Program Roundup

Grow the Growers Update

On September 3rd & 5th, 2019 HMI led a 14-hour Holistic Cropping Planning workshop for the Albuquerque Grow the Growers participants. Grow the Growers is a comprehensive farm training and business acceleration initiative designed to attract new and emerging farmers into professional food production. It is a collaboration of the Bernalillo County Open Space, New Mexico State University Extension, The Agri-cultura Network, and HMI.

During the workshop, instructor Sarah Williford covered the necessary material for participants to begin a successful holistic crop plan.

Participants finished with a resource list for soil testing and composting information and the understanding that the next steps to their crop plan would be to consider their financial and business aims and incorporate them into the plan. 100% of participants reported knowledge change and were satisfied with the program.

On October 15th and 16th, 2019 Certified Educator Ann Adams facilitated a 14-hour Holistic Marketing and Business Planning course with the farmers at the Grow the Growers Program. This course included the basics of reading and developing financial statements to develop tax and business planning documents.

There were eight interactive small group and individual activities throughout the workshop guiding participants through the nine steps to Holistic Financial Planning and the 14 steps of Holistic Marketing and Business Planning. Thanks to the Thornburg Foundation for their support of this programming.

Open Gate Updates

Rio Fernando Open Gate

On October 12, 2019 27 people from Albuquerque to Farmington, New Mexico braved the cold to learn about the importance of soil health and holistic goal setting at the Rio Fernando Park Open Gate Field Day in Taos, New Mexico.

The Rio Fernando Park is owned by the Taos Land Trust and they hosted the event. Stephanie von Ancken, HMI’s Program Manager, led the morning introductions and oriented the group for the day. Ben Wright, land manager with the Taos Land Trust, told the story of Rio Fernando Park and gave an overview of what experiments they have tried in restoring and regenerating the property.

George Whitten, manager/operator of the San Juan Ranch outside Saguache, CO, co-founder of the Sweet Grass Cooperative, and holistic grazer extraordinaire, introduced the group to the three components of holistic goal setting and led the group through a hands-on decision test using the Holistic Decision Testing Matrix and the group discussed the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating livestock into the restoration plan for the Rio Fernando Park property.

Shawn Howard presented next about his experience with a regeneration project of 250 acres near Angel Fire, New Mexico. He has been incorporating Holistic Management practices since 2016 when he engaged in a consulting contract with HMI. He says he is constantly amazed at the resiliency and fertility of the land and encourages everyone to focus on the health of the soil first.

Don Peters, Executive Director of Not Forgotten Outreach (NFO), presented on their current projects and how they are working to motivate military families to engage in regenerative farming as a means to heal. They are in the beginning stages of La Finca Militar, 28 acres where they will plant year-round gardens for a farm-to-school program. This space will also house the Taos Veterans Farming Project, a veterans’ memorial, affordable military housing, public walking trails, and the training center for the NFO Veterans Corps.

After lunch the group headed out to tour the park. George discussed ecosystem processes. Ben led the group to the rye fields, water catchment projects, mulching experiments, areas with plans for a pollinator garden, and the Johnson/Su bioreactors.

At the end of the tour the group participated in a biological monitoring exercise led by George. Micah Roseberry also shared her projects with A.I.R.E and their farm-to-school program getting nutrient rich foods into school cafeterias.

Thank you to the Taos Land Trust for hosting this event, to the Thornburg Foundation for their funding support. George Whitten explaining how grazing can improve soil health.

El Sueno Ranch owner, Albert Lowry discussing how their cattle centers were developed for ease of management.

El Sueno Ranch Open Gate

On October 25th, 25 participants attended HMI’s El Sueno Ranch Open Gate. El Sueno Ranch is a 10,000-acre ranch located north of Clines Corner, New Mexico. It is owned by Albert Lowry and managed by Chuck Kuchta. HMI Certified Educator Kirk Gadzia facilitated the day that began with introductions by HMI Executive Director Ann Adams.

Kirk had the participants introduce themselves so he could tailor the day to the participants’ needs. Then Albert Lowry and Chuck Kuchta shared the vision for the El Sueno Ranch that Albert purchased in 2014 and Chuck began managing in 2016. Albert and Chuck noted that the land had been used heavily, particularly near the roads and water, and production was lower because the land was still recovering. They have invested extensively in improving the fencing and water. The water development has enabled them to push the water 5–6 miles from the well so they can better utilize the forage across the landscape and provide adequate recovery.

After Albert and Chuck shared the story of El Sueno, Kirk presented on the key components of Holistic Grazing Planning and Biological Monitoring so participants had a better idea of how these processes were being used at El Sueno and the challenges that Albert and Chuck have had to face in their implementation. The key focus for El Sueno

is developing infrastructure and engaging in enterprises that keep the operation of the ranch simple so Albert and Chuck are able to engage in other professional pursuits part-time.

Before lunch, HMI’s collaborators spoke about their programming and how they can provide additional resources to the participants. Presenters included Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, Director of the Quivira Coalition, who talked about Quivira’s Carbon Ranching program; Joan Bybee, Board member of the Southwest Grassfed Livestock Alliance (SWGLA), who talked about the webinar series SWGLA is offering to producers about how to improve the outcomes of their efforts to direct market their grassfed products to consumers; and Jon Hayes, Director of Audubon NM, who talked about their Bird Friendly Beef Certification Program.

After lunch, the participants climbed on to a hay wagon to tour the ranch, including stopping at a number of the seven monitoring transects Chuck monitors using the Bullseye Method. Participants were able to learn about the numerous forbs, grasses, and shrubs that are on the ranch as well as note what areas showed higher levels of production and discuss why. There were also stops at water points to view infrastructure development. The last stop of the tour was at a headcut that had recently developed in a riparian area near ranch headquarters with discussions on how to reduce or prevent further erosion.

Thank you to our funder, the Thornburg Foundation, for their support of this event. Thanks also to our sponsor Twin Mountain Fence as well as our collaborators: the Quivira Coalition, Audubon, and the Southwest Grassfed Livestock Alliance.

Southwest Colorado Open Gate

Thirty people from the Colorado region, and as far away as California attended an Open Gate tour “Creating a Future for Farming and Ranching in SW Colorado” that featured Cachuma Ranch on September 28th, 2019. The tour was organized and facilitated by Cindy Dvergsten, HMI Certified Educator, who has worked with both Cachuma Ranch and Fozzie’s Farm. The tour began in Dove Creek Colorado. Cindy provided a brief overview of Holistic Management before the group traveled out to Disappointment Valley to learn how Kathy and Ken Lausten are working to restore health to long abused rangelands.

Their family manages 14,000 acres of both leased and deeded land and raises Criollo cattle, a heritage breed suited to arid rangeland environments. The portion of the ranch the group visited had just been acquired by the ranch and the family is just beginning to develop their management strategy.

Participants enjoyed lunch out on the open range and continued discussing the potential for this landscape before loading up and heading south to Fozzie’s Farm where the Cachuma Ranch cattle are finished on lush irrigated pasture.

Fozzie’s Farm is an 83-acre irrigated farm operated by the Montezuma Land Conservancy (MLC). Jay Loschert, Outreach Coordinator and Farm Manger for MLC provided a brief history of the farm and how MLC is considered an innovative local land trust working to protect lands and reconnect community to our natural world in the stunning southwest corner of Colorado.

Thank you to our funder, the Ballantine Foundation, for their support of this program as well as to Fozzie’s Farm and Cachuma Ranch for hosting this event. Participants enjoyed the discussion about grazing strategies at Cachuma Ranch.

Taking Grazing to the Next Level Workshop

On October 10 & 11, 2019, 47 people gathered at the Betty & Clint Josey Pavilion at Leo Ranch to explore Holistic Management techniques and practices to take their HMI Certified Educator Lisa Bellows grazing management skills discussed the Leo Ranch biological to the next level. monitoring with workshop participants.

Participants included young and old graziers, ag teachers, a few students from North Central Texas College, and a couple folks interested in learning more about grazing and its impact on area watersheds. The workshop was facilitated by two highly experienced Certified Educators assisted by several local Certified Educators who enriched the conversation with their diversity of experience including Ben Bartlett, Kirk Gadzia, Deborah Clark, and Lisa Bellows.

Ben spent time discussing plant identification and how plants grow and express themselves. The group talked about the missing link of soil biology/soil health and the importance of evaluating why specific plants are growing in your pasture. Understanding the impact of sunshine, water, fertility and diversity, and that grazing management is about how you control the plant-animal interaction.

Kirk followed with information about good grazing principles indicated by the plant and animal partnership, with examples and more information on how plants grow in response to grazing animals. He focused on timing, recovery, the nutrition value of forage, managing for animal performance, and how to minimize overgrazing in your planning.

Most of the afternoon was spent in the field. The group went to see an enclosed pasture that had been recently grazed and noticed amazing pasture diversity and that it was difficult to tell that any forage had been taken at all. While in the field Leo Ranch manager Robby Tuggle discussed their grazing practices, and how they have been using sheep and cows to create impact on the land. Lisa Bellows discussed plant species differences within the pasture exclosure and did a water infiltration test. She also identified plants in regenerated native pastures and demonstrated use of an electronic floating plate meter for forage assessment.

Then Deborah Clark, an HMI Certified Educator and area producer, wow-ed everyone with photos and videos showing the management

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