GRAPEVINE

New Executive Director for a New Year

It is with great excitement that HMI announces our new Executive Director, Wayne Knight. Wayne will be replacing our current Executive Director, Ann Adams, who will remain on staff as HMI’s Education Director. This transition completes our Executive Director succession plan which the HMI board began three years ago. Wayne will begin his new duties starting January 1, 2021.

Wayne most recently has served as HMI’s Director of Strategic Initiatives and was an internationally-recognized rancher from South Africa as well as a Holistic Management Certified Educator and consultant since 2006. He also served on HMI’s Board of Directors from 2013-2019.

In 2013 Wayne was a runner up for the Peter Edwards Award (Grassland Farmer of the Year) presented by the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA) to the best conservation farmer/land user in recognition of the sound application and practice of the principles of range and forage science and conservation. His management practices from with a younger person in production agriculture, like Luke a 32-yearold who stepped away from a secure job with an ag supplier to start his personal journey with a 62-year-old neighbor to diversify their joint farming operations. The older neighbor as a whole has a new view about agriculture and their local communities because of the additional income possibilities. Enterprises are being added and stacked on these regenerative farms. The neighbor has given Luke access to a land base and equipment. It’s a win/win relationship.

I also have connected with a grandfather after CrossFit class earlier in the week. Last Sunday I got out of my house and took a country drive. Because of our current Covid-19 situation, I drove by his farm and didn’t stop. When I called him later, I shared about driving by and he asked if I had seen some new infrastructure. He proceeded to tell me about the enterprise he would be supporting for this high school granddaughter in a new small 1,650 square foot hoop building. His granddaughter definitely has an understanding of the possibilities of high value crops when we chatted. Corn at $4 per bushel and 200 bushels per acre grosses $800 per acre or 1.8 cents per foot. The granddaughter being mindful of diversification would be pushing over $12 per square foot and selling locally. The grandfather was giving access to his granddaughter on his multi-generational homestead.

In 10 years, I hope to still be connecting and sharing with others like I am now and be thinking about the impact of all my decisions holistically. In a recent HMI Board meeting, Australian board member Brian Wehlburg shared how we can routinely ask ourselves what are the social, ecological, and economic impacts of our own business decisions? I think that’s true of all our decisions and greatly appreciate the efforts of my neighbors who are thinking about how to engage the next generation of farmers and ranchers in creative ways.

1997 resulted in a 300% increase in carrying capacity during his 23-year tenure as the land manager on the 9,600-acre Knight Ranch.

Wayne is headquartered in Van Alstyne, Texas and has added a great deal of capacity to HMI’s staff with his expertise and hands-on experience with ranching as well as his international experience in training and consulting. Wayne has been focused on expanding HMI’s key strategic initiatives and engaging stakeholders.

“I’m very excited about all that Wayne has been able to accomplish since he has been on our staff,” says Ann. “Wayne has a remarkable ability to connect with all different types of producers and learn what they need and what motivates them. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to successfully lead us in implementing our 2021–2025 strategic plan. I am also eager to spend more time focused on our educational programming as we engage new customers and clients.”

HMI would like to express its appreciation to Ann for her seven years of service as Executive Director. Ann has steadfastly led HMI to a higher level of Holistic Management practice and implementation than ever before and we’re eternally grateful she stepped up to the Executive Director role when we needed her, and for her decades of work and leadership at HMI.