Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives.
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 9
HMI 2018 Annual Report Dear HMI Community, In 2018 HMI engaged in some of our strongest collaborations to date culminating with the 2018 REGENERATE Conference we hosted with the Quivira Coalition and the American Grassfed Association in Albuquerque, New Mexico attended by over 700 participants. We were particularly pleased that such a large number of the participants were under 40 years old given the aging agriculture population. The need for more regenerative agricultural producers on the land is greater than ever as we see more agricultural land move out of production because of development pressure, decreased production, and increasing weather fluctuation. To meet that need HMI collaborated with over 100 organizations around the globe to deliver 90 days of programming. We also had 305 farmers and ranchers enroll in HMI’s Getting Started Courses and other online training. Overall HMI’s programming and global network of over 60 Certified Educators trained and presented on Holistic Management to 9,071 people, while also positively impacting over 11 million acres. Thanks to the support of our generous donors in 2018 (including a $20,000 Regenerative Agriculture Scholarship grant from the Greenacres Foundation, HMI was able to increase the total amount of scholarships to over
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$24,000 to beginning and transitioning farmers and ranchers needing financial assistance as well as helping us begin to offer more scholarship support for Certified Educator trainees. On the outreach front, we continue to expand our scope by educating more people about Holistic Management and HMI. By the end of the year, our outreach outcomes included over 21,000 Facebook fans and 16,000+ Twitter followers with almost 18,000 people subscribing to our e-letter. HMI’s board also brought more focus to increasing our investment portfolio while building greater financial stability for HMI into the future. Toward that end and a tighter focus on our most effective programming, we were able end the year with an increase in Net Asset without Donor Restrictions of $78,373. We were also able to decrease our expenses by 29% and increase our financial reserves by 5.9%. With the outstanding success of last year’s REGENERATE Conference, we have already begun planning with the Quivira Coalition and the American Grassfed Association for the 2019 REGENERATE Conference to be held at the Hotel Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 19-22nd, 2019. We hope to see you all there. We will have a pre-conference Social on November 19th so please come in town early enough to participate and meet HMI’s Board of Directors, Advisory Council, and Certified Educators. This year’s theme is “Health from the Soil Up.” Please keep an eye out for more information about this conference which will feature keynote speaker Fred Provenza and a host of Holistic Management practitioners and educators, as well as innovative regenerative agricultural advocates and health professionals. We are grateful to our growing team of Board, staff, Advisory Council, Certified Educators, collaborators, and practitioners who are passionately involved in the work of creating healthy land and thriving communities through the practice of Holistic Management.
Ann Adams - Executive Director
Walter Lynn - Board Chair
Annual Report INSIDE THIS ISSUE In this issue HMI shares our 2018 Annual Report, touching on the key metrics we achieved in 2018 and thanking our many donors and supporters. Please be sure to check out our infographic on the back page of this issue for the highlights from 2018.
Annual Report Financials Summarized Statement of Activities
Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives.
In Practice a publication of Hollistic Management International
HMI educates people in regenerative agriculture for healthy land and thriving communities. STAFF Ann Adams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Executive Director Kathy Harris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Program Director Carrie Stearns . . . . . . . . . . . . Director of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Communications & Outreach Stephanie Von Ancken . . . . . Program Manager Oris Salazar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Program Assistant
2018
2017
Revenue 101,449 Educational Programs 28,556 Publications 108,381 Partnership & Trust Mineral Interests, net of 203,456 in production expenses 425,834 72,765 Investment Income (237,976) Unrealized gain (loss) on Investments 43,707 Unrealized gain (loss) on closely held stock 979 Miscellaneous income 235,250 Grants 52,475 Contributions 40,606 In-kind 14,639 Consulting 886,665 Total Revenues
135,987 26,478 85,464 351,934 7,653 82,422 55,760 1,070 163,779 163,150 48,295 — 1,121,992
Expenses Program General & Administrative Fundraising Total Expenses
551,119 232,388 29,900 813,407
937,982 147,886 55,798 1,141,666
73,258
(19,674)
Change in Net Assets
Summarized Statement of Financial Position Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents Investments – Mutual Funds Program Receivables Mineral Interest Receivables Other Receivables Prepaid Expenses Inventory Total Current Assets
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Walter Lynn, Chair Wayne Knight, Vice-Chair Avery Anderson-Sponholtz, Secretary Gerardo Bezanilla Kirrily Blomfield Kevin Boyer Jonathan Cobb Guy Glosson Daniel Nuckols Robert Potts Jim Shelton Kelly Sidoryk Sarah Williford
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT In Practice (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by: Holistic Management International 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B Albuquerque, NM 87109
Copyright © 2019
572,652 1,658,749 11,446 99,193 1,100 5,478 13,980 2,362,598
Property & Equipment Property & Equipment Less: Accumulated Depreciation Net Property & Equipment Other Assets Stock in closely held companies Mineral interests Less: Accumulated Depletion Net Mineral Interests Total Other Assets Total Assets
643,218 131,344 511,874
643,218 109,278 533,940
638,390 2,022,236 1,213,230 809,006 1,447,396 4,437,668
594,683 2,022,236 1,112,118 910,118 1,504,801 4,401,339
Current Liabilities Accounts payable Accrued Benefits & Tax Liability Deferred Revenue Property Tax Liability Note Payable – Current Portion Total Current Liabilities
8,519 31,237 1,785 25,182 28,202 94,925
18,065 42,338 4,868 11,133 27,248 103,652
208,932 208,932
237,134 237,134
Net Assets Without Donor Restrictions With Donor Restrictions Total Net Assets
4,052,711 81,100 4,133,811
3,974,338 86,215 4,060,553
Total Liabilities and Net Assets
4,437,668
4,401,339
Long-Term Liabilities Note Payable (less current portion) Total Long-Term Liabilities
505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: hmi@holisticmanagement.org.; website: www.holisticmanagement.org
790,386 1,660,576 7,311 — — 9,569 10,556 2,478,398
Holistic Management® is a registered trademark of Holistic Management International
FEATURE STORIES Annual Report............................................................. 1 2018 Financials.......................................................... 2 Donors & Supporters.................................................. 3 Redtail Farms— A Successful Family Transition
KELLY SIDORYK........................................................................... 5
Five Keys to Quality Cattle
DAVID PRATT............................................................................... 6
2 IN PRACTICE
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Restoring Old Pastures with Holistic Grazing Planning at Arriola Sunshine Farm
commercial soil inoculant on crop yields & basil downy mildew disease resistance
LAND & LIVESTOCK
NEWS & NETWORK
Sunrise Farm— Developing a Regenerative Farm in Alberta
Program Round Up.................................................. 18
CASE STUDY
Market Place............................................................ 21
CINDY DVERGSTEN AND MIKE RICH........................................ 7
HEATHER SMITH THOMAS.......................................................10
On Farm Research— Comparison of indigenous microorganism and
MELODY WRIGHT......................................................................17
Certified Educators.................................................. 20 Development Corner............................................... 24
Donors & Supporters 2018 GRANTS, SPONSORSHIPS, & DONATIONS HMI would like to thank all of our donors whose generous contributions help make our work possible. Stewards ($50,000+) The Christiano Family Charitable Fund Tecovas Foundation Guardians ($10,000+) Greenacres Foundation Regenerative Ag Foundation RSF Social Finance The Nature Conservancy Colorado Protectors ($5,000+) Dixon Water Foundation Farm Aid Inc Leigh & Charlie Merinoff TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation Keepers ($2,500+) Clif Bar Family Foundation Hudson Valley Farm Hub Joy Law Kirk Gadzia Simply Organic The Judith McBean Foundation Wally Olson Patrons ($1,000+) Amy & Joseph Morel Armando J. Flocchini III Ballantine Family Fund Ben & Denise Bartlett
Betsy & Reeves Brown Christine Su Clint & Betty Josey Deaf Smith County Texas Agrilife Extension Emry Birdwell & Deborah Clark Gail Hammack and Doug McDaniel Joan Bybee Martha Holdridge Mary Etta Johnston Pono & Angela Von Holt Robert Potts Ron Chapman Tuomas Mattila Walter Lynn Western Landowners Alliance William and Theresa Litle Sustainers ($500+) Alice Strunk Ann Adams Ann Beeghly Bean Hollow Farm Bruce & Lisa Rickard Curt & Patty Epler Danny and Martha Nuckols Emery Mitchamore Genevieve Duncan George Rodes James & Ann McMullan Jim & Carol Parker Kathy Harris
Mary N. Adams Mary T Baldrige Microsoft Office Montesino Ranch Pete Pulis Rob & Marti Rutherford Ryan Jarvis Sapbush Hollow Farm Spring Branch Ranch Sunfire Ranch Wayne Knight Supporters ($250+) Albert Lowry Alisa Gravitz & Joe Garman Ann S. Hattis Byron & Wayne Eatinger Charles & Jennifer Sands Cindy Dvergsten Clove Valley CSA David Hall Elizabeth Lende Fidelity Charitable Gail Kursel Heather Ridge Farm Henri Ailio Jack & Zera Varian Jaye Henneke Jennifer Peotter Ken Klemm Kenneth Riddle Kent Reid Kerry N. Kearney Kim Stackhouse Lawson Louis Hagener M.K. & Veronica Campbell Margaret HIllenbrand Matt & Christy Brown Michael Casper Mount Sopris Soil Conservation District
2018 Funding Expenditures Fundraising General & Administration
Programs
Nancy & David Levi Randal Holmquist Roland Kroos Twin Mountain Fence Co. Friends (<$250) Anonymous Alexey Gnoyanic Art & Leslie McElroy Barbara & William Scaife Barbara Love Barbara Person Brad Wind CD Pounds C. J. Cady Candace Burns Carl D Warrick Carrie Stearns Cassandra Goodmansen Catherine Fitts Celia Bell Charles & Peggy Schmidt Charles Mitchell Christina Riepe Christine Senter Christoffel Den Biggelaar Cliff Schuette Clifford Hawbaker Daniel Schuck & Sue Kacskos Dave Dorrance Dave Maxwell Dave Riggs David McFarren David Perry Bowser Denise Bostdorff & Daniel O’Rourke Denise Rankin Dennis & Ruth Demmel Derek & Kirrily Blomfield Doak Elledge Donald Whitten Doug & Clare Barnett Douglas Dockter Edvard Nordenskjold Elizabeth Walbridge Ellen Heath Emil & Maryann Casciano Emily Moose Esther Harte GaryLee LeGare Gerry Rackley Greg & Lauren Edelen Guy Glosson Hugh B. Garnett, Jr Jacqueline McLain James & Geraldine Matthews James F. Dudley James Reining CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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Donors & Supporters Jason Long Jeff & Denise Hunewill Jeff Yarman Jennifer Munster Joe Glode Joe Williams III John & Linda Decker John & Pamela Trent John C & Rosalyn G Phillips John Kretzmann Jon & Betsy Elliott Jonathan and Kaylyn Cobb Jonathan Quinn Joseph & Blair Fitzsimons Jussi Leinone Kacy Colston Kali Linder Karen McFarland Ken Gallard Kevin Fulton Kim Pophal Kirk Cunningham Laura Gill Lauren Dillon Lila McNeil Lowry McAllen Margaret Matter Margy Rogers Marilee Williams Mary Ellen Gonzales Merrie Talley Mike Turner Nancy Singham Nicklaus Biewenga Oris Salazar Parducci Wine Cellars Peggy & Joe Maddox Phil Mueller Raven Spratt Richard Teague Sally Gamauf Shipwheel Cattle Feeders Ltd. Stacey Sullivan Stefan Hagopian Stephanie von Ancken Stephen Williams Sterling Grogan Steve Dorrance Steve Wooten Susan Brook Susan Cousineau Susan Stropes Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Wheeler County Tom & Irene Frantzen 4 IN PRACTICE
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Valerie Taylor Vivianne Holmes Wyman McCain A special thanks to the following organizations and individuals who have graciously supported our programs. A Greener World Agricultura Network Albuquerque Parks & Recreation Allen Williams Amerian Grassfed Association Animal Welfare Approved Arriola Sunshine Farm Audubon NM Audubon Rockies Avery Anderson-Sponholtz Baltic Sea Action Group Beatty Canyon Ranch Bernalillo County Extension NMSU Bernalillo County Open Space Birdwell & Clark Ranch Blue Ranch California Certified Organic Farmers Capital Farm Credit Cedar Mesa Ranch Chesapeake Bay Foundation City of Albuquerque Open Space Colorado Small Business Development Center Colorado State Land Board CrossRoads Ranch Consulting Culpepper Soil and Water Conservation District Desert Oasis Teaching Garden Dry Creek Livestock
edible New Mexico Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance Farmers Cooperative First Priority Irrigation First State Bank Mobeetie Flying Diamond Ranch Four Corners Ag Entrepreneurs Four Corners Farmers & Ranchers Association Gerardo Bezanilla Green Fields Farm Greg Judy High Desert Conservation District Humble Coffee JBS USA JE Canyon Ranch Kevin Boyer Kilpian Farm Las Animas County CSU Extension Leasowes Farm Log Cabin Livestock Farm Longview Farms Mancos Conservation District Mendocino County Farm Bureau Merrill Lynch Montesino Ranch Munkebo Farm National Young Farmers Coalition New Mexico Farmers Market Association New Mexico State University Extension North Central Texas College Ogallala Commons Open Space Alliance Pasture for Life PastureMap Piedmont Environmental Council Pitman County Open Space Pop Fizz Ranchlands
Resilency Lands Resource Management Services Rockwall Equine Clinic Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Round River Resource Management Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Sarah Williford School of Adaptive Agriculture Sectormentor for Soils Smiling Tree Farm Solar Addicts Stockman Grassfarmer Street Food Institute Sustainable Food Center Sustainable Growth Texas Tercio Ranch Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Randall County Texas Farm Bureau Wheeler County Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association Texas Parks & Wildlife The Carbon Project The Log House Farm The Quivira Coalition Thornburg Foundation Tiny Chicken Ranch Triple Cross Farm Twin Mountain Fence UNM Sustainability USDA-NRCS Virginia Working Landscapes Wellington State Bank West Texas A&M Canyon Wheeler Land and Livestock Whole New Concepts William Burnidge Windy Oaks Grassfed Beef World Wildlife Fund Zendo Coffee
2018 Income Sources
Grants Miscellaneous Income Unrealized gain (loss) on closely held stock
July / August 2019
Consulting Educational Programs Contributions In-kind Publications Partnership & Trust
Unrealized gain (loss) on Investments
Mineral Interests, net Investment Income
Redtail Farms—
A Successful Family Transition BY KELLY SIDORYK
I
an Greibel and Dana Blume are third generation farmers, with the view towards developing the farm for the seventh generation. That is the long vision they take on the central Alberta operation of a mix of rejuvenated grasslands and wetlands, with their two young sons, Cohen, 4, and Fynn, 2. Ian’s parents, Richard Greibel and Kathleen Charpentier, first took Holistic Management training in the mid 1990s. Ian has a clear memory of a goal setting session with Don Campbell when he was about 12. In addition, he and his siblings grew up attending many Holistic Management events. “That (exposure) has really served me well,” Ian says. The impact of Holistic Management was further felt when his father Richard passed away in 2014. He needed to step up as his dad was gone and his mom literally stepped out and turned the reins over. It was a huge learning curve, which Ian noted was “a blessing and a curse. I was literally given a farm that I had grown up on but had been away from for 10 years pursuing a carpentry career. We made mistakes but had a lot of successes too,” says Ian. Don Campbell again helped them through the transition process not long after Richard had passed away. Dana says “It was so valuable to have that neutral third party involved to focus on the people side and communication. He made sure that everyone was involved, all Ian’s siblings and their spouses, and were able to express their expectations.” Once a clear vision had been created, they then went to Merle Good, from Alberta, for the technical and financial piece. “We realized to be successful on this scale we need to be highly creative and have the appropriate amount of diversity,” Ian says. Now he and his wife Dana and their two young children have a clear vision of the future they are trying to create. They consider themselves to be perennial farming for what the landscape wants to be. This year they are building a food forest working with nature as it progresses to a climax ecosystem. “The annual food production model is hard to sustain so we are looking at building this around the principles of a forest.” There are a wide variety of trees and shrubs, including many fruit producers. Incorporating grazing livestock is another component, along
with inclusion of pollinators and native grasses and flowers. Two of the main enterprises are grassfed beef and pork. Last year they decided to double their grassfed production from around 20 animals to 40. Moving the meat was a big challenge, but it pushed them to step up their marketing game. Some great things came from the challenge, including a collaboration with a restaurant, Chartier in Beaumont, Alberta, about two and a half hours away from the farm. “The restaurant has been amazing to work with and is committed to using the whole animal. The menu changes and every week they feature a different
folks to learn and have a great experience with live music and more local produce, including a brewery. The couple also sees these events as a way to strengthen community where neighbors can also come and enjoy. With the larger centers being at least two and a half hours away, Redtail is building a campsite. “We want to make coming to our place worth a five- to six-hour drive,” says Ian. Ian and Dana have broad marketing strategies with the bigger picture in mind, including revitalizing community and farm diversity. To enhance their marketing, they developed a four-part video series of life on the
The Greibel-Blume Family cut, even heart,” Ian explains. Their hope is the culinary world can feature and showcase not only the whole animal but also the grassfed aspect. Another participating restaurant is Woodwork in downtown Edmonton. A goal of the couple has been to run a one herd system and they are excited about being able to do that for the coming growing year. They only retained steers for the meat program which will run with the main herd until later in the grazing season, to then meet the differing nutritional requirements. The simplicity appeals to them. The grazing plan is based on a 90-day recovery, with approximately two-day moves. “We move fairly quickly and try to take a 40% graze,” says Ian. Farm tourism has been another way to expand their scope. Last year they hosted two events where the chefs came to the farm. They want to provide an opportunity for the urban
farm based on the seasons. “New farmers have to share their story. That may mean leaving the farm and talking to people, stepping out of the usual comfort zone,” Ian adds. Another enterprise was developed by mom, Kathleen, when she moved out of the main farm house to allow Ian and Dana and their children to move in. A new building was erected with a yoga studio on the main floor and living quarters above. She conducts numerous yoga classes and retreats focusing on health and wellness. A number of years ago an on-farm processing facility was built and it has been revitalized with the return of Ian’s sister and her new husband, who happens to be a Scottish butcher. Value adding to their production excites Ian and there are more opportunities to explore with his sister, Tess, who is also a cheesemaker. Redtail Farms is also part of another new venture, The Prairie Farm Project, based on CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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BY DAVE PRATT
A
popular industry magazine found its way to my desk this week. An article that described five essential “wisdoms” for producing quality cattle piqued my curiosity. According to the author, the first key is “Be fanatic about animal health.” Key number two is “Pay the extra money for a good bull and build a reputation for quality cattle.” According to the article that “will come back ten-fold when it’s time to market your calves.” Really? Instead of $1.60 a pound I’ll get $16.00 a pound? The article did get me thinking about principles that are important to producing quality cattle. The obvious prerequisite is to define what quality cattle means. If you are ranching for profit, there is only one possible definition. It doesn’t matter how big or old an animal is. It doesn’t matter what color it is or what pedigree it has. It can have one eye or three. Quality cattle are cattle that make you money. More specifically, quality cattle are cattle that produce a healthy gross margin. Gross margin measures the economic efficiency of production. Rather than measuring the productivity of an animal, it measures the value of an animal’s production relative to the direct costs required to support that production. Which are the quality cattle: A herd of sleek black cows with 95% conception rate and an average of 600 pounds per cow with a gross
Redtail Farms
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the old ways of collaboration among farmers. Partnering and supporting other farms in the area with similar ideas and beliefs and sharing and utilizing skills and talents opens up many more possibilities for everyone involved. For example, one of the other farms produces grassfed beef as well as chickens, while another has honey, vegetables and flowers. In all of this, Holistic Management has been an amazing tool and decision making process to follow. Permaculture has been another planning component they have included. “More and more we are looking at the social side of things and the future of communities,” says Ian. “We need more people moving back to our rural communities, allowing for diversity in the economies and the enthusiasm and creativity that young people bring.” Rebuilding flourishing 6 IN PRACTICE
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margin of $300 per animal unit, or a herd with cows that are every color imaginable, that have a 75% conception rate and produce a gross margin of $500 per animal unit? If you are ranching for profit the answer is obviously the second herd. Here are the keys to producing quality (high gross margin) cattle, or any species of livestock for that matter: 1. Fit the enterprise to the resource. It doesn’t matter how productive your cows are if you shouldn’t have cows. You can cram a square peg in a round hole, but it is expensive, exhausting and unsustainable. 2. Fit the production schedule to the environment. Why don’t elk in Montana calve in March? It’s because nature’s production cycle is in sync with the seasonal availability of forage and because photoperiod has a big effect on the seasonal fertility of all grazing animals. This isn’t to say that everyone should be calving in late May or June. But being able to reduce hay feeding by $200-$300 per cow probably adds more value to most ranches than the extra $100 you might get for the calf weaned by the cow that consumed all that hay. 3. Find animals that fit the environment. Hot and humid or cold and dry, subtropical or temperate, prairie, mountain or desert, a cow that works in one environment may not be suited to another. That goes for the production schedule too. A cow selected to be productive in a March-April calving program may not be fit for a May-June
calving program. 4. Hit depreciation head on. For most producers the biggest cost of keeping a cow isn’t feed, rent, or labor. It’s depreciation. We rarely even think of depreciation as a cost of keeping a cow, let alone the biggest cost! In a typical herd, depreciation averages $250-$350 per cow per year. That’s $250-$350 on every cow every year! Many Ranching For Profit grads have drastically reduced depreciation in their herds. Some have even eliminated it. In my mind’s eye, cattle that don’t depreciate are quality cattle. 5. Come up with a replacement strategy that works. Most cow/calf producers have no idea of the real cost of raising their own replacements. The gross margin of a productive cow is almost always at least a couple hundred dollars higher than the gross margin of H1’s or H2’s on the same ranch. There are alternatives to raising your own replacement heifers. You can contract with someone else to raise them, buy them, or buy older, depreciated cows as your replacements. It is a breakthrough for some producers to realize that they don’t need replacement heifers. It’s not heifers they need to replace, it’s cows. That paradigm shift opens the door to several profitable opportunities.
This article was first printed in Ranching for Profit’s Profit Tips at: https://ranchmanagement.com/5-keys-toquality-cattle/
communities is clearly something that lights To learn more about Redtail Farms go to: a fire under Ian, producing an abundance of Redtailfarms.ca everything. “It is not always the easiest but something I love,” he says. Dana adds, “The Holistic Management community has been so important to us as young farmers, especially for Ian without his Dad. It is a great support system that has been created Redtail Farms offers farm dinners as part of their direct marketing. for us.”
www.detourphotography.ca
Five Keys to Quality Cattle
Restoring Old Pastures with Holistic Grazing Planning at Arriola Sunshine Farm
impact on our small acreage. With carefully planned grazing and use of animal impact, we have doubled our productivity and continue to see improvement. We avoid over grazing by not allowing the sheep to stay too long or come back too soon. We plan our
impact. All manure is returned to the field where it is incorporated into the soil by the micro- and macro-organisms. This happens in as little as two weeks during the growing season. We have realized improved economic returns through increased carrying capacity,
BY CINDY DVERGSTEN AND MIKE RICH
A
t Arriola Sunshine Farm (near Dolores, Colorado) we aim to create healthy land, healthy animals and healthy people. We generate real wealth by capturing solar energy with green growing plants. Our farm contributes to building a strong vibrant community and economy that is sustainable. We have engaged in several farm enterprises over the years including hay, small scale fruit and vegetable produce, heritage turkeys, chicken eggs, and grass-fed beef. We began practicing Holistic Management in the mid-1990s during which time Cindy became a Certified Educator with HMI. Today our focus is on livestock breed conservation with Navajo Churro Sheep, producing wool, registered breeding stock and grass-fed lamb. Our land has not been plowed or reseeded in over 40 years. Prior to purchasing our 5-acre farm, the fields were used primarily for hay. We continued with this for several years during which time we witnessed a slow decline in productivity. Typically, old hay fields are plowed out and replanted, however this type of action did not pass holistic testing guidelines for us, and thus would not honor our holistic goal. Instead we shifted to pasture and used grazing animals to restore productivity to our land. We started with raising a couple steers and then switched to Navajo-Churro sheep in 2003 which provided us greater ability to manage animal
Improved grazing management has led to highly productive grasses including five-feet tall brome and orchard grass. grazing periods to be 3–7 days and provide 35 to 60 days of recovery. We never repeat that same grazing pattern, doing our best to mimic nature. When we feed hay, we do it out in the field where we maximize the tool of animal
The two photos show the difference in how the land looks after grazing between our neighbor’s land and ours. The neighbor’s pasture (on the left) shows much more bare soil due to lower plant density and less volume of forage. Our pasture (on the right) shows plenty of residue and green grass left after grazing to protect the soil surface. We allow ample time for recovery. We are able to pass through our pastures 2–3 times during the growing season and 1–2 times during the non-growing season (unless it snows).
drought resilience, improved forage quality, better animal performance, and fewer inputs. Improved grazing management has added only a minimal amount of labor. Forage production on our fields in 1998 was 1.5 tons to the acre whereas in 2018 it averaged 3.5 tons to the acre enabling us to carry twice the number of animal units for a longer grazing season. Monitoring is essential to maximizing productivity. We observe on a daily or weekly basis what is happening with the rate of grass growth and animal performance. This includes clipping and weighing forage samples before and after grazing so we may train our eyes to what is happening and tweak our grazing plan as necessary to stay in tune with nature as the season progresses. We make improvements to our fencing when it makes sense economically. As forage productivity increases so does the need to manage it more intensively. Wise additions to our permanent fencing allow us to better utilize forage while reducing labor that otherwise would CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
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Arriola Sunshine Farm
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occur with continuously moving temporary electric fencing. After 10 years of practicing Holistic Grazing Planning, our land showed up on aerial photos as being notably greener and more vibrant than surrounding lands (see photo taken by USDA in late July 2009). Notice that where the pasture has just been grazed, center-right, the color is tan/yellow. This indicates that the soil
farm fields show pinkish/ brown colors indicating that bare soil is showing between plants. Exposed soil surface dries out faster, promotes weeds, is less fertile, and becomes hard capped which increases runoff.
Comparison Shows Progress
In 2011 we began managing our neighbor’s pasture. Previously, his pasture had been rested for 10 years followed by two years of continuous season long grazing by a couple horses. This situation provided us with a good “before” scenario to work from. Forage production was less than 2 tons
This picture taken in late July 2009 shows how Arriola Sunshine Farm’s pasture land (red box) has responded to 10 years of practicing Holistic Grazing Planning. Notice how Arriola shows up as being notably greener and more vibrant than surrounding lands. Notice that where the pasture has just been grazed, center-right, the color is tan/yellow. This indicates that the soil surface is covered with residue after grazing. The yellow box land is the neighbor’s property which was being overgrazed with horses. surface is covered with residue after grazing. Leaving some grass and residue on the surface after grazing helps to protect and build the soil. Our sheep trample residue in along with their manure adding to soil fertility. Residue serves as a mulch to hold moisture in and contributes organic matter to improve porosity of the soil and build fertility. In contrast, the surrounding 8 IN PRACTICE
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red box outlining our property) compared to the 2009 photos. Notice there are more green plants capturing the sun’s energy and thus sequestering more carbon in the soil. We did not replant, but let nature take its course, using our sheep to bring about positive change. We observed a cycle of weed growth including bindweed, dandelion and Canadian thistle, however they are very nutritious for sheep. Following this was a return of alfalfa and robust orchard and bromegrass plants. With improved soil cover infiltration is better and water holding capacity higher. The carrying capacity increased on this field just as it has on our own property. Healthy soils are alive with millions of insects, nematodes, worms, bacteria, protozoa,
In this photo of Arriola Farm (red box) and the neighbor’s property they began managing in 2011 (yellow box) can see how improved the neighbor’s property is from what it looked like in 2009. Notice how many more green plants are now photosynthesizing the sun’s energy to sequester more carbon in the soil and improve the water holding capacity of the land, as well as the profitability of any agricultural business utilizing that land.
to the acre and bare soil showed between plants. The plants were less vigorous requiring longer recovery periods. As the photos show, there was much less organic matter and less biological activity. The surface capped soil surface caused a reduced infiltration rate of irrigation water. In comparison, now look at the aerial photos taken in 2014. You can see improvement in the neighbor’s property (yellow box above the
molds, fungi, plant roots and animals like gophers playing a role in keeping the carbon cycle functional so carbon goes into the soil, not the air. Soil organic matter in our fields was measured at 1.7% in the mid-1990s. In 2018 we measured 4-5.7% organic matter in the same field (nearly a 200% increase). We utilized the Haney soil test which offers a comprehensive insight into soil health. Soil respiration, indication of the amount of microbial biomass, was 315 in our best paddock which is considered very high. The Haney test also provides an overall soil health score of on a scale of 0 to 50. Our
better paddocks averaged 31. Furthermore, the nutrient value of the soil (N, P, K) was $173 per acre. Consider for comparison our neighbors’ soil which we have been managing for only six years. There the organic matter is 3.5%, soil respiration 97, overall soil health is 16 and the nutrient value is $82 per acre – which is still relatively healthy. Last year (2018) we carried 22 ewes with 35 lambs, four yearling ewes and 5 rams on of 5.5 acres of irrigated pasture. Our irrigation water was cut off 7 weeks early, yet we were able to graze our flock until snow prevented further grazing in December. If our land was not in excellent condition, we most likely would have had to destock like many others in the area. Instead, we were able to increase our flock while also reducing our dependence on hay. This year (2019) the drought has ended, and our pastures are in great condition with abundant spring precipitation and lambing rate increased. For the grazing season, we plan to carry 25 ewes with 47 lambs by their sides along with 3 yearling ewes and 4 mature rams.
requiring fewer inputs. With successful marketing the wool and meat will bring a somewhat higher price as compared to commercial breeds and conventional products. Feeding and finishing on grass with healthy production practices along with marketing our values around livestock breed conservation helps Soil cover is also critical in improving soil fertility as plants and plant materials serve us achieve desired income. as a mulch, cooling the soil for the micro-organisms and reducing capping of soil Hay and our labor (we do and loss of soil moisture. The picture on the left is from the neighbor’s property not hire) make up most which shows how little soil cover there is. On the right is our property which has a of our direct costs of lot more soil cover and more soil life. production. In calculating our gross profit, we consider the breeding ewe as our unit of production. Considering strictly the direct production costs, including our labor and marketing expenses, and then subtracting that from the gross income from raw wool, pelts, breeding stock and butcher lambs; our gross profit will average $140 per mature breeding The photo to the left is of a sample from our neighbor’s top soil in 2011. Notice ewe this year depending on there is little evidence of organic matter and no earthworm activity. Over all the soil our actual direct costs. is lighter in color. The soil is hard and clod like. The surface of this soil will cap over As the year progresses, leading to increased runoff. Fertility and moisture retention are much lower than we will purposely use the the sample from our pasture on the right. Notice the large amount of organic matter tool of human creativity to in comparison to the photo at left. Also there are worm castings in the top center solve problems and test our of the sample. The overall color is darker, especially that of the worm casting. The decisions to determine if soil crumbles easily. This soil will take water in much more readily and will hold the they are socially, moisture for longer. economically and The ability to be profitable in agriculture environmentally sound so depends not only on productivity and efficiency, we may realize a triple bottom line. No matter but also on the ability how good the year is, we look for ways to of a farmer or rancher improve our quality of life and enhance to ask for and receive productivity on our land so we may collect ever a fair price for their more solar energy in the future with green product. Navajo-Churro growing plants. sheep are a noncommercial heritage Cindy Dvergsten and Mike Rich landrace breed and provide training and mentoring Holistic thus require extra effort Management and may be reached at to market its products. wnc@gobrainstorm.net. The wool is a specialty product and the meat Economic value of increased production is exceptionally lean varies on the product being marketed and with a “light” flavor. This is an example of what grasses look at various stages the length of grazing season. However, They are a hardy range of grazing and recovery: a conservative dollar estimate of current animal with excellent The numbered for four pasture divisions are: mothering ability and gross profit/acre is: $630/acre 1.recently grazed, 2.just grazed, are smaller in size thus 3.currently grazed 4.fully recovered. N um ber 186
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into the oven and I milked 16 cows and did everything else that needed to be done while they were working on the harvest,” he recalls. In 1967 when he finished grade 12, he left the farm to go to university. As he was driving down the driveway he made a vow that he would do something else and not farm. “It was a good place to grow up, BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS but I never wanted to do this again; I was determined to look for greener pastures,” says Don. “My rearview mirror on the 1960 Ford I was driving n 1983 Don Ruzicka, his wife, Marie, and their three children, Anna, as I went down the driveway didn’t have that statement ‘Objects in the Matt and Paddy, followed their dream of moving back to the farm that mirror may be closer than they appear,’ but if it had, it would have been so Don’s maternal grandparents had settled in 1915. Don’s grandparents, true! I would have said there was no way I was coming back, but that farm Frank and Rose Swoboda, took a chance that there were greater in my rearview mirror was actually closer to me than I thought!” opportunities in western Canada for Don went to university, and during farming; they sold their livery business the summers worked at a logging camp in Fairdale, North Dakota in 1910 and on the west coast of Vancouver Island. headed to Flagstaff County in Alberta. The “In life, all the places that you’ve been farm they settled on is located northwest and the work that you’ve done leave an of Killam, Alberta. impact/impression on you in one way “Every morning when I go out on or another. When I went to work at the the deck of our house, especially in the logging camp, I parked my car near the wintertime, I think about my grandparents ocean, got on a float plane that flew me and how they must have been very into the logging camp, and as the plane strong, tough people. The cold weather took off it circled the town. There was a they had to go through, without electricity big sign there that said ‘This forest is a or the airtight heaters we have today, was managed forest. For every tree that we certainly a challenge. People often talk log, we plant three to replace it.’ about how tough their grandfathers were, “For me, that statement was the but I also think about the grandmothers beginning of an ethic, realizing we who cooked meals 24/7 and had to have to care for the environment—no endure a lot of hardships,” says Don. matter what we do in life. I was so It is from that heritage that Don and impressed with what they were doing Marie have developed Sunrise Farm, in the logging industry in 1969 when I persevering through hardship and went to work there—logging much more challenges to create a farm that produces conscientiously than they are today in healthy animals, food, and land. Canada,” he says. “I worked there for a few years The Journey to the Farm and met Marie when I came home for Don grew up on another farm about Christmas one year (she was from a mile and a half across the section from Edmonton). We dated for a couple Don and Marie received Emerald Award from The Land the farm his grandparents settled. “My years, and then got married. We Stewardship Center in 2011 for their efforts of stewardship. parents had a mixed farm with hogs, bought five acres on the west coast of laying hens, broilers, turkeys, beef cattle and grain. My older brother and Vancouver Island, between Ladysmith and Nanaimo. I had been reading my sister went away to get an education when I was in grade 10, and my books on how to build a log house, so we built a small log cabin (22 feet younger brother was 11 years younger than me, so when harvest time wide by 32 feet long, with a loft) and it was gorgeous,” says Don. Their came my mom ran the combine, my dad ran the grain truck and baled first child, Anna, was born there in 1978. while he was waiting for the truck to fill up, so I would come home from He worked for a tree-service company, falling, topping and pruning school and do all the chores. My mom had everything waiting for me to put trees over houses and power lines. “Workers from that company stopped
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by our place one day to ask permission to trim some trees, and during the conversation I mentioned that I had just finished logging for six years and was looking for a job. The guy told me to check in at their office just down the road and that with my experience I could probably start in a month. I went down there, filled out an application, and the boss came in and asked if I was the guy they’d told him about, and told me I could start tomorrow!” Don worked at the tree-trimming job for four years, and then Vancouver Island became too “busy” and he moved his family to northern British Columbia near the town of Smithers. This was pristine country, and they bought 80 acres near the Bulkley River. “The land had been logged off a few years before we bought it and had a beautiful log house about 2,000 feet above the valley, overlooking the river. That house was 32 feet wide and 65 feet long and we thought we’d died and gone to heaven!” he says. Their second child, Matt, was born there, and they stayed on that property from 1979 until 1983 when the farm his grandparents settled came up for sale by his aunt and uncle. “We bought it in June 1983, after our third child Paddy was born. I had always told Marie that it was great to be raised on a farm, but I guess I forgot about all the labor involved. We moved back here to this farm, and my dad was still part-time farming, and my brother was just across the section, so we all pooled our resources and farmed together for about 12 years,” says Don.
are, and all this time we’d been getting rid of them to farm more ground, to try to get out of debt. “Our first 12 years on the farm, we had done what 99% of farmers did back in those days; we chose the industrial model. We grew grain and raised cattle for the commodities market. But it wasn’t working. I hadn’t given much thought about wildlife habitat, but Holistic Management taught us about the ecosystem and how everything is interconnected—with all
Getting Out of Debt
the pieces coming together. One of my favorite sayings by Allan Nation is that we all have unfair advantages. I think my personal unfair advantage (and almost a blessing in disguise) is that we almost went broke and then took that course in Holistic Management. It taught me how to bring back the land.” It was a huge commitment. “We thought one or two of our kids or maybe all three, were going to farm and we realized we’d better fix this mess because Marie and I can’t sell them a farm that is still in the tank,” say Don. “We wanted to get everything going again, and have worked very hard at it. We realized that Holistic Management is actually a whole farm planning-systems approach that helps farmers, ranchers and land stewards to better manage agricultural resources in order to attain sustainable, environmental, economic, and social benefits. “In 1996, I began to attend grazing tours throughout the province and met many ranchers and farmers who were applying principles of Holistic Management. One theme that surfaced on many of these tours was that if you want to stop having to treat symptoms, find the cause and address it. We had developed a plan for the farm when we took the course, and began to implement it. We fenced and cross-fenced all of our 640 acres as well as 160 acres of rented pasture with single-wire electric fencing so we could rotational graze our cattle. Timing and rest periods of grazing are important to rebuilding and maintaining pasture health. “We’ve had a lot of help and collaboration from many people who heard about our farm and came to visit. I had begun to see the damage I had done to the land and to tell others about it. A well-known Chinese saying states that ‘When the student is ready, the teacher appears.’ Soon, the teachers appeared. Biologists, riparian specialists, agro-forestry specialists, ornithologists, entomologists, ecologists, sociologists (trying to get inside my head to see why I was taking responsibility for my mistakes), range specialists, forage specialists, wetland specialists and many others seemed to find their way to our farm and they all had a gracious way of asking how they could help me. “No fingers were pointed reminding me of the damage I had done to the land. We took many walks around the farm to the various places where regeneration was needed, and suggestions were made. I didn’t realize it at the time but all of these people, in one way or another, were
While Don was glad to be back farming, things weren’t working as he had planned. “Although we had taken out a large mortgage to purchase the farm, everything went fairly well until 1989, or at least I thought so. Then my brother decided he wanted to expand and get bigger and that involved getting farther into debt. I’ve never liked to be in debt. We never had an operating loan during the first five years farming here, but after we started getting loans we were borrowing more and more. So in October of 1995, after harvest, one morning at breakfast we decided we had to do something different,” he says. “Marie and I asked ourselves if we should continue this journey of uncontrollable debt, or sell and move, or stay and try another way of farming. I went to get the mail the next day and right on top was a leaflet that said, ‘If you would like to get off the agri-business treadmill…’ It gave a date, a time and an invitation to attend an information meeting and hear about a concept called Holistic Management. This instantly captured my attention,” Don says. “I attended the meeting and after sharing the information with Marie, we enrolled in the eight-day course. Driving home after the last day, we decided we would sell a half section of land and get out of debt. This decision immediately starts a new paradigm because in our region if a person sells any land it means you either have another quarter section that’s closer to you or you are in financial trouble. We were in financial trouble. We were $250,000 in debt, which in 1995 was a lot of money. With this decision to sell some land comes a feeling of failure and you begin to wonder what your friends, relatives and neighbors are thinking,” he says. The last day of the Holistic Management course they watched a video about Joel Salatin’s pasture-based farming model of multi-species grazing and how it works. “We realized that how Salatin was farming was the model we should consider adopting. This Holistic Management course changed how we farm, our quality of life, and presented us with an entirely new way of viewing the land. I knew I was handy at building things, and not afraid to work, and pretty good with animals. So we went from 55 cows and a lot of grain to 25 cows, pasture-raised poultry and custom-grazed cattle. The take-home for me personally, from the Holistic Management course, was the realization of the damage I had done to our land. I started to understand how important sloughs, wetlands, creeks and riparian areas
“I think my personal unfair advantage (and almost a blessing in disguise) is that we almost went broke and then took that course in Holistic Management. It taught me how to bring back the land.”
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seeds of this idea had been planted in our minds. We decided to raise organic protein, using the Salatin model. “I will soon be 70 and we’ve been mentoring young people—the next telling me that ‘we forgive you, so now, let’s get on with the task of making generation who want to farm. I tell them up front that to be successful they things right.’ And it was so very subtle that I almost missed it. need some kind of niche for marketing the food they grow. I tell them to go “Some of those people we worked with over the years have become as to a health food store and observe what people are buying—especially on good or better friends than our relatives. It’s been quite a journey, and we a day there is a discount for seniors. Many of them are buying omega-3 realized that if we were going to do something, grow something, it would and most of it is coming from the ocean in some kind of seafood. probably be for some kind of niche market.” “I do a lot of reading, and came across an oceanographer on the east coast named Carl Safina who has been studying the oceans for years. He claims that if we don’t smarten up and reduce the pollution of our water, by 2048 the ocean will be one big garbage dump and the fish that come out of it will not be safe to eat—and the omega-3 from them will not be safe.” But, another choice for healthy food, with the proper balance of omega-3 to omega-6, is grassfed/grass-finished meat. “You want the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio to be 5 to 1 (and no higher than that, in the omega-6 fatty acids),” says Don. “We’ve been able to create the right balance with all three of the proteins we produce here (beef, hogs and poultry). “Even if a person is only raising one kind of livestock, it’s wise to take a sampling of the meat to see what those levels and ratios are, even if it’s just one sample per year. Perhaps it will cost you $500 to do this, but this is a sample of what Don fences his dugouts from his cattle to keep the water clean and protect vegetation in these you are raising. Pretty soon people will make riparian areas. that connection and realize that it’s not safe Food as Medicine to get their omega-3s from the ocean, or that it is really expensive, and In March of 1986 Don was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. “It took discover that maybe they can buy this healthy meat from a family who is me awhile to realize that the stress from the enormous debt load we were growing it. carrying had developed into a disease or perhaps we should call it ‘dis“The researcher said you can get the omega-3 supplements from the ease,’” says Don. “I was not at ease with all the stress that was bubbling health food store, but it’s even better to get it from your food if it’s being up around me and it centered in my gut.” raised in a manner that provides these health benefits. We decided that He chose not to have surgery to remove the problem, and sought we needed some way to market our ‘healthy’ meat that would be effective an alternative. “I had a history of severe reactions to drugs, and thought and efficient. We tried going to a farmers’ market three times a month, an herbalist might have some answers involving a less invasive way of but it was during winter and very difficult. I was up at 4 a.m. doing chores, treating the problem. The herbalist who treated me at that time suggested loading the freezer into the truck at 6 a.m. and on the road by 7 a.m. We identifying the cause, and then figuring out how to change my life and got home at 4 p.m. and had chores to do, thaw out waterers, etc. and that begin to heal. The herbalist referred to his method of treatment as holistic. took all our energy. Instead of treating symptoms, we needed to identify the cause and begin “So we decided to simply open our gates to customers and put a the journey to healing. I was not aware at the time that this approach was welcome sign at the gate; if people wanted to come for a tour, we would going to also be the way forward for making decisions on how we would show them how we are farming. They could ask any question; we told farm,” says Don. them that if we don’t have the right answer then we don’t deserve your The herbalist emphasized the importance of reducing stress, and support.” Since starting this marketing method, the people who come to proper diet. “A strict diet, taking various vitamins and herbs, put my the farm have not only become loyal customers but friends. train back on track within about six weeks,” says Don. “Two parting “We get birthday cards, Christmas cards and other communications recommendations after these treatments were to work hard at avoiding from them, and they are like family,” says Don. “We have a cabin we built stress and since we were farmers, a quote from Hippocrates: ‘Let thy food for ourselves as a place to get away for short vacations (since with our be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.’” farm we can’t afford to go on exotic holidays). One day on a farm tour The herbalist mentioned the health benefits of raising poultry on someone asked to see the cabin, and then asked if we would rent it out. pasture and removing grain from the diet of cattle. “One important It was very Spartan and just had a ladder to get to the loft, so I put in a ingredient that I needed for healing and to remain healthy was an staircase and we started renting it to people who want a quiet getaway abundance of omega-3 essential fatty acids,” says Don. “Raising livestock place. We’ve had three authors write the final chapters to their books in with access to healthy pasture would elevate the levels of omega-3 in the our cabin, and church groups come here to do their planning—because meat. How we were going to make this transition was still unclear, but the they like the idea of how our farm was strategically planned.”
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Healing the Land and Improving Wildlife Habitat
reason Don fenced off his streams and ponds. “These areas make up Another key paradigm shift for Don was how important wildlife habitat approximately 2%– 4 % of the land base in Alberta, and are feeding was for the health and productivity of his farm as well as a critical indicator areas that migrating birds depend upon during their migrations. They of biodiversity levels. “We finished the Holistic Management course in are a critical piece of the ecosystem,” says Don. The riparian areas February of 1996,” says Don. “When the snow melted in March, I saw our have recovered to good health and are contributing to an increase in farm through different eyes. The prairie pastures were overgrown with biodiversity on the farm. Riparian Health Assessments have scored 84% sage and yarrow—signs of overgrazing. I woke up to the fact that the farm, or better on three surveys since 2001 on Sunrise Farm. The creek and over the years, had become increasingly silent. There were fewer species healthy wetland are cleaning up the water as it passes through the farm to of birds. The meadowlark was conspicuously absent. We had been taught the landowners downstream. by Holistic Management that promoting and maintaining biodiversity Of particular interest to Don is the badger population on Sunrise Farm. leads to a healthy ecosystem that is more resilient to droughts and other The badgers’ holes are also used by foxes and burrowing owls, increasing environmental challenges. wildlife diversity further. “Some people shoot these owls, but they are “What I had ‘learned’ in the first 12 years of farming the industrial helpful in controlling rodents,” says Don. “A mating pair can consume model had to be unlearned. There was much work to be done, and 1,200 to 1,500 mice each season. We also have pileated woodpeckers, Holistic Management had given us the tools to relearn, and grasp the and they make nesting cavities used by other species of birds.” new concepts of rebuilding the ecosystem.” When Don started trying to Don also has beavers. He used to hire someone to come in and trap improve the land, most of the native prairie was overgrazed to the point the beavers, to use the hides (because he doesn’t like to see anything go of being unrecognizable as “native prairie.” He decided to keep the cows to waste). “We no longer trap them, because they are another keystone out of some of it species that create for a year, and for a lot of habitat two years in areas for other animals. that were in worse Bumblebees are condition. Since also a valuable many birds require species. We’ve healthy native prairie learned a lot from for habitat to raise the ecologists who their young, he now have come to our only grazes it in the farm. They taught fall after the birds us a lot about the have migrated. ecosystem. For After many years instance, E.O Wilson without hearing much (a world-renowned birdsong, on May entomologist), 21st, 2000, he was claims that the more moving the chicken species you have shelters ahead to in an ecosystem, fresh pasture in the more resilient the early morning it becomes to when he heard the environmental Besides cattle, Don also raises pastured poultry and hogs. These hog shelters are moved twice unmistakable song challenges.” daily to give the animals more fresh feed from pasture. of the Western Don had been Meadowlark. This filled him with elation, realizing that the birds were planting trees since 1984, but ramped up the plantings in 2003. “Besides coming back. “The meadowlarks were the first bearers of good news,” shelterbelts, we planted wildlife habitat areas,” says Don. “These plantings says Don. “Then another prairie nesting species, the rare sprag’s pipit, are an acre in size and consist of 10 rows of 16 different species of trees joined the meadowlark in our prairie pastures to raise their young. These and shrubs. We planted seven of these in 2005. Then the growing concern species of birds have become barometers that let us know if we are regarding Colony Collapse Disorder and loss of honey bees gave us leaving enough litter, as they require litter to take up residence. If there is the nudge to plant eco-buffers in 2011 and 2012. These plantings are enough for them, then there is enough for our cattle. In 2001, we started designed to increase diversity and biodiversity and are important to native placing bird houses around the farm and now have 240. We need the pollinating insects—since they are also threatened by loss of habitat and birds for insect control and they need us for habitat. by farming chemicals. These plantings consist of 20 different species of “We were fortunate to meet a bird lover who teaches at the local native flowering plants and 21 different species of conifers, deciduous, University, 50 minutes from our farm. He did the first bird survey on the berry bushes and shrubs.” farm in 2004. Nine different areas are each monitored for ten minutes by The various tree plantings have enticed many new insects and birds to sight and sound of the various bird species. In 2004, forty-one species the farm. As the trees grow, they trap snow which melts and helps the grass were documented. Since then, including 2018, ninety-nine species have grow and makes its way down to the aquifer. “The plantings also provide been found on one or more years to be living on or passing through our habitat for native pollinators such as beetles, bumble bees, butterflies, farm. This increase of 150% we are very proud of.” moths, wasps, humming birds and bats,” says Don. “The fruits of their labor Riparian areas are also crucial, since they provide habitat for about are seen in the increased yields of the legumes in the pastures.” 80% of all fish and wildlife for all or part of their life cycle. This was one CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 N um ber 186
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Because the Red Poll cattle are dual-purpose, every now and then they get a heifer calf that looks too much like the dairy side and gives too much milk. “By about her third calf her udder would be drooping,” says Don. “That’s the downside, but we’ve had exceptionally good luck with Developing Grass-Finished Genetics the Red Poll cattle because they dress out very well, their marbling is Don’s cattle are Red Poll-Angus cross. When he first started his herd fantastic, and they are very docile. he found some Red Polls in southern Alberta. Over the years he has built “We also grazed cattle for Dylan Biggs, who teaches low stress his herd on grass-based genetics that finish nicely on grass. If they can’t handling, and we learned a lot from him. Before that, some of our find a market, they take them to the auction. However, they bring a low neighbors were price because grasshelping us with our finished beef is not cattle. I didn’t really the norm. know much about “We wanted to cattle when we first raise grass-finished came back here beef, and at first we to farm, except for tried various crosses,” what I’d learned says Don. “Before as a kid, so my we got into the Red neighbors said they Poll cattle we had would come and some that didn’t work help us. Back in very well. Then we those days, when read about Gearld people weaned Fry and his thoughts calves in the fall on how important it they gave them a is to have cows with shot of penicillin high butterfat in their as a prophylactic milk. Their calves so they wouldn’t have a tendency to get pneumonia. I be more resilient, thought that if they mature quicker, and Don runs a Red Poll-Angus cross of cattle that do well for his grass-finishing program. were doing it, I yield superior grasswould do it. So they came over and helped us, and after they left it took finished beef.” me about two weeks to fix all the broken corral fences. Some of them Some of Fry’s other thoughts for the ideal beef animal are that the yelled and whistled and used a stock prod, and the cattle were pretty cannon bones should be short, and there should be a dark strip down the back, and some other unique characteristics that are not sought out by the lively. I have to admit that I was quite aggressive in those days. “I didn’t know about other ways to handle cattle; I thought maybe this people who are showing cattle. “They would be laughing at the traits we was the way you do it. Then I started grazing cattle for Dylan Biggs and want in our cattle,” says Don. “It’s hard to find a good bull, because most before he brought them over here he said he never let anyone graze his seedstock breeders select for other traits.” cattle that hasn’t first taken his course in stockmanship.” But because However, Dylan and Colleen Biggs raise grass-fed cattle in Alberta. they were in a drought and Don didn’t have time for the course, Dylan They brought Allan Savory to their ranch in 1986 to give a course and they started doing grass-finished beef at that time. Don has always leased came to Don’s farm and showed him how to handle the cattle. Don picked up key low-stress principles quickly and Dylan left. some of their bulls (Angus and Angus-Gelbvieh crosses) because they “One of the best things we ever did was graze Dylan’s cross really well with his Red Poll cows.
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Don has planted numerous shelterbelts or ecobuffers on his farm. These plantings provide wildlife and pollinator habitat as well as water cycle benefits. Land & Livestock
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cattle,” says Don. “We grazed them again this past year when he got into Improving the Water Cycle a drought. We brought in 189 head on August 11 and they were here until Don has noted that weather patterns have become more erratic the October 5. These cattle are such a joy to be with because they are so past few years. “This year we only had about three inches of rain up easy to handle.” until the middle of July,” says Don. “We had a few showers, and then in Some of the custom-grazed cattle Don takes in are not this gentle. Don September we had snow, drizzle, and 5.5 inches of rain. It came slowly, would train them to the electric fence in a corral using a one-strand electric which was good, but most of our rain lately has come very fast. When you fence with a pop can tied onto it with about a 6-inch piece of hay wire. overgraze, there isn’t enough vegetation to hold all that moisture and it “When the cattle got curious and went to smell it or touch it they’d get a bit runs off. I remember one fellow telling me that after a big rain he drove by of a zap,” says Don. “Then I would walk through that corral, and once they my dugout and thought it would be full, but it wasn’t—even though his was were settled down and didn’t start running away, I would drive through full and running over. Mine took three days to fill up because the water there with my quad and the mineral feeder or salt block behind it. After went through all the litter and soaked into the ground, then what didn’t about four days when I opened the gate and took off with the quad and the soak in finally made it to the dugout.” salt trough and mineral trough behind it, they followed me. I’ve also found The land absorbed that rain like a sponge. The riparian areas, fenced that there were always two or three in the group that were imprinted by the off from cattle use in 1997, collect a lot of water in the forage, brush and previous owner and knew that a person was their friend. Now when I go trees and their root systems. “The people downstream from us thought out just to check the cattle and the water troughs, as soon as they hear the we should take out a dam because they weren’t getting much water quad they come up to the fence and think it’s time to move.” and needed the water. But I told them that if their land didn’t have much Dylan and Colleen’s cattle operation is also Animal Welfare Approved, holding capacity that water (such as from spring runoff) would just keep so they can only buy going rather than from other farms and soaking in,” he says. ranches that are also “I mentioned approved. “They were that we are not the buying our yearlings problem, and in fact at a premium are helping store (10 cents per pound water in the riparian over market),” says system. This creek Don. “So instead is running longer of trying to build through the season a market where now because of we sell everything our water storage, slaughtered as and the people meat, we thought downstream are we would sell a few benefiting from it. yearlings also.” They have built Don has learned a dugouts now and lot from Dylan about are starting to get selecting for certain their dugouts full, genetic traits. One but their pastures year Dylan needed are not absorbing as Don has numerous wildlife on his farm, including badgers. Old badger holes are used by other some heifers and Don much water as they wildlife like foxes and burrowing owls. had nine but wanted could. After I took to retain some. They took turns picking heifers and Don thought he had Holistic Management I wanted to tell everyone that fencing off the riparian gotten the best of the lot after they were done selecting. He asked Dylan area would be one of the best things that they could do, but it’s hard to why he had selected the ones he had and Dylan replied: “Don, its 33 change old habits. It was difficult for me, also.” degrees today (91.4 degrees F) and we’ve had a lot of heat. Take a look at those heifers I bought. There are no flies on them.” Planning for the Future Dylan told Don that he had been breeding for the fly resistance trait A key motivation for Don and Marie to heal and improve their land was and if that trait carries on to her offspring, he can breed a good udder also due to realizing that if their children were going to come back to the onto her calves (from the sire side) and keep the fly resistance. There farm after they grew up, then Don and Marie needed to leave it in better is probably something in the oil in the cow’s hair that the flies are not shape than they found it. attracted to. Yet this trait is often the last thing on people’s minds when In 2013 all of them were home for Thanksgiving. “I asked if any of them selecting cattle, and this is one reason most cattle are covered with horn wanted to come and farm,” says Don. “They’d already discussed it and flies all summer. Selecting for fly resistance can be a useful goal, along said they loved what we were doing, but were happy with what they were with having some help from Nature. doing, and told us to do whatever we have to do. The farm has actually Don also notes that they have tree swallows that eat a lot of flies. “One been for sale now for more than a year but we’re not going to sell it to just day when we were having a tour someone asked why all those swallows anyone. We’ve been head-hunting, trying to find/select someone who can were flying over the cattle,” says Don. “I had never even thought about it, make use of all the positive changes.” but those swallows were consuming the flies and mosquitoes. This is just Don has seen people be only concerned about getting the money, and one more built-in ecosystem benefit.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 N um ber 186
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Sunrise Farm
all parts of the farm) and all the efforts we’ve put into this place.” These visits continue to encourage Don and Marie to wait for the right person to come along. leaving when they sell their farms. But, all their efforts are for nothing if the That commitment to transitioning the land to younger farmers is part new owner has a different idea about farming and doesn’t continue on with of Don’s overall belief that agriculture needs to find a way to get young those goals, or just wants to subdivide the land to make more money. people onto the land—addressing the challenge that these young people “Some people think we are arrogant in being so particular about cannot afford the high price of land. picking a new owner, but selling a farm is like selling a good horse,” says Despite the numerous challenges, Don draws hope from people like Don. “If you raised really good cutting Quarter Horses and your horse is John Ikerd. “John Ikerd used to teach at the University of Oklahoma,” says Don. “One day he finished giving a presentation (teaching the industrial agriculture model) and went home that night and realized he was teaching these students to fail. Ever since then he has been on the road giving talks about regenerative agriculture and closes his presentations by saying, ‘Don’t get discouraged, because all we can do is what one person can do. If you do that often enough, pretty soon if you start adding up those ones it becomes a movement, and change happens.’” As Don and Marie progressed along their journey to heal the land, Don began to give a few talks to groups and meetings of likeminded farmers. Even though he has been doing the talking, it has been a team effort. “Marie has been a much larger part of this that most people know,” says Don. “She prefers to quietly stand back, but her insights over the years and during the evolution of our farm have been the difference. The journey has had Don has found that planned grazing of his pastured animals has improved the some detours and dark days, but her faith and animals’ health as well as improve soil health and land productivity. encouragement have sustained the drive. She Here cattle are grazing a slough during a drought. takes hundreds of pictures that are the basis of a winning champion and everyone was telling you what a good job you many talks and power-points that I have given over the years with regards did, training that horse, you’d be a little bit particular about who you sell to our journey.” it to. Let’s say you are asking $15,000 for that horse, and two people In 2011 came to buy it and one person offered you $14,000 and the other person Don and Marie was going to pay the $15,000. Then you find out that the guy offering received an $15,000 was going to take that horse home and hitch it on a wagon to Emerald Award haul feed with it, and the other guy was going to use it for chasing cows. from The Land Which person would you sell it to? That’s an easy decision. The same with Stewardship people who raise good cattle dogs; they don’t want to see a good dog go Center, at the to a person who yells at it and abuses it.” Alberta Emerald Similarly, he won’t sell his land to anyone who doesn’t have good plans Foundation’s for it, because he cares about the land. “We call our farm the fourth child,” 20th Annual Don Ruzicka in his 1966 Mercury Truck. says Don. “Our kids are all grown and gone, and established in their own Emerald lives, but this last one has to find the right adoptees and we are looking for Awards. These Emerald Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements the right new owners. of Albertans committed to protecting, preserving, enhancing and “We wanted our kids to be successful, and they are, and now that they sustaining the environment. have decided not to farm, we want whoever comes here to be successful. Don is a humble person, and says he has accomplished all of his many We didn’t just do this for fun. There is a purpose here.” achievements mainly just to survive, as well as enhance the environment Someone someday will benefit from all the efforts here, if Don and and habitat on his farm. He likes to keep everything simple and efficient on Marie find the right person to continue on with this farm. “We’ve had some his place. For instance, the truck he drives is a 1966 Mercury. “Farming young people come look at our farm as they have some other property should be as simple as this old truck,” says Don. “It has no computers; I to sell in a place where they paid a lot of money for it, and in the current can fix almost anything myself. I carry a crescent wrench, a multi-use recession its value has dropped,” says Don. “They were the third ones to screw driver, a pair of pliers, vice grips and a hammer. When asked what I show up, looking at our farm. They are farming, but also working partuse the hammer for, my reply is to ward off anyone who tries to steal time, and they are amazed at our watering system (that supplies water to my truck!” 16 IN PRACTICE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15
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CASE STUDY On Farm Research—
Comparison of Indigenous Microorganism and Commercial Soil Inoculant on Crop Yields & Basil Downy Mildew Disease Resistance BY MELODY WRIGHT
In 2014–2015 I was fortunate enough to be part of the Connecticut Beginning Women Farmers program, supported in part by HMI and CT NOFA (Connecticut Melody Wright Northeast Organic Farmers Association). In addition to the introduction to Holistic Management principles, the friendships and the support network formed, the program also helped me to further develop my skills of observation and critical thinking as related to agriculture and ecology. I share the conclusion of this research project from the 2017 growing season with gratitude towards HMI and all the other farmers who have shared their research with me.
A
t a time of increasing demand for sustainably grown crops, farmers in the Northeast face numerous challenges, including drought and the emergence of new diseases. There has been a growing interest in the role of soil microorganisms, and more specifically fungal inoculant, as they hold the promise of offering economic and environmental benefits. Peer reviewed research has shown that healthy population of soil microorganisms have the potential to provide tangible benefits to farmers including: crop yield, disease resistance, improved release and transport of nutrients, production of soil stabilizing humic compounds and improved abiotic stress tolerance. One part of the soil biome of particular interest are mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal symbiosis is arguably the most important symbiosis on earth, yet current mainstream agricultural methods deplete native mycorrhizal species and disrupt related ecological cycles. Research shows using fungal inoculants can help improve plant nutritional value, improve disease resistance, decrease soil erosion, decrease pesticide and artificial fertilizer inputs, improve soil quality and improve production under abiotic stressors such as drought. However, much work remains to demonstrate how to best utilize soil microorganisms to best achieve these results, especially on smaller polyculture farms common to the Northeast. In order to further explore two aspects of the tangible benefits of promoting soil microorganisms and inoculating with mycorrhizal fungi, I designed a research project to look at the crop yield of five marketable crops [Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum), Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and Onion (Allium cepa)] under three treatment conditions at the time of seedling transplantation: untreated control
seedlings, seedlings treated with commercial mycorrhizal inoculant and seedlings treated with a simplified on-farm produced IMO (indigenous microorganism) inoculant. In addition to measuring crop yields, I used a similar treatment design to measure resistance to downy mildew disease in sweet basil. Basil Downy Mildew was chosen because it is a devastating oomycete (Peronospora belbahrii) that can cause 100% crop loss; there are currently no effective organic or conventional controls. Basil is the most economically profitable annual culinary herb crop in the United States, and crop losses due to Basil Downy Mildew can have a significant negative economic impact on vegetable and herb growers. I completed this research project on my small medicinal and culinary herb farm in Northwest Connecticut, Pleasant Valley Botanicals, in the summer of 2017. The research was completed by me and volunteers, with statistical analysis by Dr Maura Bozeman (a professor of Environmental Sciences at Post University in Connecticut). This project was supported in part by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. SARE is a program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. I would also especially acknowledge the assistance and formative research of Joan Allen (UCONN Assistant Extension Educator) who died suddenly in 2018.
Research Method
This research used a block design method, where each of the five crops in the field received one of three treatments at time of transplantation: a control, a commercially purchased fungal inoculant, and a homegrown fungal inoculant called IMO (Indigenous Microorganism). IMO inoculant is based on a Korean Natural Farming method, designed to cultivate a native population of mycorrhizal fungi and hopefully provide a wide range of benefits to the plants through these symbiotic relationships. IMO is a method of fungal inoculation of interest to many farmers because of the benefits as well as on farm production method.
Basil plants in the IMO treatment groups had a delay in infection with Basil Downy Mildew. As each crop was harvested throughout the growing season, the yield was recorded from plants in each of the different treatments; crops were then included in the farm’s Medicinal Herb Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares. After data analysis, no crops in the IMO or commercial inoculant treatments had statistically significant improvements in crop yield compared to the control treatment. We also looked at the total inter-species crop yield from each bed, to see if there was any possible benefit from the common mycorrhizal network. The CMN concept has shown that fungi will share nutrients between different species of plants, such as one study showing nutrient flow between a Douglas Fir, a Paper Birch and a Western Red Cedar. However, there was also no statistically significant increase in inter-species crop yield. CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
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On Farm Research
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
Conclusions
Ultimately, I concluded the environment created in the field trial did not meet the conditions necessary to support the mycorrhizal fungi, and ultimately the benefits to crops as measured by yield. Regenerative agriculture theory presents us with three key components to have more effective sustainable agriculture systems: cover cropping, crop diversity and low or no-till practices, all of which have numerous benefits including the promotion of soil life. This particular field design only incorporated crop diversity, as there was no prior cover cropping and the design method incorporated significant prior soil disturbance. Other research strongly suggests that maximum benefits are achieved by the inoculation of plants at the time of seeding (germination) as opposed to at the time of transplantation, as done in this study. It is also very important to acknowledge that these findings are set within the specific conditions of one farm in one season, with numerous situational, geographic and weather related influences. Just one example would be the potential impact of precipitation in the month of July; July is historically the driest month in Connecticut but according to NOAA data, in July 2017, Connecticut had twice the monthly average rainfall. There is strong evidence from prior peer-reviewed research that the benefits of mycorrhizal symbiosis may be most prominent during mild to moderate drought conditions, the opposite of what this growing season presented. For the concurrent research on disease resistance, additional Sweet Basil plants in each treatment protocol were monitored weekly for signs of Basil Downy Mildew based on percentage of leaf area with sporulation. There was a delay in infection in Basil plants inoculated with the Indigenous Microorganisms treatment (please see graph), which is a potentially promising finding worth further investigation. Even more exciting were two Basil plants in the IMO treatment protocol that were infected with Basil Downy Mildew (which typically has
PROGRAM ROUNDUP
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Melody Wright is the farmer/founder of Pleasant Valley Botanicals, a small farmlet growing vibrant medicinal and culinary herbs for the local community. Her commitment to growing medicinal herbs is based in her belief of herbs as an integral part of affordable and holistic health care and agricultural systems. For more information about this research and related research, she can be reached at: Pleasantvalleybotanicals@gmail.com or pleasantvalleybotanicals.com.
so most of the training was held indoors. Kirk led the group through a number of exercises including creating a management inventory and a whole farm goal. He was assisted by Natalie Allio, who runs Badger Creek Ranch and participates in the New Agrarian Program as a mentor. The group learned about holistic decision testing and practiced on some real life examples. They practiced forage assessment and then experimented with Animal Days per Acre (ADA) calculations to figure out how many animals one acre can sustain based on the amount of forage available. Overall satisfaction for the course was 100% with 79% of participants intending to change management practices as a result of the course. 88% of the participants reported having increased their knowledge in their ability to make complex on-farm/ranch decisions. JE Canyon Ranch
The Nature Conservancy Workshop n February twenty land managers from the Southwest convened at JE Canyon Ranch near Trinidad, Colorado for an onthe-land training on Holistic Management practices and profitable ranching and livestock management. Attendees were ranchers coming from Trinchera Ranch, Tercio Ranch, JE Canyon Ranch and other neighboring ranches. Some longtime practitioners came out from Kansas to keep up to date on new practices as well. Professional Certified Educator, Kirk Gadzia led the group. The weather was a brutal 6 degrees F
100% crop loss), but then made a significant recovery with new healthy leaf growth. This finding may be an indication of systemic acquired resistance, though such a conclusion is beyond the scope of this study. This resistance is when a plant is able to develop an immune response or resistance after exposure to a pathogen, in this case because of the benefits of mycorrhizal symbiosis. Plants growing as part of a healthy ecosystem that includes mycorrhizal fungi have improved access to the diversity of metabolites and are better equipped to combat pathogens. Remarkably, plants can down-grade their immune systems to allow for beneficial symbiotic relationships, which later can protect them from other pathogens. Setting this research project within a larger body of knowledge, I would offer the following conclusions to gardeners and polyculture farmers: By adding fungal inoculants at the time of seeding, we improve the likelihood of seeing beneficial results. By exploring low cost, low tech methods of cultivating local indigenous microorganism, we may find benefits well worth the effort. But most important is supporting growing conditions where soil microorganism can thrive, which can potentially help grow higher quality plants and produce increased crop yield, and offers significant environmental benefits. If used simultaneously, the three key tenets of regenerative agriculture: use of cover crops, crop diversity and low or no-till practices, potentially will create a habitat for the soil microorganisms and their associated benefits. In additional, these practices bring us back to farming methods more in keeping with natural processes than current conventional agriculture methods.
Online Grazing Planning Course
H
MI’s Online Learning Series Getting Started Holistic Grazing Planning course began in January 2019 with 44 participants from the United States, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Thailand. This course focused on the key grazing planning principles and practices. Professional Certified Educator, Ralph Tate, led participants through exercises where they experimented with critical grazing considerations, determining forage inventory, animal needs, and grazing and recovery periods. They finished off the module by putting all these calculations into a written grazing plan. 94% of people were satisfied with this course and 93% intend to complete or modify a written grazing a plan as a result of this course.
Featured Participants:
who are experienced personally in these principles. I appreciated hearing Ralph talk through the numbers and formulas. I learn by examples, so all these numbers have really helped me understand the figuring and equations. I feel like this course has given me courage to implement Holistic Management in a context that is a very brittle environment. As we look for land, I have been better equipped to consider what I need to be looking for in a farm that we can establish. We are living in a context where most people around us don’t care where their food comes from, how it is produced or what impact that farming is having on our environment. I want to be a voice for change and a shift in our cultures thinking around these critical issues. This course has giving me concepts, language and information to engage with people around these issues.”
Nicole Jeffries, Strasburg, Colorado “The Holistic Grazing Management Course with HMI has aided in n February HMI collaborated with No-Till Texas on the creating a confident and solid foundation for planning an effective and 2nd Annual Soil Health Symposium at the Amarillo stress-free grazing plan for Civic Center in Amarillo Texas. Over 400 participants my bison herd and ranch. attended the conference which featured speakers The course provides easy like Dr. Jonathan Lundgren from Blue Dasher Farm, Dr. step-by-step tools to build David Johnson from New Mexico State University, Brandt and maintain a grazing Underwood from the NRCS, Dr. John Zak from Texas plan with effective long Tech University, Dr. Tim Steffens from West Texas A&M and short-term goals, University, and numerous local farmers. element and environment Thanks to HMI’s funder, The Tecovas Foundation, considerations, personal for their support and to all the sponsors including: Ag schedule conflicts, Texas, (Alpha) Capital Strategies, Association of Texas drought & supplement Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Better Harvest, planning, how to correctly Capital Farm Credit, Ceres Imaging, Channel, CHS Seed measure rest variances Resources, Corteva Agriscience, Cotton Incorporated, Nicole Jeffries, Strasburg, Colorado within the same and different pastures, considerations of fence boundaries, and so on. I look forward to additional courses with HMI and their easy to use tools and training platform.” Brad Anderson, Cape Town, South Africa “We are on the brink of moving out of the city onto a farm where we want to establish a regenerative farm along Holistic Management principles. This movement of Holistic Management is barely present in the state/province in which we live in No-Till Texas Conference South Africa. There are hardly any people Curtis and Curtis Seed, West Texas Tough, Exapta Solutions, Inc, engaging in this FiberMax Cotton, Greencover Seed, Green Dirt, High Plains way of farming. So I Underground Water Conservation District, Nature’s Way Compost, New don’t have much of Ag Supply, NexGen, North Plains Groundwater Conservation District, a network to lean on Nutrien Ag Solutions, Plains Cotton Growers, PhytoGen Cottonseed, here in South Africa. Plains Land Bank, Planterology, Poole, Dustbowl Mix Cover Crops, QLF So this course has Agronomy, SESACO Simply Sesame, SureFire Ag Systems, SoilMender been so valuable for AG, South Plains Compost, Texas Earth, Texas Peanut Producers, me to be hearing in Texas Sorghum, Texas Wheat, Texas Corn Producers, Tri-Star person from others Chemical, USDA-NRCS, and Zimmatic. Brad Anderson, Cape Town, South Africa
No-Till Texas Conference
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Certified
Educators
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.
Napper-Ottmers *LasKatherine Vegas
505/225-6481 • katherineottmers@icloud.com
*Brooktondale
NEW YORK
Erica Frenay
607/342-3771 (c) info@shelterbeltfarm.com
*Montana State University Cliff Montagne
CALIFORNIA
*College of Agriculture, CSU Lee Altier
Chico 530/636-2525 • laltier@csuchico.edu
Owen Hablutzel
Los Angeles 310/567-6862 • go2owen@gmail.com
Richard King
Bozeman 406/599-7755 (c) • montagne@montana.edu NEBRASKA
Paul Swanson *Hastings
402/463-8507 • 402/705-1241 (c) pswanson3@unl.edu
Ralph Tate
Petaluma 707/217-2308 (c) rking1675@gmail.com
Papillion 402/250-8981 (c) tater2d2@cox.net
*Paicines
Kelly Mulville
NEW HAMPSHIRE
707/431-8060 • kmulville@gmail.com
Don Nelson
Red Bluff 208/301-5066 • nelson-don1@hotmail.com
Rob Rutherford
Seth Wilner
Newport 603/863-9200 (w) seth.wilner@unh.edu NEW MEXICO
Ann Adams
Holistic Management International Albuquerque 505/842-5252 anna@holisticmanagement.org
San Luis Obispo 805/550-4858 (c) robtrutherford@gmail.com COLORADO
Joel Benson
Kirk Gadzia
Cindy Dvergsten
Jeff Goebel
Buena Vista 719/221-1547 • joel@holisticeffect.com
Bernalillo 505/263-8677 (c) • kirk@rmsgadzia.com Belen 541/610-7084 goebel@aboutlistening.com
Dolores 970/882-4222 info@wholenewconcepts.com
Tim McGaffic
Dolores 808/936-5749 • tim@timmcgaffic.com
*Calhan
Katie Belle Miller
970/310-0852 • heritagebellefarms@gmail.com KANSAS
William Casey
Erie 620/ 423-2842 bill.caseyag@gmail.com
Larry Dyer
MICHIGAN
Petoskey 231/881-2784 (c) ldyer3913@gmail.com MISSISSIPPI
Preston Sullivan *Meadville 601/384-5310 (h) 601/835-6124 (c) prestons@telepak.net
MONTANA
20 IN PRACTICE
Judi Earl
AUSTRALIA
Coolatai, NSW 61-409-151-969 (c) judi_earl@bigpond.com
Graeme Hand
h
Holistic Management International Plano 214/417-6583 kathyh@holisticmanagement.org
Theresa J Litle
Elizabeth Marks
Peggy Maddox
Phillip Metzger
CD Pounds *Fruitvale
Chatham 518/567-9476 (c) elizabeth_marks@hotmail.com Norwich 607/316-4182 • pmetzger17@gmail.com
*Hazen
NORTH DAKOTA
Joshua Dukart
701/870-1184 • joshua_dukart@yahoo.com
Orange Grove 361/537-3417 (c) • tjlitle@hotmail.com Hermleigh 325/226-3042 (c) • peggy@kidsontheland.org
214/568-3377 • cdpounds@live.com
Peggy Sechrist
Fredericksburg 830/456-5587 (c) • peggysechrist@gmail.com WASHINGTON DC
Christine C. Jost
Angela Boudro
Washington DC 773/706-2705 • christinejost42@gmail.com
Tony Malmberg
Larry Johnson *Madison
OREGON
Central Point 541/ 890-4014 • angelaboudro@gmail.com Union 541/663-6630 tony@holisticmanagement.guide SOUTH DAKOTA
Randal Holmquist *Mitchell
605/730-0550 • randy@zhvalley.com TEXAS
Bellows *NorthLisaCentral Texas College Gainesville 940/736-3996 (c) lbellows@nctc.edu
Deborah Clark
Henrietta 940/328-5542 deborah@birdwellandclarkranch.com
WISCONSIN
608/665-3835 • larrystillpointfarm@gmail.com
Laura Paine *Columbus
608/338-9039 (c) lkpaine@gmail.com For more information about or application forms for the HMI’s Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Ann Adams or visit our website: www.holisticmanagement.org.
*
These associate educators provide educational services to their communities and peer groups.
Ralph Corcoran
Langbank, SK 306/532-4778 rlcorcoran@sasktel.net
Blain Hjertaas
Franklin, Tasmania 61-4-1853-2130 • graemehand9@gmail.com
Redvers, SK 306/452-7723 bhjer@sasktel.net
Dick Richardson
Brian Luce
Tungkillo, SA 61-4-2906-9001 dick@dickrichardson.com.au
Ponoka, AB 403/783-6518 lucends@cciwireless.ca
Jason Virtue *Cooran QLD
Tony McQuail
61-4-27 199 766 Jason@landlifeeducation.com.au
Lucknow, ON 519/528-2493 tonymcquail@gmail.com
Brian Wehlburg
Kelly Sidoryk
CANADA
Don Campbell
Meadow Lake, SK 320/240-7660 (c) doncampbell@sasktel.net
Bozeman 406/581-3038 (c) kroosing@msn.com
Kathy Harris
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Kindee NSW 61-0408-704-431 brian@insideoutsidemgt.com.au
Roland Kroos
Snyder 806/237-2554 • glosson@caprock-spur.com
Craig Leggett *Chestertown
970/946-1771 • craigrleggett@gmail.com
U N I T E D S TAT E S
Guy Glosson
July / August 2019
Blackroot, AB 780/872-2585 (c) kelly.sidoryk@gmail.com FINLAND
Tuomas Mattila
Pusula 358-407432412 tuomas.j.mattila@gmail.com
NAMIBIA
Usiel Seuakouje Kandjii
Windhoek 264-812840426 (c) • 264-61-244028 (h) kandjiiu@gmail.com
Colin Nott *Windhoek
264-81-2418778 (c) • 264-61-225085 (h) canott@iafrica.com.na
Wiebke Volkmann Windhoek 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@afol.com.na
NEW ZEALAND
*Christchurch
John King
64-276-737-885 • john@succession.co.nz SOUTH AFRICA
Wayne Knight
Mokopane +27-82-805-3274 (c) wayne@theknights.za.net
Ian Mitchell-Innes
Ladysmith, Kwa-Zulu Natal +27-83-262-9030 • blanerne@mweb.co.za
THE MARKETPLACE
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THE MARKETPLACE
Well-known bison ranching pioneer Ken Klemm, and internationally-recognized Holistic Management consultant and educator Kirk Gadzia, offer a unique opportunity to learn cutting-edge management practices and a behind the scenes look at a well-established bison and cattle ranch in Northwest Kansas.
Holistic Management Ranching Seminar Sept. 24-28, 2019 Location: Beaver Creek Buffalo Ranch Goodland,KS Information and Registration: This year we offer two tracks packed-full of information and hands-on experiences. ken@thebuffaloguys.com (651) 336-9498 RSVP by Sept. 2, 2019 (Class size is limited.) Sponsored by: The Buffalo Guys and Beaver Creek Buffalo Co, LLC Rogers from FL writes:
The key elements I learned have given me a great perspective on how I’m managing my ranch. This course is a must! 22 IN PRACTICE
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CORRAL DESIGNS
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
KIDS ON THE LAND Kids On the Land is a unique STEM environmental program designed to teach children about the region where they live, connecting them to the land and a more sustainable future. Kids On the Land is ready for an appearance in your school district. Peggy Maddox can come help your host landowner and school get started.
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Specializing in: in: • Specializing Organic vegetable production • Organic vegetable production • •Season extension Season extension • •Passive solargreenhouse greenhouse management Passive solar management • •Local food systems Local food systems Whole Farm withwith Holistic • • Whole FarmPlanning Planning Holistic Management® Management®
1113 Klondike Ave., Petoskey, MI 49770 (cell)
1113 231-347-7162 Klondike Ave., Petoskey, MI 49770 • 231-881-2784 231-347-7162ldyer3913@gmail.com • 231-881-2784 (cell) ldyer3913@gmail.com
Services, Inc.
? E R U T S A P E S N E NUTRIENT-D
How many animals truly receive feed that has been grown with correct nutrients added to the soil? 95+% of all pasture and hay soils we test do not have the fertility required to provide the animals that eat it with even close to good nutrition. What about yours? You can only manage what you correctly measure. Soil test as soon as conditions permit to add lime or other needed nutrients for pasture and hay crops.
For consulting or educational services contact:
Soil test as soon as conditions permit to add lime or other needed nutrients for pasture and hay crops.
Kinsey Agricultural Services, Inc. 297 County Highway 357 Charleston, Missouri 63834
Ph: 573/683-3880, Fax: 573/683-6227 www.kinseyag.com • info@kinseyag.com
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Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives.
a publication of Holistic Management International 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B Albuquerque, NM 87109 USA
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in scholarships
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