#134 In Practice, Nov/Dec 2010

In Search of Perennial Grasses in a Mediterranean Climate—The Paicines Ranch by Tracy Favre & Frank Aragona

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2010 NUMBER 134 WWW.HOLIST ICMANAGEMENT.ORG

healthy land.sustainable future.

From the Board Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Texas Regional Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Development Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

NEWS and NETWORK

LAND and LIVESTOCK

Modular Food Systems with an International ScopeDOUG WARNOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Using Grazing Tools Effectively BEN BARTLETT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11The Briar Experiment MARK BROWNLEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Beef and Birds on Public Lands—Mob Grazing Event on Jeffery Island MAE ROSE PETREHN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

FEATURE STORIES

In April 2010 we visited the Paicines Ranchin San Benito County California to assistSallie Calhoun in developing monitoringprotocols to measure variables of critical

interest to ranch management. In particular,we measured oak tree saplings and seedlingsand cataloged them using GIS and simple fieldmeasurement techniques because these treesare relatively scarce on the landscape.

Various pressures are affecting the ability ofoak trees to achieve intermediate size, but theviability and germination of acorns is anunresolved issue. We developed a monitoringprotocol to better understand what is happeningwith acorn germination and oak seedlingestablishment.

We also designed a field methodology on thePaicines Ranch to monitor the relatively rarenative perennial grasses to help us determinewhich factors are likely factors for nativeperennial establishment. The four factors weidentified were aspect, oak trees, soil phosphorus,and soil texture.

We then presented three managementscenarios as part of the Holistic Managementmonitoring feedback loop to promote debate anddiscussion about management possibilities onthe Paicines Ranch. We share them in this articlein the likely order of feasibility and relative easeof adoption. They include Holistic Managementof purple needlegrass, water harvesting/keylinedesign, and silvopastoral development.

Monitoring for Oak Regeneration In California, the regeneration and

establishment of oak trees is an important issue.Literature on the subject suggests that it iscommon to find seedlings and mature trees, butthere is a lack of saplings and intermediate size

trees (McCreary 2009). Research has focused onpressures that may be preventing seedlings fromdeveloping into saplings, and has emphasized thedetrimental effects of weeds, wildlife herbivory andthe grazing, trampling, and rubbing of domesticlivestock; this research suggests the use of treeprotectors and herbicides to ensure adequate oakregeneration (Adams et al 1997, McCreary andTecklin 2005).

Very few instances of oak saplings andseedlings exist on the Paicines Ranch, so HMIworked with Sallie and Paicines Ranch Manager,Chris Ketcham to monitor the condition andgrowth of these small trees, and to identify therare instances of regenerating oak trees. Three oakzones were delineated for those areas where oaksare known to be regenerating. Within these zones,we counted total numbers of seedlings andsaplings. Additionally, we identified five saplingswithin each zone with flash tape, and we recordedand mapped the GPS coordinates of these fivesaplings as well as noting height in inches fromthe uphill side. It seems that oak trees, oncegerminated and established, experience slow andstunted growth. Subsequent years of monitoringwill help to clarify the actual growth rates of thesetrees.

We also thought it would be beneficial toprovide some protection to select oak trees toascertain the impact of cattle, feral hogs, andother wildlife on the overall growth of oaksaplings in these zones. We could then perform acomparative analysis of annual heights onprotected and non-protected trees which wouldprovide useful information on the effectiveness ofthese approaches.

Scarcity of intermediate trees is only one facetof oak regeneration. To date there has not been a

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

MONITORING

Back to BasicsDON CAMPBELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Low-Input Grassfed Livestock Production andPlanned Grazing for a Triple Bottom LineMATTHEW K. BARNES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5A Rewilding ExperimentMARY GIRSCH-BOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Developing Solution-Focused ResearchFRANK ARAGONA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Sallie Calhoun, owner of PaicinesRanch, tags oak samplings so they canbe identified for future monitoring aspart of the monitoring protocol HMIdeveloped for her ranch.

To learn more, read the article on this page.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

2 IN PRACTICE � November / December 2010

Holistic Management International works to reverse the degradation of private and

communal land used for agriculture and conservation, restore its health and

productivity, and help create sustainable andviable livelihoods for the people who depend on it.

STAFFPeter Holter . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chief Executive OfficerTracy Favre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Senior DirectorKelly King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chief Financial OfficerAnn Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor,

IN PRACTICE and Senior Director of Education

Frank Aragona . . . . . . . . . . Director,Data/Documentation

Amy Normand . . . . . . . . . . . Regional Director, TexasTom Levine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Development AdvisorDonna Torrez . . . . . . . . . . . Manager: Administration

& Executive SupportPeggy Cole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Regional Project Manager,

TexasBrady Gibbons . . . . . . . . . . Field AdvisorMary Girsch-Bock . . . . . Communications AssociateValerie Grubbs . . . . . . . . . Accounting AssociateCarrie Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . Education Associate

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Ron Chapman, Past ChairRoby Wallace, Vice-ChairJohn Hackley, Secretary

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Joe & Peggy Maddox, Ranch Managers

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single observation by the ranch management of agerminating oak acorn or a newly germinatedoak seedling. Published research theorizes that theinvasion of non-native annual grasses hasreduced soil moisture availability in April, acritical time of the year for acorn germinationand seedling establishment (McCreary 2001).

It seems that there has been little researchdone on predation or parasitizing of oak acorns byanimals, insects, fungi, and other pathogens, sowe developed a qualitative and observationalmonitoring methodology to shed some light onthis issue.

Adapting Monitoring ProtocolsNative perennial grasses are also relatively rare

on the Paicines Ranch, so we had to adapt thestandard Holistic Management monitoringprotocol given the scarcity of those grasses in mostareas of the ranch.

First we established zones for native perennialsusing GPS and mapping software. We also usedmaps to determine areas where native perennialshad been previously observed, then field checkedthe maps by onsite observation and marking theperimeter with GPS. Each zone was defined as anarea where continuous patches of nativeperennials could be observed. As zones becamepatchier and sparser, the zone boundary wasdefined.

We then established monitoring transects ateach site according to the general size of each site.Smaller sites only had one monitoring transect,medium sites had two, and the largest site hadthree. Although acreage was measured for eachperennial zone, we determined the number oftransects per site by how many transects would fitwithin the zone reasonably well.

We established each transect by placing a T-Post at the beginning of each transect. Thelocation of each T-Post was recorded using GPS. A1 meter by 1 meter quadrat was then placed at the

head of each T-Post. At each transect, the quadratwas flipped once before recording any data. Thequadrat was then flipped along a general transectline. In areas on hills, contour lines were followedto the greatest degree possible. The beginningpoint for each transect was determined to be thearea where the most flips could be accomplishedwithin the established perennial grass zones.

With each flip, the presence of a perennialgrass was recorded. Perennial grasses were notcounted, just tallied as a simple yes or no if agrass fell within the meter quadrat. Thisestablishes a frequency percentage per totalnumber of flips. Grasses were recorded if 50% ormore of a single specimen fell within the quadrat.If less than 50%, the grass was not recorded. Oneach transect, GPS points were recorded at regularintervals along the transect. These points werethen used to map the transect.

A soil sample was taken at approximately themidpoint for each transect. Soil samples weretaken several feet to the side of the transect.Aggregate soil samples were used in cases wheremultiple transects were located in a single zone.

Why So Few Perennials?No single variable accounts for the limited but

notable presence of perennials on the PaicinesRanch. Management may play a role in thecurrent distribution and frequency of perennialgrasses, but it is more likely that biotic and abioticfactors are largely responsible for the distributionof these grasses on the landscape.

As we put together a series of different datapoints, a picture emerged suggesting that anumber of different factors converge to createsuitable conditions for the growth of nativeperennial grasses. Variability between transectscan also be explained by such key factors as:

• Aspect, or the cardinal direction which a hillside faces

• Oak trees

Paicines Ranch continued from page one

Frank Aragonaflipping thequadrat alonga 100 metertransect.

• Soil phosphorus • Soil texture

Aspect

Clearly, aspect is a key factor in theestablishment of perennial grasses. All identifiedperennial grass zones were found on northerlyhillsides. Some zones, like Zones 2 and 3, face trueNorth, while others face north-east (Zone 5), andothers still face north-west (Zones 1 and 4). Noperennial grass zones were identified on south orsouth-west facing slopes. Possibly increased solarradiation and reduced soil moisture preclude thepossibility that these grasses will establish on theseharsh sites.

Based on the aspect map generated for thisproject, many unvisited sites show good potentialas perennial grass zones, as northerly facingslopes are abundant on the Paicines Ranch. It isalso highly possible that perennial grasses arepresent in less accessible parts of the ranch, buthave not yet been identified.

Oak Trees

Oak trees are an important constraint togreater perennial coverage on the Paicines Ranchbecause perennial grasses seem to compete withoak trees for similar habitat on northerly slopes.Previous research indicates that purple needlegrass(Nasella pulchra) is very scarce in areas where treecover exceeds 50% (Steinberg 2002).

Moreover, when we analyzed aerial imageryfrom the ranch we noticed that perennial grassesoccur in areas where natural breaks occur inexisting stands of oak trees. Zone 5 is an areawhere the highest frequency of purple needlegrasswas observed, an open clearing on a north-eastfacing slope.

Soluble Phosphorus

In regards to the collected soil samples, theonly visible comparative difference in the dataaverages between perennial and non-perennialsites is in the Mehlich III Phosphorus (P2O5), ameasure of soluble phosphorus in the soil.Interestingly, the phosphorous values are quite abit higher for the perennial sites than the non-perennial sites.

Are perennial grasses better suited to highphosphorus sites? Or does this represent asignificant shift in soil biology, as is suggested bythe limited presence of oaks in perennial grasssites? In experimental trials with maize, fungi inthe genus Aspergillus have been shown todramatically increase the solubility of soilphosphorus (Richa et. al. 2007). Perhaps similarphosphorus solubilizing soil fungi are associatedwith purple needlegrass and other nativeperennials so that the perennials are actuallyaffecting soil phosphorus levels. Purpleneedlegrass is symbiotic with arbuscular

mycorrhizal fungi, which most likely greatlyenhance the growth and vigor of individual plantsand potentially assist in solubilizing soilphosphorus (Steinberg 2002).

Soil Texture

When we looked at a map of the geographicdistribution of native perennial grasses, we noticedthere was a higher frequency of purple needlegrasson the western portion of the ranch, and a higherfrequency of Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda)on the eastern portion.

By adding soil type to a frequency distributionmap, we noticed that sites with the soil series SoperGravelly Loam have a higher frequency ofSandberg bluegrass and Torrey’s melicgrass(Melica). Both of these species are mostly absentfrom the sites with higher purple needlegrassfrequency. Those sites with high purple needlegrassfrequency occur on the Diablo Clay soil type. It ismore likely that soil texture is what causes thesevariations in species composition. These soil serieshave a reported clay content of 40 to 60 percent forDiablo Clay and a clay content of 18 to 27 percentfor Soper Gravelly Loam. Perennial zone 5 had thehighest frequency of purple needlegrass at 54%.This same zone also had the highest solublephosphorus value at 350 lbs/acre.

Next StepsThrough GIS and on the ground analysis, we

developed a few suggestions for preliminarymanagement scenarios that may enhance theoverall management of the ranch and move theranch forward toward its holisticgoal throughfurther integrating the whole under management,improving the ecosystem processes of the ranch,and increasing the productivity and profitability ofthe resource base. We believe that Scenario 1 is themost viable, but Paicines Ranch personnel willhave to test these decisions toward theirholisticgoal.

Scenario 1: Holistic Management of purple needlegrass

Purple needlegrass is the native perennialspecies most likely to respond well to more robustmanagement through grazing planning, landplanning, monitoring, and experimentationbecause of the following reasons:

• The aspect and soil type characteristicsfavored by this species are found in abundance onthe ranch

• The longevity of this species (up to 200years) makes it an excellent candidate for long-term production

• The forage quality and quantity is expectedto be much greater than other species, like thedelicate Sandberg bluegrass

• The species’ drought tolerance and deep rootsystem are characteristics well-suited to thePaicines Ranch.

• The relative abundance of this nativeperennial makes regeneration and expansion oftotal area more feasible than isolated species likemelicgrass

We know that purple needlegrass reproducesand expands vegetatively when tussocks arefragmented, which can potentially be induced bygrazing and animal impact. In established stands,research has shown that wet season grazing canenhance reproduction via plant fragmentation,leading to an increased density of purpleneedlegrass plants relative to ungrazed plots.Removing mulch/old plant matter from tussocksalso has been shown to increase seed productionand improve seedling establishment (Huntsingeret. al. 2006).

The timing of grazing is also important.Defoliation during periods of rapid growth orflowering may decrease seed production andshould be avoided. Seed germination is reducedand slower in the presence of annual competitors.Annual grass roots cause rapid water depletion insurface soil, which interacts with shading to causehigh seedling mortality in spring. Therefore, earlyspring grazing can suppress the fastergerminating exotic annual grasses, thereby

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Grassfrequency byspecies andGrass Zone

reducing the competitive suppression of nativeperennials whose seedlings germinate later andgrow more slowly early in the season (Huntsingeret. al. 2006, Steinberg 2002).

Studies have shown that annual grasses havelarger seeds than purple needlegrass and are betteradapted to establishing in litter layers, but fire (andanimal impact) can improve establishment as aresult of increased soil temperature, light intensity,nutrient release, and decreased standing litter.

The next step is to develop a land plan thattargets sites suitable for the expansion of purpleneedlegrass on the Paicines Ranch. Likewise, indeveloping next year’s grazing plan, we can usethis information to reduce the competitiveadvantages of annual grasses and promote theregeneration of purple needlegrass eithervegetatively, through natural seed production, orthrough a direct seeding program.

Timed grazing at ultra-high stock densitiesaround established purple needlegrass zones maycreate the type of exposed environment oftenassociated with fire. Allowing established purpleneedlegrass plants to produce seed within adjacentperennial zones by deferring grazing the previousspring could provide the seed required for naturalgermination and establishment.

Alternatively, seed could be broadcast on sitesthat have been determined suitable based on soiltexture, absence of oaks, and aspect. Ultra-highstock density grazing could be used as a tool toprepare the area for seeding in the early spring,and then again to reduce the competition fromnonnative annuals in mid to late Spring.Obviously seed costs can be a significant factorwhen considering this option. At a cost ofapproximately $40/lb and an application rate of15 lbs/acre, the seed cost alone is an estimated$600/acre. Additional labor costs may double oreven triple this figure.

A potentially more cost effective option mightbe to use animal impact around the edges ofestablished perennial zones to induce thefragmentation of grass tussocks and promotevegetative reproduction.

Scenario 2: Keyline Design and WaterHarvesting

Keyline is a system developed by Australianfarmer P.A. Yeomans. Since his discoveries andpioneering work, many permaculturalists andHolistic Management practitioners have takenYeoman’s ideas and implemented them on theirown farms and ranches. This strategy has provento be effective in brittle environments, whereseasonal rainfall is the norm and long aridperiods are the single biggest constraint to greaterproductivity.

Additional water at targeted areas on thePaicines Ranch has the potential to greatlyexpand the coverage of perennial grasses, thusproviding green forage during the driest parts ofthe year. Using elevation data from the ranch, akey point has been identified close to the areasassociated with the perennial-riparian species,creeping rye grass (Laymus tritichoides).

Using the principles of keyline design, a simplesystem of dams and canals could be built to allowfor seasonal irrigation of lands directly belowthese ridges. Such an attempt will most likelyfavor the continued expansion of creeping ryegrass from the adjacent riparian zone, stabilizingsoil as well as increasing productivity.

Similar design principles could be used as astrategy for increasing the coverage andproductivity of the purple needlegrass. It is highlypossible that this species will respond well to theincreases in soil moisture, and will allow a morerapid expansion of the total surface area in whichit can be found.

However, the application of keyline design andwater harvesting on the Paicines Ranch doesrequire significant design engineering andconstruction (cost) for implementation.

Scenario 3: SilvopastoralDevelopment

The Paicines Ranch is anannual grassland-oak savannahprimarily managed for grasses andgrazing. This managementframework is effective but limiting.A broader approach to the wholeunder management has thepotential to greatly increase theproductivity and profitability of theoperation.

A silvipastoral development atthe Paicines Ranch would take fulladvantage of available forest

resources. To effectively manage oaks on theranch would require the measurement andmonitoring of this resource. Such work mightinclude:

• Delineation via aerial imagery of highdensity oak sites

• Establishment of a sampling protocol withinthese sites

• Measurement of trees/acre and standingbasal area within oak sites

• Estimates of total acorn production per acreto quantify potential animal feed stocks

• Analysis of production capacity foralternative products like free range hogs, ostriches,oak timber, and shitake mushrooms

The implementation of such a system willundoubtedly increase the labor requirements onthe ranch. For such a program to prove feasible,the additional production must compensate forincreased labor costs and generate additionalprofit. In this scenario, market and logisticalconstraints may present more of an obstacle thanecological limitations.

By focusing on the key concerns of the ranchmanagement at Paicines Ranch, we designedmonitoring protocols to focus on oak regenerationand native perennial grasses. By developing threemanagement scenarios that would begin toaddress the issues that arise from the naturalresource situation at Paicines, we have begun theprocess of research, discussion, and testingnecessary before land planning can begin.

To learn more about HMI’s BiologicalMonitoring Services, contact Tracy [email protected] or call505/842-5252.

Resources of Interest*Adams, T.E. Sands, P.B. Weitkamp, W.H. Stanley, M.E.

1997. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-160. [Online] Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr160/psw_gtr160_04b_adams.pdf

*McCreary, D.D. 2009. Regenerating Rangeland Oaksin California. University of California Agricultureand Natural Resources. Oakland, California.

McCreary, D.D. Tecklin, J. 2005 USDA Forest ServiceProceedings RMRS-P-35.

Richa, G. Khosla, B. Reddy, M.S.Improvement of MaizePlant Growth by Phosphate Solubilizing Fungi inRock Phosphate Amended Soils. World Journal ofAgricultural Sciences. 3(4): 481-484

Steinberg, Peter D. 2002. Nassella pulchra. In: FireEffects Information System, [Online]. U.S.Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, RockyMountain Research Station, Fire SciencesLaboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis


Paicines Ranchcontinued from page three

Perennial grasses seem to compete with oak trees forsimilar habitat.


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The ecological resilience, economic viability,and social sustainability of rangelandlivestock operations may be maximizedthrough grassfed livestock production,

which relies on biological diversity andecological complexity with minimal externalinputs inputs. Grassfed production keeps land inpermanent vegetation, rather than annual cropsharvested, trucked, and fed to livestock inconfinement. Potential benefits of shifting landuse from cropland and feedlots to perennialpasture include reduced pesticide use, greatlyreduced soil erosion, increased soil fertility whileeliminating commercial fertilizer application,increased carbon sequestration (mitigatingclimate change), and increased plant andwildlife diversity.

Grassfed beef is more energy- and cost-efficientin terms of meat and protein production thangrain-finished beef (Cook et.al.). The fossil fuelconsumption of grassfed meat production is muchless than that of grain-finished meat, production,and Americans could still exceed theirrecommended daily allowance of meat and dairyprotein without grain-finished meats (Pimentel1997). And, demand for alternative livestockproducts, such as grassfed, local, organic, andhumanely raised, has risen in recent years.

The Society for Range Management (SRM)and the American Grassfed Association (AGA) helda session on “Sustainable Rangelands ThroughLow-Input Grassfed Production” at WorkingLandscapes: Providing for the Future, the 63rdSRM annual meeting, on February 11, 2010 inDenver, Colorado. The producer-oriented sessioninvolved five presentations by ranchers producinggrassfed meat or genetics primarily on nativerangelands of the western U.S., one presentationby dairy-farming veterinarians, one scientificstudy, an overview of grazing management, andpresentations by the AGA and the SouthwestGrassfed Livestock Alliance. AGA sponsorshipenabled ranchers, many of whom were not SRMmembers, to attend the session; those who spokebecame members of SRM through ColoradoGrazing Lands Conservation Initiativescholarships. Videos of the presentations areavailable on the Society for Range Managementwebsite. This article summarizes some of thepresentations.

Ranching in Sync with NatureDale Lasater

Ranching in sync with nature on theprairie—stewardship of the land, forage,livestock, and wildlife—is “akin to heaven,”according to Dale Lasater.

The Lasater Ranch has focused on two of thecentral concepts of planned grazing, animalimpact and long recovery periods, since learningabout Holistic Management from Allan Savory inthe early 1980s. The range has greatly improved;now only the cell centers are degraded, and thereis some western wheatgrass coming into them.The highest grass diversity tends to be closest tothe cell centers. There are 11-15 paddocks at eachcell center and they move cattle by opening gates.Recovery periods are about 80 days during slowgrowth, which is most of the year.

Remnants of tall and mid-grasses, such asswitchgrass, prairie sandreed, sand bluestem, andgreen needlegrass are returning to the shortgrassprairie. By grazing a cheatgrass-infested pastureearly in the spring, they allowed perennial grassto return. The ranch has thriving wildlifepopulations: pronghorn, mule and now white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and many raptors; and atleast 80 species of birds in one riparian area. Theydo not allow hunting of coyotes, and their cattleare capable of defending themselves againstthem. They have even reintroduced black-tailedprairie dogs.

Livestock should be tested in the environmentthey are going to produce in, allowing culling bynatural selection (Lasater 2000). Tom Lasater

developed the Beefmaster breed, a three-way crossbetween Hereford, Shorthorn, and Brahmancattle, during the Great Depression; the herd hasbeen closed since 1937. The Lasaters stoppedusing insecticides in the 1960s, and their cattlenow have few flies or lice, at least partly due toplanned grazing. Many years ago Tom Lasaterchanged the calving season from February-Marchto August, which was a great improvement, but inorder to be more in sync with the annual foragecycle, the ranch is now shifting the calving seasonback to June.

Lasater Grasslands Beef is now sold on theinternet and in Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocersstores in Colorado.

Multiple-Species Grassfed ProductionRichard Parry

The benefits of multiple-species grazinginclude improved diversity and utilizationdistribution, and thus increased production andprofit per acre, and reduced risk, said RichardParry, a fourth-generation sheep rancher now alsoraising cattle, goats, chickens, and pigs. Parrylearned holistic planned grazing from AllanSavory and Stan Parsons in the 1980s.

It is possible to increase total forage utilizationsignificantly with sheep and cattle compared tocattle alone, due to a greater diversity of plantspecies being grazed; thus, a higher stocking ratecan be sustained under multiple-species grazing.Sheep select forbs, including many weeds, and willforage near cow dung. For instance, in Montana,sheep grazing for several years significantlyreduced leafy spurge abundance. Goats preferbrowse, and so have even less dietary overlap withcattle than do sheep. Chickens eat mostly insects,but do graze some grass and forbs.

Multiple-species grazing mitigates risk bydiversifying income and bringing multiplepaychecks per year. Producers considering

Low-Input Grassfed Livestock Production andPlanned Grazing for a Triple Bottom Lineby Matthew K. Barnes

GeorgeWhittenapplies low-stresslivestockhandling inthe San LuisValley ofColorado.

different species of livestock should determinetheir centerpiece enterprise based on theircompetitive advantage, and the species with thehighest gross margin. The net income should beat least half of the gross. Stacked or ancillaryenterprises should feed off of surplus inputs andlabor from the centerpiece. Richard believes toomany operations use cattle as the centerpiece.

Multiple-species grazing can be done withleader-follower, flerd, or complementary grazing.

In leader-follower grazing, the animals withthe highest nutrient requirements graze apaddock ahead of animals with lowerrequirements, in a single grazing period. Forinstance, with sheep and cattle, stocker cattleshould lead, followed by sheep, then cow-calfpairs, with dry cows last.

A flerd means a flock of sheep bonded to aherd of cattle, usually in pen confinement for 14-30 days. The flerd will then stay together, butthe cattle will not necessarily protect the sheep orgoats from predators, so guardian animals arestill recommended.

In complementary grazing, the flock and herdare kept separate and graze in an alternatingmovement pattern from one grazing period to thenext. One species conditions the paddock for thenext, like in leader-follower grazing, but with arecovery period in between.

Many ruminant parasites have about a three-week life cycle, so parasite loads can be greatlyreduced by any form of planned grazing thatinvolves short graze periods followed by a monthor longer non-grazing interval. Multiple-speciesgrazing with sheep or goats plus cattle can furtherreduce parasite loads, especially in complementarygrazing, because sheep and goats are dead-endhosts for cattle parasites, and vice-versa. However,Richard believes sheep and goats do share manyparasites, and should be kept separate from eachother, especially in organic operations. Animalsidentified as carriers should be culled.

Benefits of Low-Input RanchingKit Pharo

“Agriculture that is not profitable andenjoyable will never be sustainable,” Kit Pharo isfond of saying. Profitable ranches make the mostefficient use of their forage resources. While theaverage producer breaks even over the course ofthe cattle price cycle, the low-input producer canmake a profit most years, if not every year.

Over the last four decades, input costs haverisen five times faster than cattle prices. The beefindustry is at a tipping point: what has worked sowell for the past 40 years probably will not work

for the next 40 years. While most industries acceptand implement change within about two years,the livestock industry seems to take about twodecades to accept and implement proven concepts.The problem is that the generation currentlyworking the land is often living in their parents’paradigm. The producers who dare to quit theherd-mentality way of thinking are the ones whoare leading the change, rather than being led byit. Following the crowd is seldom the best way tomanage a business because it forfeits any possiblecompetitive advantage.

To increase their profit potential, ranchersshould produce a differentiated product ratherthan an undifferentiated commodity (e.g.,grassfed beef vs. feeder calves). This is not easy: itrequires planning, managing, and marketing.Producers need to believe in their product in orderto market it.

Pharo identified three keys to increasingefficiency and profit in the livestock business,which can be summed up as ranching in syncwith nature.

The first key is planned rotational grazing,although only a small minority of ranches isactually applying it. Planned rotational grazingcan improve range and pasture health, and thusincrease livestock production (Teague et.al. 2008).Pharo said that he has increased cattle productionby 50% since 1994 with planned grazing. It canalso help reduce or eliminate supplementalfeeding. Pharo now only feeds hay when the snowis too deep and crusted for cattle to dig through.

The second key is matching the livestockproduction cycle to the forage cycle. In most ofNorth America, this means calving in May andJune, as elk and deer do. Pharo said that this canreduce feed and labor costs by 70%. Mostproducers could eliminate all winter feedingexcept in emergencies. Calving in May and June,the vast majority of calves will be born withoutcalving problems and in the first 30 days of thecalving season. Individual weaning weights willbe lower than with winter/spring calving. However,with reduced death losses, a producer can usuallywean more total pounds, which are worth moreper pound because of the price slide.

The third key is matching livestock size andtype to the forage resources. “I want a cow thatcan support the ranch, instead of being supportedby the ranch,” Pharo said. “Require cattle to livewithin their means.” Livestock need to fit theirenvironment, ecologically and economically,

rather than having their environment artificiallychanged to fit them. By culling every animal thatdoes not fit, inputs will be minimized. Forinstance, Pharo’s inputs have been essentiallyreduced to vaccinating calves at weaning, and a50/50 mixture of salt and mineral; he does notvaccinate cows, or use insecticides or wormers.Fertility is more important than growth, andbiological type is more important than breed.Pharo’s optimum cow is a 2 to 4 frame cow thatweighs 1,000 to 1,200 pounds (450 to 540 kg).Smaller cows wean a higher proportion of theirbody weight, while eating less.

Ranchers, especially grassfed livestockproducers, are in the business of converting freesolar energy into a high-quality food product.Properly done, the livestock will do nearly all thework. Keeping it simple (low-input) is the way tokeep it profitable—and enjoyable.

Organic Grass-Finished Beef on a Forage Chain from Conception to ConsumerGeorge Whitten, Jr. and Julie Sullivan

George Whitten was raised in the pastoralsheep camps of the San Luis Valley, where theflocks and herds were controlled by drought, snow,and the flu. Whitten has spent his lifetimefiguring out how to live in the ecosystem, andmeeting Allan Savory helped him discover how todo this (Bingham 1996). “Allan taught me awhole new way to look at the world,” Whittensays. “The answer is literally beneath our feet.”

Shortly after Julie Sullivan came to the ranch,she told Whitten that she could not ranch if itmeant sending animals to feedlots, and he agreed.They now produce organic grassfed beef, finishedon a forage chain and direct-marketed toconsumers. “Unfortunately, the term ‘organic’ has


Low-Input Grassfed Livestock Production continued from page five

Dennis Moroney irrigatingpasture with gated pipe.

Photo by Matt Barnes.

been marketed into meaninglessness,” Sullivansaid, “but we try to be true to real meaning of theword. One of the dictionary definitions of ‘organic’is the fundamental constitution of a thing, andgrassfed is the inherent, inborn, constitutionalreality of a cow.”

Pastoralism was, and is, a way of life withpromise for the future. While grassfed livestockproduction is relatively low-input, pastoralistshave always invested in a high-maintenancerelationship with their land and livestock.

Some inputs are high: time, love, and deepthinking directed by values. According to Sullivan,“our ranch is a high maintenance ranch becauseit demands our time and love, and like ourmarriage, it reflects the quality and quantity oftime spent together. Agriculture lost part of its soulwhen we started calling it ‘management’ ratherthan stewardship, husbandry or partnership.Think about the word ‘manage’; You might try tomanage your partners, but you’ll rarely besuccessful,” Sullivan said as she and Whittenexchanged knowing smiles.

They see their ranch as a partnership betweenthe land and the animals, from soil microbes tocattle to dung beetles to people, including not onlythe agrarian ranchers but also their interns,customers, and colleagues in organizations suchas Holistic Management International and theQuivira Coalition. All these partners are equals,and each brings a new opportunity.

Whitten and Sullivan will not do anything fora cow that she can do for herself. They feed hay inthe winter, but they do not bale it. They cut andswath it, and then rake it into piles about the sizeof a small square bale, so that it does not blowaway in the fierce spring winds. The piles arerationed out over the winter by strip grazing withelectric fence, so that the nutrients are recycledback into the ground right there, rather thantransported and concentrated (Howell 2003).

The Baca National Wildlife Refuge, an oldSpanish Land Grant, needed to continueagriculture while managing for ground-nestingbirds and controlling invasive weeds withoutchemicals. The Baca also has a large herd of elkwithout predators to move them off of riparianareas. Local customers see Whitten and Sullivan’scattle grazing on the refuge before they buy theirbeef at the farmers’ market, and some of thosecustomers have gone out on the San Juan RanchBLM allotment to pull black henbane by hand. ToWhitten and Sullivan, this exemplifies their beliefthat ranching is a partnership of many playersengaged in mutual and reciprocal support.

They sell about 100 finished animals per year.The market is much bigger, so they are workingon a cooperative with other ranchers who canmeet their criteria. An animal can finish in 18-24


months and grade high select to low choice. Theydo an ultrasound test to determine tenderness,and only those animals that pass will be marketedas grass-finished.

The Low-Carbon Foodprint of LocalGrassfed Livestock Production in a Semiarid EnvironmentDennis Moroney

Dennis and Deb Moroney and their family arebecoming native to place, a double challenge ofrestoration and production. The arid and semiaridSouthwestern landscape has been degraded, likemuch of the American West, with the most severedamage done a century ago by well meaningpeople who did not understand their environment(McClaran et.al. 1995). Still, the cowboy/vaqueroculture is the closest thing to combining Euro-American and indigenous fabrics of living, andwith an understanding of the land it is the mostnative to the region.

Commodity livestock income could not makethe payment on the ranch, even in a year of idealclimatic conditions. Desperation is the mother ofcreativity, and the traditional cow-calf paradigmwas clearly not sustainable for the 47 Ranch, soMoroney started looking for pre-fossil fuel eramodels to reduce its carbon footprint. Carbonsequestration means increasing the organicmatter in the soil, our most important capital.This requires planned grazing, and finishinganimals on range or pasture to minimize use ofharvested and transported feeds.

The ranch is about half mountains, and halfdesert grassland. The ranch uses plannedrotational grazing with 24 paddocks. The overallpattern is reverse transhumance, because the cool-season grass in the mountains grows in the winter,while the warm-season grass in the lower country

grows in the summer monsoon. In the spring,cattle eat the mesquite beans on the desertgrassland.

“Genetics is our link to a more sustainablepast,” said Moroney. He values calm disposition,and the ability to adapt to changing conditions,biodiversity, and poisonous plants, and finish onnative rangeland.

“I haven’t seen 10 calves born in the last 20years,” Moroney said. Some of them die, which isnatural culling as well as nutrient cycling.Predators are partners: they control the rabbitsand rodents. To prevent losses to predators, thesheep and goats are penned every night duringlambing and kidding.

The Moroneys saw endangered species as aform of wealth, even though—and partlybecause—their presence reduced the ranch’smarket value. There is now a conservationeasement on 1,000 acres that had several listedspecies. The ranch sold the development rights tothe Arizona Game and Fish Department, and usedthe money to pay off the mortgage. The ranchretains the agricultural rights, and its only debt isan operating loan. Southeastern Arizona is underincreasing development pressure, and part of theranch’s goal is for all but a small portion to beunder easement.

Renewable energy is part of reducing thecarbon foodprint. The 47 Ranch already has20,000 watts of solar panels to run theheadquarters and pump water. They are netmetering with their local power company, andinvestigating opportunities for wind powergeneration.

Sky Island Brand grassfed beef, lamb, and goatmeat are direct marketed to consumers insouthern Arizona. Currently this includes farmers’markets, and the ranch is starting a buyers’ club.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Resources of InterestBingham, S. 1996. The last ranch: a Colorado community and the coming desert. New York, NY, USA: Pantheon Books.

363 p.

Cook, C.W., J.W. Walker, M.H. Ebberts, L.R. Rittenhouse, E.T. Bartlett, D.A. Cramer, P.T. Fagerlin, and M.C. McKean.1981. Alternative grass and grain feeding systems for beef production. Colorado State University ExperimentStation Fort Collins Bulletin 579S. 101 p.

Howell, J. 2003. The Whitten Ranch—creating more with less. In Practice 90:8-12. Available at:http://www.holisticmanagement.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=8&Itemid=31.

Lasater, L.M. 2000. The Lasater philosophy of cattle raising. San Angelo, TX, USA: Santa Cruz Press. 116 p.

McClaran, M.P., and T.R. VanDevender. 1995. The desert grassland. Tucson, AZ, USA: University of Arizona Press. 346 p.

Nabhan, G., D. Blair, and D. Moroney. 2010. Ranching to produce tacos sin carbon: the low-carbon foodprint of grass-fed beef and sheep production in the semi-arid West. Quivira Coalition Journal 35:28-34.

Pimentel, D. 1997. Livestock production: energy inputs and the environment. In: S.L. Scott and X. Zhao [eds.]. CanadianSociety of Animal Science Proceedings 47:17-26.

Teague, R., F. Provenza, B. Norton, T. Steffens, M. Barnes, M. Kothmann, and R. Roath. 2008. Benefits of multi-paddockgrazing management on rangelands: limitations of experimental grazing research and knowledge gaps. In: H. G.Schröder [ed.]. Grasslands: ecology, management and restoration. Hauppauge, NY, USA: Nova Science Publishers,Inc. P. 41-80.


A Rewilding Experimentby Mary Girsch-Bock

In a recent issue of Discover magazine, writer Andrew Curryspent some time in Amsterdam, just outside the town ofAlmere, at a nature reserve called Oostvaardersplassen. Notyour typical nature reserve, Oostvaardersplassen is a carefully

planned experiment in ecosystems called rewilding, designed toshowcase the impact that wild animals have on theirenvironment.

Based on a theory by Dutch ecologist Frans Vera, rewilding isbuilt on the premise that if you return large herbivores to the land,they will be able to re-create prehistoric ecosystems.

Bucking the process of “succession,” which generally accepts thepremise that if you have a specific area and do nothing with thatarea, forests will take over, Vera’s theory, proposes that canopy forestsare not the natural dynamic of unspoiled land, but the result of thedemise of creatures such as the woolly mammoth, and other largeherbivores that once roamed the land freely.

Oostvaardersplassen is not a conventional nature preserve, but aformer inland sea, walled off by a dike, and subsequently drained,allowing the soil to settle. Initially designated as a bird refuge,Oostvaardersplassen came to the attention of Vera in the early 1980s,when it was found that over 60,000 geese populated the reserve, upfrom the few thousand that had initially landed there in 1978 fortheir annual molting season.

Vera, then a biologist at the forest service saw this occurrence asan excellent way to test his theory of letting animals graze freely. Hefought to both expand the reserve and re-route a proposed traintrack that would have split the reserve in two.

Ultimately winning both battles, Vera tested his theory byintroducing 32 Heck cattle to Oostvaardersplassen. A year later headded 20 konik ponies. Finally, in 1992, 44 red tailed deer wereintroduced to the refuge. It’s now estimated that there are over 3,000animals living in the wild at the Oostvaardersplassen reserve.

Though Oostvaardersplassen is the largest experiment inrewilding, it is not the only one. Russian biologist Sergev Zimov isrunning a similar experiment at a Siberian research station.Pleistocene Park, as Zimov calls it, has been monitoring moose,horses, and reindeer, hoping to change the tundra back to thegrasslands that originally existed throughout Eurasia. Rewildingexperiments have also been proposed in the United States as well,with elephants standing in for the extinct mammoths andmastodons.

Not everyone is on board with Vera’s theories or testing methods.In 2000, his doctoral thesis, Grazing Ecology and Forest Historydrew mixed reviews in the forest ecology arena, with those lining upto support Vera, with others accusing him of cherry-picking data tofit his theory. Animal and environmental activists are not Vera fanseither, as his theory foregoes human intervention, even with speciesat risk.

Though humans, by nature, want to intervene in the fight tosave near-extinct species, in Vera’s eyes, under the rightcircumstances, nature can take care of itself simply by recreatingprehistoric ecosystems through rewilding.

The quintessential meal of the Arizona-Sonora borderlands, tacos alcarbón, made of grassfed beef, sheep, or goat, with wild-harvestedchiltepines on a Sonora wheat tortilla, can be called tacos sin carbon forits low carbon footprint. Moroney and his colleagues in the Sabores SinFronteras (Flavors Without Borders) Foodways Alliance are pursuinggrant funding for a taco truck which would not only sell this and otherlow-footprint local foods, but would also use digital screens to educateconsumers about ranching and managing land to sequester carbon(Nabhan et.al. 2010).

Grassfed for ResilienceThere is now strong evidence that ruminants are healthier when

grazing range or pasture rather than being fed harvested grains inconfinement, and that these health benefits are then passed on to theconsumers of grassfed meat and dairy products. A forage diet and freedomfrom confinement are therefore the essence of the definition of “grassfed”and central to both American Grassfed and Animal Welfare Approvedcertifications.

Grassfed livestock products appear to be an expanding segment of theoverall U.S. livestock industry. All six producers in the session implied thattheir grassfed enterprises were profitable, but most indicated that theseenterprises require more skill and investment in business planning,marketing, and overall management. A producer has to believe in theirproduct in order to sell it, especially in direct marketing enterprises, wherecustomers are effectively the producer’s partners. But, the local grassfedmeat industry currently has a bottleneck at the processing stage.

All of the speakers emphasized land stewardship and said that theirgrassfed operations were low-input compared to feedlot operations.Moreover, all of the producers said that they used some form of rotationalgrazing, and most referred specifically to holistic planned grazing, or saidthat they had learned grazing management from Allan Savory or othersin the Holistic Management network.

Editor’s Note: This article is comprised of excerpts from a paper tobe published in an upcoming issue of Rangelands. Planned rotationalgrazing is defined as moving a herd through a series of paddocksbased on plant growth, use, and recovery rates. While this mayappear similar to holistic planned grazing, the key distinction is thatholistic planned grazing takes in many other factors (social needs,land restoration goals, wildlife needs, etc.) to develop a grazing planthat is adaptive to change and increases the resiliency of thelandscape. The session was organized by Dan Nosal, Harvey Sprock,Matt Barnes, and Carrie Balkcom. Videos of these presentations areavailable on the SRM webpage atwww.rangelands.org/education_symposium_ workshop.shtml.

Contact information for presenters and the author is: Dale Lasaterof Lasater Grasslands Beef (www.lgbeef.com); Richard Parry of FoxFire Farms (www.foxfirefarms.com); Kit Pharo of Pharo CattleCompany (www.pharocattle.com); George Whitten, Jr. and JulieSullivan of the San Juan Ranch; can be reached at:[email protected]; Dennis Moroney of 47 Ranch can be reachedat: [email protected]; Carrie Balkcom of the American GrassfedAssociation (www.americangrassfed.org) can be reached at:[email protected]; Matt Barnes of Shining Horizons LandManagement (www.shininghorizons.com) can be reached at:[email protected]. Photos by Matt Barnes.

Low-Input Grassfed Livestock Productioncontinued from page seven

There are several key principles associated withHolistic Planned Grazing including:

• Total and partial rest degrades brittleenvironments

• Grazing animals can restore brittleenvironments via animal impact

• Animals managed at high densities canimprove animal impact

• Paddocks should be exposed to short grazingperiods to reduce overgrazing

• Individual perennial grasses should beallowed adequate recovery before grazing again.

In many cases, researchers and practitionersalike have been so focused on determining thetruth to these statements, we sometimes forgetthat Holistic Management is a decision-makingframework; it is a management framework thathelps people move toward their articulatedholisticgoal.

When evaluating scientific research, it is criticalto remember this point. Much research attentionhas been given to what is commonly known asShort-Duration Grazing, or SDG. SDG is oftenequated with Holistic Planned Grazing, thoughthere are some key differences. In general, SDG isusually characterized by higher stocking rates,high stock densities, short grazing periods, and anadequate recovery period for grazed paddocks.

The research results between grazing systemsare variable. For example, in research conductedby Dormaar et. al. (1989), range condition of afescue grassland decreased from 50% cover to 39%cover under SDG, but increased within a grazingexclosure from 51.6% to 56.2%. Yet in a studyconducted by West et al. (1984) in west-centralUtah, total standing crop did not increasefollowing 13 years of livestock exclusion. Taylor etal. (1993) compared High Intensity LowFrequency (HILF) to SDG and found no differencesof annual net primary productivity betweengrazing systems. However, Norton (2003) “citesnine examples from the published literature… inwhich stocking rates 50% greater (or more) thanthe recommended district rates were sustained…”

Often these increases in stocking rate can beattributed to grazing management.

Examples such as these abound. For everygrazing study that seems to conclusively prove theefficacy or failure of a grazing system, there iscounter-study that contradicts it. On HMI’s Dataand Documentation Blog, I’ve been addressing thisissue in a number of ways. Much of the research Ihave reviewed has some important shortcomings.Scale, for example, is an important constraint.Researchers are often limited to herd sizes rangingfrom a few head of cattle to about 50, yet ranchersare often dealing with herd sizes in the thousands.Experimental paddocks also tend to be small, asresearchers have limited access to land, andtherefore rotations are limited, makingcommercial operations difficult to simulate.

Replication is another critical limitation.Laboratory sciences like physics and chemistry relyon total control over environmental variables tolimit the gap between theory and observation. Inecological research, changing climates, evolvingsoils, random disturbance, market fluctuations,and social anomalies, make total control apractical impossibility. Therefore, it is pure fantasyto believe that we can accurately replicate a studyin a complex ecological environment.

However, although the shortcomingsmentioned above are significant, I do not believethat they fully expose the nature of the grazingdebate. The nature of this controversy, as I havesaid, is philosophical, and cannot be resolvedthrough an analysis of methodologies orlandscape scales. After reviewing numerousgrazing studies, there is a common but subtlethread that one begins to discover.

Researchers assume a level of objectivity, asense of separateness, in the development andexecution of their research designs. There is anunwritten and unspoken assumption underlyingtheir approach. If they were to articulate thisassumption, it might sound something like this:“We are trying to discover which grazing systemworks best in our environment. We design the

grazing system in a way that is ‘archetypal,’ try tocontrol for variability, collect our data, andgenerally try not to get in the way. We set theexperiment, and then passively observe the results.”

Most managers will not be impressed with thisapproach, but it stems from a long-standingtradition in Western science where humans areviewed as apart from Nature, separate and discreteentities. The discoveries of early 20th centuryphysics, where the observer influences and createsthe observed reality, have not yet caught up withrange science.

In Holistic Management, the manager isviewed as part of the whole, and therefore seeks tomanage and modify the landscape as articulatedin that whole’s holisticgoal. This is the keyphilosophical difference between research andHolistic Management. Researchers are passivelyobserving the results of contrived experiments,while Holistic Management practitioners areactively seeking to effect change on the landscape.

What would happen if research was conductedin a similar fashion? Let us imagine how researchquestions might change. Now, a researchexperiment might ask: “How do grazing systemsaffect water infiltration?” Objective orientedresearch would ask: “What management tools, orcombination thereof, optimize water infiltrationin our environment?”

Though the difference seems subtle, it iscritical. In the first question, the researcher’s onlychallenge is to design and compare two or moretheoretical abstractions, in this case “grazingsystems.” In the second question, researchers arechallenged to design and compare systems thatare optimized to improve water infiltration; theymust find a solution to a difficult problem, anddemonstrate their results. Most likely, whenconfronted with such challenges, researchers willhave no choice but to reach out to innovative landmanagers, who most often have the practicalinsights needed to solve such difficult problems.

To be fair, there are many published papersthat apply this approach. Unfortunately, thesepapers are often overshadowed by “objective” andpassive research. Now, the challenge falls toresearchers and practitioners to develop amanagement-oriented approach, one whichrecognizes the observer-created nature of humanreality and seeks to solve the urgent problems wenow face.


Developing Solution-Focused Researchby Frank Aragona

The use of grazing as a tool to heal the land has been a controversial topic for decades. Indeed,the tools of grazing and animal impact have often been the principle points of contentionbetween the Holistic Management community and the scientific community. In actual fact, thisdebate stems more from philosophical differences than from irrefutable empirical facts. In

order to move forward in our efforts to heal the land, we must understand the nature of thesephilosophical differences and recognize their shortcomings.

10 � November / December 2010Land & Livestock

Modular Food Systems with anInternational Scopeby Doug Warnock

Thundering Hooves, a Walla Walla Valley based holistically managedoperation, has recently started a sister business, this time with anational and international scope. “Modular Food Systems, LLC willbe selling mobile slaughter units and modular processing facilities

as well as helping folks set them up and get started,” Joel Huesby, co-owner and manager said. Huesby reports that since the development andremodeling of his abattoir, he has had inquiries from around the world.Many inquiries have come from across the U.S., but others came fromplaces as far away as Brazil and Australia.

He said that some beef producers in Hawaii are looking at making achange. They currently see cattle from their state being shipped to themainland for finishing and processing, moving 5,000 miles before theproducts come back to Hawaii for consumption. People in Brazil that have36,000 goats need the infrastructure to get the animals processed so the meatcan be delivered to people in the cities.

In response to the interest, Modular Food Systems was formed and willsell mobile modular units and other systems support on operating them.

“More and more local folks want to overcome increasing food insecuritiesand also want to have more ownership in the system. We can bring theslaughter to the animal. This is a way to empower producers and to invest inour local communities,” he said.

“We’re making modular units available so that others can bring backmoney to the land. It’s a systems approach, perhaps a national brand withlocalized stories provided by the individuals involved,” Huesby says. “We’ll provide them the system and they will provide their own product,marketed in their own way.”

Huesby says the opportunities are mind boggling and that money isavailable from people looking for sound investments. Currently, one in fourconsumers wants locally grown, organic, grass fed meat products fromanimals that are humanely treated. They’re looking for better quality, foraccountability and transparency in the way the animals are raised andprocessed. The demand is growing.

The Huesbys have operated Thundering Hooves, which is a verticallyintegrated family farm that produces pasture finished meat, since 1994. Thefamily includes Joel and his wife, Cynthia, Joel’s parents, Gordon and LoisHuesby, and Joel’s sister Clarice and her husband, Keith Swanson. They directmarket beef and lamb that receive no hormones or antibiotics and are totallyfinished on organic pastures. Their pork and poultry are sustainably raised.All stock is humanely treated.

Not all of the animals marketed by Thundering Hooves are raised on theHuesby ranch. Keith Swanson, Sales Manager, reports that animalspurchased by Thundering Hooves to finish on the ranch must meet theirprotocol. This includes being 100% grass fed, from a traceable origin, noadded hormones, no antibiotics, no confinement and beef animals must beof British breeds that finish well on grass.

The development of their own abattoir to process animals seemed to be anatural progression of the Thundering Hooves operation. Joel designed andbuilt a mobile slaughter unit (MSU) and began processing livestock threeyears ago. Since then, Thundering Hooves has processed 4,000 cattle, sheep,and hogs on their place using it only one day per week until this past monthwhen volumes became too much for one day. The unit has seen manyrevisions and modifications since the first days of its operation.

“We’re working toward eventually marketing other products like tannedhides, pharmaceuticals, pet foods and other things that are byproducts oflivestock processing. We want to sell that moo, oink and baa as well!” Huesbysaid.

The Thundering Hooves pastures were certified organic in the year 2000and they have been finishing livestock on grass since then. The familypurchased and began operating its own meat shop in east Walla Walla in2004. This small artisan butcher shop is where their meat is fabricated andpackaged prior to sale or shipment. Meat products are sold throughneighborhood buying clubs, on-line via the internet, to restaurants and somegrocery stores. Much of their sales are in Seattle and Portland though there is

strong local growth as well.Thundering Hooves continues to change and add activities

as opportunities are recognized. “I’ve always been a contrarianand I guess I will always be,” Joel says.

Doug Warnock is a Holistic Management® CertifiedEducator from College Place, Washington. He can bereached at: [email protected].

&

Joel Huesbystanding by one of his modular processing unitswhich pass USDAinspection.

Number 134 � 11Land & Livestock

Using Grazing Tools Effectively by Ben Bartlett

Grazing can seem so simple. Just put up some fence, have a creekor water tank, turn out some livestock, and you are in the grazingbusiness. But grazing is not really that simple. If grazing is“balancing the needs of plants and animals to achieve the

desires of people,” you need some “tools” to accomplish this balancingact. The three most important tools are: 1) having a holisticgoal ordecision compass to help you create the future resource base you desire,2) having a clear, written, measurable goal or outcome for your grazingoperation to create structure for your annual grazing planning, and 3) awritten grazing plan that helps you map the moves based on a host ofmanagement considerations to help you achieve your short- and long-term goals.

In addition to those tools or management techniques, there are fourtools that can help you accomplish your grazing goals. These four tools are:

• Water systems• Fencing• Plant and animal knowledge• Grazing strategiesThe one important thing to remember about “tools” is that they are

neither good nor bad; they are just aids to help you accomplish you goal.

Water Systems We know that water in an important nutrient and it is also a very

important grazing modification tool. Research and observation haveconfirmed that most domestic grazing animals will go to water as agroup/herd/flock if the water is over about 900 feet (275 m) away fromwhere the animals are grazing. When closer to a water source, animals willtend to come as individuals. When animals go as a group, it means weneed a water system with more capacity. That means we will probably seemore manure and urine spread outside the grazing area (in the lane andaround water source), and we will see less uniform grazing if the animalsare in a multi-day grazing paddock. Due to the law of least effort, theanimals will graze so as to minimize the amount of walking they have todo to get to water.

What this really means is that if you move the water, you move wherethe animals will graze. Grazing stock can trail long distances to water, stockcan use loose snow for water, and even high output animals like lactatingdairy cows can get by on water only at the barn. However, knowing thepower of water to move where animals graze, knowing that depending ondistance from water, stock will have different watering patterns, andappreciating that new technology has provided us with so many low costand effective ways to move water, we can use water as a powerful way toinfluence our grazing animals.

Fence and Fencing SystemsBarbed wire has had the greatest impact on how we graze animals in

the U.S., and I think has been one of the most misused tools. Barbed wirewas not as costly as herding or rail or rock fences, but too costly (wethought) for us to put up a lot of small paddock fences, so we ended upwith animals confined to season long pastures. While I said tools aren’tgood or bad, there is no doubt that how tools are used can lead tounproductive results. I think that barbed wire allowed us to make a lot ofunproductive decisions when it comes to how we balanced theplant/grazing animal interaction.

The flip side to barb wire is the power, flexibility, and low cost ofelectrified fencing which is a psychological barrier and not a physicalbarrier. I see a similar analogy to using new herding techniques that moveanimals out of riparian areas by “placing” them where we want them andnot just “chasing/forcing them out of the creek.” Electrified fencing is thecheapest machinery around to ration out pasture to grazing stock over ayearlong basis. With a reel of poly wire or poly tape and a portable fencer,you could graze your way around the world (almost). Most people haveenough grass, they just don’t have enough fence or control of where theyplace their animals.

Plant and Animal KnowledgeWe usually think of tools as “things”—shovels, hammers, etc,. but

knowledge is as powerful as any tool you can acquire to park in your shop.Knowing why things happen, knowing what to do, knowing the response toyour actions are all very powerful tools that we can use to our advantageevery day. Do you know the names of every plant that grows in yourpasture? How many bites per minute you cows are taking on your pasture?How your grazing this year will impact plant growth next year?

Grazing is both an art and science, and to be a “good grazier,” youneed to study and learn everything you can about what makes a healthysoil and productive plant community, what needs a grazing animal has tomeet to productively turn that solar energy into a saleable commodity(meat, milk, fiber), and most importantly, how little you can do to let allthese good things happen. Please invest in yourself. Your new knowledgewill not rust or rot and will return with compound interest.

Grazing StrategiesThere’s a lot of talk today about “mob” or “ultra –high density

grazing” and all its advantages. We have heard about the evils ofcontinuous or set stocking, but the different grazing strategies are just tools.You wouldn’t use a tack hammer to pound rail road spikes and using asledge hammer to hang pictures in the house may generate some collateraldamage. My point is the different grazing strategies are all just ways tocontrol the plant/animal interaction and all have pros and cons. I think ofmob grazing as using a sledge hammer. It can get quick results, but takeslots of effort and mistakes can be costly. However, is it very powerful tool forlandscape reclamation.

Set stocking is of course the easiest way to go, can actually generategood per animal performance if stocking rate are low enough, but, overtime, the animals will eat the best and leave the rest. You will have adecline of landscape or plant and soil community health and per land unitproductivity will be low and decline from there.

There is a lot of middle ground and that’s where most people graze—some type of rotational to management intensive grazing. But there is noone grazing strategy that is right for all people in all situations. Eachgrazing operation is unique. The different ways to graze are just tools tohelp you achieve your grazing goals. For some people, mob grazing is thetool they will find most effective and then there are people for whom lowerstocking rates are the way to go. The outcome of grazing is to achieve yourgrazing goals as they apply to your holisticgoal and the desired outcomesyou want to see on the land and in your business. The other point mayseem obvious but is often overlooked. During any given grazing season,you may graze some paddock as set stocked, you may mob graze somepaddocks, and then next year you may apply your grazing strategy tools ina different routine or sequence. In fact, you should probably use a diversityof grazing methods with a diversity of grazing animals as we want to havediversity in the plant and soil community. With a written grazing plan you

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13


The Briar Experimentby Mark Brownlee

Ihad one corner of a paddock that was pretty thick with briars as tallas 4 feet (1.3 m). I also had multiflora rose and a variety of sprouts,some big tall weeds. I put the cows in there to graze what they couldand to trample as much as possible without being too hard on animal

performance. Those briars make moving polywire a real challenge. I had noticed that there are no briars in the farm lanes so it seemed to

me that there must be a threshold of abuse that the briars could not handle.I thought it would be great if I could use stock density to provide the abuse,but the cows made paths through them and then stick to their paths.

I noticed while walking through the briars if I stepped on the bigstemmy ones, quite often they would stay flat on the ground. If I had a wayto get them flat on the ground, the grass would have a chance to grow overthem and smother them out. Also, the next time through the paddock, thecows would now walk on top of any briar laying down flat.

I tried mowing them, which looks really good, but they immediatelystart regrowing from the roots, and the grass cannot get ahead of them. Ibelieve that once my desirable forages get thick enough I can outcompetethe briars with the help of stock density.

I first thought of knocking down the briars with a field disk, but optedfor two fresh cut cedar trees chained together and dragged behind mytractor. It doesn’t get them all, but it was a huge improvement.

I started with that first patch in September 2009 and liked the resultswell enough to do all the rest of my paddocks that had a briar problem inthe fall of 2009. In the spring and summer of 2010 where the briars hadbeen very thick, grass and clover came in. I also had lots of new briarseedlings. It seems to me that high density grazing stimulates every seed inthe ground—good and bad.

My method thus far has been to graze these areas first with two per daymoves and let the cows graze and trample as much as possible. Then I dragover the briars. My recovery currently is over 120 days, so it will be quite awhile before the cows are back. I don't have any real conclusions abouttiming on this method yet. I have been wondering if the time of year mightbe a major factor in how effective this method is. The one thing I amcertain of that there is a level of abuse that briars cannot withstand becausemy farm lanes have hardly any briars at all.

Most people with a briar problem would use a chemical application forthe entire field and maybe that is what I should have done years ago, but Ihave a problem with killing all of my clover and native prairie forbs. Itseems that some areas that I treated with the cedar tree last year are muchbetter this year, while some areas are only a little better this year.

Brushhogging seems to only stimulate briars, and they are already

growing back in a week or so, while dragging them flat gives the grass achance to grow over the top of them. I'm fairly convinced my theory iscorrect, but I am not sure I have figured out the best method yet becausemany of the shorter briars spring right back up.

The exciting part to me is that for years I have fought the briar andsprout problem, and really was starting to fall further behind. Now withthe tool of high stock density and using the cedars to help with the herdeffect, I feel that I have finally started to win the battle.

To tell the complete story, I have to admit that I spot spray rose bushesand small clumps of briars. That may not be completely holistic, but Iopted for this as opposed to spraying the whole field. I still have too muchfarmer in me.

What I have noticed about the briars is that there are very few seedbearing plants this year. I believe that nearly all of the briars that I haveare new plants. Whether they grew from seed or from old roots I cannotsay for sure.

This is a lead plant phototaken around the middleof August 2010 on thesame rocky hillside as thephoto below.

This is the steep shallowhillside. This photos was

take during a dry spell inthe summer of 2010, butthis hillside is as green as

if it had been watered,thick with little blue stemand other native species.

This is the third year ofhigh density grazing on

this farm.

The area on the right inthis photo has had thecedar tree dragged over it.The area on the left has notbeen done yet. You can seethe large areas with briars.This hill side has never hadmuch grass on it, mostlybroom sedge and a littlebit of little bluestem.

This area was recentlygrazed (July 2010) ataround 150,000pounds/acre (kg/ha) stockdensity. You can see that theblackberry briars are stillstanding. Cows make pathsthrough them leaving thebriars and a lot of otherplant material standing.


An interesting side note is that rodents were thick all winterin the tall grass. I have seen lots of field mice in hay fields inthe summer time before, but I never saw so many in the winterbefore. I suppose that mice have always eaten cocklebur seeds;I just never saw it before. I have seen rabbits return on bothfarms after being absent for many years. Rabbits do run incycles, but the additional cover has to be very beneficial towildlife. Deer like the tall grass and hang around more often.Turkeys also like to nest out in the tall grass. I still have somequail around and thought there were a few more last year thanthe year before. Last year several Missouri Department ofConservation biologists came to see the farm. They were veryimpressed with the amount of year round cover this type ofgrazing provides. They were a little afraid that my plantpopulation might be too thick for baby quail. I believe that if they get behind the cows the additional insect population will be very beneficial and the cover will be about perfect for them.

Mark Brownlee farms near Lowry City, Missouri andcan be reached at: [email protected].

Beef and Birds on Public Lands—Mob Grazing Event on Jeffery Island by Mae Rose Petrehn

In early June 2010, over 50 people gathered to learn the story of how,with some innovative ranching, collaboration and open minds, anisland off of Nebraska’s Platte River was dramatically transformed insix years. Attendees came from as far as Texas and Iowa to spend a day

in South Central Nebraska with speakers from a wide variety of experiencewith the area. Some had been involved with the management of the islandsince it was purchased by the Nebraska Public Power and IrrigationDistrict in 1999, and some had been brought on to manage and monitorin recent years. Kent Aden, Assistant Real Estate Administrator for theJeffery Island Habitat Area (JIHA), has seen the complete transformation ofnot only the physical landscape, but also of the attitude of the managersinvolved in making decisions about the area due to the improvements onthe land from well managed, high stock density grazing.

JIHA is a sandy riparian area with a mixture of upland grasslands andsome timber within a channel of the Platte River, one of the most developedrivers in the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)deemed the area part of critical habitat for cranes migrating north toCanada, Alaska, and Siberia. When the Public Power and Irrigation Districttook on management of JIHA, much of it was directed towards cranes inspecific, but wildlife in general. A number of factors from past managementencouraged the thick Canada thistle, cheatgrass and hemp. Attempts toeradicate these species were unsuccessful, including aerial and boomherbicide application at least once annually, and periodic burning. TheUSFWS as well as the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission expressedconcerns regarding economic and environmental costs of the herbicideprogram, with an annual tab of about $25,000.

As a tool to increase the presence of native grass cover and quality wildlifehabitat, the District agreed to work with Chad Peterson of Newport, Nebraskato gear a grazing program towards this objective. Chad had by this timegained a reputation in a style of grazing that has generated much interest,popularly termed “mob” grazing. Using not only high stocking densities

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Cows in a mob eating thistles.

Mice-chewedcockleburshowingincreasedwildlifeherbivoreactivity

have a better chance a managing that diversity andcomplexity successfully.

These four tools for grazing can aid you in achieving yourgrazing goals and most importantly, can be part of your“planned grazing program.” With the clearly defined focus ofyour holisticgoal, your annual grazing objectives, and thewritten grazing plan that maps out the moves based onmanagement considerations, you have the key ingredients foran effective grazing plan. In my next article I’ll focus on howto write a user friendly grazing plan that will guide yourgrazing strategy.

Ben Bartlett is a Holistic Management CertifiedEducator, a DVM, and an Extension Educator at MichiganState University. He can be reached at:[email protected].

Using Grazing Tools Effectivelycontinued from page eleven


(between 500,000 lbs. –1.5 million lbs of liveweight/ac or 567,500 kg/ha to1,702,500 kg/ha), Chad and manager Alex Milbach adapted to the changesin vegetation from year to year using different species and classes of livestock.

Goats were used initially, in combination with cow/calf pairs, due to theirability to target species mentioned above, but also leafy spurge, salt cedar,eastern red cedar, and common mullein. Once these species were controlledby perfecting the timing and intensity of the grazing program, stockers wereused because of Milbach’s observation that they tend to stick closer togetheras they graze, allowing for more animal impact. Animal impact, as practicedon the JIHA, allows some plants to be severely grazed and others to betrampled. The combination of these two actions opens even a dense grasslandcanopy to light, but also allows litter to cover bare ground and, in the rightconditions over time, be absorbed into the soil as organic matter. Using theseprinciples, the JIHA saw the incidence of thistles in monitored plots go fromalmost 50% of plant species in 2006, to only 13% in 2009. They have alsodocumented over 109 bird species on the island.

Ultra high stock density in combination with animal impact and restprove to be promising for both wildlife management and a profitablelivestock enterprise.

Mae Rose Petrehn is a Certified Educator trainee. She can be reachedat: [email protected].

Beef and Birds on Public Lands continued from page thirteen

Goats being used to control leafy spurge.

An area that was almost 100% thistle immediately after grazing

Grass begins to establishamong theresidue ofthistle trampleddown bycattle.

Same area after sufficient recovery for grasses to begin growing and establish.

Chad Peterson, son Luke,and Bob Scriven estimatetons of forage during theevent among thick warmseason grasses.Estimations in June were10,000 lbs of DM/acre(11,350 kg/ha). BySeptember, grasses weresignificantly taller thanin this picture.

2010 musk thistle count in sample areas was 2 plants.


Did you know that:• Bacteria are among the earth’s primarydecomposers of organic matter and withoutthem we would be smothered in our ownwastes in a matter of months.

• Anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 bacteriacould fit inside the period at the end of thissentence.

• There are 7,000 or so species of earthworms,and that before early European settlers transported them in potted plants,ship ballast and other means, there were no earthworms in North America.

• Some plants prefer soils dominated by fungi; others prefer soilsdominated by bacteria.

• Most grasses do best in bacterial dominated soils, and most trees andshrubs prefer fungally-dominated soils.

• Applications of synthetic fertilizers kill off most or all of the soil food webmicrobes.

These are just a few of the fascinating facts you will learn in the revisededition of Teaming with Microbes. Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis team up tobring ing with Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to The Soil FoodWeb. Although this book was written primarily with gardeners in mind, we allhold a stake in understanding what a healthy or unhealthy soil food webconsists of.

The authors depict a healthy soil food web as teeming with life anddescribe the interactions between plants and the various microorganisms.Although these interactions in the soil food web are extremely complex, theyexplain this complexity in a way that allows the story of life in the soil to beeasily understood. This revised edition updates the original text and includestwo new chapters on mycorrhizae (beneficial associations fungi form withgreen-leaved plants) and archaea (single-celled organisms once thought to beallied to bacteria).

When we use chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, and otherinorganic toxic substances, we injure or destroy the microbial life that sustainshealthy plants, and thus we become more and more dependent on thesecrutches that are toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But, there is analternative to this approach by managing in a way that strengthens the soilfood web.

In the Holistic Management framework we know that living organisms area tool for managing ecosystem processes. Allan Savory says that with thedevelopment of synthetic fertilizers, we changed our focus from feeding the soilto feeding the plants, with catastrophic consequences. Life begins and isduplicated in the soil food web which in turn sustains all life on earth.Teaming with Microbes describes this interaction, which unlike the approachof conventional agriculture, is entirely sustainable. The title of the last chapterin the book is “No one ever fertilized an old growth forest.” The authorsdescribe the complex interactions between plants and all the community oforganisms as a natural system operating without interference from human-made fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Plants flourish, nonetheless ,thanks to bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and the rest of the soil foodweb gang.

I have come to the realization that as a land manager I used to call myselfa cattle rancher, then later a grass manager. Now I feel my true job descriptionis microbe farmer.

Randy Holmquist is a Certified Educator trainee and cattle producer.He can be reached at: [email protected].

Book Review by Randy Holmquist

As I prepare to step into a new role as Past Chair ofHMI and Sallie Calhoun prepares to step into the newrole of Board Chair for HMI, my number one feelingis that I am very excited about Sallie bringing her

energy and ideas to that role. HMI is in great shape; we havean excellent staff, a good number of for pay and non-profitactivities, and the Board/staff team are working together tokeep the focus on our statement of purpose. The past threeyears have been eventful; we hired a new CEO, our founders,Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield, stepped away from HMI tostart a new for profit organization, and the general economytook a serious nose dive.

Maybe I am the eternal optimist, but these changes andchallenges have really had a silver lining for me. HMI is asmall not for profit organization that is dedicated to “teachingand spreading the practice of Holistic Management,” andecision making tool. If we are about “making gooddecisions,” then the real test is “did HMI use HolisticManagement decision making tools as an organization whenfacing these changes and is Holistic Management really thatgood of a decision making tool?” The short reply is YES andYES. There is no doubt in my mind that HMI would not behere today if it wasn’t for the power of the HolisticManagement decision making. Holistic Management decisionmaking is about having a clear understanding of who are allthe decision makers who need to be part of the decision andwho are part of the resource base, but not part of thedecision—done. Holistic Management decision making asksyou to have a clear statement of purpose—done. HolisticManagement decision making also helps you focus on whatyou want and test your actions towards your purpose and yourdecision-making compass (the holisticgoal)—done. HolisticManagement decision making is about monitoring thosedecision to make any corrections as quickly as possible—done.

I believe HMI is more robust, more focused and in bettershape than ever to accomplish its purpose because of ourpractice of Holistic Management through challenging times.The challenges of the last three years have resulted inimprovement, refinement and a re-focusing of our productsand services to better serve the Holistic Management networkand take Holistic Management mainstream. I know Sallie willbe building on these changes to make HMI more effective andmore productive in the future.

Thank you to everyone who has an interest in HolisticManagement. Your interest, practice and support of HolisticManagement and HMI is vital. I strongly encourage you to getmore involved; call HMI or a Holistic Management CertifiedEducator for more information on how Holistic Managementcan help you achieve your goals. Take a class and makeHolistic Management part of your life. And if you find HolisticManagement valuable in your life, please support the HMIorganization with your time, talent, and treasure. Thank youto all. I hope you find as much increased peace and prosperitywith the practice of Holistic Management as I have.

F r om t h e B o a r d C h a i r by Ben Bartlett

Teaming withMicrobesBy Jeff Lowenfels& Wayne LewisTimber Press •2010 • pp. 220

Beginning Women Farmer Training A Success

In October 2009, HMI received a $639,301 grant from USDA/NIFAto teach Whole Farm Planning to Beginning Women Farmers inthe Northeast. Our key objectives in the first year were to recruitand train 90 beginning women farmers (farming for less than 10years) in six states (New York, New Hampshire, Vermont,Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine). Each state had a localcoordinator that helped to coordinate the 10 trainings that tookplace throughout 2010, both on farm and off farm.

To support these trainings, Project Director, Dr. Ann Adamsworked with Regional Coordinators, Phil Metzger and SethWilner to prepare instructors. In addition, we held two webinarsand hosted a Yahoo Group that listed course events on a groupcalendar and allowed participants to share files.

In addition, HMI recruited 12 sites on which we would collectbaseline biological monitoring data (soil surface health, organicmatter %, plant species diversity, etc.). In turn, the participantsselected agreed to try various soil health improvement practices(planned grazing, bale grazing, cover crops, etc.) and we would thenrepeat biological monitoring at the end of years 2 and 3. HMI is alsoresponsible for training 9 Whole Farm Planning Trainers. Werecruited 11 trainers who prepared for the first training sessions thatbegan in October 2010.

Change Due to ProgramBased on the evaluations collected (averaged across states), there

was a number of changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavior.

% Change in % of CorrectCourse Knowledge Answers

Intro. to Holistic Management 100%Financial Planning 100% 71%Business Planning 100% 84%Time Management 97%Soil Fertility 100% 80%Land Planning 100% 71%Holistic Planned Grazing 100% 47%Leadership & Communication 100%

When queried about attitude change, 95% of participants saidthey had gained confidence about writing a business plan andindicated they understood the value of a written business planbeyond its usefulness for obtaining a bank loan. Likewise, just underhalf of participants (44%) reported that the testing questions wouldbe helpful to them on their farms. In regards to marketing, 83% ofparticipants said they will tie their marketing decisions to theirholisticgoal/farm mission statement.

Other changed behavior noted was that 100% of participants saidthey would use the life planning/time management tools taught inthe time management class, 82% of participants committed tomonitoring soil health on farm as a result of the soil fertility class,58% of participants will use some method to assess forage based onknowledge they learned in the holistic grazing class, 88% ofparticipants said they would structure farm or family meetingsdifferently based on the skills they learned in the leadership and

Development Corner


Texas Regional Report

In August, HMI Texas held the final of 4 Drought Mitigation Workshopsfunded by a Farm Aid grant. Walt Davis had been teaching all thedrought mitigation classes. He was injured in a fall just 2 weeks beforethis class. Guy Glosson to the rescue! We had a full house of 30

participants in Bastrop, Texas, one of the hardest hit areas in the nationduring the 2007-2008 drought. Participants came from as far away asIowa and Florida to absorb the wisdom of both Walt (through the printednotebook) and Guy (live and in person).

Discussions during the two-day workshop were lively and participantperception was, “we all learn from each other.” Much attention was given tothe testing questions as one of the most valuable tools in HolisticManagement. Several real-life actions were tested, first using scenarios fromGuy’s situation at Mesquite Grove Ranch then working through situationsfrom several of the participants.

Our lunch sponsors had an opportunity to speak to the group during thelunch hour. Lee Rinehart was there from Fayetteville, Arkansas representingATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural America), which isconsidering opening an office in San Antonio. Alan Rossing of Lakota WaterCompany showed photos of a variety of rainwater catchment systems, andGraeme Wright of Advantage Metal Roofs enlightened the group about newinnovations in roofing materials and design.

Written evaluations indicate the dominant “golden nuggets” gleanedfrom the workshop centered around holism—the importance of aholisticgoal, testing decisions and working with the whole system to create healthy resilient land. Many mentioned the concept that healthy soil is covered soil. The tools of grazing, animal impact and rest created an “ah-ha” for some in the group.

It is one thing to attend a workshop like this, and another to actually takethe actions to implement the new knowledge. Participants each wrote onestep they would take in the next 21 days as a result of this training. Entriesindicate people are ready to pay more attention to the condition of the landand modify grazing accordingly. Several are ready to really sit down withtheir management teams to create a holistic goal and enjoy the planningprocess. One intends to start saying “y’all.”

Spring Branch Ranch Field Day wrapped up the Bastrop event August 14.The guest list topped out at 59! Ranch owner Melissa Cole described herholisticgoal and explained some of the management decisions we would seeon the ranch tour. The group enjoyed head-high little bluestem and otherprairie grasses. Carl Brockman of Natural Texas sponsored a great “ElginBarbecue” lunch and demonstrated his forestry mower, which can selectivelymulch individual trees where they stand in the forest. Long time holisticmanager and wildlife biologist Mike McMurry did a great job helping folks

understand the role ofHolistic Management inmanaging a wildliferanch like this one.

Melissa Cole, ownerof the Spring Branch Ranch,checks bird boxes as part of the field dayevents at the ranch.


communication class, and 76% of the participants increased theirconflict resolution skills as a result of their training incommunication.

While there have been many comments about the profoundchange women have experienced in this program, one commentin particular gives voice to the collective experience this programhas generated:

“Being involved with this class has been significant for me intwo ways—it has given me a completely new approach toplanning for my own land and farming aspirations, and it hasshown me a system for assisting farmers that views all aspects oftheir lives, land, and business as equal parts of the whole that canbe managed sustainably without sacrifice.

“From a young age, I have wanted to farm. ‘You can’t make aliving farming,’ was often the refrain. The broader question in mymind was always ‘How will I ever be able to make a go of this onmy own?’ Holistic Management has changed my perspective onhow farming as a livelihood can be approached.”

Instructor Dean Bascom with New Hampshire NRCS (left) and LocalCoordinators Kate Kerman of Small and Beginning Farmers of New Hampshire,Jessie Schmidt of University of Vermont, and Bill Duesing of Connecticut NOFA allparticipated in the Beginning Women Farmers’ Coordinator Meeting that tookplace in August of this year.

Instructor Erica Frenay of Small Farm Program of Cornell (left), RegionalCoordinator Phil Metzger of Central New York RC&D, and Local CoordinatorsLauren Lines of Central New York RC&D, Devon Whitney-Deal of CommunityInvolved in Sustaining Agriculture, and Gail Chase of Women in AgricultureNetwork of Maine also participated in the Coordinators’ Meeting held inRensselear, New York.

TheMassachusettsBeginningWomenFarmer Groupmet atSilvermineFarm for thesoil fertilitysession.

The VermontBeginningWomenFarmer Groupmet at RiverBerry Farmfor their soilfertilitysession.

The New York Beginning Women Farmer Group met at AdeleHayes’ farm to learn about her farming operation.

The Maine soil fertility program was held at Bagaduce Farm.

The ConnecticutBeginning WomenFarmer Group wascoordinated byConnecticut NOFA.It had the highestpercentage offarmers who hadbeen farming forone year or less,with 45% fallinginto that category.

Meeting with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

HMI’s Texas Regional Director AmyNormand attended a meeting with U.S.

Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack to discusswhat needs to be included in the 2011 FarmBill. Amy Normand presented HMI’sbackground and our work with agriculturalproducers as a lead in to asking how the2011 Farm Bill can begin to support farmersand ranchers who are improving ecosystemresults on their lands rather than justsupporting certain types of practices.Secretary Vilsack asked for more informationabout HMI and our work which we havegiven him. If you get an opportunity to makecomments on the 2011 Farm Bill, be sure tomention the importance of HolisticManagement.

Sustainability Certification

Chico State University in Chico, California is in the process of developing a Sustainability Management Certificationthrough a consortium organized by theCollege of Business. HMI is involved in thiseffort as part of the consortium that islooking at all stake holders focused onsustainability including—government, non-government, academia, and industry.One of the key focal points is a certificationexam. Senior Director of Education,

Dr. Ann Adams, is working with ChicoState Agriculture professor, Lee Altier todetermine how Holistic Management will beintegrated into this exam. There is currentlya sustainability minor at Chico State, butthis consortium is also developing studyguides for this national program which willbegin in 2012.

Holistic Manager Win Environmental Award

Holistic Management practitioners Glen and Dawn Ekert of Wapella,

Saskatchewan, Canada won the 2010 TESA(The Environmental Stewardship Award)from the Saskatchewan StockgrowersAssociation. Their first words about winning the award was “It was HolisticManagement that got us this award.”

The Saskatchewan Stock GrowersAssociation, Ducks Unlimited Canada, andRBC Royal Bank recognize excellence inenvironmental stewardship in the ranchingindustry through this award, looking atinnovative and successful approaches toenvironmentally and economically sustainable cattle production. This award has been received by a number of HolisticManagement producers in the past, including Don and Bev Campbell andTom and Lois Wood. Congratulations Glen and Dawn!


T h e

news from holistic management international � people, programs & projects

Nebraska GatheringOn September 14-15, 2010, Terry Gompert of University

of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension hosted a HolisticManagement Conference in Creighton, Nebraska.Approximately 70 people attended this conference to hearpresentations from Rodger Savory (Allan Savory’s son andlong time Holistic Management practitioner), Neil Dennis(high stock density grazier), Dilak Thiman (researcher onhow grassfed production influences animal fats), Ann Adams(author of At Home with Holistic Management), and GeorgeWagner (dung beetle expert).

Also at the event were some of the members of HMI’s 2008Certified Educator Training Program for which Terry Gompertwas the instructor. Most of these trainees will be graduating atthe end of 2010. Congratulations to Ralph Tate and JoshuaDukart, for completing all requirements!

From left to right: Certified Educator Trainees:Ralph Tate, Tom German, Joshua Dukart,Torray Wilson, Erin Wilson, and Mae RosePetrehn (not pictured here: Katie Rosing Millerand Chad Peterson).

Terry Gompert began the conference with atalking circle in which all presenters andparticipants spoke. Here Holistic ManagementEducator Margaret Smith (left) and TerryGompert, listen to Certified Educator traineeMae Rose Petrehn talk about her experiencecombining her work on obtaining a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture with her HolisticManagement training.

Certified Educator traineeTorray Wilson explainsHolistic Managementwhile juggling.

George Wagner, aNebraska goat andcattle producer, has become an authority ondung beetles. Heshared his photoarchives of multipledung beetle speciesin action.

Rodger Savory, Allan Savory’s son, presentedon the Beginnings of Ultra-High Stock DensityGrazing and talked about the results he wasable to achieve in Zambia and Zimbabwe.


CALIFORNIA

Richard King1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954707/769-1490 • 707/794-8692(w)[email protected]

* Christopher Peck1330 Gumview Road, Windsor, CA 95492707/[email protected]

� Rob RutherfordCA Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis Obispo, CA 93407805/[email protected]

COLORADO

Cindy Dvergsten17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323970/[email protected]

GEORGIA

Constance Neely1421 Rockinwood Dr., Athens, GA 30606 706/540-2878 • [email protected]

MAINE

Vivianne Holmes239 E Buckfield RoadBuckfield, ME 04220-4209207/336-2484 • [email protected]

MICHIGAN

* Ben BartlettN4632 ET Road, Traunik, MI 49891906/439-5210 (h) • 906/439-5880 (w)[email protected]

* Larry Dyer1113 Klondike Ave, Petoskey, MI 49770-3233231/439-8982 (w) • 231/347-7162 (h)[email protected]

MONTANA

Roland Kroos 4926 Itana Circle, Bozeman, MT 59715406/522-3862 • [email protected]

* Cliff MontagneP.O. Box 173120, Montana State University Department of Land Resources &Environmental Science, Bozeman, MT 59717406/994-5079 • [email protected]

NEBRASKATerry GompertP.O. Box 45, Center, NE 68724-0045402/288-5611 (w)[email protected]

Paul Swanson5155 West 12th St., Hastings, NE 68901402/463-8507 • [email protected]

Ralph Tate1109 Timber Dr., Papillion, NE 68046402/932-3405 • [email protected]

NEW HAMPSHIRE

� Seth Wilner24 Main Street, Newport, NH 03773603/863-4497 (h) • 603/863-9200 (w)[email protected]

NEW MEXICO

� Ann AdamsHolistic Management International1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102505/[email protected]

Kelly Boney4865 Quay Road L, San Jon, NM 88434575/[email protected]

Kirk GadziaP.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004505/867-4685, (f) 505/[email protected]

NORTH DAKOTA

Wayne Berry1611 11th Ave. WestWilliston, ND 58801701/[email protected]

Joshua Dukart2539 Clover Place, Bismarck, ND 58503701/870-1184 [email protected]

OREGON

Jeff Goebel52 NW Mcleay Blvd.Portland, OR 97210541/[email protected]

PENNSYLVANIA

Jim Weaver428 Copp Hollow Rd.Wellsboro, PA 16901-8976570/724-7788 • [email protected]

TEXAS

Guy Glosson6717 Hwy. 380, Snyder, TX 79549806/237-2554 [email protected]

Peggy MaddoxP.O. Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943-0694325/392-2292 • [email protected]

� R. H. (Dick) RichardsonUniversity of Texas at AustinSection of Integrative BiologySchool of Biological SciencesAustin, TX 78712 • 512/[email protected]

UN I T E D S TAT E S

UN I T E D S TAT E S

IN T E RNAT IONA L

WASHINGTON

Sandra Matheson228 E. Smith Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226360/398-7866 • [email protected]

Doug Warnock1880 SE Larch Ave., College Place, WA 99324509/540-5771 • 509/856-7101 (c)[email protected]

WISCONSIN

Andy Hager, 715/678-2465W. 3597 Pine Ave., Stetsonville, WI 54480-9559

Larry Johnson, 608/455-1685 W886 State Rd. 92, Brooklyn, WI [email protected]

* Laura PaineWisconsin DATCP N893 Kranz Rd., Columbus, WI 53925608/224-5120 (w) • 920/623-4407 (h)[email protected]

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

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

Certified Educators

Certified Educators

� These educators provide HolisticManagement instruction on behalf of the institutions they represent.

* These associate educators provideeducational services to their communities and peer groups.

AUSTRALIA

Judi Earl73 Harding E., Guyra, NSW [email protected]

Mark GardnerP.O. Box 1395, Dubbo, NSW [email protected]

* Paul GriffithsP.O. Box 3045, North Turramura, NSW 2074, Sydney, NSW61-2-9144-3975 • [email protected]

George Gundry Willeroo, Tarago, NSW 258061-2-4844-6223 • [email protected]

Graeme Hand 150 Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 330261-3-5578-6272 (h) • 61-4-1853-2130 (c)[email protected]

* Helen LewisP.O. Box 1263, Warwick, QLD 437061-7-46617393 • [email protected]

Brian MarshallP.O. Box 300, Guyra NSW 236561-2-6779-1927 • fax: [email protected]

Dick Richardson Bonnie Doone1497 Little Plains Road, Boorowa NSW 258661 0 263853217 (w) • 61 0 263855284 (h)61 0 429069001 (c) • [email protected]

Bruce WardP.O. Box 103, Milsons Pt., NSW 156561-2-9929-5568 • fax: [email protected]

Brian WehlburgPine Scrub Creek, Kindee, NSW, [email protected]

Jason VirtueP.O. Box 75, Cooran, QLD 456961-2- 07 5485 [email protected]

CANADA

Don CampbellBox 817 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y6306/[email protected]

Linda & Ralph CorcoranBox 36, Langbank, SK S0G 2X0306/[email protected]

* Allison GuichonBox 10, Quilchena, BC V0E 2R0250/[email protected]

Blain HjertaasBox 760, Redvers, Saskatchewan SOC 2HO306/[email protected]

Brian LuceRR #4, Ponoka, AB T4J 1R4403/[email protected]

Tony McQuail86016 Creek Line, RR#1, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0519/[email protected]

Len PigottBox 222, Dysart, SK, SOH 1HO 306/[email protected]

Kelly SidorykP.O. Box 374, Lloydminster, AB S9V 0Y4780/875-9806 (h)780/875-4418 (c) [email protected]

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HMI’s Certifi ed Educator Training Program is an individualized two-year training program developed to produce excellent Holistic Management facilitators, coaches, and instructors. Tailored to meet your needs and interests.

TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT: Ann Adams • [email protected] • 505/842-5252http://www.holisticmanagement.org/n7/Certifi ed_Educators/CE9_ITP.html

Want to make the world a better place?

Interested in teaching others about Holistic Management?


KENYA

Richard HatfieldP.O. Box 10091-00100, Nairobi254-0723-506-331; [email protected]

Christine C. JostInternational Livestock Research InstituteBox 30709, Nairobi 00100254-20-422-3000; 254-736-715-417 (c)[email protected]

* Belinda LowP.O. Box 15109, Langata, Nairobi254-727-288-039;[email protected]

MEXICO

Ivan A. Aguirre IbarraP.O. Box 304, Hermosillo, Sonora 8300052-1-662-281-0990 (from U.S.)[email protected]

NAMIBIA

Usiel KandjiiP.O. Box 23319, Windhoek264-61-205-2324 • [email protected] NottP.O. Box 11977, Windhoek264/61-225085 (h) 264/[email protected]

Wiebke VolkmannP.O. Box 9285, Windhoek264-61-225183 or [email protected]

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Land Stewardship AllianceCharles Griffith, contact personRoute 5, Box E44Ardmore, OK 73401580/[email protected]

PENNSYLVANIA

Northern Penn NetworkJim Weaver, contact personRD #6, Box 205Wellsboro, PA 16901717/[email protected]

TEXAS

HMI Regional Texas OfficePeggy Cole5 Limestone Trail,Wimberley, TX 78676512/[email protected]

West Station for Holistic ManagementPeggy MaddoxPO Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943325/[email protected]

NEW ZEALAND

* John KingP.O. Box 12011Beckenham, Christchurch [email protected]

SOUTH AFRICA

Jozua LambrechtsP.O. Box 5070Helderberg, Somerset WestWestern Cape 713527-83-310-1940 • 27-21-851-2430 (w)[email protected]

Ian Mitchell-InnesP.O. Box 52Elandslaagte [email protected]

UNITED KINGDOM

* Philip Bubb32 Dart Close, St. Ives,Cambridge, PE27 3JB44-1480-496-2925 (h)+44 7837 405483 (w)[email protected]

ARIZONA

HRM of ArizonaNorm Lowe2660 E. HembergFlagstaff, AZ 86004928/[email protected]

COLORADO

Colorado Branch For Holistic Management®P.O. Box 218Lewis, CO 81327www.coloradoholisticmanagement.orgCindy Dvergsten, webmaster970/882-4222

NEW YORK

Central NY RC&DPhil Metzger99 North Broad StreetNorwich, NY 13815607/334-3231 ext [email protected]

NORTHWEST

Managing WholesPeter DonovanPO Box 393Enterprise, OR 97828541/426-5783www.managingwholes.com

A F F I L I AT E SIN T E RNAT IONA L

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

Holistic Goal Setting and Facilitation ServicesAre you ready to make the most out of your resources?Do you need help dealing with critical human resource issues?Has change taken you by surprise?

To learn more, call HMI at 505/842-5252 or

email Tracy at tfavre@

holisticmanagement.org.

BENEFITS OF HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT FACILITATION INCLUDE:• Elicits key motivators and values

from the group for more effective group decision making

• Improves communication• Improves conflict resolution• Creates a safe environment to have crucial

conversations including generational transfer• Creates common ground from which to

make management decisions and plans


T H E M A R K E T P L A C E

For consulting or educational services contact:

Kinsey Agricultural Services, Inc.297 County Highway 357 Ph: 573/683-3880, Fax: 573/683-6227Charleston, Missouri 63834 Email: [email protected]

DAY 1: WORKING WITH SOIL TESTS AND LIMING

Soil Test Methods, Ideal Soils & Structure, Defining Excellent Soil

Fertility, Soil Sampling, Soil pH Studies, Liming Materials, Using Lime Samples

& Worksheets, Calculating Previous Lime Applied.

DAY 2: BUILDING FERTILITY LEVELS

Cation Displacement Rules, 5 Liming Rules, Calcium & Heavy Soils,

Magnesium & Heavy Soils, Magnesium / Heavy Soils, Calcium-Magnesium / Sand, Sulfur, Compost (Analysis & Evaluation),

Using Compost or Manures.

DAY 3: WORKING TO BUILD NUTRIENTS

Phosphate, Potassium, Sodium, Boron, Iron, Manganese, Copper, Zinc.

WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARD

ORDERS (VISA, MC)

REGISTRATION: $695 per person.

Meals and Lodging not included in this price.

ADVANCED I SOIL FERTILITYWORKSHOPDetermining and Calculating Needed NutrientsDecember 6-8, 2010LOCATION: INDIANAPOLIS MARRIOTT DOWNTOWNINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

For more information

see www.kinseyag.com



4926 Itana Circle • Bozeman, MT 59715

The Business of Ranching

Roland R.H. Kroos(406) 522.3862 • Cell: 581.3038

Email: [email protected]

• On-Site, Custom Courses

• Holistic Business Planning

• Ranchers Business Forum

• Creating Change thru Grazing Planning and Land Monitoring

GRANDINLIVESTOCK SYSTEMS

2918 Silver Plume Dr., Unit C-3Fort Collins, CO 80526

970/229-0703www.grandin.com

CORRAL DESIGNS

By World Famous Dr. GrandinOriginator of Curved Ranch CorralsThe 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:

Kirk L. Gadzia, Certified EducatorPO Box 1100Bernalillo, NM [email protected]

Holistic Management Resource ClassesFebruary 14-19, 2011

Introduction to Holistic ManagementFeb. 14-16: $495

Advanced Holistic Management Training(Requires prior attendance at Intro. Session)

Feb. 17-19: $495

Comprehensive Holistic Management Training

Feb. 14-19: $895

Remember, profitable agriculture is not about harder work.... It is about

making better decisions!

For more information and registration, visit our website: www.rmsgadzia.com

PastureScene

Investigation

Resource ManagementServices, LLC

Participatory approaches for development projects:

• Design and implementation• Monitoring and evaluation• Assessment and lessons• Workshop facilitation

Group and individual training with NGO’s, communities, and farm families:

• Holisticgoal setting• Decision testing• Financial planning• Biological monitoring

Christine Jost Veterinarian • ResearcherProject Design • Certified Educator

20 Years of International Experience !

— CONTACT CHRIS AT —[email protected] • +254-736-715-417

• Save Time!• Does all the grazing planningcalculations for you• Easy SAU feature• Keep track of rainfall• Works on Macs or PC’s that run Excel• Easy forage assessment tool• Comes with User’s Manual

HMI GRAZING PLANNINGS O F T W A R E

TO SEE A DEMO OF THE SOFTWARE GO TO: http://holisticmanagement.org/store//page8.htmlCall 505/842-5252 or order online at www.holisticmanagement.org

LowIntroductory

Price of$100



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

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

See the Big Picture ~ Respond to Change ~ Be Sustainable

Get Started Today – Join Our

Holistic ManagementDistance Learning &Mentoring Program

Realize Immediate BenefitsSave money on education — and get more for your money with highly personalized training. All you need is a telephone, a computer is NOT needed. Learn at your own pace; apply what you

learn to your situation and get results now!

Don’t change your life to learn.Let your education change your life!

Visit: www.wholenewconcepts.comEmail: [email protected]

Call Cindy at 970/882-4222 for a free consultation!

SPEAKERS andPRESENTERS INCLUDE:

Kier BarkerDr. Dwayne BeckDr. Elaine DembeDr. Roger EppJeff Goebel

Save theDate!

Western CanadianHolistic Management Conference

February15-16, 2011

LLOYDMINSTER,SASKATCHEWAN,

CANADA

PLUS . . . MANY HOLISTICMANAGEMENT PRACTITIONERS AND EDUCATORS

WANTED:More Grass

Kelly Boney, Certified Educator

4865 QUAY ROAD LSAN JON, NM 88434

575/[email protected]

REWARD:Heavier Livestock and Greater Profit

Books & MultimediaHolistic Management: A New Framework for Decision-Making,_ Second Edition, by Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $39

_ Hardcover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $55_ 15-set CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $125_ One month rental of CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35_ Spanish Version (soft). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40

_ Holistic Management Handbook, by Butterfield, Bingham, Savory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29_ At Home With Holistic Management, by Ann Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20_ Holistic Management: A New Environmental Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10_ Improving Whole Farm Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13_ Video: Creating a Sustainable Civilization—

An Introduction to Holistic Decision-Making, based on a lecture given by Allan Savory. (DVD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30

_ Stockmanship, by Steve Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35_ The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25_ The Oglin, by Dick Richardson & Rio de la Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25_ 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

TO ORDER

Subscribe to IN PRACTICE_ A bimonthly journal for Holistic Management practitioners

Subscribe for 1 year for only $35/U.S. ($40/International)2 years ($65/U.S.; $70/International) 3 years ($95/U.S.; $105/International)

_ Gift Subscriptions (same prices as above)._ Special Edition: An Introduction to Holistic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5_ Compact Disk Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14_ Bulk subscriptions available.

One year for $17 each/U.S., or $22 each/International______ Please indicate number of one-year subscriptions

_ Back Issues: $5 each; bulk orders (5 or more issues) $3 each. List Please indicate issue numbers desired: ___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___

_ CD of Back Issues: #71 - 130 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$25

Planning and Monitoring Guides

_ Policy/Project Analysis & DesignAugust 2008, 61 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_ Introduction to Holistic ManagementAugust 2007, 128 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$25

_ Financial PlanningAugust 2007, 58 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_ Aide Memoire for Grazing PlanningAugust 2007, 63 pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_ Early Warning Biological Monitoring— CroplandsApril 2000, 26 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15

_ Early Warning Biological Monitoring—Rangelands and GrasslandsAugust 2007, 59 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_ Land Planning—For The Rancher or Farmer Running LivestockAugust 2007, 31 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15

Planning Forms (All forms are padded – 25 sheets per pad)_Annual Income & Expense Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 7

_Livestock Production Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_Grazing Plan & Control Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

Amount $_____________ Please designate program you would like us

to apply contribution toward _________________________________________

up to $15: add $ 5$16 to $35: add $ 6$36 to $50: add $ 8$51 to $70: add $ 9$71 to $90: add $10

over $91: add $12

Shipping & Handling

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT MAIL ORDER EMPORIUMHOLISTIC MANAGEMENT MAIL ORDER EMPORIUM

Questions? 505/842-5252 or [email protected]

SoftwareHolistic Management® Financial Planning (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $149 Grazing Planning software (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100

Pocket CardsHolistic Management® Framework & testing questions, March 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$4

a publication of Holistic Management International1010 Tijeras NWAlbuquerque, NM 87102USA

return service requested

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

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDALBUQUERQUE, NM

PERMIT NO 880


Printed on recycled paper

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, 1010 Tijeras Ave. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102.You can also call in or fax credit card orders. Phone calls to: 505/842-5252; Fax: 505/843-7900.

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

Shipping and handlingcosts to the right are forU.S. media mail only.

Call 505/842-5252 forall other shipping rates.

#134 In Practice, Nov/Dec 2010

Documents

Transcript of #134 In Practice, Nov/Dec 2010