In Practice a publication of Holistic Management International
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 5
NUMBER 162
W W W. H O L I S T I C M A N A G E M E N T. O R G
TomKat Ranch—
~ INSIDE THIS ISSUE ~
Working to Create a Sustainable Food System
Sustainable Ag
By Peggy Cole
om Steyer and Kathryn Taylor are interested in sustainability – the continuing chain of healthy land creating healthy food, thus creating healthy people with healthy finances and renewable resources. They have created an experiment to see if one family could create such sustainability with an agricultural enterprise powered by solar energy, improving the land and sequestering carbon in the soil with grazing animals, and selling healthy food in the form of grass-fed beef as a financially sustainable enterprise. This experiment takes the form of TomKat Ranch, an 1,800 acre working ranch located just South of San Francisco along the Pacific Coast. The property is characterized by steep forested slopes, deep canyons with steep inner gorges, a fertile coastal valley, grasslands and coastal scrub. TomKat Ranch experiences a maritime, Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and mild, dry summers. When Tom and Kat bought TomKat Ranch, the situation seemed quite dire. Much of the land had been over-farmed with heavy tillage, even along hillsides, leading to erosion and many of the ranch’s pastures overrun with undesirable and non-native plant species. In addition to the losses of soil through poor management, large portions of the ranch’s topsoil had even been sold and trucked off-site. The desire of the current owners to “protect and care for the land” led to some early decisions to purchase cattle in 2008 and stop the extractive farming practices, but overall the direction of the ranch remained uncertain. Certified Educator Richard King explaining key grazing TomKat Ranch was first exposed principles during an HMI Open Gate at TomKat Ranch to Holistic Management and the goal process through Joe Morris, a local rancher who has been practicing planned grazing for several years. The ranch and its owners were already committed at the time to protecting and caring for the land, but the value of Holistic Management to help define and achieve these broad goals was quickly apparent. Immediately, steps were taken to implement some of the most effective and appropriate tools from Holistic Management and as a result the ranch, its animals, and its staff have seen dramatic results. 2011 was a catalyst year for the ranch. The ranch’s exposure to and limited adoption of Holistic Management practices through HMI Grazing Plans and defining the ranch’s holistic goal helped put the ranch on the positive course it is on today. Through the discussions with decision makers and stake holders, TomKat defined its values and goals in what it refers to as its “6 H’s”. • Happy Animals - We care for our animals in ways that allow them to live healthy, natural, stress-free lives; injury or disease is addressed through natural methods whenever possible. • Healthy Wilderness - We care for our land in ways that improve nutrient, carbon and water cycles, build soil, support biodiversity, and sustain nature. • Healthy Food - We produce the healthiest, best tasting products we can without sacrificing
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Land & Livestock FEATURE STORIES
Holistic Management practitioners are in the forefront of the Sustainable Agriculture movement— whether pushing the edge with grassfed dairies or grassfed genetics or exploring ways to improve soil, animal, land and human health. Read more on this page about how TomKat Ranch in California is working to develop a sustainable local food system. Chris Blanchard— Managing with the Whole Picture in Mind
ANN ADAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Biological Monitoring of Forests— Kilpiä Farm, Pusula, Finland
TUOMAS MATTILA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Why We Let Nature Do Our Cow Selection— We Needed Animals that Would Work in Our Environment
GABE BROWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The Swiss Connection— Transitioning to a Grassfed Dairy in Indiana
HEATHER SMITH THOMAS . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Become a Successful Grazier— Seeing the Big Picture
News & Network
IAN MITCHELL-INNES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
From the Board Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 From the Executive Director . . . . . . . . . .17 Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Development Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Reader’s Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
TomKat Ranch
In Practice a publication of Holistic Management International
Holistic Management International exists to educate people to manage land for a sustainable future. STAFF
Bryan Weech . . . . . . Executive Director Kelly Curtis. . . . . . . . Financial Director
Ann Adams. . . . . . . . Managing Editor, IN PRACTICE and Program Director Sandy Langelier. . . . Director, Communications and Outreach
Peggy Cole . . . . . . . . Program Manager, Texas Kathy Harris . . . . . . . Program Manager
Mary Girsch-Bock . . Development Manager Carrie Stearns . . . . . Communications & Outreach Manager
Valerie Grubbs . . . . . Accountant / Customer Service Assistant Julie Fierro . . . . . . . . Education Manager
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kelly Sidoryk, Chair
Ben Bartlett Laura Gill Clint Josey Walter Lynn Jim Parker
Kevin Boyer Guy Glosson Wayne Knight Danny Nuckols Jim Shelton
care for the land. • Hundred Years - We take a long-term perspective and strive towards economically and ecologically sustainable practices that take the future of a changing climate into account. • Head - We promote innovative, out-of-the box thinking and share results with others. • Heart - We support our community – schools, institutions, and people – and are open to their input and help in return. From these 6 H’s came several changes to the ranch which continue today. The most dramatic shift was the implementation of planned grazing for the ranch’s cattle and the creation of the business, “LeftCoast GrassFed®,” to market and sell the meat produced on the ranch. In 2011, the ranch also created a partnership with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (now Point Blue Conservation Science) to conduct vegetation and wildlife monitoring on the property and help track the effects of the ranch’s management choices and better understand the relationships between these choices and the health of the land, water, and wildlife. Last, in 2011 a lease arrangement was signed that would allow a local pasture raised pork and poultry operation, Early Bird Ranch, to graze its animals with the ranch’s cattle in order to create complimentary ecological services and increase the variety of food produced on TomKat Ranch. Since 2011, TomKat Ranch has continued with these endeavors and implemented additional policies to help increase their efficacy. The overall theme of these policies has consistently been to improve collaboration amongst the staff and on-site partners in order to align each party with the goals of the ranch. With regards to Early Bird Ranch, a new long-
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT In Practice (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by:
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Carlie Henneman, Point Blue ecologist who works with TomKat Ranch on biological monitoring project.
continued from page one
Wendy Millett, Director of TomKat Ranch and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation
term lease was drawn up that defined desired ecological goals, monitoring procedures, and created a formal structure for cooperatively grazing with TomKat Ranch’s cattle. Further, the position of “Integrated Land and Livestock Manager” was created to coordinate grazing of the different types of animals on the land and work with Point Blue to use the ranch’s grazing plans and records to begin drawing and sharing conclusions about how grazing practices could help achieve TomKat Ranch’s goals. One of the most exciting findings from this work has been the apparent effect of managed grazing at encouraging the return of native Californian grasses to TomKat Ranch’s pastures. Over the last three years, the number of pastures where native grasses were detected increased from 6 to 58 of the 74 pastures. This finding has been an exciting success for TomKat Ranch’s goal to care for its wildlife and land. Through scientific monitoring and its partnership with Point Blue, TomKat Ranch has been able to use these observations about perennials as a tool for communicating the value of managed grazing to local land trusts and land owners who have traditionally opposed the use of animals as a land management tool. This has been a benefit to the community of land trusts and private landowners in the area who are exploring new models of animal-based land management and what the ecological pros/cons of offering more land leases to agricultural producers might be. The owners of TomKat Ranch are using their resources to fund projects that address problems in energy, food systems, and land health. They established TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation (TKREF), whose mission is to provide healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and
inspires others to action. It serves as a learning laboratory for animal agriculture on working lands focusing on climate stability, nature’s benefits, healthy food, biodiversity, and vibrant community. TKREF believes that lasting solutions can be achieved by bringing together agriculture, the environment, and human health in a sustainable food system. A sustainable food system is one in which all resources (e.g., soil, water, human labor, fertilizers) are used at or below their rate of recovery. The outcomes of a sustainable food system includes the preservation of biodiversity and nature’s benefits (e.g., clean air and water, pollination), livable incomes for farmers and farmworkers, affordable and healthy food, and waste and greenhouse gas emissions recovered. Recognizing that food system sustainability is a tall order, TKREF embraces a positive philosophy and a creative approach to adapt to a rapidly changing world. Wendy Millet is Director of TomKat Ranch and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation,
focusing on bridging conservation and working landscapes. Before joining the ranch, she worked at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment, spent 12 years at The Nature Conservancy, and worked on ranches in Wyoming and Montana. She holds a B.A from Harvard and studied Environmental Economics and Planning. She currently serves on the board of the California Council of Land Trusts and the Board of Councilors of Save the Redwoods League. Stacy Claitor is in charge of Land and Livestock Management Since its adoption in 2011, at TomKat. Holistic Management and planned grazing have been valuable tools for TomKat Ranch and for the biggest positive effect—working with both their Educational Foundation. Taking the time to heads and their hearts. define the ranch’s goals has made decisionmaking and prioritization far simpler and To learn more about TomKat Ranch, go to: has helped focus the energy of the ranch and http://www.leftcoastgrassfed.com/about/ its staff on the projects that will have the tomkat-ranch/
Chris Blanchard—
Managing with the Whole Picture in Mind BY ANN ADAMS
t was during Chris Blanchard’s time at Deep Springs College in Big Pine, California that he began to learn about Holistic Management. This small college had invited Allan Savory to give a talk and neighboring ranchers attended the course. “That talk greatly inspired me,” says Chris. “From there I read the big blue book (Holistic Management), and since then I’ve always incorporated those practices in my work. I went through formal Holistic Management training in the Northeast many years later, and that was when I created my holistic goal and started really applying the testing questions.” When Chris moved to Iowa in 1999, he connected with Holistic Management practitioner Tom Frantzen and joined a Holistic Management club as he was starting Rock Spring Farm. As the owner and operator of Rock Spring Farm for 15 years, Chris raised twenty acres of vegetables, herbs, and greenhouse crops, and marketed through a 200-member year-round CSA, food stores, and farmers markets. Then in 2009, Chris went back to another Holistic Management training course with Margaret Smith as he was in the middle of a life change. He wanted some clarity as he explored major life goals and explored
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numerous options. At this time he also began his consulting career, starting what would eventually become Purple Pitchfork.
Quality of Life & Profit
involved in that decision. “For example, there is so much emphasis on scaling up right now. Everyone wants farmers to get into wholesale sales since everyone is clamoring for local food. But what is right for the farmer? Many farmers aren’t monitoring their production or their marketing, so they can’t make that decision in a way that lets them know this is the right move for their business. Nobody is talking to farmers about doing a gross profit analysis and really asking the question: Is this
Chris wanted to consult with farmers because CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 he had been through so many challenges like other farmers, and he knew that he could help them make better decisions. “I help people look at money issues,” says Chris. “But people don’t get into farming for the money. There are so many other reasons and values that are involved. And, because there are so many decisions to make, producers Chris Blanchard has found that Holistic Management is a helpful management forget about looking process to share with the farms he consults with. at all the things Number 162
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Managing with the Whole Picture in Mind continued from page three
the market I want to be involved in?” Chris knows the importance of this decisionmaking from his own experience as a farmer. At one point he was in 12 natural food stores who wanted local food. He found that the conventional market place is very different than selling direct. “It’s set up for big corporate farms who have different economies of scale,” says Chris. “So any farmer getting into that wholesale market really has to look at how to get bigger and know the costs and benefits of doing so. One of the big issues that people don’t really look at when they scale up is that they will need to get employees which means learning how to manage people. “Anything we interact with is a managed part of our environment. If you don’t manage people, they will tend toward chaos or entropy. I work with people to help them create systems or
hard time making enough to grow their business or have the quality of life that they want. This kind of investment analysis is essential. For example, someone might be considering buying a beet digger, but if they have too many weeds that’s not a good decision. They have to look at more of the picture.”
From Farming to Consulting
In 2013, Chris decided to stop farming. After his divorce in 2009, he had lost his farming partner. With that lost economic piece came social ramifications as he became a single parent. He wanted work where he had predictable hours so he could focus on being a parent. Given his single status, it was time to change his career path. He could now focus fully on his consulting and help others learn how to match their business
Chris learned the critical skills for managing his employees well at Rock Spring Farm. He shares those experiences to lessen the learning curve for other farmers. rubrics so they don’t have to make things up each time. It’s like the testing process. You know how to analyze decisions with the questions rather than starting from scratch each time. The management aspect is what is missing on most farms. Farmers ask me all the time how to find the balance between family and the farm – you don’t find balance, you do balance. I know from experience that if you are not managing from your quality of life and from your profit, you are sunk. “Whether you are looking at a gross profit analysis or a key investment, these decisions can make a big difference. If a farmer buys the wrong piece of land because that’s all they can afford, they will never get out from that decision. They will always be limited in their production because of that decision and they will have a 4 IN PRACTICE
July / August 2015
with their quality of life goals. “My experience was that with Holistic Management, I got clearer with my goals. We were better able to determine what we wanted and how to structure the farm to move us in that direction. We chose to scale up in 2002 because we had a lot of farming experience and there was a real opportunity in the marketplace. Using the Holistic Management process helped guide our investing strategy for equipment. “But, we weren’t good employee managers. That was our weak spot. We really expanded beyond our capacity because we didn’t have management skills. We were too hard on our employees. In fact, we lost 12 workers in a twoweek period. My wife and I managed to do all the work ourselves, but it was not a sustainable situation. We learned a big lesson from that
situation. We wanted to blame them for not being able to work like we did. But someone said to me, ‘You have to take this on yourself.’ That made me take a look at what we were doing, and really helped me to understand that I had to take responsibility for managing the various resources on my farm. “From there it was an active process of really looking at the outcomes we wanted and doing a lot of work to improve how we managed employees. It took 6 months to a year to make it happen, but we were finally able to manage our employees well. Prior to that experience, we were known as ‘The Yelling Farm.’ We changed things so that people were bragging about how they had the opportunity to work on our farm. That was the result of intentional management where we learned to really define what we wanted from our employees. It was also the result of different expectations and goals, and a different willingness on our part to engage in a self-improvement process. “I’ve been through a lot of challenging times. Between the divorce and two 500-year floods that caused devastating crop losses, it was easy to say: ‘Poor me.’ But, that Holistic Management course in 2009 reinforced for me that I am the manager. I’m making the decisions. In particular, it reminded me that management was key. You have to manage intentionally for what you want and hold yourself accountable.” From that low point, Chris has taken steps to adapt to his new situation and now spends his time consulting with farmers and helping them learn how to be better managers as well. “I had a family corporation in western Iowa contract with me because they wanted to start a vegetable farm. But they hadn’t looked at the context of the situation. There was a major social weak link in that they wouldn’t be able to attract top management in that location. I told them to stop paying me to set up something that wouldn’t be able to attract the right manager. You’ve got to look at reality. That’s what Holistic Management encourages you to do. With the testing questions you then have a way to analyze what you want in the context of your holistic goal.” Chris Blanchard lives in Decorah, Iowa and can be reached at chris@purplepitchfork.com. Chris publishes a weekly newsletter, The Flying Rutabaga, as well as hosting the Farmer to Farmer Podcast. You can find more information and resources at purplepitchfork.com. To access a copy of Rock Spring Farm’s employee handbook and agreement go to: http://practicalfarmers.org/blog/2013/10/04/reallife-employee-handbook-from-rock-spring-farm/
Biological Monitoring of Forests—
Kilpiä Farm, Pusula, Finland BY TUOMAS MATTILA
n the April 2014 issue of IN PRACTICE, I discussed how Holistic Management applies to woodlands and forest management. In this issue, I would like to focus on one of the most crucial things in Holistic Management: monitoring. Forest monitoring is different from other monitoring of other landscapes because of the large size and long life span of the trees. But why do we monitor landscapes? Monitoring is important for several reasons. It gives early warning signs if things start to go wrong. It can be used to estimate forest growth and the change in farm net worth. It keeps us doing corrective actions to keep the landscape developing towards what we want it to look and feel like. And most importantly, it keeps us humble. Without regular monitoring, it is easy to detach from the land and start living inside a theory. Since continuous cover forestry is considered to be sustainable, things should be great for biodiversity and ecosystem health, right? But what if the forest conditions are not suitable for new seedlings? What if the grazing pressure is timed wrong? What if the ground is so covered with moss and litter that new seedlings cannot emerge? What if the trees get stressed by the logging and changes in light conditions? To get answers, we need to get on the ground and observe what is actually happening. Fortunately, monitoring can be inexpensive, fast and even fun.
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A Basic Toolkit
Professional foresters have professional tools for forest monitoring. A full kit ranging from ultrasound hypsometers to high precision optical relascopes will cost thousands of dollars. Fortunately reliable and repeatable data can be collected with very inexpensive tools. A low-cost, high reliability forest monitoring toolkit can be made from items which are most probably already found on the farm (Figure 1 gives an example). A billhook or knife is needed to measure how decomposed deadwood is, but more importantly it can be used to make other tools. A 130-cm (51-inch) handle for the angle gauge, a 200-cm (79-inch) measuring pole can be made from onsite saplings and branches. Two measuring tapes of 3 m (3 yards) and 30 m (30 yards) length, a notebook and a digital camera complete the toolkit. The angle gauge is the only specialty tool in the toolkit and it is easy to make from a piece of tin or plastic.
Figure 1.
for each border tree. The basal area is an important measure of the tree density of the forest, which again influences the competition between trees and the growth of the understory and ground cover layers. In principle the interpretation is simple: if the forest is too dense, the largest trees will shade out the smaller trees and shrubs; if the forest is too sparse, it will convert into a grassland and seedling emergence is reduced. Getting the actual numbers for the thresholds requires monitoring different situations. In my climate, in northern Scandinavia, a basal area of less than 13 m2/ha (57 sq.ft/acre) is needed to ensure new seedling emergence. More than 24 m2/ha (100 sq. ft./acre) will start to result in overcrowding and less than 8 m2/ha (35 sq.ft/acre) will result in a spurt of grass growth. The appropriate target also depends on management goals. If you are trying to maintain adequate shade for growing ginseng under the canopy, the basal area requirement is different than if you are trying to restore a savanna habitat. Taking an angle gauge on a field trip is a good way to calibrate the basal areas you are aiming for. Go find a place that looks good and check what the basal area is.
The angle gauge is a simple optical device. It has a gap which is held a certain distance from your eyes. The distance and the width of the gap specify a fixed angle. This angle defines the ratio of tree diameter to distance from observer. A wide tree looked from afar will seem to be as wide as the gap, as will a narrower tree which is closer. If you count all the trees which seem to be wider than the gap, you will get a number which is proportional to tree width and distance from you. And if the angle is chosen just right, the number will be equal to the basal area of trees in a hectare (m2/ha). This simple, well-designed piece of plastic can save a lot of effort in measuring individual tree diameters. A gap width of 20 mm (.8 inch) on a 100-cm (39-inch) shaft will result in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 right angle, as will 13 mm (.5 inch) on a 65-cm (26-inch) rope. The gauge is used by rotating 360 degrees and counting all the trees which are wider than the gap. Each counted tree equals one 1 m2/ha of basal area (4.36 sq. ft./acre). A common approach is that if the tree is just the width of the gap, it’s a “border tree” and counts as a half a basal area (0.5 m2/ha or 2.18 sq.ft./acre). For imperial units, it’s useful to take a gap width which gives multiples of 10 sq. ft./acre. This is achieved by a ratio of 1/33. For example a penny width (0.75An angle gauge is a simple inexpensive tool which measures inch) on a 24.75-inch rope gives the basal area of the forest stand. (The tree in the photo is 10 sq.ft./acre for each tree narrower than the gap and is not included in the sample.) counted as in and 5 sq.ft./acre Number 162
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Kilpiä Farm, Pusula, Finland continued from page five
Another useful optical device is the handle of the angle gauge. It can be used to estimate the height of trees using and old-time loggers’ trick. The trick is based on similar triangles. The first triangle is formed by your eye, your thumb and the point of the handle, held pointing upwards. The handle should point upwards the same distance as is from your thumb to your eye. The second triangle is formed by the cornerpoints of your eye, the base of the tree and the top of the tree. If you walk back from a tree until the upwards handle looks as if it is as long as the tree, your distance from the tree equals the height of the tree. It’s easier to do than explain, but maybe Figure 3 will help. It’s not as accurate as a $2500 hypsometer, but is often good enough. That simple toolkit, with one specialty tool is surprisingly effective in producing useful information about forests and their management. The angle gauge and loggers tape were the only tools which professional loggers used to manage forests in Scandinavia until very recently. Simple optics work then and work now.
Using a stick to estimate tree height. That understory tree is about 6 meters (20 feet) tall and is about 6 meters (20 feet) away. 6 IN PRACTICE
July / August 2015
Permanent Monitoring Transect
For example the “penny on a string” angle gauge described earlier has a ratio of 1/33, which means a small 4-inch (10-cm) tree would get included in the sample if it were be closer than 11 feet (33 X 4 inches=132/12 = 11 feet or 3.3 meters). A larger tree with a diameter of 16 inches (40 cm) would be included if it is closer than 44 feet (13.2 meters). So as the trees get bigger, the sample area of the angle gauge will get broader. This should give reliable results however, as long as the center line of transect is fixed in position.
With a new retro toolkit, it is time to set up a permanent monitoring transect. After all the aim of monitoring in Holistic Management is to make sure we are making change in a purposeful direction. Having a fixed monitoring transect allows you to get in-depth knowledge of a part of the landscape. It also helps to control the year to year variation and possible sampling errors. A transect is defined by two endpoints and a width. Here I would suggest mixing random point monitoring and a fixed transect approach, similar to cropland monitoring (Figure 3). Six monitoring points are included within a transect for more detailed analysis and all the trees within the transect area are monitored every time. In a forest a natural starting point for a Figure 3. How radial sampling plots relate to the transect. (Note: This is transect is a tree which a partial view, add sampling plots to cover the whole transect length.) can be left standing for an indefinite amount of time. A nation of foresters, the Swedish, call these evighetsträd Key Biological Indicators or “eternity tree.” (If it is not possible to leave a tree standing for decades or centuries, a In order to change an ecosystem we should painted steel rebar may do as a substitute.) look at all the four ecosystem processes (water Starting from this “sentinel tree,” the length of and mineral cycle, energy flow and biological the longer measuring tape is drawn towards a communities). At the same time the indicators fixed landscape feature. This defines the length should be easy to measure. They should also of the transect. The width is defined by the be “actionable” or point towards corrections in measuring rod. Using the basic toolkit, the management. This combination is difficult to transect would be 30 meters (98 feet) long and achieve. The following is a first estimate of a 4 meters (13 feet) wide, which is twice the rod comprehensive, but applicable set of indicators. length. This would give a 120 m2 (1292 sq feet) With that list and the instructions it should take sample plot. about 1-2 hours to go through a site. I’m open Usually there is a tradeoff between accuracy to suggestions for improvement, if you have a and time needed for monitoring. Such a small good indicator to add to the list, my email is at plot wouldn’t be considered appropriate for the end of the article. scientific research, but a more ambitious plot of Start by taking three fixed point approximately 2000 m2 (21,528 sq. feet) would photographs from the starting point towards the take a full day to monitor. In any case, if time is transect. One photo of the general view, one not a problem, it is easy to use a longer rod straight up to the canopy layer and one straight and/or a longer measuring tape. down to the soil cover will give a good snapshot The angle gauge will sample trees from a of the forest at that time. It will also make an much wider area than the sample plot. An angle invaluable record of the forest development if you gauge has a fixed ratio of width and distance. have to review how things were a few years ago.
chemical smells, two points for no smell, three Continue by going through the transect and Coming back through the transect, six point points for a good smell and four points for an monitoring each individual tree with a set of four samples can be monitored at 5-meter (16-feet) excellent smell. With practice, you can also indicators. intervals. (This gives a random sampling in identify fungi species by smell, which helps in 1) Tree species is used to look for most conditions.) In each of the points, using favoring edible and beneficial fungi. Also biodiversity within the stand, as well as the the two- meter (7-feet) measuring pole, draw a observe, if you can see signs of fungal mixture of deciduous and coniferous as well as circle around you and count all the seedlings filaments. They can be either crisscrossing the the percentage of leguminous trees. within that circle. This is the first sign of change litter layer (saprophytic decomposers) or 2) Diameter at breast height (dbh) is a in species or age structure. Also look for signs wrapped around tree roots (mycorrhizal standard measure of tree size, and it can be of animals, paths, nests, digging, etc. used to track the growth of individual trees as Look at the overview of the layers of a forest symbiosis). Both are essential for tree growth, soil carbon sequestration and a functional well as the development of stand structure. in the larger surroundings. What is the height mineral cycle. 3) Tree health can be assessed simply with of the overstory, the understory, the brush a three point scale (1: diseased, 2: no sign of layer, the herbs and the disease, 3: signs of good health). It is useful to groundcover? Are they even look around the tree base, the trunk and the present? A multilayered forest leaves for signs of insect or fungal attacks as captures more solar energy and has well as micronutrient deficiencies. Having a more habitats for birds and other digital camera helps to identify abnormal growth, animals. The overstory is the which might be the first sign of new pests. It is canopy layer of the highest also important to learn the signs of tree health. dominant trees. The understory Leaf and bark color are good indicators. consists of smaller trees which are 4) Finally tree growth is important to growing to replace the overstory if monitor, but difficult to quantify. In a full grown there is a gap. These can be quite tree, the growing tip may be at 30-m (98-feet) old but small trees, which will start a height. However it is quite easy to look for signs rapid growth spurt as soon as an of vigorous growth. Therefore a quick overstory tree is removed. The assessment of: “Is this tree growing brush layer consists of sapling trees vigorously?� for all the trees in the plot may be and woody perennials. The herb more valuable than trying to measure growth layer consist of non-woody plants, accurately for only a few trees. which can be perennial or annual. A mycorrhizal symbiosis between a tree root and fungal Going through the transect it is also important The groundcover is usually a hyphae benefits both participants and is a vital sign of a to record large diameter deadwood. Deadwood mixture of shallow herbs, grasses healthy forest. is as important to forest biodiversity as litter is to and mosses... or lichen and algae in healthy grasslands. Recording deadwood the more arid environments. Finally go through the transect once more diameter and a decomposition stage will give Next throw the measuring pole at a random and measure the basal area using the angle an overview of the development of this valuable direction and observe soil cover at pole point. gauge at each of the point samples. While at it, asset. A simple, but robust four point Is it moss, litter, bare soil, grasses, forbs or stop for a minute and listen to the number of decomposition scale is measured with a knife. If lichen? Soil cover is a good indicator of the songbird species you can hear. With those a knife sinks to the wood only a few millimeters, direction of succession and the amount of two final measurements you have the most the wood hasn’t decomposed (1 point). If the disturbance. Then count the number of herb commonly used indicators for forestry and knife sinks several centimeters, it amounts to 2 species near the point. Take a handful of soil biodiversity covered. You have also collected a points. Sinking the knife to the handle gives 3 and observe soil smell. Here again a four point wealth of information, which will allow you to points and if the wood crumbles immediately to scale will suffice. One point for putrid or check for rich black soil upon connections handling, it yields 4 between points. The relatively rates, ranging from encouraging termite n very brittle environments, there is little management, forest simple assessment infestation to starting a log-mushroom moisture for rapid decomposition of stand density and scale is the standard cultivation operation. Some land managers deadwood. Increasing shade and moisture structure, fungal method for official forest have however found that slow for the deadwood will generally increase strands, wildlife and inventories in Finland. decomposition of deadwood can turn wood decomposition. Vegetation cover and a biodiversity. This Deadwood in different into a valuable water harvesting resource. good soil contact improve both moisture and takes much of the stages of decomposition Orienting the sticks and litter along the shade. The process from hard deadwood guesswork out of provides habitat and contours creates semi-permeable dams, (stage 1) to soil (stage 4) can take decades forest management food for different which hold runoff, assist in infiltration and even with good management. Therefore, if and builds animals. Also trying to eventually may collect enough debris to decomposition rates and a slow mineral knowledge and process deadwood create small terraces. All in all, managing cycle are identified as a weak link, appreciation of the rapidly through the wood residue in brittle climates requires increasing the rate of breakdown can be an forest ecosystem. decomposition pathway quite a bit of human creativity to find a alternative. Many living organisms can be reduces risks of solution that fits the whole. used as tools to increase decomposition CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 forest fires.
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emergence conditions. Based on the point assessment, succession is on the way. On average, there were 3 seedlings in each 12.6 m2 (136 sq About one third of the individual trees Case Study feet) point sample circle. Scaled to plot size, were removed by logging. Using the angle Forest monitoring can be used to check how this would indicate roughly 2,400 seedlings gauge to measure the basal area before logging affects ecosystem functioning. The forest per hectare (972 seedlings/acre). Is this and after logging showed that the basal presented as an example here is a 67 year old enough? The amount of seedlings necessary area was nearly halved (from 26.0 m2/ha to spruce plantation, which had not been thinned for to regenerate the understory and canopy 13.8 m2/ha, or from 113 sq.ft/acre to 60 decades. The conventional forestry recommendation sq.ft/acre). Since the largest trees were depends on local climate and browsing for the stand was to clearfell it, till the soil, replant pressure. In the Finnish conditions, 1,200removed, the basal area decreased more and control grasses with herbicides. Instead, the 2,000 seedlings/hectare (485-810 than the number of trees. The selective stand was logged with selective felling, removing seedlings/acre) is the recommended minimum removal of largest trees also moved the only the largest trees. The logging was done by a for regenerating bare soil after clearfelling. forest tree size distribution towards a more forest contractor using heavy harvesters and This gives a tree spacing of 2-3 m (6-9 feet). natural shape (Figure 8). In natural forests, forwarders. In total 1,100 m3 (1,500 cubic yards) of In more productive parts of the world and with there are usually much smaller than large trees were removed for timber. The use of heavy higher browsing pressure, 3,700 seedlings/ha trees, resulting in an exponential machinery facilitates efficient operation, but may (1,500 seedlings/acre) might be necessary. distribution, which looks like a sideways Jcause damage to forest soil and seedlings. For the case study site, 2,400 seedlings per letter. The large number of small trees will The effect of logging is clear from the point hectare is plenty. Most of the seedlings were provide ample amounts of tree stock to photos (Figure 6. and 7). Removal of the largest deciduous trees (oak and rowan), which replace the removal of larger timber trees. trees let in much more light and produced large means that the forest should proceed towards The distribution is still far from natural, with amounts of woody debris. This would seem to a more mixed stand. Soil smell was good a definite lack of small diameter trees. benefit perennial herbs, especially lily of the valley across the site (3-4 points on a four point Hopefully future monitoring will show an (Convallaria majalis) has increased considerably. It scale) and fungal strands were found in all increase in seedling production. The point is poisonous to humans but highly beneficial for plots except one. This would indicate that the monitoring can give early warning signs of pollinators and game birds alike. logging equipment has not damaged or seedling recruitment and seedling compacted the soil biology too much. The forest was still missing most of the layers of a healthy ecosystem. The only layers which were present were the overstory canopy layer, the herb layer and the groundcover layer. The groundcover consisted of different moss species and the herb layer had 3 species. Soil cover was a thick stand of moss and litter, which hinders seed germination. Disturbance in the form of A stand of spruce before and after selective felling. The crooked tree (second from the right) was used as a fixed grazing or animal impact point in both, but unfortunately the photos are not exactly from the same point. would create a more suitable seedbed for herbal and brush layer to establish. The stand had plenty of coarse deadwood ranging from 10-30 cm (4-12 inches) in diameter, but it was all in an early stage of decomposition. These trees probably represent natural mortality from the extreme competition in an overcrowded stand. Monitoring their decomposition over time will give a good indication of the mineral cycle and the status of Increased light has improved biodiversity of the herb layer (left: 2013, right: 2014).
Kilpiä Farm, Pusula, Finland
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deadwood dependent biodiversity. Each plot had signs of animals (deer paths) and 6 songbird species were heard. This would indicate that the forest provides at least some habitat for larger animals. A clearfell would have removed both shelter and food supply from the animals for several years. Only one of the trees in the plot had signs of disease, but also only two were healthy and growing vigorously. Overall, no damage to trunks was found in spite of the logging equipment. Potential damage to roots remains unseen though, so further monitoring should look for signs of potential disease. It is common for trees to take a few years to adapt to new light conditions, but further monitoring should watch for signs of increased disease or continued lack of vigor. Overall the monitoring revealed that the logging had not damaged the remaining trees or soil biology. A key management target for this stand is to regenerate a layered forest structure to establish seedlings. The herb layer diversity is still very low and the species present are shade tolerant perennials. The high soil cover and the moss groundcover may hinder seedling establishment and may require some disturbance. Lack of tree growth and vigor could be early warning signs for potential damage to roots. All in all, an hour in the woods and an hour in the office provides valuable data for making forest management decisions. The monitoring is also useful in communicating with stakeholders and organizations in our “asset base”. Since selective felling has been officially legal in Finland only since the beginning of 2014, many are still suspicious of the new method. Presenting fixed point photography and monitoring will hopefully alleviate fears and facilitate discussion. Most importantly regular monitoring is a great opportunity to learn more about the forests, their ecology and growth. A walk in the woods listening to birds and watching for plants is one of the most pleasant farm chores. And considering the financial, ecological and social benefits of a wellmanaged forest, it may just also be the best paid one.
Dr. Tuomas Mattila has been managing their family farm in south Finland for 10 years. The farm is a mixed forestry and organic grain farm. He has been integrating Holistic Management into his farming and forestry practices. He can be reached at: tuomas.j.mattila@gmail.com and from http://www.kilpiantila.net
Tree Diameter Distribution
Removal of largest trees (gray bar) moved the tree diameter distribution towards a more natural ecosystem state (green line).
This “bullseye chart” shows the changes at a glance (solid line is 2013 data and dotted line is 2014 data.) Logging moved the basal area away from the target, but improved species mix, diameter mix and seedling amounts. The forest is still a long way from optimal, but improving. Number 162
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LIVESTOCK
&
Why We Let Nature Do Our Cow Selection—
We Needed Animals that Would Work in Our Environment BY GABE BROWN
t is the time of the year when nearly every trip to the mailbox yields another bull sales catalog. Years ago, in another life, I would spend countless hours studying the pedigrees, EPDs and performance information in all of those catalogs. Today, I add them to the compost pile. I don’t mean to be cynical; I just have a different philosophy today. As my holistic thought process evolved, I came to the realization that if I wanted my beef enterprise to be profitable year in and year out I needed to select — or, should I say, let nature select — animals that work in my environment. They need to be animals that can convert the forages available on my operation, not those of a feedlot. In this article I will describe our ranch’s journey to more profitable cattle.
I
Pushing on a String
Some background first. I spent 26 years raising and selling registered bulls while supplementing them with costly inputs so they would perform in my environment. I thought I was doing a good job in selecting for moderate instead of maximum growth, but my cows kept getting larger and larger. This increase equated to much higher cow carrying costs and, as we transitioned our beef operation to grass finishing, much higher finishing costs.
So we needed a different cow; but how to make the transition? We decided that rather than disperse the cows we had, we would use them as our base and let nature select the type of animal that would work in our environment. To do this we removed the crutches. By this I mean any unnecessary inputs.
Going Cold Turkey
You have to decide what’s not necessary to your operation. In ours it was all vaccines, de-wormers, pour-ons, grain supplementation and as much hay as we could eliminate in our environment. We got rid of all of them cold turkey, all at the same time. We then moved the calving date to one that was in sync with nature. We had been starting March 1, and that first year we moved first calving back to May 1st. A snowstorm the first weekend in May made us realize we were starting too early, so we’ve since held the bulls to allow for a May 15th calving date. We leave all of the calves on their dams throughout the winter and wean them at 10 months of age. The calves are then turned out on perennial native pastures. Bulls are turned out with all of the yearling heifer calves for 30 days starting August 5th. Those that are bred go into the cowherd. Those that don’t breed go to be grass-finished.
Rough Early Sledding
I am not going to kid you. That first year, the conception rate averaged less than 50%, which tells you just how wrong our cattle were for what we wanted to do. But conception quickly improved as nature selected for the type and kind that could thrive in our environment. We soon saw that this
Before (left) and after (right): Brown Ranch allowed nature to down-size its cows to perform best on grass in the harsh North Dakota climate.
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was the shorter stature, bigger middle, easier fleshing type. This only makes sense when one thinks about it. My environment is one of cold winter temperatures, so in order for cattle to survive they must have the ability to forage through snow and consume large quantities of roughage. As our cowherd has gravitated to this type, we have found it easier to finish their offspring on forage alone. At a body condition score of 6, our mature cows average around 1,200 pounds. This average continues to trend downward. In general we have found that compared to their dams, heifers will grass-finish about 100 lbs. lighter, and steers will finish about 100 lbs. heavier. Time will tell where our cow weights and frames settle out. If they continue the trend they are on, I am guessing the cows will level off somewhere around frame score 3 and weighing 1,050 lbs. with a body condition score at six.
Through The Cycle
I will take you through our grass-finished production cycle. We pregnancy check heifers in early December, and any that did not conceive are moved on to cover crops. The mix that works well on our ranch (it may be different on yours) consists primarily of brown midrib sorghum-sudangrass, hairy vetch, kale and forage brassica. If ice or deep snow (at least two feet) prevent grazing, we will move them on to bale grazing (see Graze, November 2014). We like to use alfalfa/grass hay, as we want them to be gaining at least 1.25 lb./day. I realize gains could be increased if we fed baleage or haylage, but the cost of these forages is significantly higher. We would have to start equipment nearly every day, creating costs for fuel, depreciation, repairs and labor in the process. One of the many benefits of bale grazing is not having to start equipment during the winter. These heifers and any steers we are finishing will be in the 800- to 1,200-lbs. range as spring green-up approaches. Those with the desired marbling and backfat are harvested, while the rest move to paddocks of fall-seeded biennials. These will be a combination of several of the following species: forage winter wheat, winter triticale, rye and hairy vetch. I have tried adding
The Swiss Connection—
Transitioning to a Grassfed Dairy in Indiana BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
he Swiss Connection is a small family farm that produces grassfed milk products, marketed from their pasture dairy. Alan Yegerlehner grew up in Clay City, a small agricultural community in Indiana. “After high school I went to Purdue University for 4 years. I dragged my feet a bit, but my parents wanted me to go, so I did,” he says. The original 104 acres of the farm where he grew up was where his great-great-great-grandfather settled after coming to this country from Switzerland. “He settled here in 1860. Each generation has managed the farm in one way or another. My father came back to the farm after serving in World War II and went to Purdue,” says Alan. After World War II there were rapid changes in farming. “I grew up during those changes, and I was at Purdue during the Earl Butz era in the 1970s when things were rapidly changing, world-wide, in agriculture.” Modern technology and new practices aimed at increasing production
T
winter peas to these mixes, but have not had any success in getting them to overwinter. Brix readings usually average 16 to 18 and we can consistently get gains of over 2 lbs./day. From there they are moved on to alfalfa/tame-grass paddocks. Brix readings are consistently above 20, and gains are 2.25-2.5 lbs./day. We do not graze the alfalfa until it is at 25% bloom, as we do not want too much protein in the ration. (I encourage you to read Dr. Allen Williams’ column in the December 2014 issue of Graze about high protein levels creating off-flavors in beef.) We have never had any bloat problems, which I attribute to the fact that our cattle are accustomed to grazing legumes. Next, we move on to warm season cover crops. These have a high percentage of brown midrib sorghum-sudangrass that, because it is a C-4 grass, is high in energy. A very basic mix that works well consists of brown midrib sorghum-sudan, hybrid pearl millet, cowpeas, forage soybeans and kale. Brix readings well above 20 and gains well over 2.5 lbs./day are common.
Keep Energy on the Rise
It is important to note that energy levels have increased as we have moved from one forage type to another. This means it is imperative for us to get all of the animals finished while they are on this warm season mix, as after this time the level of nutrition will decline, and so will the amount of marbling. During all of these stages we are harvesting animals as they are finished. The majority of our animals are finishing between 24 and 30 months of age. For our grass-finished production model to work, we must have the type of cattle that can efficiently convert homegrown forages into red meat. Letting nature select that type has been working well for us. This is not a quick fix, but it is one that has proven itself over time. Gabe Brown grass finishes beef on his family’s ranch near Bismarck, ND. This article first appeared in GRAZE magazine and is reprinted by permission. To learn more about GRAZE, visit them at www.grazeonline.com
were evolving during those years. “This is what the colleges were preaching, so I accepted it and got swept up in the idea that farmers needed to expand, increase production, leverage money—borrow all you can and grow big. Down deep inside me I knew some of these things weren’t right, but I went into partnership with my father, and we borrowed more money to expand. We accumulated quite a bit of debt, and our debt to asset ratio wasn’t the best,” Alan says. He and his wife Mary were married in 1974. Alan graduated from Purdue in 1976, and they lived on the farm. “I’ve never had any other job. I grew up farming and kept at a little while I was at school. When we came back fulltime, Mary and I purchased my grandfather’s 80-acre farm which is next to the original 104 acres and this is where we’ve been ever since,” he says. “During those first years after we got started I kept thinking something wasn’t right about how we were doing things, but I couldn’t really put my finger on it. I was very interested in organic and direct marketing, but at that time no one was really doing that here in Indiana. If you mentioned these things you were labeled as a weird person!” CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
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Exploring Options
Then he received a publication from New Farm magazine (Rodale) and started reading those magazines. “I was blown away by the fact some people were actually doing this and making a living at it. The next few years we tried to make some changes. I went to a couple seminars that Rodale put on. I found another farmer who actually wasn’t very far away from me who was also interested in the same thing. We compared notes and supported each other emotionally. We knew we weren’t completely alone,” Alan says.
The cheese cave at Swiss Connection. “We started out with some changes in our cropping, because that was where my biggest interest was. Our farm had crops and a dairy. My dad and mom were married in 1949 and started the dairy in 1950. We’ve had milk cows on the farm since that time. I was interested in both the dairy and crops, but maybe a little more interested in crops.” As they made some changes, they started trying to do some of the rotations a little more intensively, with more wheat, and adding more clover and legumes in the pasture ground they rented. “We borrowed more money and put up some blue Harvestore silos. Our barn burned in 1973, so we put up a new block building and herringbone milking parlor, so we had a lot of debt,” he says. “I started making changes in the cropping and tried ridge tillage. I admired Dick Thompson in Iowa who was doing a lot of ridge tillage, using cover crops. We started doing some of that, trying to build soils using green manure and limited tillage. We were trying to quit using herbicides, doing some experiments with not using any herbicides at all, and rotary hoeing,” Alan says. “We were having a good time with that, and doing some things that didn’t make us so dependent on the chemicals and commercial fertilizer. We went through the 1980s and early 1990s doing that, and we were actually growing nearly all our own feed for the dairy, using haylage, corn silage and corn. We even grew some spelt to mix into the ration. We felt we were doing a good job managing what we had, but in the early 1990s I realized that even though we were making all this progress with the crop 12
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farming we were not doing very much with the marketing side. We weren’t getting anything extra for our product because we weren’t marketing our milk as organic,” he says. “We were partway there, but not completely. We were feeding good feed to our cows, but we still had all those silos and chopping equipment that I would have to replace—and have to borrow more money—so all of a sudden I realized this was crazy. In 1991 I was reading about grazing dairies, so we started grazing our cows rather than feeding them harvested forage. Then I read about seasonal dairying and the light bulb really went on,” explains Alan. Many of their cows were calving in the fall, so they went to a fall seasonal calving. “This was before I really understood the seasonal aspects in relation to the grazing and the cows’ nutritional needs. Our fall calving was kind of nice because the cows were dry in the summer when it was hot, but it didn’t match up very well with the nutritional level of the grass for the cow and calves,” he says. So the next year they delayed breeding 6 months, and brought the cows back into a spring calving window. “Ever since 1993 or 1994 we’ve been spring calving our seasonal herd. But during the late 1990s we were still selling our milk and crops on the commercial market.” He realized that they were going the right direction with their management but were not getting paid for their extra efforts. The debts were still there and they weren’t making any progress on reducing those. “It was like our ship was slowly sinking. So in 1998 we made a tough decision. Cropping had been part of our farm for a long time, but I decided to quit commercial grain farming. We still had debt on some of our equipment and some of it was nearly worn out. Rather than borrow more money to replace it, we sold the equipment, and didn’t make enough to cover the debt on it. We gave up some of the rented land, sharecropping, and just concentrated on the farm mom and dad owned and the one I owned,” he says. “We sold the silos (essentially gave them away) and put the whole farm into perennial grasses for a pasture dairy. For a couple years we were just milking the cows, but still selling the milk on a commercial market. We realized we needed to make some changes on the marketing side. In the fall of 1999 Mary and I started looking around at other people who were doing some of other types of marketing to pick up ideas. We decided to process our milk on the farm,” he says.
Alan and Kate on ground they are reclaiming with good grazing management.
They bought some used equipment from a fellow who had made cheese in a winery. “I had never made cheese in my life, but we remodeled our barn and put in the equipment. The man who sold it to us came up here and helped us make the transition and gave us some quick lessons. We became cheesemakers.” That next year was the start of a big change. “We went to seasonal grass dairying and direct marketing, producing everything on our farm. We didn’t really know what we were doing, but it was a leap of faith,” he says.
Grazing Management Challenges
It was also a leap of faith to depend solely on their own forage for feeding their animals and it took some time to get the management supporting the needed outcomes. “Right The Yegerlehner family have explored a variety of genetics to create a herd that provides now the farm has 65 cows and bred heifers to calve in the good milk yields on their Indiana grasses. spring. We’ve had higher numbers than that, over the years. Part of the reason we downsized was because we had 3 years of drought in a row. Each one kept getting Marketing Locally worse, so we sold off a few of the marginal cows, culling a little harder, rather than buy hay. We were also changing our management and As the Yegerlehners moved away from conventionally dairying, learning new things, and going more to the tall grass for grazing. This they realized they really needed to focus on their direct marketing to was a new area for us and we made some mistakes. We have a lot maximize the income from their unique products. “We started going to of fescue to deal with here, and we got into some fescue farmers markets after we began processing our own milk, and also toxicity problems.” had a little store at the farm. We’d gotten some ideas earlier, when Mary During the drought, one winter the cows were eating the grass down and I and our 3 children went to Switzerland in 1996, the year after my closer, which was a mistake. “That winter we had some cows losing father passed away. We visited with distant cousins and re-connected weight and getting weak. We lost a bunch of spring calves that died that with some of our roots. We saw the model over there, where everything winter, and some cows went down and couldn’t get up. We discovered was sold locally. We enjoyed seeing our cousins’ small farms and how there was a buildup of endophyte toxin in the cows’ fat. As we dried them each village had their own cheese-making businesses, dairies and off and were grazing them, they relied on their body fat during the winter, meat markets. Everything was produced locally. This was something I and this put more of the toxin into their bloodstream. There wasn’t much was really interested in but it was fascinating to see this in action,” we could do by that point. We were already culled down, and then started Alan explains. losing cows! So we were really low on numbers,” he says. “We came back all fired up to market our own product. This was a They had plenty of grass then, and not enough cows. This again dream I’d always had, but this brought it out in the open and we decided contributed to more fescue toxicity. “These are things you learn, but it’s a this was what we needed to do. That’s when we remodeled the barn and slow process. The correction also takes time. We are now trying to learn made the little shop, with this pie-in-the-sky dream that everyone would how to manage this. Some people are just tearing up all their pasture to come to our farm to buy our milk products. This didn’t happen quite like get rid of their fescue and plant something else, but we are trying to work we hoped, so as we grew we took our products to farmers markets. This with what we’ve got and learn how to manage it the best we can. This has worked pretty well; it gave us more exposure and we met a lot of people.” been tough, because even though we have the debt load gone, the cash This led to other marketing venues, including some restaurants and flow has been a little slow, until we can build back our numbers again,” different markets. Alan explains. “Over the past 15 years we’ve done a lot of different things in terms of The dairy cattle have been a variety of breeds over the past 30 years. marketing, but our store and the farmers’ markets have been the His father had Guernseys. “Then we started using Holsteins, and did cornerstone that helped us build. For a while we were taking our products some crossbreeding with the Holsteins and Guernseys. Then we brought to 4 farmers’ markets, and it was time consuming because we were in some Jerseys and did some crossbreeding with them. After that we limited on help. By the time we did the milking, processing and packaging brought in some Dutch Belted cows and milking Shorthorn, and then and delivering, it kept us all really hopping,” he says. really started focusing on the milking Shorthorns. We have been breeding “The farmers’ markets were very helpful for us but we are phasing them for quite a few years, and breeding some of our own bull calves. We those out now, focusing more on direct marketing here at the store and also brought in some milking Devon. The past 10 years our breeding has some mail order sales. We hope to be able to direct-sell everything we been very focused on milking Shorthorn and milking Devon and produce,” Alan says. developing them,” he says. One concern is the increasing challenge with more and more “We’ve been doing a lot of linebreeding, selecting for cattle that do government regulations. “We were seeing a lot of that—government well in a grazing dairy. These cattle do very well for us and are nice dualinterference—regarding our licensing and inspections. We sell raw milk, purpose animals for meat and milk. We are trying to fine-tune this to too, so that has been a challenging issue. We were trying to move toward make them better and have been working closely with Gearld Fry for a a little more sovereignty and get out of some of these headaches. So we few years, trying to learn the various aspects of linear measurements of went down some paths that I felt in my heart were right, but found out that cattle and developing our own breeding bulls, selecting cattle that work CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 the best for us. But it’s a slow process,” he says. Number 162
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we didn’t know enough to really do what we were trying to do,” he says. “In that process we surrendered our processing license and grade A license with the dairy. We were selling all our raw milk products (milk, butter, cheese and cottage cheese, etc.) as pet food, under a pet food label, because we have a lot of customers who want these. This brought on a whole different aspect of marketing because our normal venues like restaurants and wineries wouldn’t want to be selling pet food,” says Alan. “So we pulled back from this focus a lot during the past year and have been just concentrating on our store. We still go to one farmers’ market but are also trying to build up some drop-off points. This has changed the complexion of our marketing. In the process we have taken a hit, during this change. We felt in our heart that this is what we should do, because of the purity of our product and the desires and needs of customers.” “The way we had to accomplish that wasn’t working in conventional channels, and it’s been a tough battle these last 2 years, and that’s another story in itself, looking at our Constitutional rights. During this whole process, we were finally able to get out of debt because my wife Mary had some property that her father had given her when he passed away. She sold it to her nephew, who was farming, and this generated enough money to get the debt monkey off our back. Now we are regrouping and rebuilding, to get going again on marketing and build up our product volume,” he says.
Value-Based Goals
As the Yegerlehners explored these different options in both farming production practices and marketing, they were also looking at practices that would help them clarify their farm goals as a family. “Back in 1992 we had also had some experience with Holistic Resource Management [now Holistic Management],” says Alan. “A man I worked with had some experience in sustainable agriculture, but Mary and I never had any intensive training; we just took a couple of small training courses that helped steer us along the path with some key ingredients. It was still a tough battle to transition with the debt load; the debt was like a rock around our neck that kept us from going anywhere. Then last year we finally got things paid off.” As part of Holistic Management, they looked at some of the changes they needed to make in 2000. “We wanted to make changes that would allow our children to farm with us later if they wished. We have 3 children, Kate, Luke and Jess. If they wanted to come back to the farm, we wanted to have a way to work them in, too. This model of Holistic Management was helpful and really fit for us; we used those principles as we made the changes. We structured things so that they could farm with us if they wanted, and if they didn’t, that would be fine, too,” says Alan. “Our daughter Kate, the oldest, loved cows all her life. That’s all she really wanted to do—take care of cows. She went to Purdue during 19982002, and after she graduated I let her take over a lot of the management of the cows and grazing. I helped wherever she wanted me to, but I gave her more of the responsibility, and the leeway to make mistakes. That’s what my dad did with me, and this is how we learn the most.” “My father was steeped in the commercial end of it with use of fertilizers, etc. but he was still very stewardship-minded in terms of taking care of the land with good soil and water conservation. He allowed me, when I came back, to take over a lot of things, and I’m sure he cringed many times at some of the changes I was making. He allowed me to make the mistakes and learn as I went,” Alan says. Kate has had the same freedom to try things and make a few 14
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The Yegerlehners got into cheese making as they explored the different options for direct marketing their raw milk. They were even selling their cheese as “pet food” to address certain restrictions. mistakes. “She has tackled it and we all continue to make mistakes and we learn from them. She does some writing for the Stockman Grass Farmer, and shares our experiences and mistakes, in this learning process,” says Alan. “It’s nice having a family team effort on the farm. “Our business, family life and faith is all intertwined. We don’t separate or compartmentalize anything. It’s always been this way with our family, but more and more it is coming together as we look at our goals. We try to be more open, as the Lord leads us—trying to not be focused so much on what we want but what He wants. We are seeing this path open up a lot more as we work with the food we are producing and the people we meet. Direct marketing is so beautiful because we meet our customers. I could tell you hundreds of stories about the people we’ve met, in which the meeting wasn’t necessarily just about food.” This has been enriching in many ways. “It has been challenging and difficult sometimes, but also very rewarding in terms of our faith growing. We just have to keep our eyes on economic sustainability, and keep things going, but we are more and more focused on His leading. I’m not sure exactly where we are going from here, but this is our goal—people ministry. Our mission statement is “Providing food for the body, soul and spirit through the love of Christ” so we try to produce wholesome food that is grown as nutritiously and healthy as possible. We try to make it available for people, and also be available ourselves for emotional and spiritual support. This is important to us, too,” says Alan. “This is a living organism, not an organization, and so it is something you can’t predict. You have a feeling where you are being led, in these things, but you are subject to change at any time. This makes a person more flexible and more open to many things, and possibilities. This is the exciting part of it. We have downsized the last couple years, which was great in that we got rid of the debt, but now we are looking to building back up to a few more numbers, and see where that takes us.” “It’s all been a great journey. We’ve had some battles in recent years, but overall, the directions we’ve taken and the decisions we’ve made over the years have worked out. It’s a lot of work but we really enjoy the holistic part of managing, and the challenges of working with that mindset, and also the processing of what we grow here on the farm and selling it to people direct.” The relationships there have been a plus, and there are some great satisfactions in looking at the whole picture and making it work.
Become a Successful Grazier—
Seeing The Big Picture BY IAN MITCHELL-INNES
Author’s Note: I am presenting a series of articles in this publication based on my experiences of grazing in an unconventional way. I have been ranching all my life and have had experience in both feedloting and extensive ranching, and all types in between. At the age of 50 I learned about Holistic Management, and this opened my mind to the fact “there is another way” of managing animals — that you can achieve healthy animals with minimal input.
nfortunately, because of the way we are taught, from kindergarten to university, our minds can only contemplate “parts” and not the “whole.” This means we have had success with linear things — mechanics, computers and sending people to the moon— but when it comes to ranching, farming and the environment, which operate with “wholes within wholes,” with interconnecting parts, we have failed. Holistic Management decision-making puts a complex, multi- dimensional problem into a step-by-step format, enabling us to make the best decision possible and lead us toward our goal (Holistic Goal), making sure we have a full understanding of the impact that decision will have on the environment, our finances and the social aspects within which we live. I am grateful to those people who had an impact on my learning: Allan Savory, Mark Bader, Dick Richardson, Elaine Ingham, Betsy Ross, Christine Jones and Ray Archuleta, to name but a few. I have made mistakes, and all the practice I have done has been with my own money, so the learning curve, at times, has been extremely steep. Unfortunately there are no silver bullets. Many of the practices I discarded when starting out I have brought back, since beginning to understand the “whole.” I do not wish anybody to make the same mistakes I have made and so I travel, teaching groups how it is done. These articles are not intended to take the place of attending one of my trainings where I am able to deal with individual problems and perceptions, particularly the comment, “it might work for you, but it won’t work where I live.” What I teach has been successfully practiced by ranchers, farmers and dairymen in all environments; they have been able to achieve good animal performance, improve soil life and increase the diversity of plants growing on their properties. It is impossible to write about all my experiences, but I hope these articles will help people, who have attended or have yet to attend one of my schools, from making some of the mistakes I have made. Use them like a set of notes to remind you what to do next. My passion is to keep people on the land, not just making a subsistence living, but living comfortably and getting a return on their investment (the land) which is comparable to, or better than, their colleagues in town. There is another way. It is possible to be happy, have fun and make money from ranching.
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The Whole
The grasslands of the world did not develop in a vacuum. There has always been a symbiotic relationship between the animals, soil surface, grasses and plants and soil life. This was enhanced by the predator/prey relationship that existed with the herds of wild animals that grazed these
Milking off grass, with increase in diversity of plants (Rob and Pam Moore, New York).
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF IAN MITCHELL-INNES
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in ACRES USA. For more information, and other articles from this series, visit www.acresusa.com.
areas. Allan Savory observed this and developed the process of Holistic Management, which enables us to look at complex, multidimensional situations pertaining to the environment. Use of the Holistic Management process puts all the complexity into a linear, step-by-step format which we can comprehend and enables us to research aspects with which we are not familiar. This enables us to make decisions, which will lead toward our Holistic Goal, taking into consideration the environmental, social and financial aspects that relate to that particular situation. The reason many farmers and ranchers are interested in planned grazing, rotational grazing, MIG, mob grazing, compost teas, fertilizer and breed selection is simply because of a desire to make more money. Some of these cost you and some help you. The best program is the one that considers the “whole” of the farm or ranch. The definition of the “whole” is the animal genetics, the diet (multiple species of plants) the animal eats, the growth and health of the plants and the bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, worms, insects, etc. that are associated with the plants (as well as the finances and the social aspects of the farm). It is not only the diet of these organisms that needs consideration, but also the living conditions they require. In our educational system we are taught to look at parts not wholes, and this has led to problems when making decisions relating to agriculture and the environment, which are so complex. Conventionally this focus on parts has tended to be on animal performance at the cost of the environment. For those that are introduced to Holistic Management thinking, the focus tends to shift to the management of the soils, as it is easier to see change here. Unfortunately, before the discipline of looking at the whole becomes internalized, we tend to monitor the land and forget about the other parts. The animals are the financial part of the whole and, in order for the rancher to survive on the land, animal performance needs to be constantly ensured. This will lead to high conception rates, enabling the herd to grow, keeping the rancher financially viable. With greater CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
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Become a Successful Grazier continued from page fifteen
Repairing a wash, using animal impact (Greg and Jan Judy, Missouri). animal numbers, the tools of animal impact and grazing achieve quicker results. The most important part, though, is that the person managing needs to make a profit to survive and only then, with others, can he/she save the world! People making a living off the land are, by default, in the energy business. Yet we are the only people in this business who pump the energy back into the “well.” This is because energy is money, money is energy and time is money. We willfully pour soluble chemical fertilizer (money) onto our land and kill soil life and oxidize carbon by turning the soil, using more energy. A gram of carbon, when burned, releases 9,000 calories per gram. Take a soil sample and test it for organic matter and then calculate the number of calories you have just “burned” by ploughing your land. It would have been easier to withdraw a couple million dollars from your bank and burn them. This does not even include the time spent sitting on the tractor (which is money) and the gas/energy used. The land is merely a solar panel and we manage the tools, which we have available, capturing the energy coming from the sun to produce a product (grass, timber, corn, etc.), which we graze/feed to animals, and produce food for human consumption. The energy, which is captured by the grass, is what makes animals fat or dairy cows produce more milk. In terms of nutrition, this energy (hydrogen) is the illusive part of the equation. Because of the way we have managed our land in the past we have lost many of the better species of grass that capture energy efficiently (loss of diversity). These plants have been lost because of burning, overgrazing and other management practices. Overgrazing is a factor of time and not numbers. As the palatable plants are overgrazed, nature grows plants which are less palatable just to try and cover the soil. When grasses fail then woody plants begin growing (sagebush and other less palatable plants) in a desperate bid 16
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to cover the soil. Fortunately the seeds of the palatable plants are still in/on the ground waiting for us to change our management, cover the soil and hold rain where it falls. Once the conditions are right these seeds will germinate and grow. The animals, soil, plants and management are all reliant on each other. To cover the soil (and create the right conditions for the palatable grasses) we need management— to get the animals to trample much of the grass onto and into the soil to feed the soil. Soil life is dependent on covered soils to prevent big fluctuations in temperature and prevent the sun and wind from drawing out the moisture. Trodden plants and litter are eaten and incorporated into the soil by worms and also feed the Azotobacter which take nitrogen from the air and incorporate it into the soil in a form available to plants. The carbon (plant material) prevents erosion and acts as a sponge, holding the water where it falls and is food for bacteria and fungi in the soil. This is achieved by manipulating the stock density and movement of the animals (through management). All life requires energy. The life in the soil gets its energy, firstly, from the action of grazing when a shock of energy goes down the plant; secondly, from energy which is beaten through the soil surface by hooves (kinetic energy); and thirdly, by what I call symbiotic energy, which is the energy around each animal, where one plus one does not equal two but five. This can be observed on a summer evening when there is no wind. A large herd of animals will have what looks like a dust cloud over them. Birds will be feeding in this cloud, and it is an energy field, which does not stop at the ground, but continues down through the soil surface. This all requires planning, monitoring and re-planning. The result of planning, monitoring, and then re-planning properly will be an increase in the carrying capacity of the farm or ranch. A more direct way of saying this is: with proper planning and monitoring and replanning a farm or ranch that can support one cow with calf per 3 acres for one year will now be able to support three cows with calves and not run short of feed. It is like buying two more farms to increase your herd numbers by three without paying for those extra two farms. How much would those two extra farms cost? How much time would you be willing to spend planning, monitoring and re-planning to get two additional farms and not spend any money? Ian Mitchell-Innes is a South African rancher practicing various types of ranching from intensive to extensive and everything in between. He practiced Holistic Management for 17 years and now teaches Holistic Management and mob grazing and how to get and improve animal performance while increasing productivity of soil and grass. He can be contacted at ian@mitchell-innes.co.za or blanerne@mweb.co.za.
Animals grazing in a new paddock at high density (Addison Ranch, Oklahoma).
From the Board Chair BY KELLY SIDORYK
consider myself extremely fortunate to be part of the fantastic group of people who make up the current HMI Board. It is a group of great vision, strong ethics, respect for each other and a commitment to the principles of Holistic Management and helping others to learn how to make better decisions. We were recently together for our spring meeting in Albuquerque. One of the challenges we encounter is only having two face to face meetings a year and the agenda is packed full. One of the items on that agenda is how we can more fully work within the policy governance model while also practicing Holistic Management as a board and staff. We are moving to a policy governance approach of leadership. Many of us are new to this way of governing and rely on the guidance of some of the others to develop appropriate and effective policies to guide HMI that are in line with HMI’s holistic goal. Obviously, the testing questions help with that process. To be an effective board, it is important that we speak with one voice and we are honestly following the 4-H motto of “Learn to do by doing.” We understand that we represent the Holistic Management
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community, the various stakeholders, so we value your opinions and viewpoints to help us in our governance of this organization. Of course, the cornerstone of any good organization is the staff we rely on to run the day to day operations. At HMI we have an excellent group of individuals who have worked hard and are very dedicated. One of the highlights for me in Albuquerque was having some planning sessions where the entire board and staff were gathered around the table sharing ideas and strategies. I have mentioned before that the important piece is the people. I believe it is important that we “walk our talk” and work together to build a strong well-functioning organization. Just like we tell participants in our courses, this is truly the hardest part. Building fences and crunching numbers or monitoring grass plants is much, much easier. That is why we spend a good deal of time making sure we have the right people and the right systems and processes in place. With respectful communication we are then better able to create the outcomes we want for this organization. So I want to take the opportunity to thank both the board and staff for all they do for HMI. On behalf of the board, I also invite all of you, “the stakeholders,” to feel free to contact any of us with thoughts, opinions or suggestions. Please contact hmi@holisticmanagement.org and put “Board Feedback” in the subject heading. Together we can help people learn how to manage land for a sustainable future.
Taking a longer-term approach to decisions that takes into account unforeseen changes in the situation we are currently in or BY BRYAN WEECH unintended consequences of those decisions, simply isn’t comfortable for busy people with limited time. However, the complex nature of resource management, doesn’t allow for a “one n exciting aspect of my position as Executive Director of HMI is the and done” approach to decisions. In Holistic Management the opportunity to visit with people and hear how Holistic Management important steps of monitoring, evaluating, adapting and improving has changed their life, and the lives of their farming and ranching families. (re-planning) is integral to the decision making framework, and is Certainly the practice of Holistic Management can be life changing, but it critical for resource management success and for the takes effort. And for many new to Holistic Management, one of the most sustainability of family farms and ranches. difficult aspects of Holistic Management is the integration of the feedback Hearing from others how they have used Holistic Management loop into their daily management “tool box”. in their situations is an important reason why we publish the IN It is human nature to want to make decisions quickly and move on. PRACTICE journal. Although many topics are covered through the course of a year, none are more people important than the topic of programs monitoring. Better planning, (made projects possible through monitoring and evaluation), results in better 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 outcomes. And better outcomes, which is what Holistic Management is Colorado Leopold Conservation Award all about, results in increased sustainability for the land based Holistic Management practitioners Scott and Jean Johnson of the Flying Diamond Ranch in systems that sustain families and the Colorado were awarded the 2015 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award. The 25,000-acre cattle rural communities they support. ranch is located near Kit Carson, Colorado. The Johnsons have focused on land health and have I hope you enjoy this edition of used Holistic Management principles to guide their grazing management and infrastructure IN PRACTICE journal. The issues development so they are better able to manage their herd. Moreover, they have pushed their and topics discussed will help you calving season to May which has lowered production costs to increase profitability. and I become better Holistic Congratulations Scott and Jean! Management practitioners.
From the Executive Director Desk
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17 IN PRACTICE
July / August 2015
Number 162
IN PRACTICE 17
DEVELOPMENT CORNER Drought Mitigation Training in Texas Focuses on Improving Land Health
hile rains have been good this spring in Texas, the drought isn’t over yet. And as we all know, good land management practices not only help producers survive drought but also improve profitability and wildlife habitat. So HMI partnered with the Kerr Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to provide this 6-day series in Texas as one of HMI’s Whole Farm/Ranch Land Management Training Program that began in March and ended in June. 22 participants were involved in this series, managing over 51,000 acres.
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Peggy Sechrist and Richard Teague present key concepts on ecosystem health at the Kerr Wildlife Area as part of HMI’s Drought Mitigation series At the first session Holistic Management Certified Educator Peggy Sechrist worked with Kerr WMA manager, Donnie Frels, range consultant Steve Nelle, and Dr. Richard Teague, range scientist with Texas AgriLife Research to teach participants the basics of Holistic Management and how to read the landscape and the health of the ecosystem processes. Dr. Richard Teague presented Planning for Drought: Upland Ecosystem Function. He said 90% of soil function is mediated by microbes. Microbes are dependent on plants, so how we manage plants is critical. Microbes need a moderate temperature; while bare ground can exceed 140 degrees. He mentioned the function of termites in brittle environments is similar to the function of earthworms in non-brittle environments. To improve soil health, we want to promote a shift to perennial plants, minimize bare ground, grow plants year around and ground cover year around. Dr. Teague described the impact on the land/soil of continuous grazing and various other grazing strategies. The big takeaways were about “adaptive management” and the need for “multi-species” and increasing the “length of recovery” which has been previously underestimated, especially in drought and more brittle environments. Dr. Teague made it clear that it can take up to 10 to 15 years to see these changes in brittle environments. He used examples from the
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Dixon Water Foundation Ranches management practices of limiting breeding, and keeping no more than 50% of breeding animals. In more brittle environments, he equated soil organic matter with water holding capacity and to profit. Steve Nelle gave an introduction to Riparian Function. He showed how we value running water for its sound, biodiversity, clean water, reliable supply, recreation and other aesthetics and pointed out that these riparian functions are only available if the riparian area is functioning properly, with soil, water, and vegetation working in harmony. Participants learned about the difference between a properly functioning stream and one that is contributing to erosion. Vegetation is the key to the riparian recovery and health. A meandering creek on a property is longer in length than one that flows straight. Nature intended them to curve and meander, not to go straight. The gradient is less with a meandering creek, slowing the flow and dissipating the energy. A creek flowing straight builds up energy and flows faster off a property taking sediment with it. Participants did a reading the land outdoor exercise, observing different ecosystem processes, bacterially and fungal dominated soils, noticing trees, cover, water cycle, etc. Next Holistic Management educator CD Pounds gave a presentation on compost teas, and beneficial micro organisms that generated lots of good questions. The following day participants discussed monitoring and did an exercise outside in small groups. This activity was followed by a long walk looking at riparian condition of the North Fork of the Guadalupe Steve Nelle talks about riparian area health along river with the Guadalupe River Steve Nelle. The workshop was well received, and, according to evaluations, 100% of respondents rated all aspects of it “excellent.” In April, the next 2 days of the series was focused on having participants learn about grazing planning to improve productivity of land even in drought. This portion of the series was taught by Holistic Management Certified Educator Peggy Sechrist and long-time Holistic Management practitioner and rancher, Walt Davis. Participants had a lot of time both in the classroom and out on the land to learn about key grazing strategies and implementation as well as work on their own holistic grazing plan. Walt Davis shared his knowledge about ranching and participants learned that raising animals is not a system or a program. He said, “It’s applied logic” and that plant diversity in our pastures is key. He talked about the stocking rate. He also noted that if the stocking rate is wrong, nothing else works and it will significantly compromise an
Ryan Reitz, Grazing Manager at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area discusses their grazing goals.
operation that is facing drought. Walt also noted that the recovery period for pastures is equally important to stocking rates. He said if we get in the habit of two-day grazing periods, we will greatly reduce horn flies and the recovery of forage will be quicker. If cattle stay in a pasture and eat grass down to two to four inches, they may have parasite problems because parasites will crawl up high enough on the short grass for the cattle to ingest them. He shared that the longer animals grazed a pasture, the poorer the animal performance. High stock density grazing can increase land resilience with proper recovery. Walt went on to discuss factors that increase profitability. He mentioned that we need to use Enterprise Analysis and pay close attention to risk to our potential profit. In his opinion if you are not making a 50% profit in an enterprise, don’t do it. Be sure that your enterprise fits your resource base. The best genetics are those that work under your management. These production strategies and management decisions are what make a difference for a ranch to survive challenging times, including drought. Thanks to the Dixon Water Foundation and the Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation for their support of this program.
Here is what participants had to say: • I am so appreciative of HMI and the presenters of this course. Although I have much to learn, this has really expanded my understanding. • I learned riparian management to fix my creek, and increased understanding of soil biology. • As an educational farm this will be extremely beneficial for our interns as well as just to monitor if our actions are helping us achieve our goals. • I intend to spend more time on soil health to improve water content and organic content and biological activity below ground by reducing capping, bare ground and composting. • I came because I wanted to improve my damaged land but didn’t know how. I learned many ideas. • I learned Identification of problems, methods of improvement, and best practices.
• I learned how to do the grazing plan & the plane of nutrition and how to keep good animal performance with grazing. • I learned how to balance expenditures, and the best cow types for grassfed beef. • I intend to begin measuring soil organic matter to show/monitor improvement of water holding capacity. • I intend to begin measuring soil organic matter, but usually though looking at litter, degree of decay and surface/subsurface life. • I intend to break my large pasture into paddocks and manage each individually. • I intend to have a more thorough grazing plan ready so we can estimate and predict our pasture usage. • I learned that the quality of the grazing material needs to be utilized in optimum relation to the stock needs - protein, life/stage. % of Participants
Participant Outcome
Are you more confident in your ability to assess ecosystem function in riparian landscapes on your farm as a result of this course?
100%
Are you more confident in your ability to assess ecosystem function in upland landscapes on your farm as a result of this course?
100%
Are you more confident in your ability to monitor ecosystem health on your farm as a result of this course?
100%
Do you intend to change any management practices/apply ideas you learned as a result of this event?
100%
Do you intend to begin biological monitoring on your land to track your progress toward your goal or outcome? Increased knowledge of how riparian and upland landscapes function
100%
Increased knowledge of the value of setting up and collecting monitoring data to mitigate drought
Increased knowledge of the value of building biological wealth during drought Are you more confident in your ability to assess forage volume for grazing planning as a result of this course?
Are you more confident in your ability to complete a grazing plan as a result of this course? Are you more confident in your ability to monitor ecosystem health on your farm as a result of this course? Do you intend to change any management practices/apply ideas you learned as a result of this event? Do you intend to create a grazing plan for your livestock as a result of this workshop?
Do you intend to begin measuring soil organic matter as a result of this training?
Increased knowledge of the difference between a growing season plan and a non-growing season plan
Increased knowledge of the relationship of planned grazing to increased water storage in the soil
Number 162
100% 100% 93% 64% 91% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 82%
IN PRACTICE 19
Certified
Educators
The following Certified Educators listed have been trained to teach and coach individuals in Holistic Management. On a yearly basis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to be affiliated with HMI. This agreement requires their commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives and to seek out opportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management.
U N I T E D S TAT E S Lee Altier
CALIFORNIA
College of Agriculture, CSU 400 West First St., Chico, CA 95929-0310 laltier@csuchico.edu • 530/636-2525
Owen Hablutzel
4235 W. 63rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90043 310/567-6862 • go2owen@gmail.com
Richard King
1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954 rking1675@gmail.com • 707/217-2308 (c) 707/769-1490 (h)
Kelly Mulville
P.O. Box 23, Paicines, CA 95043 707/431-8060 • kmulville@gmail.com
*
D. Nelson *11728Donald Shafer Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080-8994 208/301-5066 • nelson-don1@hotmail.com
Rob Rutherford
4757 Bridgecreek Rd., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805/544-5781 (h) • 805/550-4858 (c) robtrutherford@gmail.com
17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323 970/882-4222 • 970/739-2445 (c) wnc@gobrainstorm.net
IOWA Torray & Erin Wilson
4375 Pierce Ave., Paullina, IA 51046-7401 712/260-6398 (Torray) • 563/419-3142 (Erin) torray@gmail.com • wilsonee3@gmail.com
Bill Casey
KANSAS
13835 Udall Rd., Erie, KS 66733 620/423-2842 • bill.caseyag@gmail.com
Buckfield, ME 04220-4209 207/336-2484 • vholmes@maine.edu 1113 Klondike Ave, Petoskey, MI 49770 231/347-7162 (h) • 231/881-2784 (c) ldyer3913@gmail.com
*610 Ed Sullivan Lane NE, Meadville, MS 39653 prestons@telepak.net 601/384-5310 (h) • 601/835-6124 (c)
20 IN PRACTICE
603-876-4562 • 603/209-0946 (c) kkerman@phoenixfarm.org
Seth Wilner
24 Main Street, Newport, NH 03773 603/863-4497 (h) • 603/863-9200 (w) 603/543-7169 (c) • seth.wilner@unh.edu
NEW MEXICO
Holistic Management International 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B Albuquerque, NM 87109 • 505/842-5252 anna@holisticmanagement.org
Kelly Boney
4865 Quay Rd. L, San Jon, NM 88434 575/268-1162 • Kellyboney_79@yahoo.com
Kirk Gadzia
P.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004 505/263-8677 (c) • kirk@rmsgadzia.com
Jeff Goebel
For more information about or application forms for the HMI’s Certified Educator Training Programs, contact Ann Adams or visit our website: www.holisticmanagement.org.
Kathy Harris
Guy Glosson
communities and peer groups.
1033 N. Gabaldon Rd., Belen, NM 87002 541/610-7084 • goebel@aboutlistening.com
Holistic Management International 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B Albuquerque, NM 87109 505/842-5252 • kathyh@holisticmanagement.org
Craig Leggett
NEW YORK
6143 SR 9, Chestertown, NY 12817 518/494-2324 (h) • 970/946-1771 (c) craigrleggett@gmail.com
Erica Frenay
Shelterbelt Farm 200 Creamery Rd., Brooktondale, NY 14817 607/539-6512 (h) • 607/342-3771 (c) info@shelterbeltfarm.com
*
Elizabeth Marks
1024 State Rt. 66, Ghent, NY 12075 518/828-4385 x107 (w) • 518/567-9476 (c) Elizabeth.marks@ny.usda.gov
Phillip Metzger
120 Thompson Creek Rd., Norwich, NY 13815 607/334-2407 (h) • pmetzger17@gmail.com
NORTH DAKOTA Joshua Dukart
2539 Clover Place, Bismarck, ND 58503 701/870-1184 • Joshua_dukart@yahoo.com
SOUTH DAKOTA Randal Holmquist
*4870 Cliff Drive, Rapid City, SD 57702 605/730-0550 • randy@zhvalley.com
Bellows *NorthLisaCentral Texas College TEXAS
1525 W. California St., Gainesville, TX 76240-4636 940/736-3996 (c) • 940/668-7731 ext. 4346 (o) lbellows@nctc.edu
6717 Hwy. 380, Snyder, TX 79549 806/237-2554 glosson@caprock-spur.com
Peggy Maddox
9460 East FM 1606 Hermleigh, TX 79526 325/226-3042 (c) • westgift@hughes.net
Peggy Sechrist
106 Thunderbird Ranch Road Fredericksburg, TX 78624 830/456-5587 (c) • peggysechrist@gmail.com
VERMONT Calley Hastings
787 Kibbee Rd., Brookfield, VT 05036 802/279-3893 Calley.hastings@gmail.com
WASHINGTON Sandra Matheson
*228 E. Smith Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226 360/220-5103 • 360/398-7866 (h) info@mathesonfarms.com
WISCONSIN Heather Flashinski
16294 250th Street, Cadott, WI 54727 715/289-4896 (w) 8 715/379-3742 (c) grassheather@hotmail.com
*
Larry Johnson
W886 State Rd. 92, Brooklyn, WI 53521-9102 608/455-1685 • larrystillpointfarm@gmail.com
Laura Paine *Southwest Badger Resource Conservation &
Development Council N893 Kranz Rd., Columbus, WI 53925 608/732-1202 (w) • 920/623-4407 (h) 608/338-9039 (c) • lkpaine@gmail.com
I N T E R N AT I O N A L Judi Earl
AUSTRALIA
Blain Hjertaas
“Glen Orton” 3843 Warialda Rd. Coolatai, NSW 2402 +61 409 151 969 (c) • judi_earl@bigpond.com
Box 760, Redvers, Saskatchewan SOC 2HO 306/452-3882 • bhjer@sasktel.net
Dick Richardson
Noel McNaughton *5704-144 St NW, Edmonton, AB T6H 4H4
Pine Scrub Creek, Kindee, NSW 2446 61-2-6587-4353 (h) • 61 04087 404 431 (c) brian@insideoutsidemgt.com.au
Don Campbell
CANADA
Box 817 Meadow Lake, SK S0X 1Y6 306/236-6088 • 320/240-7660 (c) doncampbell@sasktel.net
Ralph Corcoran
MONTANA
Montana State University 1105 S. Tracy, Bozeman, MT 59715 406/599-7755 (c) • montagne@montana.edu
*
*350 Troy Road, Marlborough, NH 03455
Brian Wehlburg
MISSISSIPPI Preston Sullivan
Cliff Montagne
NEW HAMPSHIRE Kate Kerman
“Spring Valley,” 165 Ironbark Lane Frogmore, Boorowa NSW 2586 61-0-429069001 (w) • 61-0-263856224 (h) dick@dickrichardson.com.au
MICHIGAN
4926 Itana Circle, Bozeman, MT 59715 406/522-3862 • 406/581-3038 (c) kroosing@msn.com
1109 Timber Dr., Papillion, NE 68046 402/932-3405 • 402/250-8981 (c) Tater2d2@cox.net
150 Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 3302 61-3-5578-6272 (h), 61-4-1853-2130 (c) graeme.hand@bigpond.com
*239 E Buckfield Rd.
Roland Kroos
Ralph Tate
Graeme Hand
MAINE Vivianne Holmes
Larry Dyer
5155 West 12th St., Hastings, NE 68901 402/463-8507 • 402/705-1241 (c) swanson5155@windstream.net
Ann Adams
COLORADO Cindy Dvergsten
*
NEBRASKA Paul Swanson
These associate educators provide * educational services to their
Box 36, Langbank, SK S0G 2X0 306/532-4778 rlcorcoran@sasktel.net
Allison Guichon
*Box 10, Quilchena, BC V0E 2R0 250/378-9734 allisonguichon@gmail.com
July / August 2015
Brian Luce
RR #4, Ponoka, AB T4J 1R4 403/783-6518 • lucends@cciwireless.ca
780/432-5492; noel@mcnaughton.ca
NAMIBIA Wiebke Volkmann
P.O. Box 9285, Windhoek 264-61-225183 or 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@afol.com.na
Usiel Seuakouje Kandjii
P.O. Box 23319, Windhoek 9000 264-812840426 (c) • 264-61-244028 (h) kandjiiu@gmail.com
NEW ZEALAND John King
Tony McQuail
*P.O. Box 12011, Beckenha, Christchurch 8242
Pigott *BoxLen 222, Dysart, SK, SOH 1HO
SOUTH AFRICA Wayne Knight
86016 Creek Line, RR#1, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519/528-2493 • mcqufarm@hurontel.on.ca 306/432-4583 • JLPigott@sasktel.net
Kelly Sidoryk
Box 72, Blackroot, AB TOB OLO 780/872-9761 (h) • 780/875-4418 (w) 780/872-2585 (c) • sidorykk@yahoo.ca
KENYA Christine C. Jost
ICRAF, Box 30677, Nairobi 00100 254-736-715-417 (c) • c.jost@cgiar.org
MEXICO Iván Aurelio Aguirre Ibarra
Pitiquito, Sonora 662-3210951 (c), 637-1231168 (c) rancholainmaculada@gmail.com
64-276-737-885 • john@succession.co.nz
Solar Addicts, P.O. Box 537, Mokopane, 0600 South Africa 27-0-15-491-5286 +27 87 5500 255 (h) • +27 82 805 3274 (c) wayne@theknights.za.net
Sheldon Barnes
P.O. Box 300, Kimberley 8300 +27 82 948 2585 (c) • barnesfarm@mweb.co.za
Ian Mitchell-Innes
P.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte, KZN 2900 blanerne@mweb.co.za • 001-83-262-9030 (c)
Philip Bubb *32 Dart Close, St. Ives, Cambridge, PE27 3JB UNITED KINGDOM
44-1480-496-2925 (h) • +44 7837 405483 (w) pjbubb99@gmail.com
READER’S FORUM A Holistic Approach to Marriage Enrichment BY HEATHER & STEVE COFFEY
rom February 13-15, 2015 (over Valentine’s Day), 14 people gathered at Fiddlehead Farm in Ontario, Canada for a Holistic Management Marriage Enrichment session. Several members of the Kingston CRAFT network and beyond had come out, as couples, to learn from Holistic Management educators Tony and Fran McQuail of Meeting Place Organic Farm. While many of the participants had completed the Holistic Management program in the past, the McQuails had a new offering for farmers. Not so many years ago Fran and Tony led couples enrichment weekend workshops within the Quaker community. They alluded to the workshops during their Holistic Management class, and three years later we found ourselves wondering what that would involve. Could the couples’ enrichment weekend be equally appreciated by the farmers in their area? Many producers have built businesses together as couples, and talk often turns to relationships. Holistic Management is an important process for balancing our business and personal lives in the context of farming. It is all too easy for the business to dominate our personal lives. Keeping the two in balance is a constant process of self-monitoring and self-assessment. Part of that assessment often came back to the unique tensions that sharing a business with a romantic partner create. Living and working with the same person all the time can be a lovers’ dream, but it can just as easily be the
F
fomenting grounds for conflict and frustration. Given that many of our professional lives depend on the success of our personal relationships it seemed natural to turn to people who had been through the challenges of farming and who understood the importance of taking a holistic approach to that challenge. Tony and Fran were the perfect choice; they pulled out their old files and refocused their couples’ enrichment program with farmers in mind. The structure and wealth of personal experience they brought made the weekend a lifeenriching event. We found ourselves surrounded by friends over the Valentine’s Day weekend. Communication was the focus of the workshop. From group and couple based discussions through to exercises in communication and effective dialoging we worked at identifying the “ruts” in our relationships and how to get out of them. We learnt to express our point of view by identifying our perceptions, thoughts, feelings, wants and behaviours. We used a relationship inventory to highlight our diverging views on where we rocked as a couple and where we could be doing better. No relationship is perfect and no relationship works without maintenance. Through sharing our feelings, reflective listening, dialoguing and writing love letters we set a foundation for future maintenance. Talking through points of conflict and frustration has given us a sense of how to work constructively on our relationship. The tools gained from Tony and Fran will help us in the continual process of appreciating each other while working to resolve, heal, and grow from our differences.
Heather and Steve Coffey run Fiddlehead Farm in Ontario, Canada. Holistic Management Certified Educator Tony McQuail can be reached at: mcqufarm@hurontel.on.ca.
THE MARKETPLACE
Advanced I Soil Fertility Course
PACKAGE INCLUDES All morning and afternoon breaks, hotel room (previous night), lunch each day (Mon, Tues & Wed) and Course Materials. (Call for additional nights or needs.)
Holiday Inn Express Hotel Sikeston, Missouri (USA)
Additional Farm tour $50
JULY 27 - 31, 2015
Pre-payment for all bookings is essential and registration will close on Friday, July 24 or sooner if we reach full capacity. WE AC
Course cost: $700 Course/Hotel Package: $1,050
C CREDIT EPT CA ORDERS RD (VISA, M C)
For consulting or educational services contact:
Kinsey Agricultural Services, Inc. 297 County Highway 357 Charleston, Missouri 63834
Contact Kinsey Ag Services today to learn more!
Ph: 573/683-3880, Fax: 573/683-6227 www.kinseyag.com • neal@kinseyag.com Number 162
IN PRACTICE 21
THE MARKETPLACE
Resource Management Services, LLC
CORRAL DESIGNS
Kirk L. Gadzia, Certified Educator PO Box 1100 Bernalillo, NM 87004 Pasture Scene 505-263-8677 Investigation kirk@rmsgadzia.com www.rmsgadzia.com
CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
310-567-6862 • go2owen@gmail.com
Whole Systems Design, Consultation and Education
How can RMS, LLC help you? On-Site Consulting: All aspects of holistic management, including financial, ecological and human resources. 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 2015
Owen Hablutzel
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
• Integrated whole farm/ranch planning • Keyline Design/Permaculture Design • Resilience Assessments • Tailored Workshops and Speaking • International Experience
Group Facilitation
• Individual/Groups • Open Space Technology (groups 5 – 2,000) • Strategic Planning • Consensus Workshops
Let’s discover solutions together!
THE MARKETPLACE
Restoration Agriculture MARK SHEPARD Restoraation Agriculturee explains how we can have all of the benefits of natural, perennial ecosystems and create agricultural systems that imitate natture in fo orm and fu unction while still providing fo or our fo ood, building, fu uel and many other needs — in your own backyyard, farm or ranch.
Book & DVD Combo #S-7170 $45.00
SAVE $15!
Order online www.acresusa.com or call toll-free 1-800-355-5313
Phil Metzger
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT® CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
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.
NEW FEATURES INCLUDE:
• Easy calculations to determine SAUs • Auto-fill functions for closed plan • Account for multiple herds eady given “This tool has alr • Added ability to identify exclusion urn beyond us a many fold ret ent and we tm periods and paddocks needing es inv l tia ini r ou to use it.” n gu be t jus special attention have — Arnold Mattson, nch, • Compares estimated SAUs with rvices Bra Agri-Environment Se ood Canada planned peak SAUs Agriculture and Agri-F • Grazing Manual hyperlink TO LEARN MORE OR references for each step TO ORDER CALL: for ease of reference HMI at 505/842-5252 or • New Livestock and Land go to our online store at Performance worksheet www.holisticmanagement.org/store/
$
Kids On the Land, Inc.
100
Larry Dyer Ecological
A unique environmental program designed to teach children about the region where they live, connecting them to the land and a more sustainable future.
Agriculture Consulting
Helping farms and communities through the holistic lens of an ecologist
Over 30 years of hands-on experience with individuals, farms, small businesses, and groups of all types and sizes. • • • • • • •
HMI GRAZING PLANNING SOFTWARE UPGRADE
Goal setting Improved decision making Financial planning Grazing planning Land assessment Biological monitoring Group Facilitation
Let me help you maximize profits, regenerate your land and improve your quality of life. Free initial phone consultation. Contact Phil at 607-334-2407 or pmetzger17@gmail.com.
Educational Programs Group Process Facilitation • Group and Individual Consultation • •
Kids On the Land is ready for an appearance in your school district. Peggy Maddox can come help your host landowner and school get started. • Make a donation • Offer your land as a site for a KOL program • Become a volunteer Executive Director – Peggy Maddox 325/226-3042 peggy@kidsontheland.org http://kidsontheland.org
Specializing in: • Organic vegetable production • Season extension • Passive solar greenhouse management • Local food systems • Whole Farm Planning with Holistic Management® 1113 Klondike Ave., Petoskey, MI 49770 231-347-7162 • 231-881-2784 (cell) ldyer3913@gmail.com
Number 162
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
___ One-year Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35 U.S. ($40 International)
___ Two-year Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $65 U.S. ($70 International) ___ Three-year Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $95 U.S. ($105 International) ___ Gift Subscription. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Same Prices As Above) ___ Back Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5/each
___ Back Issues Collection CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 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.
Books and Multimedia
■
■
___ Grazing Planning Software (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100 ___ Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . electronic $30, hardcopy $45
Pocket Cards
___ Holistic Management® Framework and Testing Questions, March 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4
Planning and Monitoring Guides
___ Introduction to Holistic Management, August 2012, 128 pages . . . . $25
___ 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 ___ Holistic Management: A New Environmental Intelligence . . . . . . . . $10 ___ How to Not Grow Broke Ranching by Walt Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30 ___ Video: Creating a Sustainable Civilization—An Introduction to Holistic Decision-Making, based on a lecture given by Allan Savory (DVD) . . . $30 ___ Spanish Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30 ___ Stockmanship, by Steve Cote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35 ___ Comeback Farms, by Greg Judy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $32 ___ The Oglin, by Dick Richardson & Rio de la Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15 ___ Gardeners of Eden, by Dan Dagget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 ___ Video: Healing the Land Through Multi-Species Grazing (DVD) . . . $30 ___ PBS Video: The First Millimeter: Healing the Earth (DVD) . . . . . . . . $25 ___ The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook by Richard Wiswall . . $34.95 ___ How Stella Saved the Farm, by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.99 ___ The Dirty Life, by Kristin Kimball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15
TO ORDER:
Software
___ Holistic Financial Planning, August 2012, 58 pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17
___ Holistic Grazing Planning, August 2012, 63 pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17
___ Holistic Biological Monitoring—Croplands August 2012, 26 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15
___ Holistic Biological Monitoring— Rangelands and Grasslands, August 2012, 59 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . $17
___ Holistic Land Planning, August 2012, 31 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15
Planning Forms
___ Annual Income & Expense Plan, padded, 25 sheets/pad . . . . . . . . . . $17
___ Worksheet, padded, 25 sheets/pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7
___ Livestock Production Worksheet, padded, 25 sheets/pad . . . . . . . . . $17
___ Grazing Plan & Control Chart, padded, 25 sheets/pad . . . . . . . . . . . . $17
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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
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