#144, In Practice, July/August 2012

In Practice a publication of Holistic Management International

J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 2

NUMBER 144

Starting From Seed— Lessons that Multiply From a Beginning Woman Farmer

W W W. H O L I S T I C M A N A G E M E N T. O R G

~ INSIDE THIS ISSUE ~

Beginning Women Farmers

by ELYSA BRYANT

S

The Why I thought I was going through the steps of learning skills and building knowledge that would help me become a farmer. What I was really learning was defining my life’s purpose; defining the “why” that would then help me understand the rest of the steps to take toward the quality of life I want. Defining the “why” immediately multiplies because why inspires us, inspires others, and stimulates us to align our behavior with our beliefs and desires. Why is compelling because it drives our actions. This is true not just on a psychological level, but on a biological level. When we think about the “why,” we are activating the part of the brain that controls behavior. “Why,” in turn, was the foundation of creating my holistic goal.

Women farmers in the U.S. are now 1 million strong.

Read about some of the beginning women farmers who have gone through HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer Program, like Tricia Park of Cazenovia, New York on page 3.

FEATURE STORIES

ometimes it is hard to anticipate the results of your efforts when you are beginning something new in your life. I’ve longed for the connectedness that farming embodies and the quality of life that can come with it. Yet I often gave in to the notions of what I didn’t have to be able to start. My focus was on my deficits, not on my assets. In 2008 that whole line of thinking took a detour.

I never lived in a place that fit the picture in my mind of what I needed to be able to start a farm. In November, I bought a house on 2.25 acres and I figured “there’s no time like the present.” That following spring, I got my first 8 chicks, reading everything I could get my hands on about livestock. I went to programs and workshops, learning more about organic farming practices and sustainable/regenerative agriculture. It was during this period that I saw the first announcements for HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer’s (BWF) program in whole farm planning. The BWF program introduced me to the principles that would help me understand how to be successful. It didn’t give me the checklists or the ‘hard skills’ that may be the hands-on parts of being successful. The BWF program showed me how to define and measure success in my own terms.

From Fashion to Farming—Kate Bogli of Maple View Farm Growing the Business—Creekside Meadow Farm Marshmallows and Holistic Decision Making— Changing Habits TIM MCGAFFIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PEGGY SECHRIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Just as important as understanding the “why” and “what” was naming “who”— who are the decision-makers that I need to engage to create the changes I want in the system I have defined. Although this began as a mostly individual exercise, I knew that CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Land & Livestock News & Network

The Who

15

DataMine: Organic vs Conventional—The Yield Debate Generating Wealth

Defining the “why” prepared the ground for the next step, the “what”—what are the resources that will take me toward the quality of life that I am trying to create? Defining what resources I have at my disposal allows me to clearly see what I can use to create the quality of life I want while also getting me to think about what I can do to multiply those resources. Just as important was identifying what I had impact on, what I could influence. In Holistic Management terms, it is my whole under management. Clearly understanding my whole under management showed me that a) I have influence over a system, and, b) I create the boundaries that define that system.

3

ANN ADAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FRANK ARAGONA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The What

3

ANN ADAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17 18

Tending to The Family Businesses—The James Ranch JOEL MCNAIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Cost of Feeding DON CAMPBELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Growing Soil as Our Primary Crop—Shelterbelt Farm ERICA FRENAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hard to Kill Grass—Focus on Recovery CODY HOLMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6 9

10 11

HMI’s 2011 Annual Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Tips from the Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Kids on the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Starting From Seed

In Practice a publication of Holistic Management International

Holistic Management International exists to educate people to manage land for a sustainable future.

STAFF Peter Holter . . . . . . . Chief Executive Officer Tracy Favre. . . . . . . . Chief Operating Officer Kelly King . . . . . . . . . Chief Financial Officer Ann Adams. . . . . . . . Managing Editor, IN PRACTICE and Director of Education Sandy Langelier. . . . Director, Communications and Outreach Frank Aragona . . . . . Director, Research and Development Matt Parrack . . . . . . . Director, Development Tom Levine . . . . . . . . Senior Development Advisor Peggy Sechrist. . . . . Development Advisor Peggy Maddox . . . . . Director, Kids on the Land Program Donna Torrez . . . . . . Manager: Administration & Executive Support Peggy Cole . . . . . . . . Project Manager, Texas Mary Girsch-Bock . . Grants Manager Valerie Grubbs . . . . . Controller Carrie Nelson . . . . . . Store Manager / Customer Support

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sallie Calhoun, Chair Ben Bartlett, Past Chair Clint Josey, Vice-Chair Jim Shelton, Secretary Ron Chapman, Treasurer Gail Hammack Wayne Knight Judi Earl Zizi Fritz Jim Parker Christopher Peck Kelly Sidoryk

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 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: hmi@holisticmanagement.org.; website: www.holisticmanagement.org

Copyright © 2012

2 IN PRACTICE

July / August 2012

I didn’t want to do it alone. My “why” was very connected to those I care about and hope to enjoy a great quality of life with as I grow. For me the “who” would naturally be my three children and Bill, their father and my partner in farming. Yet, at the same time that I was learning about Holistic Management, one daughter was moving from Connecticut to Colorado, and my other daughter was also preparing to leave the nest to live in her first apartment, although closer to home. My youngest was and is at home, where the farm was beginning to grow.

My introduction to Holistic Management began while they were still at home, so I included them as decision makers and decided to also list the strengths of each. Adding a column for their strengths was important because it outlined the intellectual resources that each person could bring to help work toward the holistic goal. It also highlighted the areas where I might need sources of additional expertise.

The Where & How It’s not easy to state what you really want most in life, at least it wasn’t for me. I thought I knew, but the discipline of Holistic Management directed me in a methodical way to define what I wanted to create, what would help me get there, and who was part of the process. Now I needed to clearly state what life would look like once I got there so that I would be able to sustain it.

I needed to define the “where” and the “how”—the future resource base. The future resource base really gives me something to clearly visualize. It’s important that it’s bigger than just me or a mission statement. Farming, but I think any way of life really, is not dependent on me alone, I am nestled into a landscape and that landscape is part of a community that supports the various connections that make my desired future resource base possible.

The When When . . . when can be the biggest challenge of all. You can vest yourself in not starting until you find what you think is the perfect place to start. But “when” can also be the simplest, most straightforward part of the process as well. For me “when” became “I can start where I am.” I didn’t have to wait for more land. I can’t tell you how many people told me I couldn’t start a farm, for a lot of different reasons: • I couldn’t start a farm because I didn’t have enough property for a farm.

continued from page one

• I couldn’t start a farm because I’m too old.

• I couldn’t start a farm because I am a woman.

• I couldn’t start a farm because I have an off-farm job.

• I couldn’t start a farm because I don’t have a barn.

Those were a lot of reasons not to do something I had been dreaming about for a pretty long time. I preferred to think about it a different way. Why not start where I am, learning on a small piece of land that I could manage more easily than large acreage. At 48, I’m not that old; I’ve met farmers that are over 90 and lots of people in their 40s, 50s and 60s transitioning to a second profession, for a variety of reasons. Last I heard, farming needs all the hands it can get into the profession, and if I can be a bridge to help get others in younger generations get involved in farming, why not do it. A lot of farmers I’ve come to know also need the off-farm income or benefits, so I wasn’t exactly alone in that perspective. And about that barn, Holistic Management helps me define my infrastructure needs; it doesn’t ask me to come to the table with certain required outbuildings before I can even think of starting.

So, after all those can’t statements, I decided to focus on the “can” statement. I can have a farm now because I want the quality of life that farming provides for me and my family, a quality of life that many wish for but have difficulty articulating. I can start where I am and have the quality of life that I want and create success on my own terms.

There have been a lot of trials and mistakes, but I figure that I’m a beginning farmer and I’m going to make mistakes. Nothing worthwhile is a cake walk—it’s worthwhile precisely because it isn’t easy but is rewarding in the process of achieving it. I’ve had this dream for a long time.

As I look back on the last three or so years, I can say that I’ve begun to create precisely what I have been yearning for.

The seeds I began with: a course, a few hens and a wish, have grown into a goal, with a family aligned to work toward the quality of life we want on a farm with hens, turkeys, goats, pigs, a herding dog and some great, enthusiastic customers. In some way, I almost feel like Jack when he happened upon those magic beans.

Elysa Bryant is a Holistic Management Educator trainee for the Beginning Women Farmer program and lives near Guilford, Connecticut on Stone Well Homestead. She can be reached at: elysa.bryant@gmail.com.

From Fashion to Farming—

Growing the Business—

Kate Bogli of Maple View Farm

Creekside Meadows Farm

by ANN ADAMS

by ANN ADAMS

K

T

ate and Jason Bogli moved back to Maple View Farm, the Bogli family farm, in 2003. This 50-acre, third-generation farm founded in 1950 by Bill and Evelyn, is near suburban Hartford, Connecticut. Kate had previously worked in the fashion industry and had no farming background, but when Jason, an attorney, said he wanted to return to the family farm, she agreed to take on the role of farmer’s wife as well as new mother. When she heard about HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer program through HMI’s Connecticut collaborator, Northeast Organic Farming Association—Connecticut (NOFA-CT), she decided to join the 2010 class to improve the success of the farm.

When Kate and Jason met in college and got married, she had planned on living on the upper West Side, but fate took an abrupt turn. When Jason told her he wanted to move back to the farm, she said she’d be happy to be a farmer’s wife, but she didn’t want to wear boots every day. “Now I wear boots every day,” Kate confessed.

ricia Park claims that she and her family got into farming by accident. Accident or not, Tricia knew that when they started farming, they needed to get some business planning help.

That’s why she joined HMI’s Beginning Women Farmers (BWF) Program in 2010. Since completing that program, Tricia has sold her 26-acre farm and purchased a 150-acre farm near Cazenovia, New York and begun making a tidy profit on her farm.

Tricia, her husband, Matt, and their son, Cameron, now raise grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chicken, turkey and pork on their new farm and are excited to be selling to an ever-increasing local market as a result of some key marketing efforts and word of mouth advertising. On top of those farming duties, Tricia is also a mentor for HMI’s Beginning Women Farmers program.

Growing the Business Initially Jason’s father was farming the land when they moved back, so Jason and Kate took over the horse boarding and riding lessons. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” says Kate. “So the horse lessons were a natural fit for me.” As the Bogli family grew, Kate’s interest in good food also grew. That led to bringing in chickens, goats, and cows and selling those farm products.

Eventually they also started making hay.

They were growing so much meat that they opened a farm store at the front of their farm. “We’re right on the main drag,” says Kate. “It’s totally self-serve so people pay for their grassfed beef, eggs, and pork and make their own change.

We don’t have the additional labor costs for that. We even have a ‘Grab and Go’ bag that includes 4 recipes and all the beef you need to make them.”

The Boglis also sell Christmas trees to even out the cash flow. “January and February are the slow months,” says Kate. “We are working on evening out the cash flow. So we started a ‘Winter Barn Fun’ sessions where parents could sign up their children for at $15/session.” This two-hour session for children 6-11 years old includes grooming the horses, stall cleaning and feeding the animals.

The Boglis also provide farm tours for schools (at $7/child) and boy scout or girl scout troops.

“We’ve had to figure out how to make money,” says Kate. “We both left highincome jobs and started these fledgling businesses. We initially had someone CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Maple View Farm is conveniently located on the main street in Granby, so the Boglis have a self-serve farm stand that allows them to direct market healthy food to their neighbors.

From Hobby to Business When Tricia and Matt married, Matt had a 26-acre former dairy farm with a barn on it. They worked together to build an apartment in the barn as a place to live. Matt also convinced Tricia that it was time to get some animals. The first foray was with some beef cattle.

When “George” went to the butcher’s, Tricia became aware of the difference of taste and began doing research on grass-finished beef.

From their beef foray they added poultry. She first began selling her eggs at 25 cents/dozen. It was only later when she did the math that she realized how much she was losing. These learnings have made her even more adamant in her mentoring to help others do the numbers and know what their cost of production is so they can pay themselves a fair wage when they sell their product.

Likewise, she had some production learning to do with her cattle business. After “George” went to the butcher, Tricia was looking for some other cattle. By happenstance, she met a woman who wanted to sell a herd of Scottish Highland cattle. Matt, in particular, was interested in the breed. They went to purchase a couple of the animals and ended up buying the whole herd.

Tricia began to realize that the “hobby” had turned into a business and she needed a better process for making decisions before the hobby got away from them.

The farm needed to pay for itself. After raising some of the Highland cattle then adding in some Herefords, she realized how much longer it was taking the Highland to be ready to sell and realized it was time to get the right breed for the cattle production and profit she needed. At 18 months for a Hereford to finish versus 30 months for a Highland, the extra year just wasn’t worth it.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Number 144

IN PRACTICE 3

Maple View Farm

continued from page three

Testing the decision about what type of mower was right for her helped Kate communicate that decision to her husband and gain his support.

haying for us, but we found that haying paid back so we took that on ourselves. When our sickle bar mower died and Jason was spending so much time trying to fix it, we were about to buy another one and go into debt. With my new skills from Holistic Management, I was able to pause and use the testing questions to see if that was the right decision. It helped me do my homework and look at what the root cause of the problem was. I went through the tests one by one and realized I needed a machine that was simple enough for me to fix because my husband wasn’t around all the time. With a drum mower, I could do the work and it was cheaper and at 0% financing. When I had my case all figured out, I went to Jason and had the conversation explaining my reasoning. I won that case!”

Doing the Numbers Initially financial planning was very difficult for Kate. She really had to look at what the different enterprises were and begin to separate out the numbers. “The financial planning sessions really helped with this. The instructors, mentors, and coordinator told us to just start with one enterprise and just do a little—anything

to get started. So I started with the horse boarding enterprise. One boarder had a special deal with us. When I started doing the numbers, I realized I was paying him to keep his horse. I felt bad about asking for more money, but I did the numbers and knew it was crazy not to do something now that I understood what was going on. That knowledge then helped me do the numbers for the other enterprises. It even made it fun. Things have improved 1000%.”

Time management was another issue to deal with. “Paper forms make me want to cry,” says Kate. “I use Google calendars because it syncs with my IPhone. That way the field is my virtual office. The other day, my husband made the comment that he didn’t know where I spent my time. I showed him my color-coded calendar that showed all I was doing with our kids, the farm, etc. I also love that it’s easy to edit and move events.”

Kate readily admits that she has not done the level of grazing planning that she would like.

“But the conversations about grazing planning have begun and it has allowed me and my husband to be on the same page about the grazing,” says Kate. “Usually we fix fence as we need to (when the animals are about to go into a paddock). Now we have an idea ahead of

Kate found that ongoing support from local women farmers was a big help for her.

4 IN PRACTICE

July / August 2012

The Boglis did the numbers and found out the haying operation was best kept in house. The fourth generation of Boglis are learning the operation. time of where we will be moving the animals and we can be pro-active about the fence repair which means there are less crises to deal with.”

Farm Support When Kate learned about Holistic Management and began exploring who were the decision makers on the farm and what the farm process was about decision making, she found herself in some interesting conversations—important conversations.

“Change is hard for anyone,” Kate says.

“The holistic goal was super important in helping us with those conversations. We had talked before, but it was great to have a ‘go to place’ with our holistic goal. I’m married to an attorney, which means he’s really good at making his case. There were times I felt steam rolled, and I felt like I had no backbone. I just didn’t have the tools to make my case. My husband also told me he found the process helped us to make time for our family and to stay on the same page.”

Kate says the networking in the Beginning Women Farmer program has been really important. “It’s really cool to be with other women doing the same thing. I decided to get together with other Granby women farmers so we can use each other as resources. Now there are 18-20 of us meeting regularly.”

“What I learned from the program was that it’s okay to get started. Do anything. Bravo for you! It’s like a little baby walking. Try some things and don’t worry about failing. It made me want to come to class, and the whole class with all the women was an inspiration.”

Kate Bogli can be contacted at: katebogli@cox.net.

Creekside Meadow Farm

continued from page three

Pigs enjoy the weeds and open up new areas for pasture and crops.

Both layers and meat birds are enterprises for the Parks. They have done a lot of research to improve their product and production (and get paid a profit in the process).

Financing an Upgrade As the farm began to grow, the Parks realized they needed more land to increase farm production, so they decided to finish the renovations on the barn and use the proceeds to help finance the new farm. They had to shop around to find a farm that was right for them, but they found one nearby so they could keep their customer base. In July 2011, they bought their new farm.

Part of the motivation to continue to grow the farm was also due to the Parks’ son, Cameron, and his interest in the farm. Now a teenager he is an integral part of the farming enterprise bringing a great deal of enthusiasm and energy.

On their 26-acre farm the Parks practiced rotational grazing, moving the chickens and cattle and working to keep the grasses vegetative. After learning about planned grazing in HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer program and moving to their new farm, they realized they needed to really apply the tool of animal impact.

“We got Certified Educator Phil Metzger out here to look at our land, and we found we had a lot of moss between the alfalfa plants,” says Tricia. “I wanted to get rid of that moss, so I began putting the meat chickens and turkeys in areas where there was a lot of moss and I’d start

scratching the soil and show them the bugs I was turning up. All of sudden they go it, and they began scratching at the moss for their food.”

The focus on forage management has paid off. “We used to run out of grass around July,” Tricia says. “Now we’re grazing until Halloween.

This was at the old farm. Now at the new farm we never stopped grazing all winter!!! We fed hay outside on the ground when we ran out of forage. It was pretty easy since we only overwintered 8 head of cattle (2 mom cows and rest young steers). The field we wintered them on hadn’t seen cows in at least 10 years! It had been a hay field for that long.

“We harvested hay in August 2011. When other farmers were taking off 2nd cutting, we were finally getting 1st cutting in. An overgrown, past bloom, stemmy mostly alfalfa hay! The field did regrow maybe 12-18 inches before winter. It wasn’t great winter grazing, but with supplemental hay they cows did just fine. We wanted them outside getting some hoof action on the field and manure applied without a tractor. This coming winter? More of the same.

We’ll keep cows out winter grazing on some planned stockpiled forage and supplemental hay. The more the cows can be out getting exercise, fertilizing the fields and not in the barn the better overall for their health and the farm bottom line.

Exceeding Planned Profit

Matt and Tricia’s son, Cameron, is an integral part of the farm. They hope they can continue to grow the farm so Cameron has a chance to develop enterprises of his own.

Remembering her days of eggs for 25 cents/dozen, Tricia realized that just because you sell all your product, doesn’t mean you are successful farmer. After looking at the numbers, she realized they weren’t making any money. In HMI’s BWF Program, she learned what she needed to do. “The financial classes helped us figure out expenses and get a grip on what money was flowing out the door and how it was happening. By then the egg enterprise was out the door. We ditched it. It failed for

everything…. Too much time, no profit, and we didn’t even like them anymore! We decided to concentrate on 4 main enterprises: Grassfed beef, pasture raised chicken, pork and turkey.”

One key area of focus was the meat chickens. With high feed costs, mortality, and labor the birds weren’t making them any money.

Given the short window of production (usually 8 weeks), Tricia thought that she could focus on this enterprise and get it profitable. She realized that the 50 pound bag feed she was getting was not only expensive but also causing nutritional problems that were resulting in high mortality.

She did the research on a good feed mix and approached her local cooperative with a clear sense of what she wanted and that she was willing to pay up front for a good price break. She negotiated the deal that worked for her and also worked with her customers on educating them on the costs and values of her meat birds. With all this work, she was able to exceed the profit she had planned for on this enterprise. That motivated her to look at other areas of the farm.

In the first year of participating in the program, Tricia found that using the testing questions helped her make more informed decisions, create $7000 more profit, and have more time to do the things she wanted. When she went to the bank manager to procure a loan for the new farm, she was able to show the jump in one year from $1,000 net to $10,000.

“The bank manager didn’t even want to see our business plan,” says Tricia. “She could see we had a solid understanding of our financials. I even showed her my certificate from the Beginning Women Farmer program. They gave us our loan.”

The Parks currently sell direct from their farm as well as from the Cazenovia Winter Farmer’s Market. Business has continued to grow as word about their farm and products spreads. Tricia is also promoting the farm through flyers, farm website and discovered that their new farm is near a neighborhood association that surrounds a lake nearby with 500 members. Because of local press about their farm, the neighborhood association contacted her to see if she wanted to advertise her farm in their newsletter. More neighbors are also stopping by and buying farm products.

The near-term goal for the Parks is to make enough money farming that Matt can quit his off-farm job and farm full-time with Tricia and Cameron. The longer term goal is to make the farm successful enough that Cameron will be able to start his own enterprises and be the second generation farming on Creekside Meadows Farm.

Tricia Park can be reached at: creeksidemeadows@aol.com.

Number 144

IN PRACTICE 5

LIVESTOCK

&

Tending to the family businesses—

The James Ranch

by JOEL McNAIR

W

hen you get off the plane and enter the terminal at the tiny airport in Durango, Colorado, it’s hard to miss the electronic board streaming a rotation of ads for local attractions. James Ranch 100% Grass-Fed and Finished Beef is on the board.

Fifteen years after Dave and Kay James sold their first ranch-labeled beef, James Ranch may not rank with the mountains or the climate or the arts scene in attracting retirees and vacationers to southwestern Colorado. Then again, it appears that for at least some people the family’s enterprises have become more than just a place to buy food.

“We’ve had people tell us that our food is one of the reasons they moved here,” says son Dan, one of four James children who returned home to forge independent agricultural production and marketing businesses on James Ranch.

A Family Affair While not everyone cites James Ranch as a reason for relocating, it is indeed a growing enterprise — or rather a collection of growing

The James Ranch Market is the on-farm store, jointly owned by the James Family and operated by Julie and John Ott. 6

Land & Livestock

July / August 2012

enterprises. In fact it’s hard to find a better example of a multi-family farm successfully leveraging the mounting enthusiasm for organic, grassfed and local foods.

Last year the James Ranch beef operation — run by Dave and Kay, but with the reins gradually turning over to daughter Jennifer and her husband, Joe Wheeling — ran short of meat despite processing 125 head.

Dan and his wife, Becca, are having trouble keeping up with demand for their James Ranch artisan raw milk cheeses and herdshare raw fluid program from the 25-cow herd, so they’ll be adding cows this year. Also selling out was their Whey-Good Pork from 40 Red Wattle pigs.

Meanwhile, sister Cynthia and her husband, Robert Stewart, last year launched Harvest Grill and Greens, a stationary food cart offering a variety of lunch and dinner items — the great majority made with foods produced on the ranch. In its first year the business was so successful that James Ranch will be adding a new driveway and an expanded parking area to better accommodate recreational vehicles.

Dan says the Harvest enterprise also led to a substantial increase in business next door at the jointly owned James Ranch Market, which offers all of the ranch’s meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables, along with eggs produced by the free-range hen operation operated by sister Julie and her husband, John Ott. The Otts also grow Colorado Blue Spruces for their landscape tree business.

Add in the restaurant and farmers market sales, the cut flowers, the farm tours, mail order sales, the vacation house rental and some of the family’s long-term ideas for retail sales and consumer education, and you get at least a partial idea of what’s going on here. Even grandkids are budding entrepreneurs as they experiment with projects such as selling the trout caught from the ranch’s stock ponds.

But this is indeed just a partial description of James Ranch. As you might guess, it isn’t always easy maintaining relations when five family units are living and working in close proximity — particularly when the families contain more than their share of independent-minded individuals.

The rest of the story lies with how the James family has thus far managed to create an atmosphere of business independence while also

Dan and Becca James use Red Wattle pigs for their WheyGood Pigs.

The grass-finished beef enterprise at the James Ranch uses the largest share of the 350 deeded acres.

Dan James and his wife, Becca, are in charge of the artisan cheese enterprise at the James Ranch.

maintaining a shared purpose not only for today and the near future, but for family members yet to be born.

The Unfair Advantage Everyone has unfair advantages, and the James family has its share.

The ranch spreads across a picturesque valley some 10 miles north of Durango, a booming city that draws tourists, retirees and a wide variety of talented people, including many on the cutting edge of food trends.

The Animas River runs along one length of the spread, providing a reliable source of irrigation water. Along the other length is a major highway connecting Durango with the spectacular mountain scenery to the north, thus providing a steady stream of tourist traffic through the summer and fall.

The green fields with grazing cattle next to the sparkling river running beneath towering red bluffs provide an idyllic setting for travelers stopping at the store and grill. It’s a great place to enjoy a meal at a table on the terraces Dan and an employee constructed beneath the shade trees.

Dave and Kay say they couldn’t afford to buy such a place today. Dave was raised in southern California, where his father was an inventor of valves and seals used primarily in the aerospace industry. Dave developed a passion for cattle during his summers working on ranches.

Though Kay was also city-raised, the newly married couple agreed that they wanted to raise a large family in a rural part of the West. After a long search, they moved to Durango in 1961.

For two decades they ran a conventional cow-calf operation while raising five children. But the cattle business got tougher, and their finances got tighter. To stay afloat, Dave and Kay reluctantly sold the Charolais herd and moved into landscaping and real estate, ultimately splitting off 60 acres from the southern portion of the ranch to develop an upscale housing project. After 15 years the land was debt free and they could return to their true passion.

But their operating model was in need of an overhaul. So in the mid’90s, they became pioneers in the fledgling field of grass-finished, direct-market beef. They did market research, bought advertising and enlisted the support of the growing Durango community. And they learned how to manage their grazing and herd genetics to consistently provide quality products.

Today the grass-finishing operation has the single largest share of the ranch’s 350 productive acres, with butchering done between July and October each year at around 1,100 pounds live weight at ages ranging from 26 to 32 months. The cow herd (mainly Red Angus, with smallerframed genetics sourced from Kit Pharo bulls) calves in May and spends summers grazing public land in the mountains a couple of hours to the west. A three-day trail ride takes the herd down the mountain to winter pasture.

Return of the Offspring As much as he loves his children, Dave James never intended for any of them to return to the ranch. “They all left, and we did not invite them back. Not one iota,” he explains. “Then, all of a sudden they started showing up.”

James Ranch wasn’t big enough to accommodate a major boost in the cattle herd, and expanding the land base was out of the question in a place of sky-high real estate prices.

“We said, ‘don’t come back and think you’re going to get into the beef business,’” Dave describes. The children were told that they would have to bring different enterprises to the mix if they were going to have a place on the ranch. And they needed to put their own money on the line. Says Dave, “We told them that they must be able to fail as well as succeed.”

Dan is an example of how that philosophy worked out. “When I turned 18, I couldn’t wait to get out of here,” he says. Dan harpooned swordfish from a commercial boat off the California coast for a while, but eventually decided that competitive rowing was more to his liking. When he learned that the University of Washington had a rowing team, Dan enrolled there and eventually married a member of the women’s crew, Becca.

They wanted to have a family but, like Dan’s parents many years earlier, they wanted to do so in the country. James Ranch was there, but Dan and Becca needed an enterprise if they were going to be welcomed back. To Dan the most obvious asset was the grass, and the best way to leverage that grass seemed to lie with milking a small herd of cows and adding value to that milk by making and selling artisan cheeses.

“We knew nothing about dairy or cheese making,” he says. So Dan and Becca set out on a world tour to learn about the business, and this spring they will begin their 12th season of milking cows.

The way things operate here, Dan and Becca’s enterprises are completely separate from the others. The milking shed, the cheese house and the marketing are their management and financial responsibilities.

“No one reviews my books or tells me what type of cheese to make or cows to milk,” Dan explains. “And I don’t tell the others what to do, or know how much money they make.”

The Right Business Structure But the James families do have one tangible asset in common, and that is the land. The parents and the families of the five siblings — and that includes brother Justin, who has a restaurant in Durango — are equal partners in the Limited Liability Limited Partnership that owns the land.

Each of the enterprises that make use of the ranch is leasing from the LLLP. Any decisions that affect how the land is used, or have the potential CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Number 144

Land & Livestock

7

The James Ranch

continued from page seven

to affect the financial well-being of the others, must be approved by the partners.

Where others might see this way of doing things as limiting and a potential source of problems, Dan sees its advantages. Rather than relying upon the judgments of a dominant personality, as independent entities each of the families is learning business management and decision-making skills while gaining confidence and pride in their efforts.

Dan also thinks such a structure helps maintain family relations over the long run: “As long as the land is communally owned, we’re all in this together and we have to work together in harmony to make this succeed.

I just don’t think it would work as well if dad were the CEO and we were his employees.”

Major decisions require unanimous approval at the regularly scheduled family meetings, which usually last three hours. For instance, if a new enterprise or the expansion of an existing effort means building on communal property, then the family running that enterprise is required to notify the others of its intent, provide as much information as possible, and answer all questions.

That happened when Cynthia and Robert became the first of the James clan to tap the partnership’s new venture fund, built from the sale of conservation easements, to help fund their Harvest Grill and Greens project. They were required to present a business plan including sales projections and a detailed accounting of where the money would be spent. After receiving initial approval, Cynthia and Robert soon learned that their original request failed to cover development costs, so they had to re-do the plan and come back to the family.

“You really get put under the microscope,” Dan says, noting that his sister and brother-in-law chose the family route instead of pursuing a bank loan. “The family serves as a safety net. It’s so comforting having this group of people here.”

But not everything is so rigid and formal. For instance, Dan and Becca are expanding their herd by about five cows this year with the idea of not running short of cheese so quickly, and thus expect to need some additional land beyond the 35 acres they lease from the partnership. At the same time, James Ranch Beef intends to grass-fatten another 10

head or so, also in an attempt to not sell out so quickly. How to solve the potential problem?

Dan says the James Ranch Beef members — Jennifer, Joe, Dave and Kay — agreed to bring back a smaller number of the finishing cattle during the first weeks of pasture season (they’re kept off the ranch during the winter months). The full complement of beeves will not be back until the spring pasture flush, and the herd will decline starting in July when butchering of the first animals returned to the ranch commences. Dan also thinks they can grow more grass by tweaking irrigation and grazing management. In any event, Dan says he’s quite willing to allow beef on his pastures if necessary, and he’s confident that he can access a beef pasture or two in a pinch.

The Importance of Meetings That’s how most farm families operate: talk it over, and agree to do something without making a big fuss of it. But most farm families are not dealing with an ever-increasing number of rapidly growing independent enterprises that involve direct relations with the non-farming public while operating on communal land. As noted earlier, here there is no patriarch ruling with an iron hand.

Thus, the need for formal meetings. The James gang aims for four of them per year, although sometimes the summer session gets canceled due to workloads. Agendas are provided to everyone prior to the meeting.

Each family provides a status report. The mid-winter session usually includes information on sales growth and plans for the coming year.

Proposals affecting the rest of the family — submitted to all parties prior to the meeting, of course — are discussed and decided upon. Grandkids are welcome and encouraged to participate.

Unanimous votes are required for all major decisions. At the most recent meeting, the group decided that that the entire LLLP — including Justin, the Durango restaurant operator — would fund the new driveway/parking lot associated with Harvest Grill and Greens and the nearby James Ranch Market. But they also decided that the decorative fence required to keep customers away from the nearby irrigation canal would be bankrolled only by the beef, dairy and market/restaurant enterprises that actually draw the visitors.

Brother-in-law Joe, owner of an MBA degree and a refugee from the corporate world, convinced individual family members to accept formal roles during these meetings on a rotating basis. The host, the moderator, the scribe, the timer, the coach, the decision driver — all have specific duties in ensuring that the meetings actually involve business rather than devolving into social events.

Using the Holistic Goal

A new enterprise at the James Ranch is a food trailer, Harvest Grill & Greens, where people can eat some of the great food produced on the James Ranch when they visit the on-farm store.

8

Land & Livestock

July / August 2012

Perhaps this seems a bit much, but sometimes even this amount of formality and planning hasn’t been enough. Recently, a few of the family members were excited about the possibility of erecting a brick and mortar building to house a sit-down restaurant and an expanded Ranch Market.

Momentum to break ground was building when a few people started detecting some unease with the project. The families hired a friend trained in Holistic Management to survey all family members on the subject.

It turned out that not everyone was on board with the project. Indeed, some family members were upset about how decisions were being made and who was making them. “That was interesting and very revealing, because these concerns did not come up in the family meetings,” Dan admits. “We’ve decided we need to double down on being honest with each other by creating an environment where everyone is comfortable with airing their concerns and their feelings.” He says the expansion has been put on the back burner for now.

“Siblings living and working together is tough enough, and when you bring spouses into the picture it can be even tougher,” Dan notes. “So it’s best to be out front with things. It’s important that we care about how that person feels when they leave the meeting.”

The family also updated its three-part holistic goal, and created a new role for their meetings: a “goal keeper” whose task is to ensure that all decisions are in tune with the family’s goal.

Almost all of the adults have taken at least one Holistic Management class. Dan notes that some branches of the family are more excited about HM than others. In the past the system has been too cumbersome for Dan, although he admits that testing decisions against goals is probably a good thing for someone like himself who tends to prefer the seat-of-thepants method.

“I don’t want to be responsible for a seat-of-the-pants decision that jeopardizes the ranch as a whole,” he explains. “If nothing else, HM helps you sleep at night.” Dan is excited about the pared down list of questions for testing decisions devised by Jennifer and Joe’s daughter Olivia, a college student. “It’s pretty cool. I can live by these.”

The holistic view is why the James Ranch web site (www.jamesranch.net) describes the ranch as “going beyond organic.”

“We make decisions holistically, meaning we consider how our decisions affect the land, ecosystems, animals (both wild and domestic), families, communities, customers, and future generations,” the James family tells visitors to the site.

When it comes down to it, the extended James family is attempting to

ensure that the ranch will survive and provide benefits to everything and everyone involved for generations to come. Dan says that while it is inevitable that future generations will not have direct ties to the ranch, the goal is for them to view it as something other than the source of a potential payoff.

“We’re trying to think 100 years out,” he explains.

Dave James largely deflects credit for the success of the James Ranch structure and system, saying that the entrepreneurial spirit and the prevailing loving atmosphere of the families are what makes things tick here. He says he decided not to control the family businesses largely because he does not understand most of them.

“I couldn’t possibly be the traditional patriarch, because we’ve got so many things going here,” Dave explains. “It’s more than I can fathom.”

Dan says that every farm’s production, marketing and family situation is going to be different, and that by no means will the James Ranch model work for everyone. But he thinks that if family farming operations are going to survive, the families involved are going to have to put some effort into figuring out how they can work together — and apart.

“The family dynamic thing is what people tend to focus on the least,” Dan asserts. “That’s because it’s a touchy-feely thing. But in the end, the family has to sit down and figure out how to deal with each other. That requires honesty, and it takes significant effort.”

This article first appeared in Graze, a magazine about managed grazing and family-scale agriculture. 608-455-3311; www.grazeonline.com

The Cost of Feeding

by DON CAMPBELL

W

intering cows has two main costs, the cost of the feed and the cost of feeding the feed. Holistic Management financial planning gives us the tools to analyze our business. I will share some numbers from our place. I strongly encourage you to figure out your own numbers. My numbers may be interesting, but your numbers matter.

All of us are aware of bale grazing. The benefits of bale grazing are two-fold. The first is a reduction in feeding costs this year leading to an increase in profit. The second is an improvement in our land leading to sustainability and profit in future years. For this article let’s focus on the cost side of bale grazing.

There are two ways to have a feeding cost of zero. One is to graze the bales where they are produced (when you grow your own feed). The other is to unload purchased bales where they will be grazed. I don’t see any way to improve on either of these methods.

Now let’s look at what happens when the bales are handled a second time. We have areas where we want to bale graze that are inaccessible for bale trucks. With our tractor and wagons we can move about 19 bales per hour. Using a bale weight of 1,300 lbs. and a $50/hour charge for the tractor yields the following results. Each load gives us 24,700 lb. of feed (19 x 1,300). We feed about 35 lbs./head/day (3% of body weight on a 1,200-lb. cow). This gives us 705 days of feed per load (24,700 /35). The cost of feeding is $.07/head/day ($50/705).

The other way we feed is with a bale truck. If the feed and cattle are close to each other we can feed 4 bales/hour. When the distance is greater we can only feed 2 bales/hour. We estimate

$50/hour for the truck. Using the same bale weight of 1,300 lbs. let’s look at the cost of feeding. Four bales/hour results in 5,200 lbs. of feed (1,300 x 4). The 5,200 lbs. of feed produces 148 days of feed (5,200/35). The cost of feeding is $.34/head/day (50/148). Two bales/hour results in 2,600 lbs. of feed (1,300 x 2). The 2,600 lbs. of feed produces 74 days of feed (2,600/35). The cost of feeding is $.68/head/day (50/74).

These numbers show that for us feeding with a deck truck costs from $.27 to $.61 more per head per day more than feeding by bale grazing. The savings from bale grazing over a 150-day feeding period is from $40 up to $91 per head. These are numbers from our place. Don’t take them too seriously.

The point is that you need to know your costs.

I want to share two stories that are similar to the above numbers.

The first is from Don Guilford. Don’s comment during a field day last summer was “bale grazing saves me $40 per cow.” Don’s numbers and mine are amazingly close. The second story is from a Holistic Management practitioner who shared with me that she had cut her tractor hours by 100 hours by bale grazing. She estimated her tractor costs at $50 per hour. The savings was $5,000. If my memory serves me correctly this savings was on 50 cows for a savings of $100 per head.

Bale grazing saves money this year and improves the land in the future. Is there any valid reason not to bale graze? I can’t think of any.

Don Campbell is a Holistic Management Certified Educator from Meadow Lake Saskatchewan. He can be reached at: doncampbell@sasktel.net.

Number 144

Land & Livestock

9

Growing Soil as Our Primary Crop—

Shelterbelt Farm

by ERICA FRENAY

W

e bought our abandoned, thin-soiled, poorly-drained acreage not for its value as farmland, but for its proximity to a community of people we love. Now we are faced with the daunting task of getting it to be productive enough to support a farm business, Shelterbelt Farm. I confess I occasionally feel pangs of envy for farmer friends who chose better land on which to found their operations, but mostly I think the hard work of regenerating land is just about the most rewarding pursuit we could choose (aside from parenting).

Initially we dreamed of using animals exclusively to transform our land to productive pasture, but the practicalities of non-existent infrastructure and off-farm work schedules intervened. The result is that for our first two seasons, we’ve used brush-mowing and liming, in conjunction with foraging poultry, to begin the process.

I conducted some baseline monitoring in 2009, including a soil test and looking at the soil surface at points along a transect, before we did anything to the land. It was pretty typical for the non-brittle Northeastern US: after “resting” for ~25 years, more than 50% of the soil surface was covered with moss, the soil was very acidic, and the plant community was mostly strawberry/goldenrod/raspberry/knapweed, with some honeysuckle and rose. Not much there for a hungry steer or lamb to eat.

If we ever hoped to produce 100% grassfed beef and lamb, we needed to shift the plant community toward a thriving mix of legumes (like clover, birdsfoot trefoil, and alfalfa) and grass species, with just a few “forbs” (herbaceous broadleaf plants) mixed in.

By our second year, after two rounds of mowing and liming we saw incredible results where the chickens and turkeys had been. Bare and mossy-capped soil decreased by 25%, legumes increased by 10%, and grasses increased by 35% without any additions of seed. But most notably, there was a visible line where the plants went from looking stunted and yellowed to lush and blue-green. Those chickens and turkeys had provided the fertility needed to kickstart better growth.

No longer could I hide my inner soil geek away. I walked around our land with my husband Craig this spring openly cheering and pointing at all the improvements I saw. For years I’ve studied and read about holistic planned grazing, keyline design, biodynamics, compost tea, and spraying raw milk as techniques for drastically improving soil, biodiversity, and overall land health. Now I have a laboratory for exploring these techniques and seeing what works for us.

So you can imagine my excitement at having the opportunity to implement keyline design at Shelterbelt. No, it’s not a dessert, but it is pretty sweet. Here’s my $0.05 definition: originating with P.A. Yeomans in Australia, keyline is a method of managing water in the landscape and building topsoil in typically brittle, drought-prone areas. In our more humid landscape and poorly-drained soils, we hoped it would allow water to better infiltrate, and increase organic matter in the soil, enabling the soil to store more water.

Ethan Roland from Appleseed Permaculture helped us lay out the design on our property. We identified the draws, or mini-valleys on our farm, and located the “keypoint”, which is the approximate point at which the slope changed from concave to convex. Then we used a laser level to flag the contour line of this point across the rest of the field. We brought in a specially-designed keyline plow—similar to a subsoiler with 3 shanks— that cuts slits into the soil just below the level where plant roots currently 10

Land & Livestock

July / August 2012

2009

2011 With planned grazing and good soil fertility management, Erica and Craig were able to move the landscape from a landscape dominated by forbs, mosses, and shrubs to a more diverse, forage-based landscape that will support livestock. grow, and plowed parallel to the flagged contour line, both up- and downslope from it.

Last year we only went down 6-8 inches, but over the next two years, we’ll get 14 inches down. The idea is to break up the subsoil–without any mixing of soil layers–which lets air and water down into those slits. This creates a more hospitable environment for plant roots, which then slough off and contribute to new topsoil formation the next time the plants are mowed or grazed.

On our rock-hard ground, it felt like we had breathed life into the soil, like we had “fluffed up” the acreage that we plowed. And then the rain started just as we finished! So we got water down into those slits immediately, and the whole farm greened up with lush new growth as plant roots explored the new openings we’d made for them.

Some farmers claim that using this technique, they can build several inches of topsoil each year. We’re skeptical of overstated benefits, but cautiously optimistic about more modest gains. It remains to be seen what the exact impacts will be on our farm long-term, but we will definitely do keyline plowing again this year.

Healthy soil is the foundation of human existence. For that reason, we believe it is the most important crop on our farm and will go to great lengths to build the biological wealth of our land for as long as we have the privilege of stewarding it.

Erica Frenay is a beginning woman farmer near Brooktondale, New York. She is also a Holistic Management Certified Educator and is an instructor for HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer Program. She can be reached at: info@shelterbeltfarm.com.

Hard to Kill Grass—

Focus on Recovery

by CODY HOLMES

O

ne of the mantras that kept coming back from my past when I was first starting with controlled grazing and Holistic Management, was the old saw that if you eat your grass too short you will certainly kill that grass and have to re-seed.

After several years of working my ranch with high stocking densities I soon realized that actually just the opposite was true. The more pressure I placed on the forages the better the forages became over time. I began to spread the word: “Stock your paddocks as heavy as you wish, and let them eat as much as your management demands to accomplish your goals.” And of course this always followed with strict directions for long recovery periods to follow. I was kind of daring folks to just try and kill your grass by grazing, because I knew only good would come about from good forage management.

But until 2008 I had no verifiable evidence, other than years of practice on my ranch, to prove this point. So I set out to gather the smoking gun evidence to prove my point. Remember, I said, “You cannot destroy your forages by grazing down too short as long as you have a long recovery period.” So here is what I did.

We were in our standard planned grazing program with daily moves of the cow herd of about 1,000 head total through about 10-acre (4 ha) paddocks. In late February, usually the wettest month of the year here in Southern Missouri, I moved the herd into a certain paddock. When it came time to move the herd onto the next paddock, I left them to graze down more forage. I did this for three extra days. I than began rolling round bales of hay out in that paddock so the cattle would not starve to death. It took about another full week in that paddock to get to the point where I could not see even one single blade of grass in the paddock.

I then moved the herd onto the next paddock and finished the winter out on standing forages with daily moves from that point forward. I am sure if cattle could talk they would have gone on strike for what I put them through. You can take a look at the photo I took the day I moved the herd out. There is little question whether I took the forage down as low as possible. There was no grass left anywhere in that paddock. I can be honest now and tell you that I really thought I would have to eat my words and re-seed that paddock.

I took photos every seven days. We got more than average rain fall that spring and it really looked like a mess. But even after the first week little sprouts of green began to push through the mud. We took the cattle out March 1st. Because of fast growth in the spring we were moving the herd very fast from paddock to paddock. It was only 75 days before we had made the complete rotation around the ranch and made it back to this paddock. Because of other happenings on the ranch I went ahead and turned the herd into the paddock. I would have preferred to have another 30 days of growth but we measured about 6,000 pounds of forage to the acre (6,750 kg/ha) or about 30-inch (75-cm) high forage. Many people know I prefer to graze waist-high forage, but at this point I was so happy that it did so well I went ahead and grazed it again in this rotation.

The photos show a progression of forage growth until I turned back in with the herd after 75 days of recovery. As the season progressed and the years went by, I have seen no difference in this paddock than any of the others. What I question about that demonstration was: did I grow new grass all from seeds that were lying dormant in the soil? Did I actually kill the roots of the old stand, or did the roots from the old stand of forages come back? Either way I had no loss of forage from this demonstration.

And, I continue to pass on the message: I cannot kill my grass from

1,000 head of cattle performing severe grazing.

Grass stand after seven days of recovery.

Grass stand after 75 days of recovery.

severe grazing or from high stock densities, as long as I have a long recovery period that follows.

I have demonstrated these results at a lot of conventions and talks, and I always want everyone to understand one very important issue.

By doing this demonstration with my cow herd in this paddock I am not suggesting that this is good management or a good practice to go home and try. I went through this process only as a test or demonstration purpose. In reality, the height that we leave post grazing is completely subjective and our goals and attempts at accomplishing certain objectives in each paddock determine what residual we will leave behind before we graze it once again.

Cody Holmes is a rancher and consultant from Norwood, Missouri.

He can be reached at: 417-259-2333 or cdholmes@hughes.net Number 144

Land & Livestock

11

HMI 2011 ANNUAL REPORT

INCREASE EXPOSURE OF YOUTH TO HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

A Message from the CEO & Board Chair

T

he Board and staff of HMI utilized many of the fundamental principles of Holistic Management® in 2011 to generate a robust Holistic Goal, tie it to a succinct Mission Statement, connect it to Quality of Life statements, Forms of Production, and future and current Resource Bases. Out of all this has come a focused business plan Peter Holter with core strategies and measurements. Going forward, it is an exciting time for HMI as we continue our march to taking the principles and practices of Holistic Management mainstream.

As a result of a Board/Staff retreat facilitated by experienced Holistic Management Educator, Kirk Gadzia, HMI’s mission statement is brief, clear, and actionable: “HMI educates people to manage land for a sustainable future”. Our value statement reflects the triple bottom line: “People count, healthy land is essential, money matters”.

Sallie Calhoun Today’s HMI delivers on its mission in two key areas: Beginning Farmers and Ranchers—we work with new farmers • and ranchers to help them build and sustain successful agriculture operations, with an emphasis both on production in harmony with nature and, importantly, working from a perspective of effective management and decision making.

• Professional Development—we continue to work with experienced ranchers, farmers, and land stewards to deliver on our mission and help them meet the unique goals of their enterprise.

The delivery of our programs revolve around five key learning components in a new curriculum format, emphasizing results based teaching and results based learning— outcomes, observable changes in knowledge, and changes in behavior leading to measurable, quantifiable results.

1. Decision framework and goal setting 2. Financial planning

3. Land planning 4. Grazing planning 5. Monitoring and assessment

Financially, we have been blessed with generous donors, an improved development effort aimed at grant generation, and continued fee-for-service work. While the economy has presented major challenges for HMI, prudent financial planning has enabled us to weather the storms and allow us to continue to plan for our future growth.

We are excited by the growth and progress being made at HMI, and look forward to a dynamic 2012. As always, we thank you for your continued interest, enthusiasm and support for the HMI mission. Your support is valued and appreciated. What you do makes a real difference.

Best,

• 210 students participated in Kids On the Land programs in 2011. Over 30 volunteers participated in the program which included four different school districts in Texas.

• The free KOL booklets continue to be popular items on the free downloads from the HMI website.

• The Cowboy Joe literacy project continues to gain momentum. Cowboy Joe visited the National Future Farmers Conference, Oklahoma, Soil Carbon Challenge Tour, and Australia.

• In February, Austin College in Sherman Texas held a series of classes under the HMI Gen Next umbrella. Holistic Management Certified Educator, Rob Rutherford taught the classes to about 100 students.

• In October, HMI participated in the National Future Farmers of America convention in Indianapolis, where we met with over 80 agricultural students and teachers.

DOCUMENT AND DEMONSTRATE EVIDENCE OF HMI’S PROGRAM IMPACT

HMI provided over 5,200 Holistic Management tools to farmers and ranchers and had 1,375 subscribers to our bi-monthly land journal, In Practice. Here are just a few results farmers and ranchers have achieved through various HMI programs: • 40% decrease in labor costs • 29% decrease in fertilizer and chemical costs • 29% decrease in fuel costs • 72% increase in number of wildlife • 86% increase in personal happiness and job pleasure • 25% increase net profit • 80% increase in pounds of beef produced per acre BUILD HMI’S BRAND THROUGH EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

GOALS: HMI’s 2011 Business Plan is built on six core strategies and measurements. We are making significant progress against these goals.

DELIVER A FINANCIALLY STABLE AND SUSTAINABLE HMI

• Our development team increased revenue generated by our annual donation appeal by 10% over 2010 results while increasing the total number of donors by 12% • We established a scholarship in memory of Holistic Management Certified Educator Terry Gompert.

• The HMI Board of Directors has reviewed many things in order to ensure the organization’s sustainability and growth. This 12 IN PRACTICE

July / August 2012

included a review of the West Ranch, which was generously donated to HMI in 2001. The board gave careful consideration to the option of selling the ranch—and undertook a rigorous Holistic Management testing process on the proposed sale, which resulted in the sale of the ranch and our deploying the assets from that sale to the specific development of programs in fulfillment of the HMI mission.

• We also invested in our future by building capacity in the form of a new cloud computing database and office space.

HMI embarked on a brand redesign and marketing push which unifies all our communications and outreach materials.

The objectives were to achieve brand consistency, increase loyalty among our existing community, and reach new and younger agrarians. We are already reaping the benefits of the new focus.

• Increased the number of Twitter followers from 219 in January to 5,849 in December • Increased the number of Facebook fans from 532 in January to 1,358 in December • Increased monthly number of web visits by 79% from August 2011 to January 2012

BUILD HMI’S REPUTATION AS AN EFFECTIVE EDUCATION SOURCE AND CATALYST OF HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT

In 2011, HMI’s 60 Certified Educators trained 5,831 people and influenced an additional 1.3 million acres of land. HMI also collaborated with and provided training for other non-profits, higher education institutions, and government agencies in many regions of the U.S. including USDA Beginning Farmer & Rancher Development Program, Farm Services Agency, Quivira Coalition, Austin College, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, University of Vermont, Small and Beginning Farmers of New Hampshire, Connecticut NOFA, Central New York RC&D, Maine Women’s Agricultural Network, Sustainable Food Center, Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association, Minnesota State Community and Technical College, University of Manitoba, and the Land Stewardship Project.

Join Us Helping Farmers & Ranchers

T

he earth, and the food it provides us, is a precious resource.

At HMI we know this and that’s why we are dedicated to training farmers and ranchers on sustainable farming practices—practices that benefit land and people for generations to come.

When you support HMI, your contribution will be used to support our programs for both beginning and more experienced farmers and ranchers. These programs have, and will continue to make, a difference in the lives and communities of the people we serve.

But don’t just listen to us. Watch a short video of David Shumacher from Thistle Hill Farm in Virginia. David benefited from our Future Farms program. His accomplishments demonstrate the impact your contribution can make. You can watch this video at: http://holisticmanagement.org/give/greenerpastures-begin-with-your-donation/.

The ripple effect of one producer building a sustainable business impacts us all At HMI, results matter and we are measuring our effectiveness like never before. This means you can be assured your contribution will truly make a difference. Here are just a few results producers have achieved through various HMI programs.

25% increase in net profit 40% decrease in labor costs 29% decrease in fertilizer and chemical costs 29% decrease in fuel costs 72% increase in the number of wildlife 86% increase in personal happiness and job pleasure 80% increase in pounds of beef produced per acre With your help, HMI can train more farmers to grow food in a sustainable manner. Please join our community of change today by making a contribution. Contact HMI at 505/842-5252 or visit our website at www.holisticmanagement.org.

Audited Financials (YEARS ENDING DECEMBER 31)

2011

2010

Summarized Statement of Activities Revenue Professional services Educational programs Grants Publications Gas royalties Contributions Other Total revenues

85,531 64,896 213,298 69,985 1,016,790 129,302 303,178 1,882,980

155,349 74,394 250,851 80,849 786,956 119,028 311,908 1,779,335

Expenses Professional services Educational programs Beginning farmers programs Publications Outreach Gas royalties Fundraising Administration Total expenses

56,951 538,158 214,391 75,700 197,356 147,539 104,601 484,338 1,819,034

72,651 607,089 276,875 85,071 160,671 164,023 76,414 499,870 1,942,664

63,946

-163,329

Change in Net Assets

Summarized Statement of Financial Position Assets Cash and cash equivalents Accounts receivable Prepaid expenses Inventory Property and equipment, net Other assets Total

2,270,580 173,614 19,471 7,567 160,231 2,034,207 4,665,670

566,189 191,743 17,242 10,289 1,823,478 2,118,441 4,727,382

54,743 28,060 12,058 0 0 94,861

101,148 22,939 17,607 22,501 56,324 220,519

2,875,422 1,695,387 4,570,809

3,220,173 1,286,690 4,506,863

Total Liabilities & Net Assets 4,665,670

4,727,382

Liabilities Accounts payable Accrued liabilities Deferred revenue Current portion LTD Long-term debt Total Net Assets Unrestricted Temporarily restricted Total

Number 144

IN PRACTICE 13

FUNDERS

Thanks to our Supporters

I

t is always with great pleasure that we acknowledge the many individuals and organizations whose support is the lifeblood of our mission and our community. Many of you have been steadfast partners for years, and we salute your loyalty and commitment.

We extend a special thanks to those who joined us more recently in our shared quest to manage land for a sustainable future.

A heartfelt “thank you” to all for the wonderful support and generous spirit!

$150,000+ USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

$50,000+ Sallie Calhoun – The Christiano Family Fund, an advised fund of The Community Foundation for San Benito County

$5,000+ Farm Aid Farm Credit Bank of Texas Genevieve Duncan Marshall Foundation The William & Mary Greve Foundation, Inc.

$3,500+ Cliff Miller Family Endowment of The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia Ron Chapman

$2,000+ David Brock – Quick Sol of Texas, LLC J. Cliff Miller III – Mount Vernon Farms Katherine Dickson Rappahannock County

$1,000+ Ben & Denise Bartlett Brooke Henley & Thomas Garnett Don & Randee Halladay Gail Hammack & Doug McDaniel James & Ann McMullan Jim & Carol Parker Joy Law

14 IN PRACTICE

John Flocchini – Durham Ranches, Inc. Kathryn Smyth Mark Bader – Free Choice Enterprises Michael Sands & Betsy Dietel NRCS – Texas Texas Dispute Resolution Center Texas Range Minerals

$500+ Connie Krider – Powerflex David Schoumacher Drausin Wulsin Emry & Deborah Clark Birdwell – Birdwell & Clark Ranch Harry (Pono) & Angela VanHolt – Ponoholo Ranch Ltd. Joan Kelleher Swift Action Fund, a Donor-advised Fund held at the San Luis Obispo Community Foundation Linda Meuth Malcolm & Delphine Beck Organic Certification Consulting Roby Wallace

$250+ Ann Beeghly Art & Sally Roane Chip Fischer Eric Brown – Brown Brothers Farming Harry Duncan Campbell, Jr. Jaye Henneke Jim & Sara Shelton Katherine Steele Rodriguez Lee Dueringer Linda Davis – CS Cattle Co. Lowell & Mary Forman Mary Cox Native Prairie Association Roberta & Derek Meader Tammy Parish Texas Wildlife Association Thomas Brown

July / August 2012

Vanessa Semifero Rodriguez Walter Lynn

$100+ Adrienne E Ruby Aleatha Scholer Alice Ball-Strunk Amy Greer – Winters Family Beef Anonymous Art McElroy Azilia Ventures Bill Dorrance – Dorrance Ranches, L.P. Bruce Condill Carolyn Vogel Charles & Jennifer Sands Dale Lasater – The Lasater Ranch Dave Waters Dick McNear Douglas Dockter Dwayne Wamrick Edwin Waters Elma Irene Garza – J.L. Garza LLC Gena Leathers Gunther Reitzel J.D. Folbre Jack & Zera Varian – V6 Ranch Jack Southworth – Southworth Bros. Inc. Jeff & Denise Hunewill Jerry & Sharon Holtman Joan Kelleher Joe & Peggy Maddox Joe Middleton – Whole System Management John Parker Layton Humphrey – Flying M Land & Cattle Co., LLC Martha Holdridge Martin Woodard – Roy Wheeler Realty Mary Ellen Gonzales Melinda & Shanon Sims – Sims Cattle Co LLC Nancy Ranney Levi Pam Walker Pamela Glenn Peter Schulze Richards Ranch Rita Talbot – Artifacts Rob & Martie Rutherford Roland Kroos Sandy Langelier Suzanne Nelson Travis Driscoll – Mudhouse Advertising William Eastman William Jenkins

<$100 Agee Smith – Cottonwood Ranch Ann Adams

Arlin Grimes Barbara Eder Ben Berlinger Borja Diaz Brendan Prendergast – Koinonia Farm Brett Smith Brian Russ Carol Elliott Christopher Kinney & Luciente Blais Dana Foster – Scattergood Farm Dave & Jeanette Maxwell David & Lauri Celella Deborah Berman Del (Ruth) Sasse Dennis & Ruth Demmel Dick & Pat Richardson Doug & Clare Barnett Duane Hilborn Duane Sand Consulting Inc. Edvard Nordenskjold Elizabeth Welsh Eric Berg Gary Henneke Gerry Stratelak Gianluigi Patenieri Greg & Jan Judy Heather Flashinski James & Mary Dudley Jane Hemmer Jim & Geraldine Matthews Jo Woodward Joe E. Williams III John & Julie Ott – James Ranch Trees, Inc. John C & Rosalyn G Phillips John Lynn John Wernette Joseph & Blair Fitzsimons Ken Gallard – Gallard Photographics Ken Marchetti Kevin & Nancy Rummel Kirk Mills Larry Johnson Lauren Armstrong – SM Cubed Lauren Bradbury Linus Meyer Luke & Emily Frey Mark Biaggi Merton W Taylor Nathan Ricks – JRRT Enterprises LC Norman & Gail Lowe Olive Hershey Spitzmiller Rich & Anne Morris Richard Rominger Rita Foust Robin Elizabeth Wolfson Steve & Andrew Jurgens Sue Kacskos & Daniel Schuck Susan Stropes Tom & Irene Frantzen Watt Casey William Gallagher/Sally Wellborn

Marshmallows and Holistic Decision Making—

Changing Habits

by TIM MCGAFFIC

I

f you’re reading this you’re probably at least acquainted with Holistic Management and hopefully a practitioner. Congratulations on finding a pioneering management process concerned with sustainable outcomes. I believe Holistic Management is much more than an effective management process for a sustainable future, Holistic Management is a good habit—one that changes how you think, and when practiced, will have far reaching unexpected consequences in your life.

Delayed Gratification and Success Who are the people that practice Holistic Management? What particular qualities make a good holistic manager? These questions are fundamental to marketing our product, and for some, hiring managers or employees that fit into their holistic goal. In 1972 Walter Mischel of Stanford University designed and conducted an experiment to test a person’s ability to delay gratification. It was, and still is known, as the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. The experiment was relatively simple. He studied a group of 4 year old children and gave each a marshmallow, but promised two marshmallows if they were able to wait for 20 minutes. The study continued and is still being followed to this day.

What they found was that a person’s ability to delay gratification was a reliable indicator of success in life. People that could delay gratification were better adjusted psychologically, more dependable, had better grades, and scored an average of 210 points higher on SAT tests. These successes continued into later life and this one test is considered one of the most reliable for predicting success in life at an early age. The Marshmallow Test looks at innate abilities that lend to the adoption of successful habits.

Although Holistic Management offers certain immediate results in terms of comfort, such as the gratification you get after completing your financial plan, in the long term, the psychological quality of being able to delay gratification is necessary to see results that practicing Holistic Management will produce. The holistic goal setting, testing, planning and initiation followed by monitoring and the feedback loop, essentially requires a practitioner to be able to delay gratification—to be able to defy conventional wisdom and not run to the local Co-op to buy the latest fix.

For those that have gone through this and could resist the trip to the Coop, the practice of Holistic Management rewarded their disciplined efforts with movement towards their holistic goal. This, of course, is reinforcing and creates a desire to continue.

becomes a formula for our brain to follow automatically.” With all the planning processes involved in Holistic Management, conscious decisions need to be made; however, the process of holistic thinking could be considered a habit—what Duhigg has called a keystone habit.

Sound familiar?

Duhigg documents certain habits that are being termed keystone, much as we might do in analyzing ecosystems when we look for keystone species as indicators of ecosystem health. These habits tend to have far reaching consequences beyond why they were initially adopted.

Exercise is one of these habits that affect other aspects of people’s lives.

When a person starts to exercise regularly they start to eat better, become more productive at work, smoke less, and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use credit cards less frequently and feel less stressed. It’s not clear as to exactly why this occurs, but when one change triggers widespread change, it is a keystone habit. Another keystone habit that has been documented is families eating dinner together. In this case, parents raise children with better homework skills, higher grades, greater emotional control, and more confidence. Making your bed is correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of wellbeing, and stronger skills at sticking with a budget. These simple habits that have greater effects than intended are known by researchers as keystone.

I contend that practicing Holistic Management is a keystone habit.

How many families that have embraced Holistic Management have started to eat dinner together on a regular basis, perhaps because of the shared holistic goal? Of course I have no data on this, but in my personal experience I believe that the shared holistic goal has given people much to discuss, a common purpose and the trust to be heard. Furthermore, the common purpose tends to satisfy their need to be valued, and have more control in their lives. This tends to produce some certainty as to what the future holds, and that is comforting.

As active participation grows, a feeling of being valued for one’s actions and participation is enhanced. The rewards this produces create motivation to work more towards the holistic goal for reasons beyond the original adoption of Holistic Management. Holistic Management not only creates functioning ecosystem processes, but it builds habits in people that are necessary for sustainable futures. These habits may be the most fundamental basis for creating sustainable outcomes. Shaping people with good habits creates a shared culture that manages the resource base more efficiently while looking to the future to ensure success for coming generations.

Habit-Forming Through our holistic practices and the monitoring of results, we are building qualities in ourselves that lead to success in other aspects of our lives. Much like working with the ecosystem processes that lead to biological health, those that practice Holistic Management are cultivating qualities that lay the foundation for success. During my training with Allan Savory, he often assured me and others that this whole process would get a lot easier as you continued to practice it. He admitted that in the beginning it took a lot of conscious effort but assured us that one day it would be easy; it would become essentially a habit. He was right; it has become a habit, a way of thinking. A habit, as defined in Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit is: “a choice that we deliberately make at some point, and then stop thinking about, at which point it

Changing Behaviors How do we go about shaping behaviors? According to Duhigg there is a proven process that one can use to extinguish old habits and create new more desirable ones. In fact, to truly rid ourselves of an old unwanted habit we must replace it with a new one. This requires a conscious effort. First, make the decision that a habit is not serving you well, perhaps is even detrimental and needs to be changed or eliminated. This is easier said than done as often we find changing our old ways very hard. With effort, almost any habit can be reshaped using the following framework: • Identify the routine CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Number 144

IN PRACTICE 15

measure an innate tendency that may lead to good habits. Other keystone habits such as exercise are well documented. One of the other qualities needed to change, which is fundamental to Holistic Management, is to systematically record progress; write it down. This in Experiment with rewards • itself has a powerful effect towards self-awareness and the resulting Isolate the cue • change.

Recording what you eat tends to work for diets (Weight Have a plan • Watchers etc.), because it holds us responsible to ourselves, as does the Within each one of these categories there is a process to follow. monitoring we profess as holistic managers.

Having a deeper understanding is essential but beyond the scope of this Creating criteria beyond biological monitoring and seeking the short article. However, considering incorporating habit analysis into changes in ourselves will most likely get us there faster than anything Holistic Management processes may be useful. Why? else we can do. If you believe you have unwanted habits, and who When Paul O’Neil took over the Alcoa Company he was able to doesn’t, challenge yourself to find out the triggers and create new habits. change it in unimaginable ways by focusing on one habit he considered The process Duhigg outlines in his book will show you the way, but you essential, safety (the full description is in Duhigg’s book The Power of will need the habit of writing it down and Habit). By focusing on what he decided to be monitoring it daily until you have the a key habit, it was proven correct; he was answer. able to create one of the most successful Holistic Management is a good Tom Dorrance once said; “The change organizations of the era. Duhigg gives many in the horse comes from the change in the examples in his book to make the argument habit—one that changes how person.” This has proven to be the case for changing key habits that go beyond what you think, and when practiced, every time in my experience. When I hear the conventional wisdom would expect and will have far reaching unexpected that Holistic Management doesn’t work, like identifying the habits necessary for world Tom, I know the people haven’t been able class success. What habits in your life, consequences in your life. to change enough to adapt. They wanted business, or organization can be initiated to to be right, not successful, or simply were help you be a more effective holistic looking for an easy solution for complicated manager? issues, themselves. As Pogo once said: “We have met the enemy, and A study done in 2006 by Duke University documents that 40% or he is us”. more of actions people take every day weren’t actual decisions, but Small changes to key behaviors tend to have large effects, and habits. Once an action becomes a habit and is triggered, it sets in motion adopting Holistic Management as a management process and the a formula for your brain to follow. Although I would argue we would very accompanying holistic thinking as a habit can be a powerful tool in much desire to make holistic thinking a habit, the actual process of shaping cultures. Many companies now have as part of their mission to holistic decisions needs to be conscious and rational for the desired shape culture. These include Google, Facebook, Starbucks, Twitter, sustainable outcomes to occur. Since we are all just people, you as a Microsoft, and others. holistic practitioner are running on those programs 40% of the time.

As the number of practitioners grows and the groups they form Examining what habits are taking place and consciously deciding if they become larger, they will have an effect on culture and future generations. are desired could be considered fundamental to future success.

The habits that are taught by those currently practicing may be more Examining behaviors that may be ineffective in achieving your holistic important to the fundamental change for sustainable outcomes than we goal may be something to consider. once believed. In short, the 40% of behaviors performed everyday by Holistic Management already has the framework to incorporate this individuals, thus organizations and governments, need to be examined form of critical thinking. Since the brain doesn’t distinguish between good and incorporated so that the 40% are consciously chosen. By choosing and bad habits, it is important to become aware of what we are doing good habits it is more likely we will achieve our desired outcomes. As (choosing the 40% of autopilot behaviors) and make changes as our Paul O’Neil pointed out, success doesn’t depend on getting everything level of awareness increases. Like Paul O’Neil defining the habit of right, but instead relies on identifying a few priorities and fashioning safety as key, we need to examine what our habits are through better them into powerful levers as good habits. critical thinking skills.

As people concerned with change, let us challenge ourselves to The framework of Holistic Management, unlike other management examine our habits. If they are found wanting, then make conscious processes, is set up to accept this as part of the plan of managing the efforts to create new ones that serve us better and perhaps others as whole. I’m hoping this will create some lively discussion as to where this well. Ray Hunt challenged generations of horseman to examine would fit into the framework of Holistic Management. As Paul O’Neil had themselves and not blame the horse. The revolution that has occurred predetermined the far reaching consequences of safety, a holistic in horsemanship because of his and Tom Dorrance’s efforts is profound. manager may consider similar analysis. This may occur in planning while Allan Savory once accused me of sloppy thinking; he was right. Although using the testing questions or creating criteria for effectiveness of preit didn’t feel good, I now look at my critical thinking skills with Allan’s determined existing habits that are monitored or examined in the voice ringing in my ears. My point is rather simple. Examining your feedback loop. One habit that we already consider essential that is ecosystem processes, pastures, riparian areas and other aspects of necessary for habit change is to record the data; write it down. your business may be rather easy perhaps even fun. Examining yourself isn’t nearly as much fun. Keep the goal in mind and enjoy the ride, Write It Down while creating new habits of your choice.

I have endeavored to use some examples that may be useful in setting up the critical thinking process that may help managers define Tim McGaffic is a Certified Educator who lives in Cave Creek, good habits. The Marshmallow Test is just that, a test designed to Arizona and can be reached at: 808-936-5749 or tim@timmcgaffic.com

Changing Habits

16

Land & Livestock

continued from page fifteen

July / August 2012

R

ecently the journal Nature published an article of some significance. It was a meta-analysis entitled “Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture,” and was written by Verena Seufert, Navin Ramankutty, and Jonathan Foley. Metaanalysis is a useful and increasingly common research method employed by scientists. When conducting meta-analysis researchers aggregate dozens and sometimes hundreds of different published research studies to discern broader patterns in the area of study. This approach is becomingly increasingly common in the fields of medicine, climate research, and ecology, to name a few.

Just the Facts What follows is a synopsis, bullet point summary of the research results. According to the study, “Overall, organic yields are 25% lower than conventional…”, however “organic performance varies widely over crop types and species.”

• Yields of organic fruits and oilseed crops show a small (-3% and -11% respectively), but not statistically significant, difference to conventional crops • Organic cereals and vegetables have significantly lower yields than conventional crops (-26% and -33% respectively) Yield performance varies widely not just based on the crop being produced, but also based on the agro-ecological and socioeconomic conditions under which that crop is produced.

• Organic crops perform better on weakacidic to weak-alkaline soils (pH between 5.5 and 8.0), possibly related to phosphorous being less available under acidic or alkaline conditions.

• Organic performance is -35% under irrigated conditions, but only -17% under rainfed conditions.

• In developed countries organic performance is, on average, -20% whereas in developing countries it is -43%.

In summary, “Organic agriculture performs better under certain agroecological conditions— for example organic legumes or perennials, on weak-acidic or weak-alkaline soils, in rainfed conditions, achieve yields that are only 5% lower than conventional yields.”

Management also plays a critical role: • Having applied best management practices show better organic performance… organic yields thus depend more on knowledge and good management practices than conventional yields.

• Organic yields are low in the first years

Organic vs Conventional—

The Yield Debate

by FRANK ARAGONA

after conversion and gradually increase over time, owing to improvements in soil fertility and management skills.

The improved management associated with organic agriculture also contributes to farm resilience, which can make a tremendous difference in relation to climate-related risk. As the paper notes: “Soils managed with organic methods have shown better water holding capacity and water infiltration rates and have produced higher yields than conventional systems under drought conditions and excessive rainfall.”

The Whole Picture Some articles on the Internet have used this research to question the future viability of organic agriculture. In particular, Time magazine’s “Ecocentric” blog published a post with the title “Why Organic Agriculture May Not Be So Sustainable.” The article alludes to a criticism of organic agriculture cited by the Nature researchers: “Critics argue that organic agriculture may have lower yields and would therefore need more land to produce the same amount of food as conventional farms, resulting in more widespread deforestation and biodiversity loss, and thus undermining the environmental benefits of organic practices.”

What I found significant about the Nature article was not, however, the fact that organic yields are overall lower, but in fact how closely comparable those yields are under relatively difficult circumstances. As the researchers note, “Organic systems may rival conventional yields in some cases…” Consider the following facts: • Most agricultural subsidies are structured to favor large agribusiness, hence putting small-scale organic producers at an economic disadvantage, thereby negatively affecting capital inflows and technological innovation • 50 years of research at U.S. land-grant institutions have focused on conventional, chemically-intensive agriculture. In fact, the U.S. has fallen behind countries like Austria,

Switzerland, and Germany in leading-edge research in organic agriculture, adding another structural advantage for conventional agriculture.

• The research did not distinguish between industrial and small-scale organics. The former is characterized by scale, efficiency, and mechanization, allowing more land to be worked per unit of labor. The latter is characterized by high-yield polycultures where more labor and management is required per unit of land, but overall farm yields can be much higher.

In this context, the comparison of organic to conventional becomes much more favorable and impressive, and illustrates that organics could indeed compete with, and perhaps could surpass conventional agriculture under the appropriate circumstances.

From a yield perspective, perhaps the real disadvantage to the organic producers, and the single most important factor accounting for the -25% differential, is the prohibition of nitrogen fertilizers. Indeed, as the authors note: “Organic systems appear to be N limited, whereas conventional systems are not. N availability has been found to be a major yield-limiting factor in many organic systems.” The prohibition of chemical fertilizers in organic systems is understandable, considering the irresponsible and ecologically disastrous problems of nitrogen saturation and aquatic eutrophication (the water pollution that results). However, with judicious and limited use of nitrogen fertilizer, perhaps the -25% differential would be much less, or even non-existent without negative environmental consequences.

Closing the yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture is a big challenge. As we have seen, lower yields in organic agricultural systems are primarily a function of human management, structural problems, and socioeconomic constraints. The challenges on the production side, while significant, could be easily surmounted given sufficient attention and resources. One factor that is sure to contribute to further success is the continued education of farmers and ranchers, an area where HMI focuses a great deal of our time and energy.

Are you doing some on-farm research (formal or informal) that you would like to share? Have you read an interesting research article that you think would be of interest to IN PRACTICE readers?

Send your stories, ideas, or articles to Ann Adams at anna@holisticmanagement.org or fax to 505/843-7900.

Number 144

IN PRACTICE 17

people programs projects N E W S F R O M H O L I S T I C M A N AG E M E N T I N T E R N AT I O N A L

READER’S FORUM

Generating Wealth— A Holistic Perspective

by PEGGY SECHRIST

HMI Receives Award

O

ne of HMI’s 2011/2012 strategic goals is to build HMI’s brand through effective communication. This spring, HMI was recognized by the New Mexico American Marketing Association for our efforts. We won two awards—The 23rd Annual Marketer of the Year Compass Award for Collateral and the Award of Merit for Interactive Media. We could not have won these awards without our vendors, who work tirelessly to help us get the message out about the benefits of practicing Holistic Management and the wonderful work the staff at HMI does everyday.

HMI Outreach Efforts

A

nn Adams, Director of Education for HMI, gave two presentations in April and May. In April, she presented “Healing the Land with Livestock” to a group of veteran farmers. This presentation was part of a “Boots & Roots: The Veteran Farmer Training Project” that is a collaboration of the Albuquerque Veteran Affairs, La Montanita Coop, and the Downtown Action Team.

She also gave a presentation on “A Holistic

TIPS FROM THE FIELD

Approach to Watersheds” for the Rio Grande Advisory Council (RAC). The RAC is a network of citizens—educators, students, professionals, land owners, federal, state, and local governmental agencies, and other stakeholders —who share a common concern for the conservation of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo watershed. The RAC provides a communication tool for groups and organizations on both sides of the international border, which are actively engaged in Rio Grande/Rio Bravo watershed issues and concerns.

Frank Aragona, HMI’s Director of Research and Development, paid a visit to Colorado State University (CSU) in April. This was part of our GenNext program, an educational program designed to teach youth about the principles and practices of Holistic Management. The two-day seminar had 17 attendees, all Master’s candidates in CSU’s Sustainable Natural Resource Management program. Topics included holistic decision making, biological monitoring, and pasture cropping. The material was well received, and the students had a considerable amount of expertise of their own to contribute to the discussion. HMI would like to thank Dr. Joe Brummer of CSU for coordinating with us on this unique opportunity.

Have an idea or experience to share about how to implement some component of the Holistic Management® Framework? Send your ideas to anna@holisticmanagment.org or call 505/842-5252 or fax 505/843-7900.

Holistic Goal Setting: If you’re struggling to find time to sit down and work on your holistic goal, try jotting down some of the initial ideas on a flip chart or white board and leave it by the kitchen table. As members of your management team go past the table, they can jot down additional ideas and have time to mull over what others have said. This process will then help you make progress when you do sit down to revise and discuss your holistic goal.

— ART TALMADGE and SHERRY SIMPSON of Cranberry Hill Farm in Ashford, Connecticut

Management Clubs: The Amish farmers have a “circle letter” for continued learning within their support groups. The first person writes an update on their farm and then sends the letter to the next person on the list who then adds their information before passing it along until the letter returns to the first person with all the new updates. If you don’t add your update within a certain number of days, you have to buy the postage for the next round of updates. You could do the same thing with email.

—LAUREN LINES, Central New York RC&D, Norwich, New York

Management Clubs: Start a Facebook or email list for your management club to help with communication. Having a speaker for your farm tour helps with drawing more people to the farm tour.

—JESSIE SCHMIDT, University of Vermont Extension, Berlin, Vermont

18 IN PRACTICE

July / August 2012

T

oday’s economic climate is full of uncertainty and apprehension.

Media stories fuel our concerns. Those of us in agriculture really feel a pinch from sky rocketing input costs, impact from climate change, and alwayschanging government regulations and policy. I’ve spent the last few weeks visiting with women producers located in Central Texas, and hear recurring comments about not making enough income. In the small poultry and grassfed beef business my husband and I have, poultry feed increased by 59% last year; fuel costs continues to inch up; and we experienced the worst drought in Texas’ recorded history.

Now isn’t that enough to get you down.

So I’m reminded to shift my thinking from cash to wealth—generating wealth the holistic way. Holistic Management has shown us how to integrate our most desired quality of life values into our goal and to make decisions that keep us moving toward that goal. Having followed the process with my husband now for almost 20 years, we enjoy all our deepest core values even in a cash-strapped year.

The land responds quickly and robustly even with a modest amount of rainfall.

With all the meat we raise going to local customers, they are patient and loyal waiting for our production to return and then buy everything we can produce.

Using our holistic goal, guided by our future resource base description, and utilizing the tools holistically for ecosystem health, we couldn’t be in a better position.

Cash is simply one relatively small component of a wealthy operation.

As long as we continue to build our biological and social wealth and use our decision-making skills holistically, the financial wealth will soon improve.

We’re already looking into a new winter enterprise of cool season veggies under high tunnels. Next step, gross profit analysis!

Kids on the Land

Blackland Prairie

Book Review

by ANN ADAMS

The Farmstead Creamery Advisor

H

ow do you connect urban kids to the land around them?

That was the challenge for the Kids On the Land(KOL) program when a school in Dallas requested the KOL program for its 3rd graders.

When parents of students at Christ the King School called and wanted KOL Director Peggy Maddox to prepare a program, she requested a site. They already had the land steward’s permission to have the event on his family ranch about 70 miles north of Dallas. Next, Peggy began coordinating the volunteer pool for the event. Many of the Texas regulars, NRCS agent, Ricky Linex of Weatherford and Dr. Paul Martin of Seguin, Bryon Haney of Whitney, Katherine Dickson of Maryneal, Charlie and Suzie Davis of Sweetwater, and Karen McGinnis of San Angelo agreed to take part in the event. There would need to be training for the other volunteers. These folks are known as LINKs (Learning In Nature with Kids). In all there were 20 parents involved, plus the regulars, and Peggy Cole, HMI Program Manager.

When April 27th arrived, everyone was ready for the 50 students who came by chartered bus. The program was called “This Land Is Prairie Land.” Students began the day by creating a timeline of historical events of the Blackland Prairie eco-region beginning 10,000 years ago. The theme of prairie land was designed to connect the urban students to the land beneath their feet, whether in Dallas or on the grasslands of the ranch. There was emphasis on the value of the once vast grasslands known as the Blackland Prairie which included much of north central Texas.

The rest of the day was spent in different activities that included: learning about native plants while walking on the prairie and ending with a hayride back to the headquarters to continue the other activities; making wildflower seed balls after learning how nature disperses seeds; creating Native American talking sticks and learning about the Caddo Indians; and doing the work of a naturalist by creating nature journals about Blackland Prairie vegetation. Lunch time included a sing-a-long of songs of the prairie by Charlie Davis.

This event showed how KOL program can go anywhere.

We have expanded the program for students in the Western Cross Timbers, Rolling Plains, and now to the Blackland Prairie EcoRegion of Texas. It has worked with students from rural schools and now students from an urban school in Dallas, Texas.

KOL is unique among environmental programs because it is designed to teach children about their place where they live, using the property of local land stewards. Since children have an innate need to be in nature and nature needs a new generation who are reconnected to the land to take us to a more sustainable future, we hope to see the program continue to evolve as it adapts to meet new environments. Since its inception in 2003, over 2,450 students have participated in the program. The KOL booklets for the Trans-Pecos Eco-Region are available as Free Downloads.

There is also a guide called, “How To Develop Your Own Program” available. The program continues through the generosity of land stewards offering their property as a site, from in-kind donations for supplies and mileage, and from donations to HMI.

by GIANACLIS CALDWELL Chelsea Green Publishing • 2010, 226 pp

I

f you have ever considered making cheese for sale or ramping up your dairy enterprise, The Farmstead Creamery Advisor is the essential guidebook. Certainly the interest in artisan cheeses has caused many a farmer to look at this value-added product as a possible revenue source. All the regulations and issues surrounding these products are as equally daunting as the lure of revenue is motivating. What makes this book so appealing is that Caldwell steps you through each of these issues in a conversational but no-nonsense way.

Caldwell starts with a quick quiz for people to self-select if this type of career is really the right step. From long hours to physical labor to need for creativity, she makes sure the reader understands what running a creamery entails—just from a personality standpoint. If anyone reads this book and proceeds with running a creamery, they have been duly warned.

While the book is packed with lots of useful information that runs the gamut from how many gallons of water (1-5) it takes to process a gallon of milk to considerations of what to do with all the whey and wastewater, Caldwell pulls out particular gems in teasers such as: “Insufficient hot water supply is one of the most common mistakes made when designing systems for the dairy.” Likewise, boxed “tips” highlight important considerations like the type of shelving to purchase that will save the new creamery owner a lot of time, money, and trouble in the long run.

Other topics of importance covered in this book include sizing up your market and, therefore, size of your creamery/aging facility/farm store, design for safety and efficiency, the permitting process, safety procedures, energy requirements, liability insurance, how to deal with a recall, and how to deal with varying milk production.

As with many Chelsea Green books, I love the appendices of the Creamery Advisor. They include several different layouts of different level of dairy operations, sample milk share agreement, milk and cheese quality test parameters, and numerous suppliers and resources. And as with other Chelsea Green books, this book contains lots of great photos from different creameries that Caldwell showcases in this book.

Deciding to build or operate a farmstead creamery can be overwhelming and complicated. Gianaclis Caldwell has done an excellent job in The Farmstead Creamery Advisor of honing in on key pieces of information that will help guide people in building and running a small, farm-based cheese business if they decide that is a prudent business decision.

Reading this book will help people a great deal in making that decision.

Number 144

IN PRACTICE 19

Certified Educators

U N I T E D S TAT E S

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.

◆ These educators provide Holistic

For more information about or application forms for the HMI’s Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Ann Adams or visit our website at: www.holisticmanagement.org.

Management instruction on behalf of the institutions they represent.

These associate educators provide * educational services to their

ARIZONA

MAINE

*

TEXAS Guy Glosson 6717 Hwy. 380, Snyder, TX 79549 806/237-2554 • glosson@caprock-spur.com Peggy Maddox P.O. Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943-0694 325/392-2292 • 325/226-3042 (c) westgift@hughes.net Peggy Sechrist 106 Thunderbird Ranch Road, Fredericksburg, TX 78624 830/456-5587 (c) peggysechrist@gmail.com

NEW YORK

WASHINGTON

Erica Frenay 454 Old 76 Rd. • Brooktondale, NY 14817 607/539-3246 • efrenay22@gmail.com Phillip Metzger 120 Thompson Creek Rd. Norwich, NY 13815 607/316-4182 • pmetzger17@gmail.com

Sandra Matheson 228 E. Smith Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226 360/398-7866 • mathesonsm@frontier.com ◆ Don Nelson Washington State University 121 Clark Hall, Pullman, WA 99164-6310 509/335-2922 • nelsond@wsu.edu Doug Warnock 6684 E. Highway 124, Prescott, WA 99348 509/629-1671 (c) • 509/849-2264 (h) dwarnock@columbiainet.com

communities and peer groups.

U N I T E D S TAT E S

Tim McGaffic P.O. Box 1903, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 808/936-5749 • tim@timmcgaffic.com

NEW MEXICO ◆ Ann Adams Holistic Management International 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B Albuquerque, NM 87109 • 505/842-5252 anna@holisticmanagement.org Kirk Gadzia P.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004 505/867-4685 • 505/867-9952 (f) kirk@rmsgadzia.com Jeff Goebel PO Box 7011, Albuquerque, NM 87194 541/610-7084 • goebel@aboutlistening.com

Vivianne Holmes 239 E Buckfield Road Buckfield, ME 04220-4209 207/336-2484 • vholmes@maine.edu

NORTH DAKOTA CALIFORNIA Owen Hablutzel 4235 W. 63rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90043 310/567-6862 • go2owen@gmail.com Richard King Poppy Hill Farm, 1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954 rking1675@gmail.com • 707/217-2308 cell ◆ Rob Rutherford CA Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 805/756-1475 • rrutherf@calpoly.edu

COLORADO Cindy Dvergsten 17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323 970/882-4222 hminfo@wholenewconcepts.com Katie Miller 22755 E. Garrett Rd. Calhan, CO 80808-9170 970/310-0852 • katie.belle1985@hotmail.com

*

GEORGIA

MICHIGAN Dyer *1113Larry Klondike Ave, Petoskey, MI 49770 231/347-7162 (h) 231/881-2784 (c) ldyer3913@gmail.com

HAWAII Tobey Williamson General Delivery, Kamuela, HI 96743 207-774-2458 tobeywilliamson@hotmail.com

PENNSYLVANIA Jim Weaver 428 Copp Hollow Rd., Wellsboro, PA 16901 570/724-4955 • jaweaver@epix.net

Torray & Erin Wilson 4375 Pierce Ave., Paullina, IA 51046-7401 712/448-3870 • torray@gmail.com curlywilly@gmail.com

20 IN PRACTICE

*

*

Paul Swanson 5155 West 12th St., Hastings, NE 68901 402/463-8507 402/705-1241 (c) swanson5155@windstream.net Ralph Tate 1109 Timber Dr., Papillion, NE 68046 402/932-3405 • Tater2d2@cox.net

I N T E R N AT I O N A L AUSTRALIA Judi Earl 3843 Warialda Rd, Coolatai, NSW 2402 Australia 61267296185 • 409151969 (c) judiearl@auzzie.net Graeme Hand 150 Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 3302 61-3-5578-6272 (h) 61-4-1853-2130 (c) graeme.hand@bigpond.com Dick Richardson Frogmore, Boorowa NSW 2586 61-0-263853217 (w) 61-0-263856224 (h) 61-0-429069001 (c) dick@hanaminno.com.au Brian Wehlburg Pine Scrub Creek, Kindee, NSW, 2446 61-2-6587-4353 brian@insideoutsidemgt.com.au

◆ Seth Wilner 24 Main Street Newport, NH 03773 603/863-4497 (h) 603/863-9200 (w) seth.wilner@unh.edu

July / August 2012

Linda & Ralph Corcoran Box 36, Langbank, SK S0G 2X0 306/532-4778 rlcorcoran@sasktel.net Allison Guichon Box 10, Quilchena, BC V0E 2R0 250/378-4535 allison@guichonranch.ca

*

Blain Hjertaas Box 760, Redvers, Saskatchewan SOC 2HO 306/452-3882 bhjer@sasktel.net Brian Luce RR #4, Ponoka, AB T4J 1R4 403/783-6518 lucends@cciwireless.ca Tony McQuail 86016 Creek Line, RR#1, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519/528-2493 mcqufarm@hurontel.on.ca Len Pigott Box 222, Dysart, SK, SOH 1HO 306/432-4583 JLPigott@sasktel.net

NEW HAMPSHIRE IOWA

WISCONSIN Laura Paine Wisconsin DATCP N893 Kranz Rd., Columbus, WI 53925 608/224-5120 (w) • 920/623-4407 (h) laura.paine@datcp.state.wi.us

MONTANA Roland Kroos 4926 Itana Circle Bozeman, MT 59715 406/522-3862 406/581-3038 (c) kroosing@msn.com Cliff Montagne P.O. Box 173120, Montana State University Department of Land Resources & Environmental Science, Bozeman, MT 59717 406/994-5079 montagne@montana.edu

NEBRASKA

Constance Neely 1421 Rockinwood Dr., Athens, GA 30606 706/540-2878 • clneely@earthlink.net

Joshua Dukart 2539 Clover Place, Bismarck, ND 58503 701/870-1184 • Joshua_dukart@yahoo.com

CANADA Don Campbell Box 817 Meadow Lake, S0X 1Y6 306/236-6088 doncampbell@sasktel.net

Kelly Sidoryk P.O. Box 374, Lloydminster, AB S9V 0Y4 780/875-9806 (h) 780/875-4418 (c) sidorykk@yahoo.ca

I N T E R N AT I O N A L KENYA Christine C. Jost International Livestock Research Institute Box 30709, Nairobi 00100 254-20-422-3000 254-736-715-417 (c) c.jost@cgiar.org

*

*

Belinda Mackey P.O. Box 15109, Langata, Nairobi 254-727-288-039 belinda@grevyszebratrust.org Constance Neely, Ph.D. clneely@earthlink.net +254-724-522-617

Wiebke Volkmann P.O. Box 9285, Windhoek 264-61-225183 or 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@mweb.com.na

Are you ready to make the most out of your resources?

Do you need help dealing with critical human resource issues?

Has change taken you by surprise?

SOUTH AFRICA Wayne Knight Solar Addicts PO Box 537, Mokopane, 0600 South Africa 27-0-15-491-5286 +27 15 491 3451 (h) +27 82 805 3274 (c) theknights@mweb.com.za

NAMIBIA Usiel Kandjii P.O. Box 23319, Windhoek 264-61-205-2324 kandjiiu@gmail.com

Holistic Goal Setting & Facilitation Services

NEW ZEALAND John King P.O. Box 12011 Beckenham, Christchurch 8242 64-276-737-885 succession@clear.net.nz

HMI provides skilled, objective facilitators to help you achieve your goals!

UNITED KINGDOM

Benefits of Holistic Management Facilitation Include:

*

Philip Bubb 32 Dart Close, St. Ives, Cambridge, PE27 3JB 44-1480-496-2925 (h) +44 7837 405483 (w) pjbubb99@gmail.com

• Elicits key motivators and values To learn more, call HMI from the group for more effective at 505/842-5252 or group decision making email Tracy at tfavre@ • Improves communication holisticmanagement.org.

• Improves conflict resolution • Creates a safe environment to have crucial conversations including generational transfer • Creates common ground from which to make management decisions and plans

For more information about or application forms for the HMI’s Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Ann Adams or visit our website at: www.holisticmanagement.org.

THE MARKETPLACE

SOIL FERTILITY FOR WINE GRAPES Determining & Calculating Needed Nutrients July 30-31 & Aug. 1, 2012 LOCATION: THE EMBASSY SUITES, NAPA, CALIFORNIA

—SPONSORED BY —

KINSEY AGRICULTURAL SERVICES, INC. CONDUCTED BY NEAL KINSEY

Use 100 new and updated vineyard soils on the Albrecht System to explain how to determine each formula and calculate nutrient requirements for grape production.

— MONDAY — Working with Soil Tests, pH and Liming REGISTRATION: $1,200 per person, including lunch each day.

Or, $1,550/person, includes breakfast, lunch and lodging for July 29, 30, and 31.

For room reservations call Kinsey Ag. Services, Inc. (573) 683-3880

— TUESDAY — Building Vineyard Fertility with Major Nutrients

— WEDNESDAY — Working with Micronutrients

For consulting or educational services contact:

Kinsey Agricultural Services, Inc. 297 County Highway 357 Charleston, Missouri 63834

Ph: 573/683-3880, Fax: 573/683-6227 www.kinseyag.com • neal@kinseyag.com

— THURSDAY — WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARD ORDERS (VISA, MC)

Optional Vineyard Soils Tour

Number 144

IN PRACTICE 21

THE MARKETPLACE

4 2 1 1. WRAPPER WIRE with 6 stainless steel strands that deliver a high shock impact. White or orange.

3

2. BRAIDED MEGA WIRE with 9 stainless steel strands, this superior strength wire is an e ex xcellent conductor.

3. POWER TA TAPE High visibility tape with 6 stainless steel strands. White or orange.

4. MEGA TA TAPE with 10 stainless steel strands creating an excellent conductor. White or orange.

.!4)/.7)$% . !4)/.7)$% $ ) 3 4 2 )"5 4 )/ . $)342)"54)/.

s 3AN ! NGELO 4EXAS s TWINMOUNTAINFENCE COM En Mexico : Lada sin costo 01-800-640-3156

Resource Management Services, LLC

CORRAL DESIGNS

Kirk L. Gadzia, Certified Educator PO Box 1100 Bernalillo, NM 87004 Pasture Scene 505-263-8677 kirk@rmsgadzia.com Investigation www.rmsgadzia.com

Training Events: Regularly scheduled and customized training sessions provided in a variety of locations.

Ongoing Support: Follow-up training sessions and access to continued learning opportunities and developments.

Land Health Monitoring: Biological monitoring of rangeland and riparian ecosystem health.

Property Assessment: Land health and productivity assessment with recommended solutions.

22 IN PRACTICE

July / August 2012

Christine

Jost

CERTIFIED EDUCATOR

20 Years of International Experience !

How can RMS, LLC help you?

On-Site Consulting: All aspects of holistic management, including financial, ecological and human resources.

0310

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

Participatory approaches for development projects Group and individual training with NGOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, communities, and farm families: â&#x20AC;˘ Holisticgoal setting â&#x20AC;˘ Decision testing â&#x20AC;˘ Financial planning â&#x20AC;˘ Biological monitoring â&#x20AC;&#x201D; CONTACT CHRIS AT â&#x20AC;&#x201D; c.jost@cgiar.org â&#x20AC;˘ +254-736-715-417

THE MARKETPLACE

HMI GRAZING PLANNING SOFTWARE UPGRADE NEW FEATURES INCLUDE:

20

$

At Home with Holistic Management As a Holistic Management Certified Educator, mediator, and mother, Ann Adams has created a workbook that helps individuals and families easily understand Holistic Management and put it into practice.

To order call 505/842-5252 or visit www.holisticmanagement.org

Healthy Land, Healthy Profits

$

The Holistic Management Handbook gives you step-by-step guidance for managing a ranch or farm holistically.

It is essential reading for anyone involved with land management and stewardship.

40

Learn how to create healthy land and healthy profits.

Call 505/842-5252 or order online at www.holisticmanagement.org!

$

100

• Easy calculations to determine SAUs • Auto-fill functions for closed plan dy given “This tool has alrea urn beyond ret d • Account for multiple herds fol ny ma a us ent and we our initial investm • Added ability to identify exclusion to use it.” n gu be t have jus periods and paddocks needing Ma — Arnold ttson, nch, rvices Bra special attention Agri-Environment Se nada e and Agri-Food Ca ltur ricu Ag • Compares estimated SAUs with planned peak SAUs • Grazing Manual hyperlink TO LEARN MORE OR references for each step for TO ORDER CALL: ease of reference HMI at 505/842-5252 or go to our online store at • New Livestock and Land www.holisticmanagement.org/store/ Performance worksheet

Holistic Management Handbook

ORDER! TODAY

The HMI Grazing Planning Software is an electronic version of the Holistic Management Grazing Plan and Control Chart.

This software tool does all the grazing planning calculations for as many as 100 paddocks.

See the Big Picture ~ Respond to Change ~ Be Sustainable

Get Started Today – Join Our

Holistic Management Distance Learning & Mentoring Program Realize Immediate Benefits Save money on education — and get more for your money with highly personalized training.

All you need is a telephone, a computer is NOT needed. Learn at your own pace; apply what you learn to your situation and get results now!

Don’t change your life to learn.

Let your education change your life!

Visit: www.wholenewconcepts.com Email: hminfo@wholenewconcepts.com Call Cindy at 970/882-4222 for a free consultation!

Cindy Dvergsten, is a Holistic Management® Certified Educator, offering you over 15 years experience in training, mentoring, and facilitation; 30 years in natural resource management; and a lifetime of experience in diversified farming.

Offered By Whole New Concepts, LLC P.O. Box 218 Lewis CO 81327 Number 144

IN PRACTICE 23

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID ALBUQUERQUE, NM PERMIT NO 880

a publication of Holistic Management International 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B Albuquerque, NM 87109 USA return service requested

please send address corrections before moving so that we do not incur unnecessary postal fees

Holistic Management Mail Order Emporium Subscribe to IN PRACTICE, a bimonthly journal for Holistic Management practicioners

Software

___ One-year Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35 U.S. ($40 International)

___ Grazing Planning Software (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100

___ Two-year Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $65 U.S. ($70 International)

___ Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . electronic $30, hardcopy $45

___ Three-year Subscription. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $95 U.S. ($105 International)

Pocket Cards

___ Gift Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Same Prices As Above)

___ Holistic Management® Framework and Testing Questions, March 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4

___ Special Edition: An Introduction to Holistic Management . . . . . . . . $5

Planning and Monitoring Guides

FREE DOWNLOADS of many of HMI’s educational materials are now available on HMI’s website, http://www.holisticmanagement.org.

Click on the Free Downloads link on the homepage to learn more.

___ Policy/Project Analysis & Design, August 2008, 61 pages. . . . . . . . . $17 ___ Introduction to Holistic Management, August 2007, 128 pages . . . . $25 ___ Financial Planning, August 2007, 58 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17 ___ Aide Memoire for Grazing Planning, August 2007, 63 pages. . . . . . . $17

Books and Multimedia ___ Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision-Making, Second Edition, by Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60 ___ Spanish Version (soft) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40 ___ Holistic Management Handbook, by Butterfield, Bingham, Savory . . . $40 ___ At Home With Holistic Management, by Ann Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20

___ Early Warning Biological Monitoring—Croplands April 2000, 26 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15 ___ Early Warning Biological Monitoring— Rangelands and Grasslands, August 2007, 59 pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . $17 ___ Land Planning—For The Rancher or Farmer Running Livestock, August 2007, 31 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15

Planning Forms

___ Holistic Management: A New Environmental Intelligence . . . . . . . . $10 ___ Improving Whole Farm Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13

___ Annual Income & Expense Plan, padded, 25 sheets/pad . . . . . . . . . . $17 ___ Worksheet, padded, 25 sheets/pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7

___ Video: Creating a Sustainable Civilization—An Introduction to Holistic Decision-Making, based on a lecture given by Allan Savory (DVD) . . . $30

___ Livestock Production Worksheet, padded, 25 sheets/pad . . . . . . . . . $17

___ Stockmanship, by Steve Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35

___ Grazing Plan & Control Chart, padded, 25 sheets/pad . . . . . . . . . . . . $17

___ The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . $25 ___ The Oglin, by Dick Richardson & Rio de la Vista. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25

I would like to make a Tax Deductible Donation

___ Gardeners of Eden, by Dan Dagget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 ___ Video: Healing the Land Through Multi-Species Grazing (DVD) . . . $30

In the amount of $_____________. Please designate the program you would like

___ PBS Video: The First Millimeter: Healing the Earth (DVD) . . . . . . . . $25

us to apply contribution toward ________________________________________

TO ORDER:

Questions? 505/842-5252 or hmi@holisticmanagement.org

■

Indicate quantity on line next to item, make sure your shipping address is correct, mail this page (or a copy) and your check or money order payable in U.S. funds from a U.S. bank, OR your credit card number and expiration date to: Holistic Management International, 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B, Albuquerque, NM 87109.

■

You can also call in or fax credit card orders. Place phone calls to 505/842-5252, or fax to 505/843-7900.

For online ordering, visit our secure website at: www.holisticmanagement.org.

Printed On Recycled Paper

Shipping and handling costs are for U.S. media mail only.

Call 505/842-5252 for all other shipping rates.

Shipping & Handling up to $15: $16 to $35: $36 to $50: $51 to $70: $71 to $90: over $91:

add add add add add add

$5 $6 $8 $9 $10 $12