO Box 341 Balhannah SA 5242 61-0-42906900 (c) dick@dickrichardson.com.au
Jason Virtue
P.O. Box 75 Cooran QLD 4569 61-0-754851997 • jason@spiderweb.com.au
Brian Wehlburg
Pine Scrub Creek, Kindee, NSW 2446 61-2-6587-4353 (h) • 61 04087 404 431 (c) brian@insideoutsidemgt.com.au CANADA
Don Campbell
Box 817 Meadow Lake, SK S0X 1Y6 306/236-6088 • 320/240-7660 (c) doncampbell@sasktel.net
Ralph Corcoran
Box 36, Langbank, SK S0G 2X0 306/532-4778 rlcorcoran@sasktel.net NEW YORK * Craig Leggett 6143 SR 9, Chestertown, NY 12817 518/494-2324 (h) • 970/946-1771 (c) craigrleggett@gmail.com * Erica Frenay Shelterbelt Farm 200 Creamery Rd., Brooktondale, NY 14817 607/539-6512 (h) • 607/342-3771 (c) info@shelterbeltfarm.com * Elizabeth Marks 1024 State Rt. 66, Ghent, NY 12075 518/828-4385 x107 (w) • 518/567-9476 (c) Elizabeth.marks@ny.usda.gov
Phillip Metzger
120 Thompson Creek Rd., Norwich, NY 13815 607/334-2407 (h) • pmetzger17@gmail.com NORTH DAKOTA
Joshua Dukart
2539 Clover Place, Bismarck, ND 58503 701/870-1184 • Joshua_dukart@yahoo.com OREGON
Angela Boudro
PO Box 3444, Central Point, OR 97502 541/ 890-4014 • angelaboudro@gmail.com SOUTH DAKOTA * Randal Holmquist 4870 Cliff Drive, Rapid City, SD 57702 605/730-0550, randy@zhvalley.com TEXAS * Lisa Bellows North Central Texas College 1525 W. California St., Gainesville, TX 76240-4636 940/736-3996 (c) • 940/668-7731 ext. 4346 (o) lbellows@nctc.edu
Deborah Clark
PO Box 90, Henrietta, TX 76365-0090 940/328-5542 • deborahclark90@sbcglobal.net
Guy Glosson
6717 Hwy. 380, Snyder, TX 79549
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@cciwireless.ca * Noel McNaughton 5704-144 St NW, Edmonton, AB T6H 4H4 780/432-5492; noel@mcnaughton.ca
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
Box 72, Blackroot, A B TOB OLO 780/872-2585 (c) • 780/875-4418 (w) kelly.sidoryk@gmail.com FINLAND
Tuomas Mattila
Töllintie 27, Pusula, 3850 +358 40 743 2412 • tuomas.j.mattila@gmail.com KENYA
Christine C. Jost
Box 30677, Nairobi 00100 773/706-2705 (c) • 703/981-1224 (w) cjost@usaid.gov NAMIBIA
Usiel Seuakouje Kandjii
P O Box 24102, Windhoek 9000 264-812840426 (c) • 264-61-244028 (h) kandjiiu@gmail.com 806/237-2554 • glosson@caprock-spur.com
Tracy Litle
1277 S CR 305, Orange Grove, TX 78372 361/537-3417 (c) • tjlitle@hotmail.com
Peggy Maddox
9460 East FM 1606, Hermleigh, TX 79526 325/226-3042 (c) • westgift@hughes.net * Katherine Napper Ottmers 313 Lytle Street, Kerrville, TX 78028 830/896-1474 • katherineottmers@icloud.com * CD Pounds 753 VZ CR 1114, Fruitvale, TX 75127 214/568-3377 • cdpounds@live.com
Peggy Sechrist
106 Thunderbird Ranch Road Fredericksburg, TX 78624 830/456-5587 (c) • peggysechrist@gmail.com WISCONSIN * Heather Flashinski 16294 250th Street, Cadott, WI 54727 715/289-4896 (w) • 715/379-3742 (c) grassheather@hotmail.com * Larry Johnson 453 Woodside Terrace, Madison, WI 53711 608/957-2935 • larrystillpointfarm@gmail.com * Laura Paine N893 Kranz Rd., Columbus, WI 53925 920/623-4407 (h) • 608/338-9039 (c) lkpaine@gmail.com
For more information about or application forms for the HMI’s Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Ann Adams or visit our website: www.holisticmanagement.org.
These associate educators provide educational services to their communities and peer groups.
Colin Nott
PO Box 11977, Windhoek 9000 264-81-2418778 (c) • 264-61-225085 (h) canott@iafrica.com.na
Wiebke Volkmann
P. O . Box 9285, Windhoek 264-61-225183 or 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@afol.com.na NEW ZEALAND * John King P. O. Box 12011, Beckenha Christchurch 8242 64-276-737-885 john@succession.co.nz SOUTH AFRICA
Wayne Knight
Solar Addicts, P.O. Box 537, Mokopane, 0600 South Africa 27-0-15-491-5286 +27-87-550-0255 (h) • +27-82-805-3274 (c) wayne@theknights.za.net
Jozua Lambrechts
PO Box 5070, Helderberg, Somerset West, 7135 +27-0-21 -851 5669 • +27-0-08-310-1940
Ian Mitchell-Innes
14 Chevril Road, Ladysmith, 3370 +27-83-262-9030 ian@mitchell-innes.co.za UNITED KINGDOM * Philip Bubb 32 Dart Close, St. Ives, Cambridge, PE27 3JB 44-1480-496-2925 (h)+44 7837 405483 (w) pjbubb99@gmail.com
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SAVE THE DATE!
Worldwide Agriculture Conference/ www.wwag.co.nz
University of Missouri July 25–27, 2018
Honoring the work and current use of Dr. William Albrecht’s soil fertility program.
For consulting or educational services contact: Kinsey Agricultural Services, Inc.
297 County Highway 357 Ph: 573/683-3880, Fax: 573/683-6227 Charleston, Missouri 63834 www.kinseyag.com • info@kinseyag.com
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DEVELOPMENT CORNER
The Power of Holistic Management— Betsy and Reeves Brown
Betsy and Reeves Brown ranch on the 10,360-acre 3R Ranch near Beulah, Colorado. Betsy has a long history with HMI which includes being Chair of the Colorado Branch for Holistic Management and Board Chair of HMI (then the Center for
Holistic Resource Management) in the early 1990s. The Browns took their first Holistic Management course in 1985.
“It was absolutely fantastic,” says Betsy. “I had been reading articles about Holistic Management in the New Mexico Stockman and we knew we both had to go. We were ready to do every single part of the process. We took all the courses over again because we felt like we needed to learn more. It was the best thing that happened to us for our management. We had been doing a good job, but we felt like we could do so much better.
Before Holistic Management, there was 30–40% bare ground on the 3R Ranch. Within a couple of years, it had diminished to 10% bare ground with a significant increase in plant biodiversity.
“We were in debt because the partner we had to buy the ranch with us had backed out. That training helped us create a profitable enterprise in spite of those challenges. We knew we needed a plan that was going to teach us how to manage the land better. The first thing we did was to put all the cattle together in one herd. The next thing we did was to change our recovery periods. The training helped us see how important that was. Before the training we were continuous grazing. After the training we made sure we had recovery periods of 90–120 days.
“We are in a short-grass grama dominated country. But, we had [HMI Certified Educator] Kirk Gadzia come up and help us step through the grazing plan and mediate the process as we figured things out. It was a whole new experience. We quickly moved to having 10 different grass species that all came back on their own through our improved grazing. Our forage production increased as we moved from needing 16 acres/cow to only 7.6 acres. Stopping that continuous graze meant the difference between having a little bit of grass fuzz to a grass stand that something could hide in.
“I took on those leadership roles for the Center [HMI] because I felt it was such a worthwhile cause,” says Betsy. “The training we took had been so important to us and we felt like others needed to have that opportunity as well. At the time we were involved in one of the management clubs that the Colorado Branch for Holistic Management was offering. The clubs helped all of us learning Holistic Management because we needed to support each other and be able to ask questions. We’d meet quarterly and offer other programs and then have an annual meeting. It really helped to encourage the management changes we all needed to do. I think what makes Holistic Management unique and makes it work is that it’s about the whole—it’s helping you take everything into account and build your plans from that understanding.” Betsy Brown at the 3R Ranch
