#138, In Practice, Jul/Aug 2011

Changes at HMI!by Sandy Langelier

JULY / AUGUST 201 1 NUMBER 138 WWW.HOLIST ICMANAGEMENT.ORG

healthy land.sustainable future.

The Ian Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Development Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

NEWS and NETWORK

LAND and LIVESTOCK

Multiple Species Management—Ecological and Economic BenefitsBOB STEGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10From the Beginning—Bob StegerANN ADAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Building Soil ProductivityNEAL KINSEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Managing for Biodiversity—The J Bar L RanchANN ADAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

FEATURE STORIES

While focus and expansion may seem like contradictory terms, they are actually quitecompatible and descriptive of some exciting changes here at HMI. We have focused ourmission, refreshed our brand identity, and are moving to larger offices.

As some of you may have noticed, HMI's new mission is now on our masthead on page 2. It reads: HMI exists to educate people to manage land for a sustainable future.

Our new mission statement is a key filter, along with our holistic goal to ensure all our activities and programs are always focused on building a sustainable future through educating people to managethe land sustainably with the tool of Holistic Management. The staff is excited about this articulatedfocus that was developed with the Board of Directors at our March team meeting, and we hope ourcommunity will be as well.

HMI also has a new logo! The overall look, feel and emotional content of the new logo conveys the energy and direction of HMI. It respects the past while looking towards the future. The color palette iscontemporary and inspired by nature and was designed to be memorable, unique and highly functional.While it’s meant to connect with the existing HMI community, we hope this logo will resonate with anew generation of people interested in Holistic Management and excite them about building asustainable future. We’ll be gradually rolling out the new logo and brand identity throughout the year.

As our organization has grown, we've outgrown our offices and we are moving to a larger buildinghere in Albuquerque. We expect the move to be completed by the end of June. If you’re in town, be sureto drop by and say hello. Our new address is: Holistic Management International, 5941Jefferson St. NE, Suite B, Albuquerque,NM 87109. Our phone and fax numbers arestaying the same. Thanks to all those who continueto support our work and share your knowledge andinformation with others. Your efforts inspire our staffand motivate us to work ever harder to spread theword about the results people can achieve withHolistic Management.

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

CARBON RANCHING

On-Farm Research on the Benefits of Applying Raw Milk on Pastures—The Wayne-Egenolf FarmJOSH EGENOLF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Testing Questions—Just Like Riding a BikePEGGY SECHRIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Working with Carbon on the Ranney Ranch—The Interplay of Range Management, Grassfed Beef, Wind, and BiomassNANCY RANNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The Ranney Ranch in Corona, New Mexico istaking an integrated approach to ranching bylooking at a diverse source of income includingcattle sales, wind power, carbon, and biomass.

To learn more about their ranch, turn to page 6.

2 IN PRACTICE � July / August 2011

There is quite a buzz about town about thepossibilities of increasing the quality andquantity of pasture/range production,increasing soil quality, and realizing less

weed pressure using a simply beautiful tool, rawmilk. There is nearly 10 years’ worth ofanecdotes and preliminary study results fromacross the country that perhaps has left morequestions than answers. Not to worry, that’s anatural result of a healthy human curiosity.

What is clear is that applying raw milk topasture and rangeland can:

• increase the tonnage of forage produced(1200 lb/acre gains in 45 days)

• increase the energy, or brix, levels of foragegrown (positive, but varies by species)

• increase the physical quality of the soil byincreasing porosity, infiltration, and decreasingcompaction (200% increase in porosity, 300%decrease in compaction)

Tales from the tailgate also report decreases inpressure by grazing insects, decreases in weedpressure, and increases in average daily gains oflivestock. This knowledge comes to us through thecreativity and hard work of a number of ranchers,scientific specialists, and Extension cooperators;however, they all are calling for more extensiveand focused study of the mechanics driving theseastounding responses and broader on-farm testingwith greater scientific control.

Why Does It Work?What is clear is that raw milk is not a plant

fertilizer, at least not in the direct way as plant-available N, P, K fertilizer. Previous studies haveshown as little as 3 gallons of milk per acreproduced 1,200 pounds of forage per acre in 45days! Sure, the milk does contain some nitrogen,phosphorus, potassium and a suite of other traceminerals, but certainly not in concentrationsneeded to boost plant productivity by this degree.Some other subtle works, likely subterranean, isresponsible.

There are several suggested theories for whyraw milk delivers results. The late Terry Gompert,a progressive Extension Educator and HMICertified Educator, had a strong hunch raw milkwas a microbial stimulant. The milk’s completenutritional profile of amino acid, sugar, andenzymatic structures, paired with a completevitamin B complex, fed existing microbes and the

unpasteurized milk introduced new ones.Microbes make up the bulk of the workforcewhich mineralize organic forms of fertility andmake them plant available. It follows thereasoning “you must feed the soil to feed yourgrass,” and raw milk as soil food seemsreasonable.

I’ve been talking with some academicresearchers, too. I’m working on wrapping up aPh.D. in Ecology – Sustainable Agriculture at theOdum School at the University of Georgia. I’mplanning to use this raw milk study as thecenterpiece in my dissertation. Some of the soilscientists and forage specialists explain raw milkmay alter the chemical composition or ratio ofmicronutrients affecting the base saturation of thesoil. Some nutrients such as calcium, sodium,potassium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, copper,boron, manganese, and zinc have concentrationsin the parts per million scale. As such, even minorchanges in their availability and presence canaffect the availability and effectiveness of thosenutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, andpotassium we identify as the primary drivers ofproductivity. Remember, there is always only onelimiting nutrient at a time. If it is one of thesemicronutrients, then phosphorus that may bepresent may be unavailable. It is the balance ofelements in the soil that is important. Milk mayjust provide that equalizer needed to bring the soilsystem into harmony.

On-Farm Research on the Benefits of Applying Raw Milk on Pastures—The Wayne-Egenolf Farmby Josh Egenolf

Holistic Management International exists to educate people to manage land

for a sustainable future.

STAFFPeter Holter . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chief Executive Officer

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Sandy Langelier . . . . . . . . Director, Communicationsand Outreach

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Amy Normand . . . . . . . . . . . Development Advisor

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BOARD OF DIRECTORSSallie Calhoun, ChairBen Bartlett, Past Chair

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Jim McMullan Jim ParkerJim Shelton Kelly Sidoryk

The David West Station for Holistic Management

Tel: 325/392-2292 • Cel: 325/[email protected]

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HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published

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COPYRIGHT © 2011

HMI was originally founded in 1984 by Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield.

They have since left to pursue other ventures.


Laura Beth Wayne and Josh Egenolf (WE Farm).

We by no means want to take credit fororiginal ideas or basic scientific knowledge. Wefeel there is enough of that in the world and thatit is time to synthesize and bring some practicalimportance and understanding to it. Wayne-Egenolf Farm (WE Farm, www.wefarmlocal.com)is dedicated to producing healthy food from ahealthy landscape, pursuing practical on-farmresearch to test sustainable grass-farming andsilvopastoral practices, and is enthusiastic aboutsharing our experiences and learning from thoseof others. We are in our 3rd year of practicingHolistic Management. We value HolisticManagement as a practical tool for helping uswrangle the complexity of our lives and WE Farmendeavors. We also see the Holistic Managementmodel as providing a medium for marrying hardline, reductionistic scientific exploration withpragmatic, applied on-farm study.

In 2011 and 2012 we plan to answer the call to arms and conduct a study. Our aims are:

1. Understand the dose-response dynamicbetween the timing and level of raw milkapplication and its effect on forage quality andquantity and soil quality. Answer the question,“What happens when I apply X units, at Y time ofthe year, with Z days in between?”

2. Understand the biological and soil fertilitymechanics of why there is a response. Answer thequestion, “What makes raw milk work?”

3. Be able to share with other grass-farmerssome guidelines for applying raw milk on theirfarms and what the cost-benefits might look like.

The Balancing ActThe requirements of basic scientific inquiry

and the realities of managing a working farmmake their union on-farm a difficult one.However, we believe we can balance these twoneeds. Here are some of our considerations.

Scientific investigation mandates control. Forinstance, we need to apply no raw milk to onepasture acre, two gallons to one pasture acre, andfive gallons to another pasture acre, hold all elseequal, and measure the response between eachtreated pasture. This is a typical dose-responsescenario and the zero raw milk treatment iscritical, as it is the baseline. We need to plan anddesign ahead to provide that control on-farm.

Science mandates replication, or redundancy,in several ways. First, at least three replications ofeach treatment are critical, five is better. Forexample, multiple replications help us determinewhat our average and range in forage productionresponses might be. This is a bit more difficult onfarm as it requires more land than a singlereplication and the ability to keep track ofboundaries between treated pastures. Second, themethods and equipment for applying treatments

and measuring their responses must be exactlythe same.

Suppose we apply raw milk in mid-March andagain in mid-September. The same equipmentmust be used when applying zero, two, and fivegallons per acre, it should be applied at roughlythe same half of the day, and theMarch/September measure of responses should betaken in the same manner. The point here is to beconsistent. If we use a wheatgrass juicer and arefractometer to measure sugar, or brix, levels inour forage in the spring, we need to make sure weuse it in the September as well.

A final point with replication; it is important totest more than one point within each pasturebeing treated. For instance, we need to test soilcompaction in at least five places in each treatedpasture to make sure we get a representativepicture of the entire site. A single sample takenwhere the tractor drove last year or where there isa gopher hole will skew results. This starts to seemdifficult on-farm because all this redundancy ineffort can eat up time we need to spend walkingfence lines, checking our herds, or spending timewith our family. However, the knowledge gainedfrom a well designed and performed study maydouble or triple the effect of our efforts and helpuse our precious time better. For that reason Iwould encourage you to think about what on-farm research you would benefit from and begincollaborating and designing that research.

The most difficult scientific requirement tomeet on-farm is limiting confounding factors. Forinstance, to measure the effect of zero versus twogallons of milk per acre on forage production, allother factors that may affect the tons producedshould at least be held constant. If the pasturereceiving no milk is being irrigated and thepasture receiving two gallons of milk is not, then

who is to say the irrigation isn’t skewing thetonnage measured. In this instance, the irrigationon the one pasture is a confounding factor.Confounding factors can also be topographical;one pasture is on the ridge while the other is inthe valley. They can be biological; one pasture isdominated by a warm season grass while theother a cool season; one is grazed and one is not.

The idea is to make everything as comparableas possible with the exception of the treatmentbeing applied. On-farm this is difficult.Management derived factors such as irrigation,stocking rates, and mowing timing are easier tokeep uniform. Natural variability like topography,soil drainage, vegetative cover, and the like aremore difficult. For on-farm research the key is tokeep constant that which is in our control, selectstudy pastures that are as uniform naturally aspossible, and replicate so we have some idea ofhow our responses perform statistically.

Our On-Farm StudyThis is important research to us as we feel the

potential of raw milk as a cost-effective andecologically functional soil and sward stimulantcould be a boon. We are in our first year of a five-year lease on a piece of ground that has had nomanagement other than haying and bushhogging for the past eight years—no grazing, noamendments, no chemicals, just clipping.

A few things others have learned about rawmilk application which makes our leased 150acres of pasture a good candidate research siteinclude:

1. Response to raw milk is greatest onmarginal land. Eight years of haying withoutmanure, fertilizer, or lime has stressed our soil’sfertility.

Number 138 � IN PRACTICE 3

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Experimental Paddock Design at WE Farm.

2. Our soils are heavily compacted.Continuous haying and last year’s haying duringextremely wet conditions have reduced soilporosity, decreased infiltration, and damaged soilaggregates negatively affecting organic matter.

3. Replication is possible. We have established18 individual treatment paddocks within our 35-acre central pasture allowing for six individualtreatments if we replicate each three times (i.e.three controls paddocks and five sets of three rawmilk treatment paddocks).

4. Control of confounding factors isreasonable. On-farm research makes it impossibleto both control for all confounding factors andground the study in reality. We have conductedbaseline soil sampling, Holistic Managementbiological monitoring, and forage quantity andquality sampling to get a pre-management andapplication snapshot. Management treatmentacross the entire study pasture is even currently.We will strive to keep all other management evenacross paddocks and we have chosen eachpaddock boundary to limit variability in soil slope,drainage, and vegetative differences.

Experimental Design:At WE Farm we are designing an experiment

that will allow us to test the questions of “whydoes raw milk work?” and “what happens undervarious application scenarios?” All paddocks willbe grazed, but will include small grazingexclusions. Here’s the nuts and bolts of our design:

Paddock Treatments: 4 treatments, 1 control – replicated 3 times

• No Milk Treatment or Control (3 paddocks)• Raw Milk Treatment 1: 2 gallons/acre –

1 time Spring application (3 paddocks)• Raw Milk Treatment 2: 2 gallons/acre –

1 Spring and 1 Fall application (3 paddocks)• Raw Milk Treatment 3: 2 gallons/acre –

1 Spring, 1 Summer, and 1 Fall application (3 paddocks)

• Pasturized Milk Treatment 1: 2 gallons/acre– 1 time Spring application (3 paddocks)

• Pastureized Milk Treatment 2: 2gallons/acre – 1 time Spring and 1 time Fallapplication (3 paddocks)

Measurements• Soil – complete mineral, pH, cation

exchange capacity, base saturation, and organicmatter, bulk density, aggregate stability, microbial biomass (5 points per paddock: pre- and post-treatment)

• Milk – complete chemical and nutritionalanalyses

• Pasture – soil respiration, soil compaction,water infiltration, forage brix, forage dry matterproduction, HM biological monitoring, foragenutritional quality analyses, forage communitycomposition, livestock stocking rates and density,grazing periods and rest periods

Expected Results:By testing grazed and ungrazed portions of

each paddock we will be able to determine thecontribution of livestock grazing to any soil,forage, or pasture responses. Measuring thechemical and nutritional composition of the milk will help us determine the contribution of the milk to any chemical nutrient changes in the soil. Pasturizing milk destroys the enzymeand vitamin B systems of the milk, thus we cantest the contribution of these parts to anyresponses. Here we hope to understand betterunderstand “why does it work?” If theories aboutraw milk’s nutritional and microbial profile holdtrue then we expect to see a larger positiveresponse from it versus the pasteurized milk.Additionally, by analyzing the chemicalcomposition of the milk we expect to understandhow milk may positively affect the mineralbalance of the soil, thus allowing for greater net primary productivity above ground asmediated by the microbial community below-

ground. We expect to see an increase in thequantity and quality of forage produced, decreased soil compaction, increased soilrespiration, and perhaps more vigorous pastures generally.

It has already been seen that the 2 gallon/acre treatment level is just as effective as a 20 gallon/acre treatment, so we are testingdifferent foliar application timings to see if itproduces a sizable response with each applicationscenario. Here we hope to produce somerecommendations on what to do on-farm that can be shared with others.

TimelineWe will spend the bulk of 2011 gathering

the baseline data and seeking funding and in-kind support for this on-farm research project. In 2012 we plan to apply treatments and continuemeasuring soil, forage, and pasture responses. All the while we’ll be working on improving ourfarm, grazing our grass-fed calves, pastured hogs,and pastured poultry and doing our best to earn a living and have fun while doing it.

If you have tried applying raw milk to yourpastures and you have some sage advice andinsight to share please contact us. We want tomake this on-farm project a success andsomething that can be carried out alongside theoperation of our farm.

Josh Egenolf can be reached at:[email protected].

References UsedStockman Grass Farmer articles

1. “Raw Milk Fertilization Appears To ReduceSoil Compaction And Weeds” by Ralph Voss –September 2010 Issue

2. “Raw Milk Could Be Worth Two To ThreeTimes More Money As Fertilizer” by Ralph Voss –May 2010 Issue

3. “Does Raw Milk Fertilization Really AffectBrix Levels?” by Ralph Voss – October 2010 Issue

“Something New! Spraying Raw Milk onPastures.” Holiday Ranch; websitewww.holidayranch.wordpress.com – February 23rd, 2011 blogpost


Data Mine continued from page three

WE Farm Pasture and Grass-Fed Calves – May 2011

Do you have an idea for on-farm research? Send us your ideas to

[email protected] HEADING: ON-FARM RESEARCH


This webinar focused on the HolisticManagement testing questions and was facilitatedby Certified Educator Roland Kroos. I amfortunate to have known Roland for a long timeand although I keep my schedule tightly packedlike most of you and wondered how I would addone more thing; I knew I would learn somethingvaluable.

Breaking the Change BarrierRoland shared a set of Powerpoint slides he

uses for teaching and started right off with a greatmetaphor and question: Were you born knowinghow to ride a horse and rope a calf? Not withoutpractice. You can fill in any skill you want for thismetaphor—riding a bike, a skateboard, or snowskis. Only through practice do any of us developproficiency in a skill— including the use of thetesting questions. The metaphor makes perfectsense; however, when faced with what feels like acrisis, I have not met many folks who feel theyhave time to practice. Getting some facilitationhelp from a fellow practitioner, a CertifiedEducator, or by contacting HMI can make adifference. The key point is to practice before acrisis occurs. And in many cases – maybe most –resistance to change becomes a barrier.

These barriers cause many to turn away, andrationalize in their mind why the testing questionsare not so important. Roland has found someways to deal with barriers and blocks. To beginwith, list them on a flip chart and just workthrough practical ways to deal with each one. Keypoints to remember are: (1) you don’t need to useevery testing question with every decision; (2) ifyou get stuck, move on to the next question; (3)go through them in any order that feels right toyou; and (4) use them with as many decisions aspossible.

A technique I’ve developed from my ownexperience is to go through the questions quicklyskipping one if needed. At the end, I findsomething will be revealed to you. It may be anawareness of some kind of information you need,or you may discover a potential consequence youcouldn’t see before. Whatever it is you find, it willenhance your decision-making even if it doesn’tgive you a clear pass or fail evaluation. Then justas Roland promises, with practice it will becomeeasier and automatic. Your decision to practice or

not practice is itself a critical decision. Whichchoice leads you towards your quality of life? Youalready know where not practicing leads you.

Testing TipsUsing the testing questions sort of presumes in

my mind that you are testing an action becauseyou have already determined that it could leadtoward your holistic goal and you want to make amore comprehensive evaluation for your triplebottom line. No need to go through the seventesting questions if the action under considerationdoesn’t appear to move you in your desireddirection.

In this article I will not examine eachquestion, but rather share some teaching pointsgleaned from the webinar with some thrown infrom my personal experience. For example, itsometimes seems that the question of the causeand effect test is the easiest one to apply. Andmaybe not. The challenge is to find the true rootcause of a perceived problem. In Roland’sexperience it can be five or six levels deep. Onceyou think you know the cause, then double checkby asking, “What is the cause of that?” again—and again—until you believe you are at a levelwhere an action will create a long-term resolutionif not a permanent one. You’ll know soon enoughif the same or similar problem presents itselfagain.

In the social weak link test, the biggestchallenge is understanding the human dimension(a.k.a. human behavior). Roland’s observation isthat human issues are at the core of most resourcemanagement problems—and I agree. As humanswe tend to look outside of usfor the cause of a problemwhen most likely the root isinside, especially if you aredealing with a recurringproblem over a long period oftime. A helpful tip is toevaluate the relationships ofyour management team—that might also be yourfamily. Roland suggestsassessing the level of trust andthe quality ofcommunication, assessingjoint ownership of the holistic

goal, whether or not the knowledge base isadequate for making sound decisions, checking tosee if individual responsibility is clearly defined,and assessing whether or not mistakes areaccepted as learning opportunities.

These are important and fairly complexrelationship issues. Any one of these points couldcause blockage to moving toward the holisticgoal—and sometimes there is more than onepresent. If you find this to be true in your team,your next set of decisions will either lead yourteam toward resolution or away from it. This is atricky area because the average rancher/farmerhas so little training. Therefore, ask for help. Testthe action of asking for help through thequestions and make your own determination. Inmy experience, it generates a big return—such askeeping the operation going.

As a Certified Educator, I have observed thatbroken relationships are frequently the cause of abroken business. In some cases, everything on theland seems to be working great. But that doesn’tmatter when the relationships break down. I findthat the greatest asset to mending relationships isthe shared commitment to the quality of lifevalues. If that part of the holistic goal is genuineand represents all that is highest priority toindividual team members, then the individualswill more likely work through the steps to mendwhat’s broken.

When we reviewed the financial weak link test,Roland used a diagram new to me and I reallyliked it. It illustrates how a bottleneck in the solarenergy chain from sun to solar dollar can impedeyour ability to achieve your projected profit. It is agood visual that helps explain the concept. ThisWeak Link has also been a tricky one forbeginners to integrate and yet critical to long-termprofitability. This solar energy chain is yourbusiness if you are an agricultural producer. Itmight be worth studying until it is clear and wellunderstood. Keep in mind some learning toolssuch as forming a study group. This is where you

Testing Questions—Just Like Riding a Bikeby Peggy Sechrist

On April 15 I participated in my first webinar for HMI Certified Educators. This is a great forumfor sharing ideas and discoveries about training techniques and, more importantly, deepeningour own understanding of Holistic Management.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6


Working with Carbon on theRanney Ranch—The Interplay of Range Management,Grassfed Beef, Wind, and Biomassby Nancy Ranney

In writing about the Carbon Ranch, I hope you will take away three points:

• Raising grassfed beef has great potential for reducing greenhousegas emissions

• Alternative energy production can make a contribution to ournation’s needs and be consistent with a ranching enterprise, and

• Using livestock as a tool, good grazing and water managementpractices have the amazing potential to pull carbon out of theatmosphere where we don’t want it and into the soil where we do, whereit replenishes the soil matrix and restores our rangelands. Our Westerngrassland soils, if properly managed, have the potential to capturesignificant levels of carbon.

This is our ranch story, our carbon ranch story, and as with all stories it evolved over time. We did not set out to create a “carbon” ranch with all the inter-related parts that I am going to discuss today but one thing led to another over time, in fact quite a short period oftime, over just the past eight years.

The Evolution of a RanchOf course, this land is not “ours.” It has been here for millennia, part

of an island of rocky mesa country set right at the heart of New Mexico,sandstone mesas capped with limestone and threaded by beautiful valleys,harboring over the centuries and through the seasons a startling array offlora, of fauna, and still the hints of early human settlement on the land.Now we ride past the ruins of late nineteenth century homesteads, achimney standing, all that’s left of the home my neighbor’s grandmotherwas born in, cisterns and camps and water retention structures from the1930’s, a heritage that still spoke to our family when our parents boughttwo adjoining ranches near Corona in 1968.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

might test the action of study and training to see if it moves youtoward your holistic goal.

I run into all kinds of folks these days who talk aboutsustainability. If I ask, I find all different kinds of definitions too.Therefore, I really like how Holistic Management uses the ecosystemprocesses to help define part of the sustainability test. This questionbrings us back to basic ecological health as a foundation forsustainability. It seems important in light of our linear minds to lookat the ecosystem as these four processes in order to keep in mind justhow complex and interrelated the ecosystem really is. It seems thatwhen we lose sight of the magnitude of the interrelationships andtheir patterns, we tend to move away from true sustainability.

The remaining testing questions of energy/wealth source and use,marginal reaction, gross profit analysis are all equally important asthe ones already mentioned. Without the structure that these testingquestions offer, you are likely to purchase more off-farm inputs thanneeded, overlook the time aspect of marginal reaction, and chooseyour enterprises based more on preferences than on gross profit, justto name a few of these testing questions’ benefits.

The real crux of the whole topic of testing questions is whether ornot you use them! How we would love to have a magic formula thatwould make everyone automatically begin thinking holistically. As aCertified Educator, I’ve spent years looking for the motivating methodthat gets folks using the testing questions. And I have often wonderedwhy some folks can come to an introductory class and take off like awildfire developing their holistic goal and moving forward rapidly,and others who clearly are searching for a way forward cannot takethe steps necessary to make the changes.

What I have learned is that I cannot change how a persondetermines personal responsibility. Based upon underlying, deepbeliefs we have developed from childhood, our perspective about ourown ability to change and chart a different course for ourselves cansit anywhere along a broad spectrum. The strongest motivation Ihave found for folks is embedded within the holistic goal. That iswhere I suggest they begin testing— everything against their holisticgoal. It seems that when one can begin to see improvements, howeversmall, confidence grows stronger and bigger steps can be taken. Inthe meantime, going through all seven testing questions is easierwhen done in pairs or a team. It can even be done quickly with apartner over the phone.

Proficiency comes from practice. Begin with little decisions tobuild trust in the process and confidence in yourself. Make it a game.Become curious about what might be revealed. You learned to ride abike didn’t you, or ride a horse, or drive a car? You can learn thistoo—with practice.

Peggy Sechrist is a Certified Educator and rancher nearFredricksburg, Texas. She can be reached at: 830/456-5587 [email protected].

Testing Questions continued from page five

Interested in a webinar? Contact HMI [email protected] and let us know of

what webinar topics you’d be interested in. Put “webinar suggestions” in the subject line.

The old and the new technology of wind power is being explored onthe Ranney Ranch as diverse income streams are a necessity for aprofitable ranch.

We started here, in an old log cabin where aneighty-year old neighbor courted his wife in thefifties, while our parents, George and NancyRanney, planned and built a headquarters and aranch home for a manager and finally a homefor themselves. It was a fine place to bring theirgrandchildren and teach them important lifeskills, and we made the most of it. My father’s firstmanager, Bill Brown, introduced us to the cow-calf operation. We tried out a number of differentbreeds and even tinkered with AI, and by the mid1980’s when our current manager, MelvinJohnson came aboard, we were pretty muchAngus/black baldy cow-calf, graciously allowingthe animals to inseminate themselves,concentrating on production weights and pushinghigh stocking rates with traditional conservationpractices on the land.

Our father had heard of the “Savory system,”had even traveled to Australia and Africa to visitranches practicing it, and greatly admired ourneighbor to the south, Sid Goodloe, who wasshowing improvement on his place with grazingand fire regimens, but in the ‘70s and ‘80s, myfather just couldn’t see his way to imposing thosepie-shaped cells onto his rugged range pastures.By the time my dad passed on in 2002 and mythree brothers and I, our spouses and ten childreninherited the ranch as a family partnership, muchhad changed, I had already snuck in to a coupleof Quivira meetings and was anxious to try someof the new approaches.

New Management PracticesOur first step into the Carbon Management

of the ranch was to implement a planned grazing program where pastures are grazed atmost twice a year. Our first good fortune was tohave an experienced manager in Melvin Johnsonwho had already spent 16 years here with his wifeEsther, and who was open-minded enough to tryout most of these crazy new ideas. The second wasto be introduced to an array of expert consultantsby Quivira.

In 2003 we started working with Kirk Gadzia,developing growing and dormant season grazingplans, bringing 21 herds of cattle first into twoherds and then into one. This is working for us.Fuel costs of checking on one herd are lower.Mostly, we need only open gates to move the herdand in the fall at gathering time, there they arenear the pens, where in years past my parents hadspent three or four weeks gathering.

With a later breeding cycle, feed costs aredown, down by a solid 60%. There are increasedcosts to be sure, additional fencing for newpastures and water facilities, but we have takenadvantage of NRCS programs and are planningfor improvements over time.

The most astounding improvement is in the

health of our rangeland. Where we had oncebeen proud of a blue grama monoculture, nowwe see the benefits of a biologically diverse plantcommunity, with cool and warm season grasses,even legumes springing out of the soil. Withinthree years, we saw an increase in organicmatter in our soils and over thirty species ofnative perennial grasses. We knew that wasgood, both for cows and wildlife and forretention of water on the range, but what wehave learned only in the last couple of years ishow good that is for the potential capture ofcarbon in the soil.

Recent studies show that grassland soils havean astounding potential for carbon capture. Onthe ground, experience is showing that plannedgrazing, including management of pastures withshort duration/high-density grazing, is improvingrangeland quality. Intensively managedgrasslands may be the most effective carbon sinkson our continent. At our ranch, analyses in thelast three years show that soils from pasturesunder planned grazing exhibit significantlyhigher levels of soil carbon than from pastureswith traditional set stocking practices.

At the same time that we implementedplanned grazing, we increased our efforts at themanagement of rainfall on the land. We workedwith Craig Sponholtz, Steve Carson and BillZeedyk, identified problem areas and learned theimportance of runoff management, roadconstruction, and how the rolling dip spread waterback onto the landscape. We engaged WetherbeeDorshow to generate a map of the ranch from airphotos and painstakingly gathered GPS pointsthat would replace my father’s hand-drawn mapsand accurately show topography, fences, wells,tanks, pastures and their acreages and allow us tomake wiser planning decisions.

Grassfed Opportunities & ChallengesWe sold our first grassfed animals in the fall of

2004 to a few happy customers. The word was outabout the potential health and environmentalbenefits. I was entranced by the idea of growing ahealthy product and marketing directly toconsumers, but it was Melvin’s idea to market ourcalves right off their mothers at weaning andsidestep the obstacle of having no irrigated pasturefor finishing. Why not? This is the beef thatgenerations of farmers and ranchers have eatenthemselves, and if somewhat smaller, well perhapsit is ok to eat smaller portions.

Whatever the reason, the native grasses theygrow on until moments before they head to FortSumner Processing, a hundred miles distant, orthe occasional suckling of mother’s milk in theirlast weeks, our customers have loved our beef.Initially we sold to family and friends; now mostcustomers find us via the web or by word of

mouth. Over 70% are local to New Mexico andadjacent areas of Arizona and Texas. This is alocal product.

The picture was starting to come together. Thereduced feed, fuel and labor costs of the newgrazing program were working together with thepremium from direct-marketing our grassfedcalves on the hoof. We were starting to reduce ourexternal inputs, become part of a local economyand rely on the resources of the ranch itself, soil,sun, rain when it obliged, grasses and animals.The connection to the consumer, even via email,is a joy; customers are thrilled to receive their beefdirect from the ranch. The monetary gain over thesale barn or buyer is not insignificant, althoughour beef is still quite a bit less than at the healthfood store.

Of course, all was not rosy. A continuingdrought forced us to keep our herd numbersdown; the threat of losing our USDA certifiedprocessor was always with us; the continuingdifficulty of marketing large numbers at a time,and the time and energy required of a directmarketing program still challenge thesustainability of such an operation.

In 2004, Melvin and I became members ofSWGLA (the Southwest Grassfed LivestockAlliance), a non-profit funded largely by grants,and were able to share experience and challengeswith other grassfed producers. I now serve asPresident, but our fine Director Laurie Bower doesmost of the work. We represent over 1,200 smallfamily farms and ranches throughout theSouthwest, publish a newsletter and have servedover 300 producers in the past two years inworkshops and seminars. We help them developtheir programs, apply for American Grassfed orAnimal Welfare Approved certification, and findmarkets for their beef.

We also promote consumer awareness of thebenefits of grassfed beef at tastings and local fairs.We are working on two big challenges: theinsufficient number of local USDA processing


CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Holistic Management Certified Educator, KirkGadzia (middle), has been helping the RanneyRanch with their grazing planning since 2003.

facilities and the difficulty in connecting to thegrowing market demand. Most of our producersuse planned rotational grazing or HolisticManagement, and many see grassfed beef as away to reduce the carbon footprint of theiroperation.

What the Research SaysJust what is the carbon footprint of grassfed

beef and how does it compare to that of industrialfeedlot beef? A 2006 U.N. Report “Livestock’s LongShadow” singled out livestock as a majordestructive player in climate change, accountingfor 18% of all Greenhouse Gas emissions. The PewCommission Study concurred. There followed aspate of press urging reduced consumption ofmeat as a protein source.

Buried in these reports was a nod to pasture-based methods as generating fewer emissions, butit was lost to the press. However, that picture ischanging. (Many of the earlier statistics wereskewed by the inefficiencies of production indeveloping countries.) Just this past summer, U.C.Davis scientist, Frank Mitloehner, showed that ifone looks at the U.S. alone, only 3-4 % of ghgemissions are associated with livestock, and thebenefits of grassfeds are starting to be publicized.

A clearer picture of the comparison betweengrassfed and grainfed animals emerges if we lookat the greenhouse gases one by one. The majorityof agriculture-related carbon dioxide emissions(CO2) in the U.S. comes from fuel combustionrelated to grain production, the transport ofanimals and the importation of soy from Brazil asa feed. Scientist David Tisch, (at Cobleskill SUNY)calculated the emissions of a grain-fed vs. agrassfed burger: grainfed emissions were over fivetimes as high, even when the grassfed burger wasshipped from Colorado to Boston. An early SWGLAgraphic tracked the 3,112 mile journey of a

typical New Mexican steer from ranch to feedlot todistribution centers. The 100-500 miles traveled bya grassfed animal from ranch to customer palesin comparison, and no fuel is burned for grainproduction.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a considerably morepotent and damaging greenhouse gas. Themajority of nitrous oxides generated in the US areemitted by commercial fertilizers used in grainproduction; the remainder comes fromconcentrated manure in feedlots and lagoons ofliquefied manure at factory farms. Interestingly, a2010 study shows that vast acreages of grasslands,once thought to be another source of nitrousoxide emissions, have significantly reduced “off-gassing” if they are grazed.

In summary, the emissions of a grassfedoperation are significantly lower than those of thecomparable number of cattle in an industrialoperation. Grassfed producers can be confidentthat even factoring in the methane produced byfermenting rumens, their carbon footprint is onthe way to becoming carbon-neutral or evencarbon-negative.

Alternative Energy CollaborationsEnter alternative energy as part of the Carbon

Ranch picture. In the last couple of years, we haveinstalled several solar-powered pumps to replaceold windmills, and found them to be efficient andproblem-free. To accommodate our moving herd,we have one panel mounted on a retired truck bedso that it can be hauled from pasture to pasture;the panels have freed us from constant checkingof mills and reduced repair costs.

At the larger scale, alternative energy came tous. Wind energy projects had started to pop uparound the West and it was clear that in additionto producing clean energy, the income from theseprojects might boost the local economy and allow

struggling ranch families to stay on the land. In2007, AWS TrueWind published the first high-resolution wind map for the US; much of easternand central New Mexico rated high for WindPower Density and the Corona area showedoptimum conditions. Within months, wind powercompanies were all over us.

That fall, thirty-five ranchers and propertyowners in the Corona area (with a total ofapproximately 160,000 acres) came together toform the Corona Landowners’ Association,heeding advice to “go slow” and to gain leverageby working together. We did considerable research,met with prospective developers, visitedoperational wind farms, and then mailed RFP’s to14 developers. Our entire group then reviewed the6 serious proposals submitted on the followingcriteria: the potential revenue stream to thelandowner, the financial benefits to thecommunity, the stability of the company, ourimpression of their personnel and their ability todevelop transmission, and finally theircommitment to land stewardship. Then we ratedthe companies on a scale of 1-10.

In the spring of 2008, we voted to divide intotwo land-based groups, the North area tonegotiate further with Shell Wind and the Southwith FirstWind out of Boston. Each group wentback into a research phase; for eighteen moremonths we engaged in discussions with lawyersand negotiated with company representatives,leading to landowner approval of a common leaseagreement which could be modified at will byindividual landowner signatories. By spring 2009,all of us had signed leases and now severalmeteorological towers are in place on ourranches.

It has become clear that the decision to form alandowners’ group was wise: not only did we havethe considerable acreage requisite for aneconomically viable wind facility, but the size andbreadth of the group brought us expertise in manyareas. We had rancher-lawyers, rancher-contractorsand engineers, and, of course, bred in the boneranchers, who knew exactly what questions to askabout potential impacts to their land.

Of particular concern were construction-related issues--the size of roads, turbine pads,collector lines, transmission stations, concretebatching plants, also potential damage to existingwells and structures, the introduction of invasiveplants, herbicides, impacts on cattle, wildlife,hunting, quality of life and finally the need for areclamation plan.

With respect to our own ranch, the mappingand our understanding of good soil and waterpractices, was vital to our family’s comfort inmoving ahead with a contract. We used our ranchbase map to produce a site analysis useful to aconsideration of development; we generated a set


Working with Carbon on the Ranney Ranch continued from page seven

With planned grazing, the Ranney Ranch has moved from a monoculture of grama grass to adiversity of cool and warm season grasses as well as legumes with a total of 30 native species.

of guidelines for development, then came up withdevelopment zones and proposed road accesspoints. We also used some sound and visualstudies to determine development zones. We spenttime with company engineers, their constructionforemen and environmental people,understanding the mechanics of wind generation,including operations and layout. Ultimately,FirstWind was impressively open to our concerns;we were able to discuss and agree upon importantconstruction standards and environmentalguidelines and plan together for success as aranch for cattle and for wind.

To be sure, a wind project of this size does notcome without costs. There will be lights at night;there will be noise from the turbines; there will betrucks and men on our remote ranches now everyday of the year. And no matter how well designedthe roads and turbine pads, there will be inevitableimpacts upon the land. A project of this scale is anindustrial development.

Biomass ExplorationIn late 2007, long before the wind contracts

were finalized and signed, Steve Apfelbaum ofApplied Ecological Services, Inc. (AES) and TheEarth Partners, an ecologist looking for Westernranches to test soil carbon quantificationmethods, learned from members of our familywhom he had worked with before, of ourcooperative venture in Corona and noticed thatour high elevation rangelands showed up as“moderate-high” on the New Mexico map forexisting carbon levels. He realized immediatelythat the large acreage brought together hereoffered an unusual opportunity of scale tomonitor, manage and then sell carbon creditoffsets, if and when these became part of themarketplace. He also thought that the six years ofplanned grazing on our ranch might offer an ideaof how management practices contribute toenhanced levels of soil carbon in rangeland soils.In the summer of 2008, and again in 2009 and2010, he came out to Corona to do sampling ofsoil carbon levels on our ranch and on severalneighboring ranches.

The samples tested demonstrated severalthings:

• Sandy soils, soils over shallow bedrock, areaswhere topsoil had eroded, evidenced very lowlevels of soil organic matter and organic accruedcarbon;

• Remote pasture corners that had not beengrazed for many years, even decades, showedhigher carbon levels;

• Soil types that had been grazed under ourplanned program had ecosystems that werestarting to differentiate, growing more species ofgrasses and more rare plants, including legumes,and these soils tested for both more organic

matter and for 20-30% more soil carbon than thesame soil type right over the fence line; and

• A primary obstacle to range improvementand increased carbon accrual was the presence ofthe invasive one-seeded juniper (Juniperusmonosperma). Historically, older growth juniper,like this one, occupied steep rocky slopes, but nowthey have invaded the lowlands (this was a lovelyopen meadow in the early ‘70s). And with thenative grasses displaced, soil carbon levels havedeclined.

Each tree easily consumes over 40 gallons ofwater/day year round; 50-90% of precipitationfalling on a tree is lost to “interception” andevaporation and never reaches the soil; and theroots reach out to 40 feet and more,impoverishing and de-watering the “interspaces”and drastically limiting the potential for carbonaccrual. Somewhere around 40% of our ranch isstill covered by these dense cedar stands. Weneeded to get rid of more of these trees thancurrently possible by government cost shareprograms. With carbon as incentive, we turned tothe potential for biomass harvesting.

Opportunities have been explored forharvesting, chipping the wood at a proposed plantnear the railroad spur in Corona, and shippingvia railroad. Earlier this year, a proposal forbiomass harvesting and carbon development waspresented to the Corona Landowner’s Association.We are currently considering it and a prototyperanch management plan that would harvest cedarto achieve healthier range.

There are downsides to this picture.Equipment to harvest the cedar and to transport itwill need to be brought in. We know that if weremove cedar on 160,000 acres, it will take sixyears to overcome the carbon lost by removal ofthe trees themselves, their trunks, leaves and roots;with every pluck, carbon is released into theatmosphere. But after year six, we regain thebalance. The improved grass and organic matterwill create a break even level in the soil; and over

the next 25 years, we can expect increased levels ofsoil carbon. Thinner, drier soils over bedrock willtake longer to accrue carbon, probably 25-50years. Precipitation levels will also be a factor inhow long this takes. In the long term, we believethat biomass harvesting will be less costly thanrelying on government programs and has greaterpotential for range restoration.

There is a lot of possibility here. Our first twoprograms, planned grazing and the marketing ofgrassfed beef, were taken up with a notable lack offanfare and capital outlay. It has been a joy to seethe improvement in our grasslands and our stockover the past eight years. Everyday costs are stillwith us, and the hard work of ranching, especiallymaintaining roads and fences, keeping up watersupply and distribution.

I certainly do not mean to give the impressionthat all is well with the economics of familyranching, that would be inaccurate. A grassfedprogram is labor intensive and until a rancher isable to sell all her animals as grassfed, it would behard to say it is sustainable. But who knows? Inthe event that all the cattle in the West, in NewMexico or even in our own Corona region, wereharvested as we do ours, at six-nine months, wecould bypass all the problems and costs of theindustrial finishing model, provide healthy beefand still have animals on the land to keep itproductive.

I take hope in the fact that we are workingwith our native resources and that the lowesttechnological fixes are the ones that are giving usthe fastest and best return. For now, we love thispart of the world, a new generation is starting toenjoy it, reveling in its wildness and beauty, andwe will continue looking for ways to live inpartnership with the land.

This article is an excerpt of a presentationNancy gave at the Quivira Coalition Conferencein November 2010. Nancy can be reached at:[email protected].


Alternative energy usealso includes solarpower that can beportable whenmounted on an oldtruck to accommodatea moving herd. With amore reliable sourceof power than windrunning their pumps,there is less time spenton checking water forthe stock.

10 � July / August 2011Land & Livestock

Multiple Species Management—Ecological and Economic Benefitsby Bob Steger

My thirty plus years of practicing time controlled planned grazing onnative ranges has led me to the conclusion that multiple speciesmanagement is critical to the success of most grazing programs.Moreover, due to the economic and ecological considerations and

benefits from multiple species management, it should be considered earlyin the development stages of any grazing operation.

Planning & Management is KeyOne principle of planned grazing is to select the proper animal (or

animals—both domestic and wildlife) for the climate (getting the rightanimals to the right place for the right reason). A more recent concept of“targeted species” management applied in a broad form may assist inselecting the kinds of animals that will consume the available vegetation.Greater biological diversity allows you to include more kinds of animals, buthaving the right ones there will help you make the most of what you have.

Certainly the transition from traditional grazing management to plannedgrazing management is often confusing to beginners. Traditional grazingoften involves only having two variables to consider—the amount of landand a specific number of animals that are considered “safe” for that climate.However, if climate should change, especially with decreased rainfall, thedecisions to be made include adding additional land area and/or reduceanimal numbers.

Likewise, the planned grazing concept contains more variables that can be used to obtain good management results. There is still the area of land andnumber of animals, but in addition there are the “time” and animal behaviorconsiderations. Proper planning with so many considerations of interactionsrequires one to use an organized grazing planning procedure on paper (i.e.Holistic Management). While the time-animal interaction is then addressed inthat grazing planning, monitoring the implementation of the plan is criticalbecause you are unlikely to include all animal behavioral considerations.

Often references are made regarding the use of several kinds of animals forutilization of forages with no indication for plant-animal interactions on theplanned area. For successful multiple species management there are anumber of specific issues to consider and make decisions about.

Increased Stocking Rate PotentialMultiple species management can result in an increase in stocking rate,

especially when applied on areas of diverse plants and species. Specificanimal-plant interactions have been studied for sixty plus years on the TexasAgricultural Experiment Station at Sonora, Texas, and other locations toprovide insights into the symbiotic relationships (beneficial to plants andanimals) and how to best manage the resources. Few ranch managers knowhow much and when each kinds of vegetation are consumed by differentkinds of animals as actual amounts consumed vary with the kinds of plantsavailable as well as the species mix of plants and animal interacting. But, ingeneral, the relative amounts of forage consumed by kinds of animals inTexas studies provide an interesting picture as seen in the table below.

Note: Boer goats are similar to Spanish goats, but may not be as efficient for brush control. Hair sheep diets are similar to Rambouillet, but may consume more browse.

In application, one finds that a combination of different animals can havea complimentary grazing relationship. Research at the Sonora Stationindicated that 25% more animal units could be grazed on areas of diversevegetation without adverse effects when multiple animals diets are closelymatched to available forage as they were in that study. Not all range areashave published animal diet data available, but general grazing responses canbe made when close observation to plant-animal responses are applied.

Manipulating SuccessionAnimal-plant succession can be moved forward (or backward) as animals

&

Animals Grass Forbs Browse (Wood)

White-tailed Deer 10% 30% 60%Spanish Goats 20-45% 5-15% 40-75%Rambouillet Sheep 50-65% 20-30% 15-30%Cattle 85-90% 5-10% 5%

In early spring near Mertzon, Texas cattle, sheep, and goats graze onmixed bush—mesquite, juniper, agarito, and lotebush. Grasses includetobosa, curly mesquite, buffalograss, and sideoats grama. Forbs arehuisache daisy, verbena, and filaree.

Number 138 � 11Land & Livestock

graze a complex of vegetation. Ecologically speaking, the plains areas evolvedwith a diversity of animals. Bison or buffalo were the best recognized animals,and they grazed similar to cattle. However, there were also elk, deer, antelope,rabbits and rodents with diverse grazing preferences that grazed these sameareas. Deer have similar grazing preferences to goats, and antelopepreferences are similar to sheep. These latter animals are more selectivegrazers or browsers than are cattle. Better grazing planning may beaccomplished by a better understanding of plant-animal relationships whenone considers the ecological aspect of succession, animals’ effects, and the toolof grazing is implemented in the overall program with those concepts in mind.

For native rangelands, the ecological successional aspect is very important.For example, lower successional plants respond to the grazing by animals thatprefer them. With proper time of grazing and recovery from grazing,ecological plant succession can occur. Forage production may increase asspecies emerge in upward seral stages. Without multiple species of animalsbeing present, plant succession may not occur as only certain plants aregrazed or browsed.

For example, if only cattle are grazed on the plains, their diet is made upprincipally of grass. Continual use or heavy grazing can eventually deplete thenutrient reserves of those grazed plants. Forbs that may not be palatable to thecattle tend to increase in number and their nutrient reserves are not depletedby grazing so competition with grass occurs and woody plants may also takeadvantage of this situation. Animals that will graze those invading plantscould help equalize the competitive nature of the affected plants whenproperly grazed. Controlled production is often better than grazing attempts toremove the plants.

While sheep and goats are known to consume forbs, each kind of animalmay prefer different kinds of forbs. Both kinds of animals may be needed toaccomplish overall forb maintenance. Maintenance level of grazing may bepreferred over attempted removal of forbs as forbs provide a relatively highlevel of phosphorus. Grasses provide mainly energy and browse has anadvantage in protein content. Utilizing a large percentage of available plantscan provide a higher level of naturally available nutrients for the animals.Forbs and browse in general may be more adversely affected by grazing andrequire a longer recovery period than do grasses.

Regrowth of grazed plants is the preferred plant part consumed byanimals. Grazing by one kind of animal can stimulate the production ofregrowth and improve palatability of plants for other kinds of animals. Forexample, leaves on perennial woody plants may have a low palatability,whereas regrown leaves are more palatable.

Animal preference for a kind of plant does not appear to be totally innate(inherited), but is often a learned or taught characteristic. For example, sheepthat originate from an area without palatable forbs often need to be mixedwith sheep that consume certain forbs to learn what plant species to consume.Juniper consumption by goats may be a learned experience but is encouragedby high animal density.

Stock DensityMultiple species of animals can help attain a positive level of stock density.

Combining all kinds of animals into one herd offers several advantages inplanned grazing. Principally, stock density is increased which tends tostimulate consumption of plants with low palatability, which improvesuniformity of use without loss of gain by the animals.

Risk management and economic stability is also encouraged. Especially indrought prone areas (drought partially defines rangelands), the ability todetermine what animals to cull is a major benefit. One can use the currentmarket value advantage of the types of animals that will help the economicstability of the operation. Reducing the numbers of those animals with theleast relative advantage during a drought may be a wise choice. Most often anopportunity in future months or years to buy back those kinds of animals to

balance the species mix is possible. This may be a better option than disposingof animals that are currently in a development stage or improved selectionprogram. Maintaining a balance between kinds of animals and forage speciesavailable is quite difficult and droughts provide an opportunity to correct theanimal mix.

Labor ConcernsA concern is often heard in regards to increased labor when working

livestock or paddock shifts for multiple species of animals. From ourexperience on multiple ranches we have found that movement from paddockto paddock has posed little concern as one kind of animal that responds easilyto a move stimulates other kinds of animals to arrive at the fresh forage first.For example, cattle may be first, which stimulates the sheep to be second, withgoats third in line for the gate.

Separating individual kinds of animals for working is usually not aproblem. The same kinds of animals bed and go to water as a group so thatearly morning separation by kinds is possible in the paddock.

Fencing & Other ConsiderationsDrawbacks to multiple animal species management can include fencing

to contain them, corrals and working facilities, as well as supplementalfeeding.

Fencing is often a major financial concern. Early planning for structuralexpenses will most likely result in lower development costs than the expensefor modifying fencing designs at a later date. Electric fencing can be aneffective tool when properly installed. One wire can control cattle alone; twowires can contain cattle and sheep, while goats may require three wires. Atraining facility using the kind of fence to be used in the pasture will greatlyaid in getting animals to conform to the fence in a safe environment.Providing management with adequate nutrition will also assist in animalsconforming to the fences. Non-conformists may need to be sold.

Livestock working facilities may need to be modified to contain multiplespecies. This is usually not a major effort. Smaller areas can be equipped towork the smaller animals, and portable equipment is available that can beutilized.

Supplemental feeding of specific kinds of animals can be a problem andrequire the separation of the kinds of animals seasonally to assure thatanimals get the appropriate amount of feed at an economic level. Grazingplanning can be used to avoid rapid plant growth periods by multiple herdsthat require prescribed feeds and when plants need adequate recovery forregrowth.

There are traits for some animals that should be considered in multiplespecies management. For example, goats do not lend themselves to frequent

This multi-species grazing system in Mexico includes pigs, cattle, sheep,and goats with use of a two-hotwire fence.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12


paddock shifts when kidding. They have very poor mothering traits and willleave their kids and make little or no attempt to return for them. They need tobe “parked” during kidding.

On the other hand, hair sheep, especially Blackbellied Barbado, St. Croix,and Dorp-Croix are the natural animals for planned grazing. They haveexcellent mothering traits of keeping their lambs close by, multiple births,strong herding trait (helps in predator control), stomach worm resistance, agentle nature when handled to promote gentleness, do not need to be sheared,perform very well on native forages, and conform to electric fences whentrained. These sheep offer a unique ethnic market that currently has highdemand and good prices. Other breeds of shedding (wool) sheep often give

favorable results on rangeland as well.Finally, it’s best to objectively evaluate the gross profit (sales less direct

expenses) of the kinds of animals. Sheep and goats traditionally generatemuch higher gross profit than do cattle when balanced with their foragepreferences. High birth rates, little or no depreciation, and ability to fatten onforages give cause to include them in the species mix.

Bob Steger has operated ranches with multi-species grazing andconsulted for over 30 years. He and his son, Ken, currently manage aranch of approximately 3,000 acres with planned grazing using cattle,sheep, goats, and white-tailed deer, as well as an 18-paddock grazing cellon their small home place. He can be reached at: [email protected] or325/835-4583.

When I was working with Bob Steger on the accompanyingarticle “Multi-Species Management,” I visited with him abouthis experience with Holistic Management over the years. Bob is

what we fondly call, “a Holistic Management old-timer.” While thereare a number of folks who claim to have been at some of the firstlectures on Holistic Management in the U.S., Bob certainly is one ofthose “innovators,” and he has been experimenting and learningabout Holistic Management ever since he first heard Allan Savoryspeak at a grazing tour in Mexico and Texas in 1978.

When I was co-teaching policy analysis for the Certified EducatorTraining Program with Allan in 2000, I was asking him questions todevelop educational materials for the trainees. He noted then that BobSteger had questioned him in a similar fashion long ago. From Bob’squestions came the beginning of the Holistic Management framework.

Bob was teaching and doing research at San Angelo State University inSan Angelo, Texas in the ‘70s, (which included starting a grazing cell withcattle, sheep, and goats) but he was also ranching. After taking a coursewith Allan and Stan Parsons, of Ranching for Profit fame, Bob decided toput these ideas to the test on his ranch in 1983. The weather had beenrough that year with not only cold and drought, but a hailstorm had takenout most of his ranch. Bob was trying to figure out what to do with hisanimals. He couldn’t afford to feed or sell them. So he threw all theanimals together—cattle, sheep, and goats. He had about 100 animalunits on approximately 2,000 acres that were divided into 4 paddocks.With one herd, he could begin to give the other paddocks longer recoveryperiods. He remembers that year because as he looked over the valley of hisranch, he could see the three neighbors’ lands on all sides of his ranch.Despite the tough weather, he had green feed and his neighbors didn’t.They ended up having to buy feed or destock, while Bob didn’t. Thatexperience was what convinced Bob that he needed to continue to learnhow to practice and teach Holistic Management.

With a B.S. and Masters from Texas A&M and a PhD in Range andWildlife from the University of Wyoming, Bob is certainly well-schooledin range science. He also has an incredibly open-mind and a desire tolearn so he can be a better rancher, educator, and consultant. He saidwhen he went to college his goal was to learn how to manage and protectthe land after experiencing the seven-year-long drought of the 1950s.That has been a lifelong goal for him.

While Bob had a driving concern for protection of wildlife, he also

knew that there had to be solutions to improve wildlife habitat that werenot only environmentally sound, but also economically sound, otherwisethose solutions wouldn’t be sustainable. He says, “If you don’t havedefinite goals that people can work toward, then you can’t deal effectivelywith the conflict that arises between those that favor environmentaloutcomes versus those who are dealing with the economic realities ofthose environmental solutions. Having the Holistic Management testingquestions to help work through those conflicts has really been helpful.”

Bob was also one of the organizers of HRM of Texas and served asPresident for about six years in the early 1980s. He’s seen the changesover the years within the range science community and feels theconversations have changed because of Holistic Management. “But weneed to continue to get the word out there and offer support,” says Bob.“Hard times, like drought, create a deep peer pressure. People fear beingdifferent, so we need to help them see they aren’t different, they are a partof a larger community. We recently had HMI Certified Educator KirkGadzia talking to the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Associationabout Holistic Management and I heard good response from people onthat. That’s the kind of outreach and education we need to do, and themore field days and presentations we have the better.”

“Over the years, I’ve learned one thing. There are some folks whoaren’t willing to make a mistake. They don’t want the responsibility. We have to figure out how to bring those people along in their learningso they aren’t afraid of making mistakes. I’ve appreciated how Holistic

From the Beginning—Bob Steger by Ann Adams

Multi-Species Management continued from page eleven

Clint Josey(left) presentsa recognitiongift to BobSteger for allhis work forHolisticManagement.



Successful ranchers would never entertain the idea of starving theirlivestock to reduce the feed bill—at least not knowingly so. But, in toomany cases ranchers actually do! By not feeding the soil.Soil microbiologists tell us that the weight of all the life in an acre of soil

is equivalent to the same weight as that of an average-sized cow. What’smore, this life in the soil always eats at “the firsttable” and the crops and stock to be grown thereget what is left over. If there is not enough for thelife within the soil and the cows grazing on top,guess who gets there first. How many ranchersconsider the need to feed an average-sized cowper acre even before the plants trying to growthere for feeding their animals are able toacquire what is needed to grow and produceproperly?

However, the soil does not just operate on these biological laws of science.It is also subject to the physical laws that determine the pore space for waterand air in that soil which provides the proper environment for biologicalactivity. The amount and type of each element affecting the pH of the soilactually determines this air and water relationship.

And just as important for the land is the soil’s chemistry that determineswhether each element present will remain adequately available in the soil foruse by the plants that grow there. All of these laws are important and do notchange in any part of the world where crops are to be grown. The combinedeffects that each one will have on the others must be correctly considered inorder to have the most productive soil and grow the best feed and livestock.

One of the biggest mistakes on pastureland is the use of pH to tell whetherthe soil is supplying a sufficient amount of nutrients for the life in the soiland the animals it must support. This is because the pH does not provide acomplete picture of what type of fertility a soil actually contains.

When the soil pH is in the 5.5 to 8.0 range its principle make up isdetermined by four elements—calcium, magnesium, potassium andsodium. The problem is a combination of too much of one or more of theseelements and too little of one or more of the others can cause the pH toappear okay when in fact the soil is lacking what it needs to provide goodnutrition for plant growth and the livestock grazing there.

When a soil has too much of one element, it will not have enough of oneor more of the others. Only an accurate soil analysis that correctly measuresall the elements mentioned above as affecting pH, rather than simplymeasuring pH, will tell farmers and ranchers what is causing the pH to bewhere it is. Such tests should then enable them and their consultant orfertilizer dealer to identify and begin to correct any excesses and deficienciesin each pasture, hay meadow or silage field.

Supply any deficient nutrients to control any excessive nutrients. This isthe beginning point for building nutrient rich soils. The soil is the plant’sstomach. This balancing is not just for supplying the needs of the cows, butthe needs of all that serve to feed each cow. When a fertility program is

employed that only considers the needs of thecrop, and not the needs of the soil, the crop andthe cows will all pay the price.

Humus IncreaseI was just on a client's farm in Washington

State. They receive about 12-15 inches of rain ayear and grow hops, apples and cherries. Fiveyears ago they began using our program.

The initial expense for fertility managementthat first year was higher than they had ever spent on hops production (theygrow both organic and conventional hops). Some of the nutrient deficiencieshad not previously been addressed and thus added up when taken out foryears and never put back. But the yields on every variety whether from newplantings to the oldest were the highest in the area the second year on ourprogram. Expenditures each year have been based on whatever needs the soiltesting shows as required for top quality and production. In five years theyhave extremely uniform growth in each hop field (750 acres) and havereduced their soil fertility expenditures by 60%.

The fertility levels as plotted per field, per farm and for the overalloperation have shown great improvement, with excesses being reduced anddeficiencies being eliminated, including primary, secondary and micro-nutrients. Perhaps one of the most surprising facts we were able to show wasconcerning the excellent compost they were making for themselves and usingon their own land. Due to overuse, it was causing an excess of P & K thatresulted in zinc, boron and manganese deficiencies in the crops.

One of the most notable changes is in the soil. It has changed from hardand cloddy when worked to very easy-to-crumble soil. There are hop fieldsright next to theirs where both are using cover crops, but the hard soil is stillthere where only the cover crops are being utilized. Moisture content isgreater as would be expected if the soil is more friable, but moistureutilization is also greater because the zinc deficiencies have been eliminatedfrom the soil rather than just trying to annually supply the needs by feedingthe plant.

Yet the most exciting change of all is the fact that humus content hasconsistently increased every year. The most progress has been in the last threeyears, with this past year making the largest contribution. The averagehumus content of the soil when the program started was 1.6% compared tothe spring 2011 average of 2.4%.

This is the most recent example of several on-site consultations that havealready come about this year. I believe those who use Holistic Managementunderstand the value of soil health, but they need to understand the resultsthat outside inputs can make.

For more information on soil analysis and other aspects of the soilfertility program that can be utilized to accomplish this, contact NealKinsey at [email protected]. See Neal’s ad on page 21.

From the Beginning continued from page twelve

Building Soil Productivityby Neal Kinsey

THE AVERAGE HUMUS CONTENT OF THE SOIL WHEN THE PROGRAM

STARTED WAS 1.6% COMPARED TO THE SPRING 2011 AVERAGE OF 2.4%.

Management has helped me look at situation over the years andunderstand the difference between learning something and makinga mistake. A mistake is something that you know is wrong, but youdo it anyway.”

Bob’s volunteer efforts for Holistic Management did not stop withhis tenure as President for HRM of Texas. He participated innumerous HMI Texas workshops and field days in recent years aswell, and has served on the West Ranch Advisory Team for HMI. Theaccompanying article “Multi-Species Management” is anotherexample of his willingness to share his knowledge to help others.Thanks, Bob—for being there at the beginning and supporting theimportant work for the long haul!


Managing for Biodiversity—The J Bar L Ranchby Ann Adams

When Peggy Dulany, the owner of the J Barl L Ranch, first saw thedeeded land stretched out before her in the Centennial Valley insouthwestern Montana, she had a vision for the ranch. Over theyears, Bryan Ulring, the manager of the J Bar L, and the skilled

employees of J-L have helped shape and create that vision. With consultinghelp from HMI Certified Educator Roland Kroos, the J Bar L is nowgrowing 4-5 times more grass in places on the ranch than they didbefore—which is good for the wildlife as well as the cattle. Their journeyhas been how to manage for ever increasing biodiversity to serve themultiple land owners for the grazing lands they use.

A Holistic ApproachThe J Bar L’s holistic approach is evident in their management and

it is also reflected on their website where they state: “Our holistic approach to raising sustainably produced natural beef takes into account theimportance of:

• Sustaining ranching as an industry and way of life• Sustaining local communities• Land management and land quality• Preserving the environment and corridors of wildlife• Connecting with our consumers• Connecting with the land• Humane treatment of ALL animals, livestock and wildlife• Nourishing the body, mind and soul• Preserving the best of many old-fashioned techniques to produce top

quality and safe foodHow this vision translates in terms of products and services includes:

utilization of a variety of private and public lands with innovative grazingmanagement, improved forage from that grazing, increased wildlifepopulations to keep the land owners happy, income generation from aspectacular viewscape, and from the opportunity for guests to experience aworking ranch that is “newby” friendly (i.e. low-stress livestock handling),low-cost production of cattle due to grazing management, and innovativeniche marketing strategies to tap into consumers who identify with theirgrazing management strategies.

The J Bar L includes the 10,000-acre deeded land in the Centennial Valleyand 10,000 – 15,000 acres of leased land including Bureau of LandManagement (BLM), The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) and Red Rocks LakesNational Wildlife Refuge.

Bryan Ulring began working for the ranch in 2007 and has helped, withthe rest of the J Bar L team, to move the health and function of the landforward so that the cattle operation provides a strong source of income for theranch as well as the guest program. As a working ranch they take guests for 8weeks of the spring and summer to provide guests with the experience ofwhat it’s like to work on an authentic cattle ranch.

Bryan grew up in South Dakota and got his business management degreefrom Montana State University. Keeping an open mind, he uses hisbackground in business to develop successful ranching enterprises. HMICertified Educator Roland Kroos has been a lot of help to the J-L team inteaching the the principles of Holistic Management and monitoring theresults of grazing management..

Handling ComplexityBecause the J Bar L grazes different land areas with different owners and

different rules, as well as dealing with a wide range in elevation, grazingplanning is critical. For example, when they are grazing wildlife refuge areasthey may only come in every 2-4 years, while on their deeded ground theycome back every year. Having the grazing plan and clear grazing policies andpractices, helps facilitate the conversation. Sharing that information and themonitoring data also helps, notes Bryan. “We have fantastic relationships withall the land managers we work with. They are very open-minded and want tohelp. We’ve had some range tours and invited folks from the BLM, MontanaState, NRCS, DNRC, Montana Audubon, MT FWP, University of Montana, TNC,and local ranches. With Roland and the TNC doing monitoring for us andshowing the results, it’s really opened up the gates for us. Of course, there arestill some neighbors that think what we are doing is crazy.”

While the J Bar L is always experimenting on how to improve theirgrazing management, it has been journey according to Bryan: “We startedwith set stocking and have moved to 5-7 day graze periods. We now have astock density of 100,000 #/acre on our irrigated pastures at Twin Bridges, butwe are always balancing our animal performance to determine size of areaand length of stay as we try for 2-2.5 lbs of gain/day. Even in our rangelandareas in Centennial, we are experimenting with 100,000 lbs/day stock density.We have to move them every day as there isn’t as much forage, but we’reseeing some good regrowth with bunch grasses like Idaho fescue.

“But, we have to accommodate a lot of different interests because all theland owners have different directions and goals. We are trying to get everyonealigned and understanding what we are doing. The BLM, TNC and theWildlife Refuge are focused on sage grouse habitat and are looking at curlewand sandhill cranes as indicator species. That’s important, but we have to putit in the overall land health context.”

The ranch staff at the J Bar L knows they need to manage not only forthose birds but also wolves and trumpeter swans. While they have had dozensof wolves around the cattle, by keeping the herd tightly bunched andfocusing on good mothering, they haven’t had much trouble. The onlyconfirmed wolf/calve interaction is when the calf was already dead.

The cattle operation includes 800 pairs, 300 yearlings and they carry over200-300 finished animals for the grassfed beef enterprise. In addition they

Using strip grazing on both pasture and rangeland, the J Bar L is able toget 100,000 lbs/acre stock density, leading to improved animal impactand incorporating organic matter.


contract graze around 500 yearlings for their neighbor. There are three full-time employees at the ranch besides Bryan for the cattle operation. One stayson the winter ground and finishes the fats, while two are in the summer area,the Centennial Valley—one managing the cow/calf operation and the othermanaging the yearling and custom grazing operation.

The cow/calf pairs are divided into 2 bunches and the yearling operationis a separate herd for a total of 3 herds. The ranch is in the process ofextensive water project development so they can eventually carry 2,000 pairsas the land improves.

On their irrigated pastures they use a 45-60 day recovery. With therangelands, they graze once a year with the season of use changing so it endsup being an 18-month recovery period. At any one time, 20% of the ranch isrecovering and not being used.

They use different pastures for the different animal performance needs.For example, Bryan notes that really steep paddocks work great for yearlings,so they are always looking at the paddocks and juggling animal performanceneeds, topography, season of use, recovery periods, and a host of other factors.The focus on animal performance shows as they have an overall 3% deathloss for calves and a combined 91% breedup.

Beyond Rotational GrazingWhen I spoke with Bryan, he excitedly listed the results the J Bar L had

achieved with Holistic Management: “We have a phenomenal team at the JBar L. Having Roland come in and help us has helped bring the teamtogether even more. We also have seen an increase in wildlife numbers so weare now allowed to graze in June on the Wildlife Refuge because they see thevalue in what we are doing. In some places, we have 4-5 times the amount ofgrass that we had before, and certainly better mineral cycling and utilizationof forage. With rotational grazing we plateaued at 400 pairs. Then we had600-acre pastures. With our planned grazing we now have some irrigatedpaddocks that are as small as 2 acres.

“We have a summer and winter area to help us with our finishing. Wehave 1,500 acres of irrigated pasture, and we finish on 300 acres of that. Thatland is at 4,500 feet elevation, and we do a little bit of haying from this landto help us through the winter (but very little).

“We don’t trail the animals from winter to summer pasture as the two pieces of the ranch are 90 miles from each other. But when we do move them, we use low-stress livestock handling to reduce weight loss. The summer range is at 7,000 to 9,500 feet and the growing season goesfrom mid-May to the end of August. We average about 12-13 inches of rain,but when it gets cold we bring them down. This last year it hit -33 degrees the first part of November so they came down to the winter ground earlierthan planned.” J-L’s management to stockpile forage meant that even withrough Montana winters they only have to feed hay for a couple of months.They are planning to eliminate the need for hay completely in the nextcouple of years.

“We keep the calves on the cows through February, and we calve the firstweek in June, as nature intended with the elk in this part of the country.Calving at that time puts the cow in a better position from an animalperformance standpoint to nurse that calf when forage is at its peak. Thecalves do better when the cows are in better condition; and when they are onthe cow for 8-10 months, we see the health and weight we want.

“Also, with this schedule, we sell our cattle at a different time of yearwhich helps us increase our income, so it helps all the way around. This yearwe haven’t had to doctor a single weaned calf. I’d like to calve a little earlier,but it’s where we are right now.”

“I wouldn’t go back to any other way of ranching,” says Bryan. “We wentfrom an 80% to a 91% breed up in a two-year period.” Bryan explains theirstrategy on how to improve conception—it’s really counter-intuitive, but he

learned it from some of the old-timers in the area. “To get better breeding, werun them a little tougher in the spring and summer. We put them onrougher, drier ground for calving where the forage isn’t so powerful. We thenbreed in September and put them on lush pastures when the bulls are out.We’ve got it to the point where we have 90% of our calves dropping in onemonth.”

Certified Educator Roland Kroos has been hired as a third-party monitorto monitor the on-the-ground results of improved grazing management.In these transect photos taken in 2006 (on left) and 2008 (on right)increased plant vigor is evident.

Educating ConsumersLike many ranches, it isn’t just the cattle that pay the bills. In the

case of the J Bar L, income comes through a mix of guest services and a new marketing partnership for their grass-finished beef—YellowstoneGrassfed Beef.

When, Peggy Dulany, a New York philanthropist, bought the ranch in2000, she began having the homestead cabins on the ranch renovated toaccommodate up to 20 guests at a time and added the guest program to theranch in 2004. These cabins offer the exterior authenticity of the old Westwith the interior comforts of the 21st century.

There’s a big focus on sustainability on the ranch with solar-poweredguest houses and a greenhouse to grow their own produce in the works.There are plans to pipe the nearby warm spring water into a greenhouse tonaturally warm it. Whatever produce they can’t grow, they try to buy from the



local farmer’s market to support other local producers. The guest program has its own manager who does the scheduling and

reservation and works to make the guests’ stay an exceptional experience.The J Bar L has been featured in such publications as Conde Nast, The NewYork Times, and Forbes Magazine. Bryan explains how this guest programis critical not only to the economics on the ranch, but also as a formativeexperience for the guests. “They come from all walks of life and from aroundthe globe. They are with us as we move animals every day. They ride onhorseback and fix fences or feed minerals. The experience for them isamazing and the guests write us how this experience has changed their lives.We want them to see and experience what we do to better understandsustainable ranching.”

Certainly Susan Hack, the author of the Conde Nast article, “True Grit,”made that connection for herself and her readers: “Ranchers andconservationists often regard one another with suspicion, with rancherstypecast as bad guys heedless of the natural ecology, and conservationists assofties who love wildlife more than people. Places like J Bar L, though, lookbeyond dude ranch clichés and the beef industry's obsession with weight,carcass yield, and USDA grades toward the big picture, the holistic state of therange; rather than excluding wildlife and degrading the land throughovergrazing, or fattening cattle in corporate feedlots on corn, growthhormones, and antibiotics, they raise their stock in humanecircumstances—both for profit and to sustain diverse species in a near-pristine natural environment.”

That kind of management doesn’t come without some effort, and Bryanand his team are always looking for ways to improve their cattle program,while managing for the critical indicator of increased biodiversity within theconfines of the various land owners with whom they work.

The J Bar L is also a managing partner in Yellowstone Grassfed Beef. Inconjunction with the Western Sustainability Exchange and the Audubonsociety they are marketing their “sustainable” grassfed beef to conservationcustomers. “Audubon has sent a direct mail campaign to their membershelping us marketing our beef to consumers who want to see theirconservation dollars doing real work on the ground AND receive the personalbenefit of healthy beef in return for donated money.”

“Through this partnership we are trying to make the link for peoplebetween the product, how it is raised, and the effects of that management.The funding for this pilot program came from a Western SustainableAgriculture Research and Education grant and a $25,000 TogetherGreengrant from Toyota and the Audubon. We have 4 different meat packages weoffer and it ends up costing about $6/lb for the consumer.

Steve Hoffman, The Executive Director of Montana Audubon, like otherastute conservationists, understands that good ranching practices results in

better wildlife habitat which improves the possibilities of endangered wildlifespecies to survive and thrive. That’s one of the reasons that the Audubon ishelping support the work of the J Bar L and working to make that connectionbetween consumer purchases and improved land health and management.Certainly Bryan and the rest of the J Bar L team are a living example of howmanaging for increased biodiversity means focusing on the triple bottom ofline of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. While it takesvision to start the journey, it takes good management and implementation tomake that vision happen.

Bryan Ulring can be reached at 406/660-1232 [email protected].

Managing for Biodiversity continued from page fifteen

The Angus and Angus-cross herd has thrived with the changed grazing management practices at the J Bar L.

The improved range grasses, like this healthy Idaho fescue, has led toincreased cattle numbers and better wildlife habitat.


The Ian Mitchell-Innes Tour

HMI sponsored an Ian Mitchell-Innes Tour across northernCalifornia, Texas, and Oklahoma through the spring of this year.There was great interest in learning from Ian with a number oflearnings that emerged at each session.

Paicines Ranch, California: While Holistic Management has had a longpresence in California, with an active group of practitioners, it’s been a longtime since HMI as an organization has hosted an event in the state. Rather,it’s fallen to a dedicated group of Holistic Management Certified Educatorsand practitioners to introduce the concepts. The recent HMI GrazingPlanning workshop conducted by Ian Mitchell-Inness at Paicines Ranch, incentral California, April 29-May 1, is the beginning of HMI’s commitment toexpanding our outreach and training programs.

The workshop was full to capacity, with the attendees having a wide rangeof interests. There was a number of younger people in attendance, with theaverage age of the group around mid-30. Many of the younger folks camebecause of their interest in good food and understanding where that comesfrom, rather than from the traditional background of livestock ranching.

Ian Mitchell-Innes conducted the workshop with a combination ofclassroom and field tours on the land.

Ranch owner, Sallie Calhoun, and her ranch manager, Chris Ketchum,did an outstanding job explaining the work they’re doing on the ranch, theirobjectives and the challenges they’ve had. They’ve made impressiveimprovements in forage production through grazing management, and havemanaged to extend their grazing season by several weeks. As they were quickto say, there’s still a ways to go, but from the outside looking in, it’s prettyincredible what they’ve done.

Southwest Gathering, SanAntonio, Texas: A small crowdenjoyed a delightful dinner and anentertaining talk by Dr. Will Winter,a holistic livestock veterinarian, atthe opening evening of theSouthwest Gathering May 6 in SanAntonio. Ian Mitchell-Innes had thefloor all day Saturday, giving anoverview of Holistic Managementand sharing some of the benefitsfrom High Density HolisticManagement Planned Grazing.

Ford Ranch, Brady, Texas: Though May 2nd felt like a brisk mid-winter’sday, a great group of excited ranchers met at the Ford Ranch near Brady,Texas to hear Ian Mitchell-Innes consult on the land with long time managerForrest Armke.

In spite of those challenges and the current dry times, Ian found theranch rich in a carbon layer creating resilience in the soil. Ford Ranch is wellknown for its outstanding hunting program, so the thickets of brush scatteredabout the 32,000 acres are considered valuable habitat.

Forrest pointed out areas where chaining was done and where a herd oflarge goats was left for many years—all before his management. Thechained area is now covered in mesquite and prickly pear while the goat areais still, 26 years later, showing a browse line and little brushy cover.

Over half of the field day group stayed on for the three-day class on theEconomics of Planned Grazing. Partly in the classroom and partly in thefield, this class got more and more enthused as the information began tosink in and as relationships began to form around geographic regions. Threegroups distilled out with a desire to form a more formal network viamanagement clubs. These study groups are a great way to keep each othermotivated and support each other through the change in management.

Dr. Will Winter discussing holisticlivestock at the HMI SouthwestGathering.


T h e

news from holistic management international � people, programs & projects

Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Convention

HMI was well represented at the 2011 Texas and SouthwesternCattle Raisers Convention in San Antonio, Texas on April 1st-

3rd. We sponsored a booth at the trade show and enjoyed a steadystream of interested folks, some of whom joined us in May for theIan Intensives. Featuring the combined efforts of HMI CertifiedEducator Kirk Gadzia and Ranching for Profit's Dave Pratt,we enjoyed great turnouts for both the pre-conference PfizerAnimal Health Clinic, with 150 practitioners in attendance for theone-day workshop, and the School for Successful Ranching,with two sessions of approximately 50 participants each. Thesetwo veteran educators worked very well together, with Kirk coveringthe basic biological, ecological and grazing planning concepts ofmanaging the whole, while Dave focused on the financialplanning aspects. Many of the participants had heard of HolisticManagement but had never been exposed to it first-hand.

HMI Tour for MexicanStudents

Students from the AnimalScience Department andtheir professor GerardoBezanilla from theUniversidad Autonoma deChihuahua, Mexico, sharedan afternoon with HMICertified Educator JeffGoebel at the Sevilleta LongTerm Ecological Research(LTER) Center in NewMexico in April. Dr. Jennifer

Paicines Ranch in April.

Ivette Garcia and Dr. Bezanillalistening to Jeff Goebel discussingrangeland health at La SevilletaResearch Center.



Empowering Women in Agriculture Luncheon

Abeautiful spring day in Central Texas, acomfortable patio, and 36 women who all

have a passion for agriculture: what could bemore fun? Alice Ball-Strunk graciouslyopened her home in San Antonio, Texas on April1st to a wide variety of influential women inagriculture, to raise awareness and support forour Beginning Farmers and Ranchers: TexasWomen program. Presenters included Alice Ball-Strunk, HMI’s COO, Tracy Favre, ProgramCoordinator, Peggy Cole, and ProgramInstructor, Peggy Sechrist. Participantslearned about the fall seminars planned for2011 in four regions of Texas to share wholefarm planning to beginning women farmers inTexas. From those programs, 25 women fromeach region will commit to additional training.

Following them, Susana Canseco of SanAntonio, and Kaylee Cowan of Boerne spokeabout the importance of this program for youngranchers. These young ranchers are determined toleave the land better than they find it, to maketheir mark in creating a sustainable future fortheir children and grandchildren to come. Highlyeducated and trained in other vocations, they find

themselves with lots of energy and enthusiasm, yetlacking in many of the practical skills ofranching. Tina Loeffler of Lampasas, past president of

Texas Cattlewomen Association and 2010 TexasCattlewoman of the Year, was the next speaker,emphasizing the need for women in agriculture tocombine forces, support one another’s efforts, andcelebrate our victories together.

To round out our program, Betsy Ross, wellknown and respected Holistic Managementrancher, owner of Betsy Ross Grassfed Beef in

Granger, Texas shared how difficult it was forwomen to get financing, respect, and help whenthey needed it most when she first startedranching. She encouraged everyone to supportand embrace this new program designed forwomen in agriculture.

Thanks to all for their participation andsupport of this program!

Beginning Women Farmer Program

HMI would like to acknowledge the generousdonations received from the following

individuals for Beginning Farmers & Ranchers:Texas Women. Your generosity is appreciated!

Ann Adams, Malcolm and Delphine Beck, RonChapman, Mary Cox, Lee Dueringer, GenevieveDuncan, Joseph and Blair Fitzsimons, J. D. Folbre,Elma Irene Garza, Gail Hammack, Joan Kelleher,Carrie Knox, Roberta Meader, Jim Parker, andCarolyn Vogel.

Terry Gompert Memorial Scholarship

As we reported in the last issue of INPRACTICE, longtime Holistic Management

practitioner and Certified Educator TerryGompert passed away in March of this year.

In honor of Terry’s memory, and to ensure thathis passion for teaching young people about theimportance of sustainable agriculture willcontinue on, HMI is pleased to announce thecreation of the Terry Gompert MemorialScholarship.

Intended to target the next generation, theTerry Gompert Memorial Scholarship will offerthose under 30 the opportunity to begin orcontinue their education in sustainableagriculture and Holistic Management. Thisscholarship fund will be both for practitioner andCertified Educator training. This is a need’s basedprogram and we hope to have funds to release bythe end of 2011. If you would like to learn moreabout applying for the scholarship, contact AnnAdams at [email protected] or505/842-5252.

We feel that it’s vital that Terry’s workcontinue. If you feel the same, please consider adonation in Terry’s honor. To make a donation tothe Terry Gompert Memorial Scholarship, you cango to the “Donate Now” button on HMI’s websiteat: www.holisticmanagement.org and putGompert Memorial Scholarship in the notes field.You can also call HMI at 505/842-5252 to giveyour credit card donation over the phone.

Johnson, research scientist from Sevilleta-LTER, also joined these graduate andundergraduate students to learn more about Holistic Management and how ecosystemsfunction in brittle environments. The group spent part of the afternoon out on therange observing symptoms and causes of soil erosion and learning how over-restingcan also damage the health of a rangeland. The students expressed enthusiasm forwhat they learned and felt they had gained valuable tools that would help them insustainable management of natural resources.

Colorado Conservationist Wins National Wetlands Award

The Environmental Law Institute announcedtoday that Rio de la Vista, a Colorado landand water conservationist, received the 2011National Wetlands Award for Conservation andRestoration. Rio de la Vista’s enthusiasm,creativity, and commitment to bringing togetherbroad-based partnerships has helped conservemore than 27,000 acres of wetlands, many onprivate lands, across the San Luis Valley inColorado. Rio served on HMI’s Board and wasthe Chair of the Board from 2002-2004. Congratulations, Rio!

Grapevine continued from page seventeen

Development Corner

Peggy Sechrist and Peggy Cole shareinformation about the Beginning FarmerProgram for Texas women.

Rio de la Vista


ARIZONA

* Tim McGafficP.O. Box 1903, Cave Creek, AZ 85331808/936-5749 • [email protected]

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 93407805/756-1475 • [email protected]

COLORADO

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

* Katherine Belle Rosing22755 E. Garrett, Calhan, CO 80808970/[email protected]

GEORGIA

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

IOWA

* Mae Rose PetrehnP.O. Box 1802, Ames, IA 50010913/[email protected]

MAINE

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

* Tobey Williamson52 Center StreetPortland, ME 04101c: [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/[email protected]

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

NEBRASKA

Paul Swanson5155 West 12th St., Hastings, NE 68901402/[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 88434575/268-1162 [email protected]

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

Jeff Goebel5105 Guadalupe Trail NWAlbuquerque, NM 87107 • 541/[email protected]

NEW YORK

Erica Frenay454 Old 76 Road, Brooktondale, NY 14817607/539-3246 • [email protected]

NORTH DAKOTA

Wayne Berry1611 11th Ave. West, Williston, ND 58801701/572-9183 • [email protected]

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

PENNSYLVANIA

Jim Weaver428 Copp Hollow Road, Wellsboro, PA 16901570/724-4955 • [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]

UN I T E D S TAT E S

UN I T E D S TAT E S

IN T E RNAT IONA L

Peggy Sechrist106 Thunderbird Ranch Road,Fredericksburg, TX 78624(C)830/456-5587 • [email protected]

WASHINGTON

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

� Don NelsonDepartment of Animal Sciences 116 Clark Hall, Washington State UniversityPullman, WA 99164-6310509/335-2922 • [email protected]

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

WISCONSIN

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 Earl “Glen Orton” 3843 Warialda Rd., Coolatai NSW [email protected] 61-2- 0409-151-969

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]

Dick Richardson FrogmoreBoorowaNSW 258661-0-263853217 (w)61-0-263856224 (h)61-0-429069001 (c)[email protected]

Brian WehlburgPine Scrub Creek, Kindee, NSW, [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]


Bear Creek Ranch, Aledo, Texas: The Advanced Grazing Workshopand Field Day held at Bear Creek Ranch just outside of Aledo, Texas wasyet another successful part of the 2011 Tour de Innes, with folks travelingfrom as far as Puerto Rico to take advantage of such an opportunity.

Bear Creek Ranch management has been practicing HolisticManagement on the ranch for years. Their impressive management canbe witnessed both by their thriving biodiversity and by the charismaticcharacter of their entire staff. Bear Creek Ranch is one of four Texasranches owned by the Dixon Water Foundation, an organization focusedon creating a sustainable future for numerous watersheds throughoutTexas.

The first day of the workshop was an open field day that allowedattendees to talk with Ian about his experiences, explore potentialimprovements that they could make to their own operations, and see first-hand the results that planned grazing can have on forage quality andproduction. As the workshop part of the event got underway, it provided anarena for over 30 producers to explore Holistic Planned grazing at a morein depth level.

Phelan Ranch, Mountain Park, Oklahoma: Another wonderfullycool and quite windy day saw another group of eager ranchers touringthe beautiful Phelan Ranch on the edge of the Wichita MountainsNational Wildlife Preserve. Wondering whether to destock more now or

The Ian Mitchell Tour continued from page seventeen

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]

NAMIBIAUsiel 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 AllianceKim Barker, contact person35878 Cimarron RoadWaynoka, OK 73860580/732-0244 580/732-0244 [email protected]

PENNSYLVANIA

Northern Penn NetworkJim Weaver, contact person428 Copp Hollow RoadWellsboro, PA 16901570/724-4955 • [email protected]

TEXASWest 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]

Wayne KnightSolar AddictsPO Box 537, Mokopane, 0600South Africa [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 218, Lewis, 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

Jovial camaraderie is the normin any Ian Mitchell-Innes class.

risk the worsening drought, John Phelan took Ian to recovered pasture forhis opinion. The ground was covered, the plant spacing tight and thethick grass had a blend of last year’s standing grass and the new greenfrom this year’s growth. “Perfect!” said Ian, “But you have too muchgrass, not too little. You need more cattle.”

After a hearty lunch, the group toured an area that had been burnedand discussed the pros and cons of the tool of fire. Grady Phelan thenspent some time telling of his stacking of enterprises, which he learned inhis year-long internship with Joel Salatin at Polyface Farm, providingadditional opportunities for learning.


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GRANDINLIVESTOCK SYSTEMS

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How can RMS, LLC help you? On-Site Consulting: All aspects of holistic management, including financial, ecological and human resources.

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

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

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

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

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Helping People Solve Complex Problems

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Books & MultimediaHolistic Management: A New Framework for Decision-Making,_ Second Edition, by Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50

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_ Holistic Management Handbook, by Butterfield, Bingham, Savory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30_ 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

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

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Software

Grazing Planning software (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . electronic $30 hardcopy $45

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

a publication of Holistic Management International5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite BAlbuquerque, NM 87109USA

return service requested

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

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U.S. POSTAGE PAIDALBUQUERQUE, NM

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Indicate quantity on line next to item, make sure your shipping address is correct, mail this page (or a copy) and your check or money order payable in U.S. funds from a U.S. bank or your credit card number and expiration date to: Holistic Management International, 5941 Jefferson St. NE, Suite B, Albuquerque, NM 87109.You can also call in or fax credit card orders. Phone calls to: 505/842-5252; Fax: 505/843-7900.

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#138, In Practice, Jul/Aug 2011

Documents

Transcript of #138, In Practice, Jul/Aug 2011