BEN BARTLETT

BY BEN BARTLETT

Mob grazing is “good.” While there isn’t much data on the subject, we do have many grazier testimonials to that effect. I do believe the people who say that mob grazing is helping them achieve their goals.

Yet “good” is a value statement, and we don’t all value the same things.

What’s good for your neighbor may not be good for you. What’s good for you today may not be good for you tomorrow.

Confusing? Let’s start by defining the subject, and then try to make some sense of it.

Defining the Term

Mob grazing (also known as ultra-high stock density grazing) is usually defined as having more than 100 head of cattle stocked at more than 200,000 pounds of animal per acre or portion of an acre, with fresh grazing offered at least once per day.

More often, stock are given multiple fresh paddocks to graze each day. Pasture plants have usually been allowed to grow for more days than is common with management-intensive grazing, thus accumulating more dry matter per acre. Forages are therefore usually more mature.

Animal performance can be highly variable depending upon nutritional requirements and how much of the total forage mass you ask them to eat. Dry beef cows are more adaptable to mob grazing than lactating dairy cows or smaller calves.

Mob grazing changes grazing behavior compared to methods with lower animal densities or less frequent moves, just as people act differently in mobs as compared to individuals.

A mob will tend to graze most all plants with less discrimination, spread and smear manure more uniformly around the paddock, and trample all the uneaten plants. This gives people the impression that mob grazing “wastes” a lot of feed.

Multiple daily moves require more work, more water system capacity and lots more temporary fence. More than likely, mob grazing involves more than a few small wrecks, as you are working with large groups of animals that expect fresh feed often.

So is mob grazing good or bad? Actually, mob grazing is really just one of the tools a grazing manager can use to control the interaction of plants and grazing animals.

Successful grazing meets the needs of the plants, the needs of the grazing animals, and the desires of the grazing manager.

Missing the Point

When people worry about mob vs. “management intensive” vs. “rotational” vs. “set stocking,” they are missing the point that all grazing systems and tools have pros and cons.

They can all be the “right” way to graze on a given paddock and/ or for a particular group of animals to meet the desires of the current management.

When you try to decide on the best way to graze, the most important thing is to determine what success means to you.

Determining success on a grazing farm that relies primarily on perennial forages is a lot more challenging that gauging success on a cash crop operation where all crops are planted each year.

French scientist/farmer Andre Voisin talked about pastures not being really good until they are 100 years old. With a perennial crop like pasture, we can “borrow” yield this year that we will have to pay back next year. What Stages Are You At?

Leaving a lot of trampled (wasted) forage through mob grazing builds fertility and organic matter, while possibly promoting more legumes and increased plant diversity for future years. This is great when the paddock needs such improvement.

On the other hand, if the plant and soil communities in my pastures were already in great shape, and I am a beginning (read: no money) stockman or stock lady, perhaps it would make more sense to push the total stocking rate and animal performance for the first year or two to help get my livestock enterprise started.

You need to know the capacity of your land base in terms of organic matter and fertility levels, potential pounds of forage it can grow per year, and the plant communities required to provide certain levels of nutrition for certain levels of animal performance.

Corn farmers have a yield goal for each field, and we graziers need to establish some measurable yield goals for our pastures.

It’s a little more complicated with a perennial crop, as you need to include both the plant/soil community and the performance of your animals. For really good monitoring, you should also include the investment needed to make it all work.

Bottom line: mob grazing works. It just isn’t the best way to graze every paddock, all the time, for every grazier.

The challenge in determining when mob grazing works is that we do not have verified, measurable economic and biological documentation of the impacts of mob grazing to help us make decisions on when, where and how to use this grazing tool. I am not asking for “proof” that mob grazing works; what is needed is data.

For example, how fast can mob grazing build soils, and therefore future yields?

If I cost myself some money by giving up some carrying capacity or animal performance this year, what will I get in return in future years?

How does adding another percentage point of organic matter affect the soil’s water holding capacity and plant growth rates in August?

When you consider a new way of doing things in your livestock enterprise, you need to ask three questions: 1. Does the new idea work biologically? If I fertilize with Y, will I really get a yield increase? 2. Does the new idea work economically? Fertilizer Y may increase yield, but does the fertilizer cost more than the value of the increase? 3. Does this idea work biologically and economically in my operation? Just because your neighbor does it doesn’t mean it will help you achieve your idea of success.

Mob grazing is a great and very powerful grazing tool. I believe the producer testimonials.

We need to do a better job of measuring its effects to help everyone sort out the best way to utilize mob grazing.

Every grazing operation needs to sort through the tools that can be used in attaining its individual definition of success.

It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon, but always be aware that the other riders may not be playing your tune!

Dr. Ben Bartlett is a retired Michigan State University Extension agent who has grazed beef and sheep in northern Michigan. He is also an HMI Certified Educator. This article was first published in GRAZE Magazine and is reprinted by permission. To learn more GRAZE go to: www.grazeonline.com.

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I’m a Southeastern gal. With that question, I began looking for an apprenticeship out “West,” you know that part of the country across the Mississippi. I was that little girl who told her mother she’d never move farther than the Appalachian mountains…oops. An important note here is that the only skill set I felt I had leaving college was that I understood working with cattle. (Boy! Nope, scratch that. Girl! Was I naive!)

Lo and behold the Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian Program (NAP) emerged from the search engine. I was immediately drawn to San Juan Ranch and their philosophy. A few months later, after graduation, I found myself driving into the San Luis Valley of Colorado. I didn’t know at the time that this might just be the best decision of my life. George Whitten and Julie Sullivan opened their home, ranch, and hearts to me. Their mentorship has shaped me greatly. Not only did they teach me practical ranching skills, but they also taught me business acumen and many hard truths that a life in agriculture has confirmed time and again.

I had two interests when leaving college, cows and apples. Luckily, the Quivira Coalition’s community is wide and varied because through it I met my other mentors, Gordon Tooley and Margaret Yancey of Tooley’s Trees (also part of the NAP program!). What a blessing and how fortuitous for me that these mentors have affected my landscape-eye. I go nowhere without adding their lens to each landscape I see and work with. I am passionate about the intersection of pastoral and woody system ecologies because of the work they do and have passed on to me.

It happened that George and Julie also gave me my first management position. About two years after my apprenticeship year ended, I realized during a Virginia summer working in a vegetable field that I no longer wanted to be a general laborer, a hand. I had an old boss who always said, “Don’t be a task-taker, be a task-maker,” and with that advice I ended up looking for an opportunity to build my management skill set. That meant someone had to give me a chance. That chance came from my network. I didn’t think I would head back West, but that same summer I found myself looking westward a great deal. I was hired as

Martha learned practical ranching skills through the Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian Program. San Juan Ranch’s foreman-in-training. This opportunity led to advancement and allowed me a space to succeed and fail as a middle manager. Their mentorship continued. So, you may ask, why management? Why not aspire to own my own operation? I have

Carbon Initiatives and Carbon Credits

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sequester carbon. We realized we were already doing this. I think this is a win-win for producers, regardless of where you stand on all the political issues of climate change.”

Roger says they were already seeing enough results on their land that they were convinced and completely committed. “We’ve seen at least a 30% increase in our annual forage production, just from what we’ve done so far, and this is a conservative figure. We’ve had a couple wet years, so I’m hesitant to say it’s all due to carbon storage, but the actual forage we’re producing is close to double what it used to be.

“We were definitely committed because we were seeing results already, but this carbon project will help us accelerate the results, with money for water developments and to continue to refine our grazing rotation system. Without the upfront money from this program it would take us longer. “We put in a proposal regarding the practices and things we wanted to accomplish, such as water developments. They looked at those and decided if it was something they could work with, and developed a contract. It took a while to get that figured out and we signed the contract in November 2018.”

Roger says that in September 2019, they met a young woman from Australia who represented a group called Livestock and Meat Australia. “It’s a national organization somewhat like our NCBA in this country. They published a brochure and have signed off as an industry in Australia to be carbon neutral by 2030. I think our U.S. beef industry needs to pay attention.”

Roger also notes that because this is a pilot project, the money the rancher gets is a lot less than the price of carbon. Within the contract, however, it states that if carbon prices really take off, the landowner or operator of the land can buy that carbon back and renegotiate the price. “This was a critical component for us because we don’t know what the market will do,” he says.

“One thing that may be problematic is that sequestering carbon depends totally on management rather than ownership. We operate on some leased property so that can be a challenge because there are not very many 30-year leases. The contract recognizes that if the management changes, that practice may also change, and carbon might not be sequestered,” Roger says.

“People we lease from need to sign a landowner declaration that their intentions are to continue to graze, acknowledging that it is currently under our management, but it is non-binding to the landowner,” Betsy says. “It’s simply a statement of intention.”

“Another potential challenge is with federal or state lands,” says Roger. There can be multiple landowners involved when ranching in the West. Hopefully over time some of these things may be simplified, and general sentiment may change a bit to help this along.

Roger and Betsy were willing to be early adopters of this program and feel it could be a benefit for ranchers, to provide a more income. “We don’t mind helping work out the kinks, and hopefully it will benefit other ranchers, too,” says Betsy.

toyed with the idea, but three things have held me back: 1) lack of partnership—business and personal, 2) Lack of capital, and 3) A desire to experience many different landscapes (which I have done in North Carolina, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, Alabama, and California).

Also I’m a part of a new wave of youngdidn’t-grow-up-doing-this land managers. There is a need for good and innovative managers. Those who understand regenerative practices for the soil and the people. A large part of my agrarian journey has been about the lessons that landscapes and animals have taught me, but what is larger and more powerful are all the people who have taught me something, either about myself or about our human condition. I am intently focused on growing my managerial capacities as a human-herder. What does it take to raise people up, to honor their skill sets? How to acknowledge and create opportunities for professional and personal growth, and how to work with someone who is happy right where they are? How to walk into a ranch/farm team where there is a high level of distrust, and develop strategies to rebuild trust? While there is still plenty to learn from soil, plants, and animals, we humans are pretty complicated and interesting to work on too.

I’ll leave you with a few lines from one of my favorite poems: […] I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again. […] —Marge Piercy, “To be of use”

I will never figure out how to do everything right, but I can sure pull and strive to treat everyone around me well and with compassion. From the soil up, regenerative practices encompass all beings. We will regenerate better together.

Martha herding sheep at Pacines Ranch, California.

Martha Skelley is the Livestock Manager at Paicines Ranch in Paicines, California and can be reached at: martskelley@gmail.com. This article was first printed in the Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian News. To learn more about the Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian Program go to: https:// quiviracoalition.org/newagrarian/

Paying it Forward

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

seek to learn Holistic Management specifically, instead they just want help with aspects of farm management. With those farmers, I still use the process, except I do it in my head to get the information I need to help them. All farms need value-based goals and systems that support the goals. They have to know what they are managing toward.”

Through 2019-2015, Seth helped with HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer Training Program that trained beginning women farmers in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas. He served as the project evaluator as well as teaching many of the classes. As he engaged in more curriculum analysis of the program he really began to focus on ways to make the training even more practical for farmers. This was the beginning of a journey Seth undertook into effective adult education methods for farmers “That program really made me look at how to take complex subjects and teach them so that participants can truly gain skills,” says Seth. “There was a lot of trial and error as we looked at adult education theory and then applied it to Holistic Management and how we were teaching it.”

Seth uses that understanding as he consults and provides farm management support as part of his Extension work, including helping farmers with succession planning. “Succession planning is really challenging because there are so many moving parts and personalities,” says Seth. “I have found that the best approach is to go to each member of the management team and utilize the holistic goal setting process to define what they want. From those conversations I develop a holistic goal for each member then share it with them to get their feedback. This creates a clear direction to help drive the process and reduces curveball surprises. It also helps me learn what the roadblocks are for the team. I often get difficult assignments because this process works. With these tools I can move the situation forward. It may take three years as we stop and start and get more information from which they can make their decisions, but the plan has always moved forward.”

Currently, Seth serves as a mentor for a Whole Farm Planning grant through NE SARE. He enjoys working with new trainers and teaching them. “Holistic Management has changed by career and my life,” says Seth. “As a result, I want to give back and empower others to have that experience. I can also see how the new trainees I am working with are also changing. I want to pay it forward to others who need help and support because I know how important having good mentors and teachers was for me. And, it’s really refueling to see how these new trainees are changing and growing.

“The whole experience has really been rewarding for me. I’ve developed relationships with the HMI staff and people in the Certified Educator network. Everyone wants to see Holistic Management spread. Because of those friendships and all we’ve learned together and accomplished, I want to help move us all forward. I’ve seen the difference that Holistic Management makes in farmers’ lives and their lands. That drives me. The more we can train and empower others, the more we all win.”

From the Board Chair

BY WALTER LYNN

In this issue I would like to discuss connections tying us socially together through what we eat at our tables each day. The author C. S. Lewis said in 1949, “The sun looks on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal.” But, we also know that photosynthesis is a huge part of this interaction in our lives. We need to make the connection between the soil, plants, animals, humans, and the sun for a complete picture. Unfortunately, there are many food choices that don’t make that connection.

I read and think about the implications of the current direction “fake meat” production is going in the world. It was an honor at the 2019 REGENERATE conference in Albuquerque to meet Will Harris from Bluffton, Georgia and owner of White Oak Pastures (WOP). Will is an amazing leader in the production of healthy grass-fed proteins. His farm has stepped forward to do a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for their beef. The LCA for WOP evaluates the total environmental impact of the production system from the perspective of the carbon footprint. The LCA net result for WOP was a carbon footprint of 111% less CO2 per kilogram of fresh meat than a conventional US beef production system and even less than “fake meat.” Regenerative agriculture is a major difference from the industrial food system and kudos to Will for participating in this assessment and showing the value of regeneratively raised foods.

Further, when we assess the ingredients in the “fake meats” and the environmental impact of the production of those ingredients, more questions are raised in our food buying decisions. Water and soy protein concentrate are two major ingredients in one “fake meat” selection. The consumer is buying water. 93% or more of all soybeans are genetically modified and then we have the ecological impact of glyphosate, fungicides, insecticides, synthetic fertilizers used in a production system fostering erosion and runoff. Is such a product really a healthy choice for the consumer?

The market for the “fake meat” seems to be for the fast food sector which is already a source of concern. A conventional beef producer I know made a comment to me recently. He and his wife are involved in his four children’s sports activities. We were discussing cash flow planning for 2020 for his farm. He shared the family spends $400–500 per month at fast food restaurants shuttling kids in the evening to sporting events. Let’s think about something from the book Food Fix, authored by the functional medicine Cleveland Clinic Dr. Mark Hyman: one in two Americans and one in four teens have pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. What are the health costs to those four kids in that drive through that lane? How can we encourage food choices that promote health in the next generation?

Each of us has to think about the decisions we make each day. The foundation for Holistic Management is the framework to deal with economic, ecological, and social decisions in our lives. Our food choices and decisions for our families when we tie the interconnections together are huge. The food decision ties to the source of the food, the practices in its production, and the impact on our soil and water. The meal and its impact on our well-being enhances our ability to survive. This focus on food and health is important now more than ever. In Dr. Zach Bush’s blog post Statement on Coronavirus, he notes the cornerstone to health is to choose foods that CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 nourish you. “Eat real food with real company. Grow your own whenever possible and choose food that is regeneratively grown.” I hope you make the connection between food choices and your desire for a healthy planet and your family’s health today.

TheGRAPEVINE

people programs projects

hNEWS FROM HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL h South Dakota Research

Recent research conducted by South Dakota State University (SDSU) in collaboration with the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service indicates that producers whose production practices include building soil health experience less stress, are more satisfied with farming/ ranching, have more fun, and are more optimistic than conventional producers who do not focus on these practices.

SDSU conducted a survey asking both conventional-practice producers and soil health-practice producers to assess their stress levels on a range of issues from market price volatility to extreme weather events. Producers were also asked to assess their operation’s profitability, concerns about input costs, and opportunities for operational succession. 107 producers completed the survey.

Key survey findings include:

Increased Profitability—158% difference

• 31% of soil health producers reported increased profitability during the past year while 12% of conventional producers did so.

Likelihood of Future Farm Profitability—92% difference

• 69% of soil health producers predicted their farm profitability would increase in the next 3-5 years versus 36% of conventional producers.

Future Resiliency of Operations—38% difference

• 83% of soil health producers were optimistic about the future resiliency of their operations to weather extremes compared to 60% of conventional farmers.

Attitude about Agricultural Experience—150% difference

• 30% of soil health producers described their 2019 experience in agriculture as “challenging but fun” compared to only 12% of conventional producers (despite additional flooding and trade market challenges).

SDSU’s Larry Gigliotti, Ph.D., who published the report, said there was a direct correlation between the number of soil health practices the farmers and ranchers used (i.e. no-till, cover crops, diverse cropping rotations, etc.) and the level of stress and happiness they reported experiencing or anticipated in the future. In other words, the producers using more soil health practices were reporting higher levels of satisfaction and reporting less stress than the soil health producers who used less practices.

These survey results suggest that increased land resiliency mitigates climate or weather extremes which reduces stress and increases satisfaction. The full survey report, as well as several infographics are available on the SDSHC website, www.sdsoilhealthcoalition.org.

The following Certified Educators listed have been trained to teach and coach individuals in Holistic Management. On a yearly basis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to be affiliated with HMI. This agreement requires their commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives and to seek out opportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management.

UNITED STATES

CALIFORNIA * Lee Altier

College of Agriculture, CSU Chico 530/636-2525 • laltier@csuchico.edu

Owen Hablutzel

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

Richard King

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

Doniga Markegard

Half Moon Bay 650/670-7984 Doniga@markegardfamily.com * Kelly Mulville

Paicines 707/431-8060 kmulville@gmail.com

Don Nelson

Red Bluff 208/301-5066 nelson-don1@hotmail.com

Rob Rutherford

San Luis Obispo 805/550-4858 (c) robtrutherford@gmail.com COLORADO * Joel Benson

Buena Vista 719/221-1547 joel@paratuinstitute.com

Cindy Dvergsten

Dolores 970/882-4222 wnc@gobrainstorm.net * Katie Belle Miller

Calhan 970/310-0852 heritagebellefarms@gmail.com KANSAS

William Casey

Erie 620/ 423-2842 bill.caseyag@gmail.com MICHIGAN

Larry Dyer

Petoskey 231/881-2784 (c) ldyer3913@gmail.com MISSISSIPPI * Preston Sullivan

Meadville 601/384-5310 (h) 601/835-6124 (c) prestons@telepak.net MONTANA

Roland Kroos

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

Montana State University Bozeman 406/599-7755 (c) • montagne@montana.edu NEBRASKA * Paul Swanson

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

Ralph Tate

Papillion 402/250-8981 (c) • tater2d2@cox.net NEW HAMPSHIRE

Seth Wilner

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

Ann Adams

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

Christina Allday-Bondy

Edgewood 512/658-2051 christina.alldaybondy@gmail.com

INTERNATIONAL

Judi Earl

AUSTRALIA

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

Graeme Hand

Franklin, Tasmania 61-4-1853-2130 • graemehand9@gmail.com

Dick Richardson

Balhannah, SA 61-4-2906-9001 dick@dickrichardson.com.au * Jason Virtue

Cooran QLD 61-4-27 199 766 Jason@landlifeeducation.com.au

Brian Wehlburg

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

Don Campbell

Meadow Lake, SK 306-236-6088 doncampbell@sasktel.net Belen 541/610-7084 • goebel@aboutlistening.com * Katherine Napper-Ottmers

Las Vegas 505/225-6481 • katherineottmers@icloud.com NEW YORK * Erica Frenay

Brooktondale 607/342-3771 (c) info@shelterbeltfarm.com * Craig Leggett

Chestertown 518/491-1979 • craigrleggett@gmail.com

Elizabeth Marks

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

Phillip Metzger

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

Hazen 701/870-1184 • joshua_dukart@yahoo.com OREGON

Angela Boudro

Central Point 541/ 890-4014 • angelaboudro@gmail.com SOUTH DAKOTA * Randal Holmquist

Mitchell 605/730-0550 • randy@heartlandtanks.com TEXAS * Lisa Bellows

North Central Texas College Gainesville 940/736-3996 (c) • lbellows@nctc.edu

Deborah Clark

Henrietta 940/328-5542 deborah@birdwellandclarkranch.com

Blain Hjertaas

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

Brian Luce

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

Tony McQuail

Lucknow, ON 519/528-2493 tonymcquail@gmail.com

Kelly Sidoryk

Blackroot, AB 780/872-2585 (c) kelly.sidoryk@gmail.com FINLAND

Tuomas Mattila

Pusula 358-407432412 tuomas.j.mattila@gmail.com NAMIBIA

Usiel Seuakouje Kandjii

Windhoek 264-812840426 kandjiiu@gmail.com Snyder 806/237-2554 glosson@caprock-spur.com

Kathy Harris

Holistic Management International Dallas/Fort Worth 214/417-6583 kathyh@holisticmanagement.org

Theresa J Litle

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

Peggy Maddox

Hermleigh 325/226-3042 (c) westgift@hughes.net * CD Pounds

Fruitvale 214/568-3377 • cdpounds@live.com

Peggy Sechrist

Fredericksburg 830/456-5587 (c) peggysechrist@gmail.com WASHINGTON DC

Christine C. Jost

Washington DC 773/706-2705 • christinejost42@gmail.com WISCONSIN * Larry Johnson

Madison 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.

*Colin Nott

Windhoek 264-81-2418778 (c) canott@iafrica.com.na

Wiebke Volkmann

Windhoek 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@afol.com.na NEW ZEALAND * John King

Christchurch 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 ian@mitchell-innes.co.za

Healthy Land. Healthy Food. Healthy Lives. a publication of Holistic Management International 2425 San Pedro Dr. NE, Ste A Albuquerque, NM 87110 USA

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER Paying it Forward— Seth Wilner

Seth Wilner is an Agricultural Business Management Field Specialist for the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Extension in Newport, New Hampshire. Seth wanted to be a veterinary his whole Seth Wilner life. Yet in college, the vet he worked for convinced him that the salary was low and the vet school debt was too high, so he switched from pre-vet to studying chemistry. Stuck in a lab for numerous hours, he realized he needed a more applied science and found soil science, earning a B.S. in Soil Science from the University of Connecticut in 1991. After graduation Seth joined the Peace Corps and lived in a village in Senegal, West Africa where he developed his passion for agricultural Extension, teaching village farmers techniques to increase crop yields, soil fertility and food storage methods.

Upon returning to the United States, Seth enrolled in graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, where he earned his MS in Soil Science and Agronomy, focusing on soil chemistry and soil fertility. Shortly afterwards, Seth joined UNH Cooperative Extension in August of 2000 and began working with farmers on nutrient management topics. But in 2001, Seth’s career took an unexpected sharp turn thanks to a Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NE SARE) Grant developed by then NRCS-New York employee, Phil Metzger.

The SARE Grant sought to train one person from each state in the NE SARE region. “My boss at the time noticed that he had two people in soil fertility in neighboring counties. I was the new kid on the block and my boss decided to re-direct my work. So he called me into his office and told me that I was going to the training. I wanted to focus on soil chemistry, but he insisted that we needed someone who could help farmers in farm management. I wasn’t happy, but I went to the training, which turned out to be a Holistic Management training for agricultural professionals in the Northeast. It changed my life and my career in ways I never would have imagined and was the best thing that could have happened to me. I’ve been able to make a far greater impact with the agriculture community than if I had stayed focused on soil fertility.”

Through that training Seth became a Holistic Management® Certified Educator with HMI. After becoming a Certified Educator, he collaborated with Phil Metzger, who also became an HMI Certified Educator, on a number of other Holistic Management Professional Development grants through NE SARE. These grants provided more training in Holistic Management for agricultural professionals throughout the Northeast.

Seth believes that the Holistic Management training gave him tools to use in his work as an Extension educator to engage with farmers on a much deeper level, helping them to address issues they perhaps couldn’t even articulate on their own. “The training helped me realize skills I had in the arena of social sustainability,” says Seth. “I have developed those skills and am recognized for my ability to help people within very difficult situations to advance in their problem solving and conflict resolution, and in making data-driven decisions toward a valuebased goal. My work and training in Holistic Management helped me to recognize and hone those skills. I use my natural instincts and the Holistic Management process to forge into deep conversations with farmers as well as mediate very difficult conversations and situations.”

Farmers resonate with Seth because he takes a practical approach. While he helps them develop a value-based goal, he constantly asks questions about the systems they have in place to help them be successful. In doing this work, Seth realized that frequently, farmers’ inability to implement solid financial systems that allows them to understand the financial health of their operations was a huge limiting factor that threaten their very sustainability. As such, he has worked to build his agricultural finance and economic skills, which he says, “complements many aspects of Holistic Management and magnifies the impact of Holistic Financial Planning.”

Seth estimates that he has worked with and impacted well over 500 farmers in his training and consultations. “I include Holistic Management in everything I do,” says Seth. “I use it when I am evaluating a farm to get the information I need to help the farmer. Some farmers want Holistic Management hook, line, and sinker, and for those, I step through the process openly and directly. Other farmers do not

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