#104, In Practice, Nov/Dec 2005

INS IDE THIS ISSUE

November/December 2005 * Number 104 www.holisticmanagement.org

Twenty one years ago Steve and BarbaraDavis purchased 45 acres (18 ha) of landin Acworth, New Hampshire. This land

had previously been a working farm 50 yearsago. The Davises spent the first 10 years clearingthe land and returning it to a condition thatwould support production agriculture.

Over time, the Davis Farm increased itscapacity and soon began selling products atregional farmers’ markets and offering on-farminternships. This expansion in biodynamicallyproduced food coincided with a growingregional demand for locally produced organicfoods, giving rise to the formation of aCommunity Supported Agriculture (CSA) on their farm.

As the CSA continued to grow over the years,Steve and Barbara Davis invited neighboringfarmers to join with them in meeting theproduction needs of their growing customerbase. At this time, the Davis Farm decided tochange its name to the Cold Pond CommunityFarm (CPCF). This name more appropriatelydescribed the expansion that includedneighboring farmers. In addition to the namechange, the Davis family formed a land trustnamed Cold Pond Community Land Trust(CPCLT). CPCLT leases land to farmers producingfor the Cold Pond Community Farm. Theseproducers sell their food and products throughthe Cold Pond Community Farm CSA andthrough regional farmers’ markets and localstores. The Davis Farm is one of the farms thatproduce food and products for the CSA; theyalso sell their products at local stores andfarmers’ markets.

A Learning Experience—The Davis Family Farmby Seth Wilner

INS IDE THIS ISSUE

IN PRACTICEIN PRACTICE

Savory Center Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . .15Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Network Affiliates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

FEATURE STORIES

NEWS & NETWORK

A Learning Experience—The DavisFamily Farm

Seth Wilner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1Air Pollution, Water Shortage & SoilErosion—A Different Farm SubsidyApproach

Malcolm Beck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Write It Down

Joe Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5A Middle-Age Adventure

Laura Paine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Book Review

Ann Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

continued on page 2

Seth Wilner learned a lot more than justsugaring when we worked with the Davisfamily in New Hampshire. He learned that you have to take a flexible andcollaborative approach when sharing newinformation. Read more about Seth’s storyon this page.

LAND & LIVESTOCKRocky Trails Farm—Where Farming is Fun

Jim Weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8The Hidden Loss—Understanding theCost of Overgrazing & Overresting

Allan Savory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Beyond the Boundary Fence—Tilbuster Commons

John King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Holistic Sap Boiling

I will never forget the first time I attemptedto formally teach the Davises HolisticManagement, as my experience was memorablefrom so many perspectives. I had arranged adate and time to meet with Steve and BarbaraDavis and their family members and farminterns to begin the process of teaching andintegrating Holistic Management into theircurrent management. Typical of many farmers,all were a touch skeptical and quite busy, so weworked hard to fit in this educational session. Ibelieve that had I not had a personal relationshipwith Steve and Barbara, this first session maynot have taken place. Thus it was one of thefirst times I came to appreciate a lesson I havefound to hold true in my career, introducingnew concepts and approaches to farm familiesis greatly enhanced through personalrelationships and mutual trust.

Our first meeting was scheduled for an earlyevening during February 2002. As it turned out,the sap had begun to flow, so the Davises had to boil. I had driven to their farm with a largeflip chart, a pad of paper and some posters and illustrations I had made during one of mytraining sessions. When I arrived at the farm, Ilearned that the meeting was to be held in thesugar house, which involved a hike throughsnowy fields. The hike precluded the use of myteaching aides, and I was forced to simply beflexible and carry only those materials that fitinto my shoulder bag. I arrived at the sugarhouse to find seven people conversing around alarge wood-fired evaporator, drinking boiling sap

a p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e s a v o r y c e n t e r

2 IN PRACTICE * November / December 2005

their learning and I wanted to have more clarity before I worked with them again. Manyin the group felt that once the quality of lifecomponent of the holistic goal was complete, so too was their work. When I did approachSteve to set up another session, he was prettyreluctant to schedule a time. Steve suggested that after the growing season we would revisit the idea of continuing our work withHolistic Management.

I was not sure whether to push for thecontinuation of our work with HolisticManagement, or to simply respect Steve’s desireto forgo this until sometime after the season was over. My decision was guided by a line froma song I like, “Don’t shake the tree if the fruitain’t ripe.” So I made a decision not to pushHolistic Management. Here again was anotherlesson that has helped me immeasurably in mycareer as an educator; “Meet people where theyare at and respect that the slow process ofbehavior change will only occur when peopleare ready for it.”

During the late fall of 2002, I approachedSteve again to inquire about his interest incontinuing our work with Holistic Management.He felt that Holistic Management might be veryuseful to the Board of Directors of a recentlyformed land trust, the Cold Pond CommunityLand Trust. Steve invited me to the Januarymeeting to introduce Holistic Management andsee if the members of the Board would beinterested in learning and adopting this decision-making model. I took Steve up on hisoffer and agreed to attend the Board meeting in January 2003.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Through my involvement and work with the Cold Pond Community Land Trust and some of the land trust residents as well as other educational opportunities, I had severalopportunities to continue discussing HolisticManagement with the Davises in a variety ofcontexts. But it wasn’t until the Davises werefaced with a challenging decision, that they were interested in learning how to put theirholistic goal “to the test.”

What intrigued them about HolisticManagement this time was that it could not only help them come to a decision thatsimultaneously considered potential impacts totheir quality of life, their income and their farm

A Learning Experience continued from page 1

to stay warm. It was actually a very elegantsetting to engage in a discussion about values,desired quality of life, and decision making. Ifilled a mug with boiling sap, unloaded a notepad from my bag, took out some notes that Ihad prepared, and jumped in.

Familiar with Extension activities, the people in the room prepared themselves tolisten and learn from a “knowledgeable expert.” I tried to dispel this paradigm by sharinghonestly my novice level of HolisticManagement. Nonetheless, they were still eagerat the onset to listen and learn from me. And soit was, I launched into my opening, a descriptionof the model, including what I thought wasinteresting background information on itsderivation and the life and times of Allan Savory.

Fairly quickly I could sense that I was losingthe interest of the group, after all, they had justcome off a long day collecting sap, and it wasapproaching bed time for several in attendance.After about half an hour, Steve Davis saved meby asking what I believe most, if not all, in theroom wanted to ask, “Can we just get startedwith this and skip the explanation?”

Once we began the process of developing aholistic goal, the evening proceeded quite nicely.We went around the room with each personsharing what they valued in life, how theywanted their life to be like on the Davis Farm,what they wanted in their life, and whatenergized and depleted them with respect totheir interactions on the Davis Farm. A shorttime after the meeting Barbara Davis said to methat it was the first time she could recall hearingher children articulate their values and lifedesires, especially as they related to the farm.

I imagine that the sharing of values wasequally as potent for the kids, for they were able to clearly hear their parents articulate theirvalues, ethics, and life desires. Thus that eveningI learned a second valuable lesson about HolisticManagement, “the process of forming a holisticgoal is as important as the product that results.”This lesson has shaped the way I teach andimplement Holistic Management, as I truly see the process as equally valuable to theproduct itself.

A Flexible Approach

Time had passed before my work with the Davis Farm proceeded again. I had notsucceeded in energizing the group to continue

SavoryCENTER

TheSavoryTHE SAVORY CENTER is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. The Savory Center worksto restore the vitality of communities and thenatural resources on which they depend byadvancing the practice of Holistic Managementand coordinating its development worldwide.

FOUNDERSAllan Savory * Jody Butterfield

STAFFShannon Horst, Executive Director

Peter Holter, Senior Director of Marketing and Product Development

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AdministrationJutta von Gontard, Director of Development

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Ann Adams, Managing Editor, IN PRACTICEand Director of Publications and Outreach

Maryann West, Executive Assistant Donna Torrez, Administrative Assistant

BOARD OF DIRECTORSRon Chapman, Chair

Terry Word, Vice-ChairJody Butterfield, Secretary

Sue Probart, TreasurerBen Bartlett

Gail HammackClint Josey

Brian MarshallJim McMullan

Jim ParkerIan Mitchell InnesDennis Wobeser

ADVISORY COUNCILJim Shelton, Chair, Vinita, OKRobert Anderson, Corrales, NM

Michael Bowman,Wray, COSam Brown, Austin, TX

Lee Dueringer, Scottsdale, AZGretel Ehrlich, Gaviota, CA

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Africa Centre for Holistic ManagementPrivate Bag 5950, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Tel: (263) (11) 404 979; email: [email protected] Matanga, Director

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by The Savory Center, 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: [email protected].; website: www.holisticmanagement.org Copyright © 2005.

AD DEFINITUM FINEM

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The

busy times of the year and not more than one at a time.

We tested the decision above while sittingaround the kitchen table. Steve and Barbaraidentified the new possibility of having a parttime intern. This decision would allow them tohave more time together, it would allow them to have more time devoted to participating inthe lives of the land trust residents, and it would also allow for Steve and Barbara toparticipate in local politics or pursue hobbies. We then tested this second option, and it cameup a winner.

Following the testing questions we had along discussion about monitoring the decision tolook for the first signs that the decision was notworking out as planned. The monitoring aspectof the model was helpful in that it took theburden off of Steve and Barbara to be “right.”Instead they could try the action and see how it worked for the next year. If the monitoringshowed signs that the action was not resulting inunintended negative consequences, they couldthen evaluate the situation at the end of thisyear to see if they wanted to continue.

Decisions Don’t Just Happen

Steve and Barbara, as well as their family andfarm interns, are a very progressive group ofpeople. They are sound stewards of the land,care strongly about the community they live in,and are devoted to the success of their farm and family life. As such Holistic Managementbore fruit for them.

In separate one-on-one interviews with Steve

and Barbara, I asked them to describe theimpacts that resulted from our work togetherwith Holistic Management. Steve said. “I used tothink that decisions just happened. You thoughtabout things and then decided what youthought was best. You knew how it turned outsooner or later and went from there. But as Ilearned about the process (of HolisticManagement), I saw how to make decisionsdifferently, in a way that considered what Iwanted much better.” Steve felt that HolisticManagement improved his ability to makedecisions. He feels that he has less stress as aresult of this process and that he is moreconfident in the outcomes. The process alsoimproved his communication with his familyand others.

Barbara cited great benefits with includingthe kids as decision makers in the family. Shesaid that the times they have included the kidsin the conversations has been very beneficial for the family and has improved the kids’ selfconfidence. “They felt that their input was asimportant as ours, and this increased theirconfidence and self-worth,” says Barbara. Theyalso added many creative ideas to thediscussions. Barbara said that it helped her to be clearer in her own mind when she makesdecisions, thus increasing her confidence in her decision making.

They also both monitor their decisions morethan they used, and they keep their holistic goal in their mind as they walk through life,trying to make decisions that move them toward their holistic goal. Steve and Barbara alsokeep re-visiting their holistic goal and changingit, and each time this process helps theirrelationship to grow.

The early challenge of how to engage theDavises has helped me to become a far moreeffective educator in numerous ways. It taughtme to find other teaching approaches, and alsotaught me to accept and honor people wherethey are. Likewise it helped me to see that evenjust using some of the Holistic Managementpractices and processes offers great benefit.Indeed I am grateful to Steve and Barbara forhelping me learn so much more about HolisticManagement through my interactions with them;I am grateful and appreciative for the friendshipthat developed through our time spent co-learning Holistic Management.

Seth Wilner is a Certified Educator and lives inNewport, New Hampshire. He can be reached at: 603/863-9200 or [email protected].

environment, but also through monitoring their decision, they could mitigate the situationin short order if necessary. This created afreedom to run with the decision and see if itbore the fruit they felt it would. I believe thatthrough this two-year process of learning andexperimenting Steve and Barbara Davis havecome to gain a solid understanding of both the principles and process of HolisticManagement, including the value of testingdecisions and then monitoring these for the first sign that the decision may be resulting inundesirable outcomes.

Their decision was: “Should we discontinuehaving volunteers and interns working on our farm?”

Cause and Effect—This decision would addressthe root cause of the problem because theproblem is the amount of time it takes to assist,organize, instruct and provide resources for thevolunteers and interns, especially some whohave high expectations of what will be provided and how.

Weak Link

Social—There would be no red flags if theDavises simply did not advertise for interns oraccept them if they inquired.

Biological—Not applicableFinancial—Marketing conversion was

identified as the weakest link. Having internscould help strengthen this link as they couldattend farmers markets and help deliver goodsto local stores. Yet, mostly, the interns deal in the product conversion link, so this will notprobably affect the marketing/cash conversionaspect of the farm.

Marginal Reaction—Right now, not havinginterns would allow the Davises to have moretime together which was a high priority in theirholistic goal. It would save them time and notimpact them monetarily. Although supportingcommunity and furthering sustainableagriculture were important in the holistic goal,time together was more important at this point.So not having interns would take them closer to their holistic goal.

Gross Profit Analysis—Not applicable.Energy/Money Source & Use—Not applicableSustainability—They did not see this decision

negatively affecting the future resource base.Society and Culture—After lengthy discussion,

it felt right to both have and not have interns.There were positive sides to both actions, yet itfelt the best to not have year-round interns.They identified the possibility of having non-year-round interns and have them only during

Steve and Barbara Davis are an importantpiece of Seth Wilner’s learning community anddemonstrate how on-farm education andresearch is a two way street in CooperativeExtension.

Number 104 * IN PRACTICE 3


Before our modern agriculture—withover soil tillage, non-organic, highanalysis fertilizers, and improper animal

grazing—became widely used on our farm andranch lands, the soil in this country had anorganic content between four and eight percent.Now the soil across the U.S. contains one half or less of the organic matter it once had.

Although modern agricultural practices aredesigned to improve farming, the results showdifferent. The big mold board and disc plowsturned the top soil over and exposed themillions of soil life species to the sun’s rayswhich kill them. They then decay, and thecarbon they contained is oxidized into the air as CO2.

Using high analysis fertilizers doesn’t helpeither. Plants can’t absorb chemical fertilizeruntil microbes have processed it into an ionform. The energy microbes require to do theprocessing is taken from the decaying, carbonrich, plant and animal matter in the soil. As the soil life processes the fertilizers, the energyused is released to the atmosphere as CO2. The higher the analysis, and/or more fertilizerused, the more CO2 is released. As a result, the soil organic content is lost from the soil to the atmosphere as pollution. Is there an answer?

Nature grows plants without plowing orusing high analysis fertilizer, so why can’t we?Organic fertilizers contain the energy themicrobes need for the processing so none isstolen from the soil. A study published a fewyears ago by William Holmberg, a consultant tothe U.S. President, discovered that “all we needto do to offset the carbon dioxide we areputting into the atmosphere each year fromburning fossil fuels is to build the organiccontent of our farm lands just one tenth of one percent each year.”

At that time no one knew how to do that.Time and testing have shown that “conservationtillage” does exactly that. In cooler and wetterareas, not all of the farm land can be operatedon a no-till basis; however, grazing animals orranching in a way that conserves the soil can be done in most any weather condition.

Air Pollution, Water Shortage & Soil Erosion—A Different Farm Subsidy Approachby Malcolm Beck

A Simple Solution

Holistic Management® Planned Grazing canhelp solve the air pollution and water shortageproblems and much more. Holistic plannedgrazing builds the soil organic content the sameas conservation tillage. In this country, there are455 million acres of farm land with about 60,000acres in no-till. There are 578 million acres ofrangeland in the U.S. I heard an estimate thatover a million acres of that rangeland is alreadybeing grazed by people integrating HolisticManagement into their grazing practices.

Unlike farming or common animal grazingmethods, Holistic Management grazing requiresno or very little fertilizers, pesticides, and fossilfuel consuming large equipment. HolisticManagement grazing keeps a protective cover ofplants on the soil at all times, which traps rains,stops soil erosion, promotes greater waterabsorption, lessens flood damage, and creates agood habitat to protect and increase native plantand wildlife species. In addition to all of thesebenefits, Holistic Management ranchers have ahigher stocking rate and make more profit eachyear than neighboring ranches.

All of this could easily be accomplished iffarmers and ranchers were helped to learn andunderstand these methods. If farmers and

ranchers were paid to build the organic contentof their soil, Nature and all mankind would gainabundantly from this type of farm subsidy.

The people living in the urban areas couldalso help to control air pollution and watershortages. Applying one half-inch (12.5 mm) ofcompost to the lawn in the fall, has proven to cutwater needs from 20 to 70 percent. A two-inch(55 mm) layer of organic mulch over the rootzone of shrubs and trees and one-inch (25 mm)for flowers show the same water-saving results.

Carbon & Water Cycles

Understanding and using the carbon andwater cycles is the solution to air pollution,water shortages, and soil erosion.

On the surface of green plant leaves, thereare numerous little valves called stomatas. Theselittle valves open to take in air. They then shut,and the leaf attacks the carbon dioxide thatcame with the air and separates the carbon fromthe oxygen. With chlorophyll and energy fromthe sun, carbon is combined with hydrogen tomake carbohydrates or energy. The oxygen isthen released to the air for our use. This is howNature keeps the air clean and creates theenergy we use and the food we eat.

Whenever there is a cover of mulch on thesoil such as leaves, grass, manure, litter, compost,dead insects or any life form, there is decay goingon at the soil level. The decay rate is greatestwhen the temperature and moisture is best forplant growth. This decay is creating and releasingcarbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbondioxide is slightly heavier than air. It tends tostay trapped in the canopy of growing plants andgrass. These plants now have an abundance ofcarbon dioxide to process into energy.

NASA research has discovered that whenthere are high concentrations of CO2 around thesurface of leaves they stay two degrees warmerbecause there is less moisture being lost fromthe leaf through the stomata. The escapingmoisture has a cooling effect. There is lessmoisture being lost because with a lot of CO2 inthe air, the stomata can stay shut longer andopen less because it quickly gets an abundanceof CO2 resulting in longer processing which

Malcolm Beck, the compost guru, says a 1/2 inchlayer of compost can reduce water needs up to70 percent.


There was a study I heard on theradio about a

statistical analysis tool that had been developedthat was very good atpredicting future behavior.It was far more accuratethan the experiencedmembers of parole boards,for example, at predictinghow parolees wouldbehave upon release.

Yet, parole boards, even on this “if you screwup someone gets hurt”decision chose to rely ontheir hunch rather than onthe analysis tool. Whatgives? We love to followour gut feeling and balk at what we thinkmight get in the way of that experience, likethe Holistic Management® testing questions.How many of us, who are drawn to HolisticManagement, have a fairly strong sense thatlife is connected everywhere and every way?Most of us, if my experience is not unique.

Yet many of us fail to test our decisions. I believe it is for the same reason that theparole board chose not to use the toolsavailable to them: we are too confident inour holistic thinking, and we want to followour hunch. The problem is that our hunchdoes not always take into consideration thevarious aspects of the decision, those that areexpressly addressed by the six other testsbefore our gut is consulted. Our thinking is“holistic;” our decision making is not.

The other problem I have noticed afterthis year of using the testing questions andafter talking with Dick Richardson, aCertified Educator from South Africa, is thechallenges that arise when we use the testswhen we have only an abstract notion orfeeling for a holistic goal. Dick suggested that we need to have our holistic goal evencloser to us than the testing questions, and I believe he is right.

In the past, I have tried to use the testsand couldn’t even tell you the last time I readmy holistic goal—or even where it was. This

is sort of the former problem upside down. Icould test a decision, but only against a goal thatwas felt by my gut. In fact, I was only testing adecision toward an abstraction—nothing clear atall about it except the compelling tug on myinnards. This practice has resulted in veryinconsistent results.

For example, on my way home from TheSavory Center’s Rendezvous in Albuquerque this January, I wrote down my holistic goal. A few days after I got home, a conflict arosebetween me and my daughter, Sarah, aboutsomething she wanted to buy. I thought it was aridiculous purchase and attempted to persuadeher. When that failed, I tried to coerce her. Asyou can imagine, it wasn’t working in a verypeaceful way.

I had the chance to look at my holistic goal,and it struck me right between the eyes that Ivalued freedom for “myself and others,” and that“I must work. . . to build peaceful relationshipsbased on justice.” Those were not clear in theabstract way my holistic goal registered in mygut. In order for those values to serve me, as Imanaged holistically, I needed to take the time towrite them down. Without the discipline to dothat, my gut would have failed me and Sarah.

Joseph Morris ranches near San Juan Bautista,California. He can be reached at: 831/623-2933or [email protected].

keeps the stomata closed longer. NASA concludedthis too could contribute to global warming.However, they missed an important point. Ninetynine percent of the water a plant takes from the soil is transpired through the open stomata.

The longer the stomata stays shut, the lesstranspiration or moisture is lost from the plant.

In a conservation-tillage operation with annualcrops, the soil is disturbed very little. Theearthworms and the many other forms of macro life are not disturbed or destroyed. The micro lifealong with the miles of fine root hairs are notdisturbed or exposed to damaging sun rays, whichcan quickly destroy them, and they will eventuallybe oxidized into the atmosphere. Soil science hasshown that there is more tonnage and numbers oflive species underground than living above in anygiven area.

With conservation tillage, the entire above-grownportion of dead plants is kept on the surface asmulch. This traps every drop of rain, keeping it from evaporating away or running off to causeflooding and erosion. Under the mulch, at the soillevel, there is a more constant moisture andtemperature where the macro- and micro-forms ofsoil life are feeding, pasteurizing, tunneling, anddigesting the raw material back to the soil asfertilizer and soil conditioner.

With Holistic Management grazing, the preferredspecies of grasses and forbs are never overgrazed.There is always a healthy stand of many species ofgrowing plants with ample leaf surface to capturethe CO2 being released from the urine, manure, anddead plant litter that has fallen down to the soilsurface. Here the carbon cycle is working at its best.In poor grazing conditions, where the grass andother forage plant are eaten too short, with no greenleft, the plant is weakened, and then the plant has tosteal carbohydrates from the roots to re-grow. Thisweakens the roots; eventually the plant will die, andthis starves the symbiotic associated micro andhigher soil life. Eventually, there is soil compaction,poor in-soak, water runoff, soil erosion, and CO2escaping to the atmosphere.

How people manage their land, consciously orunconsciously, all has an affect on the health andeconomy of the area, the nation, and the world. Ourfarm subsidies should support the kind of outcomewe want, and Holistic Management is a simplesolution to address issues such as air pollution, water shortage, and soil erosion.

Malcolm Beck is a member of HRM of Texas andthe compost guru of Texas. He can be reached at:[email protected].

Write It Down by Joe Morris

Joe Morris learned the value of writing down his holistic goal andusing it when working through a situation with his daughter, Sarah.


My 23 year old daughter remarked to me recently that she thought itwas pretty gutsy for her parents to

embark on “the adventure of farming” in theirlate 40s, when most of her friends’ parents werewell settled in careers and beginning the slidetoward retirement.

It was said with admiration, but it begs thequestion: Why would people our age, with anempty nest and established careers, choose tosaddle ourselves with the monumental task offixing up an old farm and trying to make it apaying business? Did we really know what we were getting ourselves into? No, definitelynot. Would we do it again? Yes, but probablydifferently. Holistic Management has made a bigdifference in how this farm has developed sofar, but it could have made an even biggerdifference if we’d had this resource long ago.

Buying The Farm

Bill and I have always wanted to own land.We almost went down that path as young, just-out-of-college idealists back in the 1970s, butevents conspired to set us off in a differentdirection. Looking at ourselves back then, I cansee how Holistic Management could havechanged our course significantly. Had we had atthe time, a holistic goal for ourselves, we mighthave determined a way to make the farmingthing work back then. Instead, our life togetherhas developed step by step, decision by decision,without much of a plan for the long term. It hasunfolded in response to a series of relativelyrandom opportunities, the path we’ve traveleddetermined not so much by conscious choice as by chance.

This sounds like a recipe for disaster, but ithasn’t been. It has turned out well, in retrospect,and the important, life-changing decisions we’vemade have moved us generally in a positivedirection. We’ve always been in touch with ourvalues and, for the most part, have made choicesbased on them. A quarter century later, we’rehappy with where we are. Having raised ourfamily and gotten our children safely off tocollege, the urge to own land has remained. Thewindow of opportunity opened up in front ofus again, and this time we climbed through.

We made a plan: when I took my job as acounty Extension agent in 1999, Bill and I began

A Middle-Age AdventureBy Laura Paine

looking for a farm in the county where I work.In 2002, we found an affordable 82-acre (33-ha)property that fit our needs. The plan was for usboth to continue working at our jobs whiledeveloping a small, pasture-based, direct marketbeef enterprise on the farm. Once we weresufficiently well established, Bill could quit hisjob and further expand the farm operation. Bythe time I’m ready to retire in 10 or 15 years, wehope to have a stable, flexible operation that will provide a reasonable retirement income and allow us to adapt to our changing needs aswe get older.

I’ve always enjoyed exploring the boundaries ofwhat is considered acceptable science, and Idon’t have a problem sifting through new ideasand selecting the pieces that I want to fittogether to meet my needs. I work for aponderous, slow moving bureaucracy. Someone’sgot to bring new ideas to it once in awhile.

So, when the opportunity to join The SavoryCenter’s Certified Educator Training Programcame along, I viewed it as a means of gainingskills to use in my work with farmers. I lookedat where Bill and I were with our farm andimagined that this was a perfect opportunity to‘learn by doing’—to gain a better understandingof Holistic Management by actually practicing it as we developed our farm. My primarymotivation was to experiment with all of theconcepts, decision tests, and planning processesin order to make me a better teacher of otherfarmers. If it helped our own operation directly,that was a bonus.

With that goal, Bill and I have experimentedwith most of the Holistic Management practicesI’ve learned, but I think the most valuable partof the experience for both of us has beenparticipating in the learning community. Whathas evolved has been unexpectedly richer andmore meaningful to me personally and to us as a couple.

It would have been very different if it hadbeen just me in my role as ‘teacher,’ but Bill’sparticipation in the group has allowed me toexperience the process both as a teacher and aparticipant, and it has given us an opportunity to more fully understand our values and goalsand to develop good decision-making skills forourselves. It has and will continue to have apositive influence on how we develop our farm.

The Problem with Arnold

Bill and I have used the decision testingguidelines several times with questions directlyrelated to our beef enterprise. Sometimes, thetesting questions themselves don’t point to theanswer, but going through the process usuallyleads us to ask the questions that do reveal thebest solution for us.

For example, in our first grazing season onthe farm, Bill and I bought a group of 14 stockercalves to get our beef operation going. Amongthem were 3 heavy steers that we planned tobutcher in fall; the rest were heifers of variousages, some of which we sold and some we keptto start our cow-calf herd.

As the yearling heifers started coming intoheat in June, one of the steers—we’ll call him

Bill and Laura Paine embarked on a middle-aged adventure of farming. Laura foundHolistic Management to be particularly helpfulin her development as an extension educatoras well as a farmer.

Professional Development

Enter Holistic Management. During my years as a researcher and educator in grazingmanagement, I’d come across the work of AllanSavory and had familiarized myself with thegeneral principles. I’ve had very mixed feelingsabout Holistic Management. I’ve always felt that agriculture could benefit from a moreholistic view of the world, one that includesenvironmental and quality of life concerns. But, I was skeptical of what I felt was the quasi-scientific treatment of ecological principles andthe vaguely cult-like mystique surrounding theorganization. Still, I felt that the basics of HolisticManagement were very sound and were where Iwanted to take my work with farmers. Besides,


wait? What if we butchered him now? It was mid-July. Arnold had started out at

850 pounds (363 kg) and he’d been on pasturefor nearly three months. We did some quickcalculations. Eighty-some days, a couple ofpounds a day, he should be getting up around athousand pounds (450 kg). He was definitely not‘finished,’ but might this be the best optionfinancially and logistically? So we decided to testthe decision: Should we butcher Arnold now?

Cause and effect: Action addresses theproblem of Arnold’s behavior in a mixed herd.

Does this lead us toward our long term goals?(Sustainability) It doesn’t lead us away from it

Marginal reaction: Does this option give usthe best bang for our buck? Comparing thisoption to the others, it at least comes out about even.

Society and Culture: Overall, taking Arnold tovisit the butcher a little early seemed like theright thing to do. We couldn’t really think of anyother considerations that we’d missed in makingthis decision.

After brainstorming all the options we couldthink of (I’m sure there were others we couldhave considered), and running our favored option

through the tests, we felt more confident aboutthe choice. So, Arnold went to the butcher, theheifers relaxed, and the steaks were delicious. This isn’t necessarily the choice we’d make everytime this situation arises, but it was the best choicefor this time. For us, this is one of the keys todecision testing: few hard-and-fast rules should bemade. Every decision needs to be made fresh,reviewing all the factors in place at that particulartime with respect to your holistic goal.

Holistic Management has come along at a perfect time for Bill and me. As weplunge ourselves into this new project,having a shared vision of what we wantthe farm and our lives to look like hashelped guide our progress. Everything isnew. The types of decisions needing to be made are different. For us coming froman urban professional background, evenworking together as business partners is a new experience.

There are two important pieces thathave made this a valuable experience forus. One is certainly having the HolisticManagement® framework to providestructure to our efforts. The other is ourlearning community. This project we’ve

embarked on is all about exploring theboundaries of our own capabilities. In mostpeople’s holistic goals there is almost always a‘personal challenge’ sort of statement. We ashuman beings thrive on challenging ourselves togo a little farther, accomplish a little more. It canbe a scary road to travel, and to fulfill this pieceof our holistic goal, having a community offellow explorers is a necessity. It creates a safespace where you can dream, debate, decide,console, and gather the courage to continue.

Laura Paine works for Cooperative Extensionin Columbia County, Wisconsin. She can bereached at: 608/742-9682 [email protected].

Arnold—made it clear that his operation hadn’tbeen completely successful. Arnold quicklybecame a problem, stirring things up among thegirls and setting a bad example for the other twosteers, not to mention the possibility that hemight actually be successful with these youngheifers. What to do? We used the cause andeffect to determine what the real problem was.

Our first response was that we had to gethim fixed. When we talked to the producer webought him from, his response was thesame—we’ll get him taken care of. Problemequals failed castration. The solution was toredo the castration. Simple. But looking atthe situation more holistically, we askedourselves: What is the actual problem? It’snot the failed castration; it’s the fact thathe’s in a mixed herd with females. Thatrealization opened up a whole lot of otherpossible solutions.

We began brainstorming solutions. Ifthe problem was having Arnold in theherd with the girls, we could move himout of there. The options there were: wecould segregate Arnold and his cohorts intheir own separate pasture system or wecould sell him back to Dick or have Dick‘custom raise’ him for us (he wouldn’t be a problem in a herd of steers).

We weighed those options against the firstsolution and still weren’t entirely happy withany of them. The first option—having hisoperation repaired would cost money and lostweight gain while he recovered, and he mightcontinue to have a behavior problem. Thesegregation option would cost money, lostincome, and/or additional time and resources to run two groups.

As we stood there watching Arnoldmounting one or another of the heifers, Iremembered Bill’s frequent comment over thepast several weeks that he couldn’t wait to puthim in the freezer. That made me think: why

The Holistic Management® planning processes have providedstructure for this new farming couple to succeed.

Book Reviewby Ann Adams

Gardeners of Eden—Rediscovering Our Importance to NatureDan Dagget© 2005 Thatcher Charitable Trustpp. 144$25 (see ordering information on page 23)

For those of you who have read DanDagget’s book, Beyond The RangelandConflict, you may not believe that any

sequel to that Pulitzer-nominated book could bebetter. But, Gardeners of Eden has indeedsurpassed Rangeland Conflict, while alsooffering a continuation of the stories chronicleda decade ago.

Having read a number of texts that trydesperately to convince environmentalists and

resource managers that we must work withnature (not leave it alone or merely extract fromit with no concern for sustainability), I believethat Gardeners of Eden offers the most cogentdiscussion of humans’ importance to nature’shealthy functioning. In addition to Dagget’s well-written prose, Tom Bean’s photography providesthe readers a window into the lives of thepeople and land that demonstrate the credo of

continued on page 16

This story chronicles the results and trials and tribulations of DonnyChamberlain, one of three Northern Pennsylvania (Northern PENNNetwork) farmers who have attempted to redesign their farms as a

production unit not only to provide a source of solar income, but also toprovide a base for community and family stability.

The Chamberlains’ farm is located in the Corey Creek Watershed, a tributaryto the Tioga River, which flows into the North Branch of the SusquehannaRiver. The farm is situated in a rolling basin with a predominantly southernexposure, and it is well watered in a non-brittle environment. The soils areformed in glacial till and can be heavy, wet and slow to warm in the spring.This is traditional grass and dairy country,although the ecosystem that it replacedwas climax mixed deciduous/evergreenforests.

The Whole Family

The farm has been in the familysince 1974, and the ancestral home isnext door. Donny farms full-time,although he could expand his carpentrybusiness if he wanted and found theright partner. But, his first choice isfarming. He said he’s “farming the land‘cause I want to, and because it’s a goodplace to raise a family.”

His wife, Lugene, and two childrenagree, and they all enjoy country living. Family and friends make up a largepart of their holistic goal. Don and his son participate in the high schoolwrestling program with Don as a coach and son, Tyler, wrestling. They alsoenjoy hunting and snowmobiling in the winter. Summers, they farm for fun.With a seasonal operation, cows are dry from Christmas to late March, theyhave time to relax and enjoy their pursuits.

Lugene produces off farm income as a social worker. She loves to helpin the barn though, and milks cows with the rest of the family. Cassy, theirdaughter, is also involved with the dairy and enjoys working with theanimals. The sharing of responsibilities and chores is one of the family’svalues and a strong advantage as they work together and play together.

The livestock on the farm consist of 55 milk cows bred for spring

freshening. In addition, they keep 20-30 heifers every year, some to sell andsome for herd replacements. They have several pigs for cleaning up,composting, and hams at Christmas, and a couple of horses, left over fromthe rodeo days.

Community Ties

With their holistic goal, Don and Lugene have a clear picture of theirvalues, how they will support them, and what they are striving for in theircommunity and watershed. With Don’s involvement in local government asa Township Supervisor and Planning Commission member, which opens

many avenues for influence, andLugene’s social work, the family hasmany ties to the community. They canweigh important issues in theircommunity based on what they wantand how it will look instead of kneejerk reactions to influences they haveno control over.

The framework for using a holisticgoal, a way to test the decision beforeimplementation, and the tool ofmonitoring can be a powerful tool forchange. When you ask Donny aboutHolistic Management he says, “I wouldnot be farming this way without it. Ifyou had asked me ten years ago

whether I would be seasonal, or even grazing, what’s my first reaction? NOWAY!!” When I asked him if his life has changed since or because ofstudying Holistic Management, he responded, “You bet! The people part ofmy holistic goal has definitely had a positive change.”

The farm is central to this community, and farming and farmers are alarge part of their life. The Chamberlains looked at their interests and howthey wanted to spend their time to determine what they valued: a hobby ortwo, high school sports, run the numbers (financial planning) and volunteerfor local community activities, all of which make farming fun for them.Without the framework to define the whole and see it as a completepicture, plus the decision-making framework that Holistic Managementprovides, there would be a lot more stress in their lives.

8 Land & Livestock * November / December 2005

Rocky Trails Farm—Where Farming is Funby Jim Weaver

The Chamberlains have participated in conservation practices foryears and received the Conservation Farm of the Year Award fromthe Tioga County Conservation District in 2001. Don is in the middle.

&L I V E S T O C K &

When Don talks with other farmers in the network, the issues thatcome up are how they can influence the markets they work in, theinfrastructure they rely on, and the community they live in. Don believesthat having a holistic goal helps him make those kinds of decisions andkeeps him from crisis management. “We don’t leave things to chance anymore,” Don says. “We have a clear picture of how we want our lives to be,what’s important to us and what we will need to make it so. This is arecipe for smooth operation of the farm and our daily lives.”

The overall results of that picture are that the Chamberlains haveremoved more than half the moving parts (machinery) of the operation,and they no longer run around fixing (and paying for) machinery andequipment that used to take up so much of our time. These changes, froma more conventional year around freshening herd that was confinementbased with supplemental spring/summer “pasture,” have been enjoyable and profitable for the Chamberlains.

Planning for Success

While some farmers in this non-brittleenvironment rely on the forgiving natureof this environment, Donny has found youcan’t be so relaxed about financial planning.He has found that without the insights ofallocation of expenses to generate wealth,putting profit in the expense column, andpaying yourself first—coupled with runningthe numbers—he would have been acarpenter long ago. Without HolisticManagement® Financial Planning, Donnywould not have had these tools to generatewealth from farming. He readily admits we would not be farming now if “I didn’tknow about Holistic Management.”

After getting into and out of the dairybusiness several times in the past for various reasons, now he is clear onwhy he’s in it, and when and how to step off the train. The holistic goal heand Lugene share is the determining factor for his decision to stay/get backinto farming. “Without a good reason to stay in and the ability to make aprofit, I wouldn’t have near the potential that I have now,” says Don.

As we probed the financial planning process, Don confided he isplanning to sell the herd. But not for the reasons you might think. “Oh, theycash flow,” he says. “I’m making money at $10/hundredweight, but my kidshave never been out West. I’ll sell the herd as they are coming fresh, keepthe bred heifers and take 2005 off!” Attention to the expense columns in hisfinancial plan and the first column—profit— have allowed Don to first see,then plan, for a major quality of life decision. “Right now it works on paper,”Don says. “Cow prices are up, my cow numbers are up, my debt is down,and my kids are growing up!”

How did Donny make this happen? Admittedly he likes numbers, buthe also noted that the out of the box methods of Holistic Management gavehim the ability and tools to “see” the possibility and “capitalize” on theopportunity. The sale of the herd will support the year off, and the heiferscoming due the following year will put him back under the cows andgenerating income back in the window of the spring of 2006.

As he completes the financial plan this year he wants to convert over tothe Savory Center’s financial planning software. The complexity of trackingmonthly planned, actual, difference and cumulative figures manually is

much too complex and tedious to do by hand, so he isn’t always asconsistent with his monitoring as he’d like. Don notes, “Imagine what theplan will tell me when that’s done on the fly! This year, by monitoring mycheckbook and using my desk in the milk house to track the bulk tank, I saved $11,000 on $11 milk.”

Resource Conversion

Since the dairy is the centerpiece of the farm enterprise most of the majordecisions are made there. While the tendency is to spend more to producemore (a conditioned response to production agriculture), Donny keeps thistendency in check. “There is a point of diminishing returns,” he says.

Soil tests and monitoring show the fertility of the farm has increased by50 percent and the production of cattle has ramped up. “I have always runout of grass in July, but now I have twice as many cattle. The livestock

production planning has allowed Don toincrease his stocking rate from one cowper two acres to just under one cow peracre. He has gone from 30 cows in hismilking string to just under 60, and thistotal is limited by the milking facility.Likewise, the leftover infrastructure frompast production methods has been alimiting factor in the Chamberlains’transition to Holistic Management®

Planned Grazing. The basic grazing planning improved

production dramatically, but still left Donwith little grass in the paddocks duringthe summer slump. While pondering thefinancial weak link in this enterprise, heidentified that his fencing was holdingback his ability to get the animals to thepaddocks in a timely and efficient manner

and not run out of grass in July. Not all the fields were fenced, and some of them didn’t get harvested at the right time or for the right reasons.

Donny reasoned that fencing all the open land on the farm would allowfor a much more stable planned grazing and the production of top-qualitystored forage. Now he is able to plan for the summer slump of grassproduction and his new fence will make that possible because it enableshim to give plants more recovery time. Because he determines the financialweak link each year and does his biological planning, and financialplanning, the new fence is paid for. The fact that he had grass available, but had to harvest it with equipment and had no way to get the cattle onthe grass without fence, demonstrated the need for the fence.

Organic or Not?

Organic milk production is another decision the Chamberlains testedtoward their holistic goal. When milk prices take a plunge, the search forbetter markets pops up. For the past several years, one of the networkmembers has been selling organic milk. He is guaranteed a price that isusually higher than conventional milk. Last summer it was twice as much.

Donny tested that decision, but it failed the weak link, marginal reaction,and the gross profit analysis. The cost of organic feed made this enterprisefare much worse than conventional production. The added cost oforganically produced grain, which Don still believes is important and a

Number 104 * Land & Livestock 9


Rocky Trails Farm has moved from being a conventional,high-input dairy to a lean and profitable grazing operationover the last six years. Donny Chamberlain is clear he couldn’thave made that transition without Holistic Management.

wealth generating expense, did not pencil, and the decision did not pass.Likewise, for financial and herd health reasons (the lack of a veterinarianthat practices holistic medicine in our area and Don’s inexperience inmaking a transition from antibiotics and conventional medicine), Dondecided at this point not to transition.

At $10/hundredwt. for conventional milk, his cost of production is alittle over $6/hundredwt. So at $10 dollar milk, he makes a profit of $4. Fororganic milk, his cost of production would jump to $16/hundredwt, dueprimarily to organic feed costs. At $20/hundredwt, this would still be $4profit. With the other variables that circle this decision (herd health andproduction), which are all unknowns in Donny’s experience, he plans to getmore information on organic milk and continue to research this option.

The Grazing Plan

In the non-brittle environment of theNortheast the concern for cycling carbonand healing land with grazing animals isfar from our daily concerns. While Dondoesn’t do a grazing plan on paper (maybewhy he runs out of grass in July?), hedoes monitor grass growth on a daily andweekly basis during the growing season.By moving the cattle to the best paddockand using twelve hour (after everymilking) paddock changes, the cattle are moved through the grazing cell.

As his knowledge of HolisticManagement® Grazing Planning improves,and his analysis moves him to moredetailed planning of forage harvest andutilization, the need for better grassmanagement and grazing planning will be ramped up to include a moredetailed plan.

Don is slowly coming around to improving and advancing his use of thegrazing planning to better utilize forage produced and extending his grazingto include the non-growing season. Right now, he is grazing seven monthsof the year, with improved planned grazing offering the potential forreducing stored forage needs and grazing into and during the wintermonths, which will further improve profitability.

Another monitoring indicator used to determine effectiveness of his grazingplan is the bulk tank—how much did the cows produce on that paddock? Dailybulk tank readings and correlation to paddocks and grass production is one ofthe best monitoring tools a dairy farmer has. The daily production of milk isan important tool for feedback on his decisions to move the cattle. He can seethe value of moving on a twelve-hour schedule with the improvement in milkproduced by the best forage intake daily and the results of changing frompaddocks with different species composition and quality.

Transfer of nutrients in the grazing cell is also controlled by feedingschedules for stored feed. Round baled hay and baleage are usedextensively for periods of slow or no grass growth. Where these are fed iscontrolled by monitoring fertility, species composition, and bare ground, sothe biological monitoring of the pastures is an ongoing process. Bare groundand fertility are monitored “by walking around” and making note of where

nutrients are needed on the paddocks. The story of the Chamberlains at Rocky Trail Farm demonstrates the

long-term nature of Holistic Management and the complex relationships it is meant to plan, monitor, and manage. Don and Lugene are not unique,although they have evolved a very unique and effective farm operation.They have been able to ask the right questions to move toward what theywant as a family and dared to create a vision of what they want theircommunity to look like far into the future.

The financial success of the dairy can be directly attributed to the financialplanning Don has learned as a result of his experience with Holistic Management.He can pay himself first, generate wealth by the allocation of expenses and sortfinancial data to include wealth generating expenses. The fact that he does it,without a major debt load and can remain profitable in the toughest economictimes, is a tribute to his management ability and the tools he employs to harvestsolar energy from his farm.

Donny has developed his own pace of learning and likes to test hisdecisions for months or years in somecases. The decision to go organic is a casein point. He knows what he doesn’t knowand is willing to explore the field formore education. He wants to improve hisbottom line without reducing his qualityof life or the quality of his environment.

As a conservative dairy farmer inNorth Central Pennsylvania, DonChamberlain has charted a course verydifferent from his neighbors and peers. He has started to question basicassumptions of how his farming affectsthe environment, how his decisions affecthis profitability, and how his family andquality of life are a major part of his roleas farmer, father, and husband. Now hehas tools for decision making that go farbeyond his ability to produce a product

and make a living from the land, and he no longer accepts the notion thatto make more money or improve his standard of living he has to producemore milk.

The necessary ingredients for making a profit from farming are right athis fingertips and many of the raw materials are free! With sunshine andtimely rains, he is able to use the land resource he has to produce milk at aprofit when many farmers are going broke. By allocating expenses to increaseprofit and changing the paradigm from cows in the barn and grass withwheels to cows with legs and grass with roots, he can make the resource baseof his farm and community a real grassroots revolution in agriculture.

I have been following Donny’s transition from conventional highlymechanized farming with many off-farm inputs to a lean and profitablegrazing operation for about six years, and every year he incorporates moreof his management skill into the operation. He didn’t do it alone, and hedidn’t do it over night. But with persistence, patience and practice, he has a good start on sustainability and a profitable stake in farming.

This article is an excerpt from the publication Improving Whole FarmPlanning Through Better Decision-Making, which can be ordered throughThe Savory Center by calling 505/842-5252 or downloaded for free at:www.holisticmanagement.org/oll_wholefarm.cfm. Jim Weaver is a CertifiedEducator in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. He can be reached at: 570/724-7788 or [email protected].


Rocky Trails Farm continued from page 9

Northern PENN Holistic Management Network Members prepareto monitor the macroinvertebrates in the stream that runsthrough Rocky Trails Farm as part of their biological monitoring.


Editor’s Note: Allan Savory wrote the following letter to a rancher who willremain anonymous. We include it here because so many ranchersexperience the same problems.

Iam sending you this report/comment on what I observed on yourranch, Far Horizon, as I promised to do. I intend for it to be helpful and hope that it is.

First, I must congratulate you on the overall improvement on the ranch and in the cattle that has taken place since my last visit ten years ago, wonderful improvement for which you must take great credit. I look forward to the day we can get our own cattle on our learning site ranches looking like yours do. We will, but like you, it will take time and rigid adherence to a strict culling program, which we have already established.

The great improvement on your ranch is shown by such simple thingsas the growth of grass in the beds of the tank dams that used to be water,mud or silt, as I remember. In fact, you reminded me there were ducks onthe one dam during my first visit! It was amazing to me to not see anyrunoff going into these dams, even after the four inches of rain youreceived just before my visit.

If you are able to fine tune some of the things below you will not runinto trouble as quickly or as badly when you do get dry years. Most of thethings that concerned me were associated with what I see as “hidden” lostproduction. You do not see the loss, but in a dry time it is likely to catch upwith you and lead to higher costs or lower profits.

This hidden loss I have often tried to convey to ranchers with a story.Suppose you planted 200 acres of corn (which is a grass) and put a fencedown the middle to equally divide the field. On one half of the field youput in four cows the day you plant the corn, but leave the other half togrow for 60 days. On your return 60 days later you would find four dead orvery hungry cows on the one half but tons of forage on the other half.How on earth did four cows eat that much? The answer of course is thatthey didn’t because the corn never had the opportunity to get into thesteep part of their growth curve.

Overgrazing

I noticed quite a lot of overgrazing of plants in areas of paddocks andaround water points. To help you to recognize what I am seeing, look at

these pictures.The first picture is one of the early grazing cells I had Bob Rutherford

install on his Igava Ranch in Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) to use when Iwas developing planned grazing. After a few years, and running three timesthe old stocking rate, there is grass right up to the water point. There wereover 30 paddocks radiating from this water point.

The next picture is a close up view of one of the paddocks at the gatein the previous picture.

As you will see there is grass and very few weeds right up to the gate.This is because no overgrazing is taking place due to the planned grazingand monitoring. This was, for your interest, the first grazing cell on which Idetected overgrazing when we tried to use average grazing periods insteadof varying them with daily growth rate. It was from that experience thatwe developed the general rule that you should never average the grazing orrecovery periods and then rotate animals.

By contrast now look at the picture below of one of the water pointson your ranch.

This is just one of many pictures I could have taken of any of the waterpoints. As you see, they are characterized by weeds and not perennial grassnear the water.

Overgrazing was also occurring out in the paddocks much further fromwater in a number of places. But the most extensive (most plants

The Hidden Loss—Understanding the Cost of Overgrazing & Overrestingby Allan Savory



overgrazed) was at the top of the ranch furthest from the homestead,shown in the photo below.

In this view every plant is overgrazed, and as a consequence, litter hasnot developed and soil is eroding. Soil exposed to this degree will inevitablylose anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of the rain it receives withoutgrowing anything. What it does not lose to run off in heavy storms it willlikely lose through soil surface evaporation later. I know you have had dryyears, to which you attributed this poor growth; however, dry years do notdo this—only animals overgrazing do this, and it is common when peopleuse any form of rotation. This is what you can avoid by planning thegrazing—as you used to do.

Brush Encroachment

I noted that the amount of brush encroachment was worrying you. Theincrease in brush is not surprising as not only is overgrazing taking place(which most commonly leads to grass being replaced by weeds, as you seeby your water points), but many perennial grasses are also being overrested,which leads to brush replacing grass.

Both overresting and overgrazing of grass plants commonly occurs withrotational grazing, and I was pleased to hear you say that when I explainedthis in the field you finally understood what has puzzled you for years—asyou said, “How can plants be overgrazed and overrested in the samepaddock?”

Only this week I was observing this same thing on a research station inOklahoma—overgrazing and overresting in the same trial paddock. Theresearcher could not understand it as he was “grazing the paddocks lightly.”Grazing a paddock lightly always leads to grazed plants being overgrazedand ungrazed plants being overrested. If you simply rotate animals, exactlythe same can happen with incorrect timing of either grazing or recoveryperiods combined with low animal numbers as has happened in your case.

You can correct both of these problems (overgrazing and overresting ofplants) by simply using the holistic planned grazing process and monitoringthe changes you intend to produce.

Hidden Loss

My concern with the areas of overgrazing and overresting are that it

shows there is a great loss of production, and thus profit, taking place inaverage years and a danger of running out of forage in dry years (whichpeople usually blame on the dry year and not the lack of planning). I canhardly overstate the amount of forage lost every year due to lack ofplanning. It literally amounts to many thousands of tons of forage overranches as large as yours.

Grass grows, like all biological organisms, on a sigmoid, or S-shapedcurve (shown in the illustration here).

When grass plants in the same paddock are being overgrazed and others overrested, it means you are working with most of the plants in the shallow portions of their growth curve, where they put on the leastgrowth over every growing day. The overgrazed plants do this as you holdall of them in the lower flat portion of their growth curve (like the fourstarving cows did), and the overrested plants do this because you leavethem at the top shallow end of the growth instead of pulling them down at least once in the growing season to the steep portion of the curve.

Again, keeping most of your plants in the steep portion of the curve is more easily attained through holistic planned grazing. That was how on Liebigs Ranch in Rhodesia many years ago we were able to achieve five times the meat yield per acre on the “Advanced Project” we ran for over 8 years. When we started, there wasn’t a single perennial grass plant; grassland had been reduced to brush, tree trunks and seasonal weeds.

In summary, as this is so important for you to understand, what youhave on the ranch right now, even while you are improving the water cycle and much of the wildlife habitat, is a loss of forage production that is likely to catch you in a dry year. Plants are not being allowed to growinto the rapid part of the growth curve, or they are being allowed to growand remain beyond it. When that dry year hits, you will be starting outwith thousands of tons of forage less than you should have. That couldresult in you needing to reduce your stocking rate even though your ranch is still understocked. That translates into less meat produced per acre and less profit.

The Hidden Loss continued from page 11

Recovery and the Growth Curve

{{

In equal time periods grass will grow this much if it starts high on the growth curve, but much less if bitten way down.

{ {TIME EQUAL TIME

BULK

Figure 2-6


The picture below shows the situation on Barlite Ranch near the DavisMountains in Texas some years ago..

Note the perennial grass growing right up to the waterpoint under plannedgrazing. In this case there are a few weeds in the center and at the gate, whichdoes not worry me as overgrazing and overtrampling commonly occur in thesespots. On this ranch, we had doubled the stocking rate when we ran into asevere drought in 1983. The manager started to buy hay and asked me to visitto advise him on how much he should destock.

I did the grazing planning with him and got him to understand the lostproduction from running a second herd (as he was running two herds on 100paddocks). When I showed him the combination of time (grazing period andrecovery period) and the density of animals we would achieve with one herd,it was easy for him to see that if they got any rain at all it would grow at leastone ounce more grass per square meter. We then cut that in half to beconservative, and it amounted to many tons of forage on this large ranch. So asa result of this planning, where we could be so much more accurate, weamalgamated all the cattle into one herd.

We then calculated, as we do with planned grazing, the number of animaldays per acre of forage we would require and estimated what was in thepaddocks. From this, we realized he did not need to destock, but could use theopportunity, as so many ranches were destocking, to buy in cattle cheaply. Webought another 109 cow/calf pairs and reduced the supplementary feed by 50percent. This planning enabled us to get through the drought without a problem.

Nature Doesn’t Stand Still

Unfortunately, nature never stands still. As a consequence, just like youneed to read your cattle, you also need to read your land—constantly makingadjustments as you observe what’s happening. This is much easier than itsounds with holistic planned grazing as it was designed to handle complexity.Ranchers and farmers who rotate their animals or practice what is commonlycalled management intensive grazing (MIG), rather than plan their grazing,whether they are conscious of it or not, are trying to avoid dealing withcomplexity. Some argue that the grazing system or rotation they are using isflexible. But flexible means changing when you see a need to change.Planning, on the other hand, means getting far ahead of the game to avoid alater need for unplanned changes.

Holistic planned grazing goes hand in glove with monitoring followed by aquick response when that monitoring shows you’re going off track.

Number of Herds

The number of herds you are running is also causing you lost production. Iunderstand your justifications for this—many other ranchers make the sameones—the need to keep heifers away from bulls, first-calf heifers separate, andso on. In this case you’re thinking mainly of the cattle, but at the expense ofthe land’s productivity, which is the real basis for profit—the cattle being the

medium used to convert grass to money. Ranchers who talk of themselves assunlight or grass farmers still tend to run several herds, perhaps not realizingthe cost in lost grass production.

Running more herds would be fine if nature stood idle. Every extra herd,with a given number of paddocks on a ranch, reduces animal impact (whileincreasing partial rest), and adversely changes the graze/trample : recoveryratio in every paddock.

What this basically means is that less soil is disturbed so new plants cangrow, and more plants are either taken down to the low part of their growthcurve or left at the flat high end.

On the two ranches the Savory Center runs as learning sites—the WestRanch in Texas and Dimbangombe Ranch in Zimbabwe—we simply cannotafford to run two herds through the paddocks. We run one herd year-round onDimbangombe (cattle, goats, and donkeys). On the West Ranch, we run oneherd of cattle and hair sheep, but also include a sacrificial paddock where bullsor heifers are run at certain times on continuous graze. To have one paddockunder continuous grazing and change it every year or so is not a problem. It isfar better than lowering the production on the whole ranch.

Dealing With Brush

You asked me several times about how to deal with the two main brushspecies that are spreading much more than you want. The first thing is toremove the cause (overresting in this case), and then to deal with the brushafter that. What I would do if it was my ranch is to first find out what will killthe plants. As you said, for at least one of the species you’ve found that simplyspraying the base of the plant with diesel kills it completely. Do the same withthe other species—try diesel on that too, or old engine oil, mixtures of these, ormixtures of these with herbicides. Try the ideas out on a few bushes, keepingnotes so you can determine the most effective and least costly method.

Next, divide in half a badly-infested paddock where you know the ADAyield. Treat one half of it and note the ADA yield increase, compared with theuntreated half, and what it cost. If the ADA yield increase is well worth thecost, then proceed with other paddocks. However, remember that you will beclearing the brush, in this case, to increase solar energy flow to grassproduction. Thus, it will become a “wealth generating expense” in your HolisticManagement® Financial Planning only in a year when energy conversion isthe weakest link in the cattle enterprise. Brush clearing should only be donewhen it “makes money” not when it “costs money.” An important point, ifprofit is included in your family’s holistic goal.

Throughout all this—brush clearing and planned grazing—you need a clearidea of what landscape you are aiming to produce, which should have beenexpressed in your holistic goal. You can produce the brushy hillsides and openparkland on the low-lying good soils, but you need to do so step by step,without sacrificing production and profit.

One thought I want to leave with you, because it is what I’d probably do ifI was managing your ranch, is to talk to the owners of the other three ranchesin your valley who face the same problems. Persuade them to form a jointholistic goal with you to confirm that all of you want the same things for yourfamilies—prosperity, stable families, security, free time for friends, family orchurch etc.—and then suggest that all four ranches be managed as one largerunit. Then test the idea of combining all the cattle into no more than one herd,or two at most, to run through paddocks on all four ranches, as if they wereone. That move alone would increase land and cattle performance enormouslywhile at the same time cutting costs greatly, providing a greater profit than anyone of the ranchers could attain on its own. And all four families would havefar more leisure time to put balance into their lives.

Ever wondered how to get economies of scale without the costs?Australian researchers have hit on a common sense idea thatcombines the age old concept of grazing the commons with modern

farming through cross property grazing. The benefits to farmers includelower production costs, improved returns through animal performance, and reduced labor.

Dr. David Brunckhorst, Director of the Institute for Rural Futures,spearheaded Tilbuster Commons, a project involving neighboring farmingfamilies joining their livestock and grazing them on the land they collectiveowned and managed. “That was five years ago,” he says, “and as the success exceeded the expectations of the families involved, they decided tocontinue the practice long after the initial three year project ended.”

The project involved four families and 3,237 acres (1,300 ha) in thetablelands near Armidale, northern New South Wales. Individual propertysizes vary from 150 acres (60 ha) to 1500 acres (600 ha). There is now asimilar ‘grazing commons’ project happening near Glenn Innes, northernNSW emerging from a labor-sharing scheme that will now involve mixedlivestock grazing. The project drew inspiration from previous research inSouth Australia where 30 farmers and other landholders collectivelymanaged some 3,475 square miles (9,000 square km) to start to regenerateland from salination across property boundaries, while experimenting with new more viable industries and practices.

“For the families involved, it was important that they would be noworse off financially, but hopefully do a little better, while freeing up timeand labor and improving and looking after the environment are equallyhigh values held by all,” says Brunckhorst. Initially, the four families madeformal arrangements including setting up their own company and formalmeetings to discuss the operational arrangements. Each family has sharesbased on the agreed value of the land and livestock and receive profitsthrough dividends. “The big issue,” as Brunckhorst describes, “was the abilityto enforce the collective perspective by clear rules of decision making basedon agreed values and goals. This reduces individual rationales leading us offthe track, but does not at all squash individual input—from all ages.” Thisclarity of shared vision articulated in their holistic goal has allowed themanagement team to test their decisions toward the outcome they want.Likewise, this collective process has helped the management team grow in their trust and acceptance of each others’ strengths and weaknesses.

As Brunckhorst points out, “Farming families naturally focus on theirown situation, but for cross property grazing to work, families had to lookbeyond their boundary to the bigger picture across all the propertiesinvolved. Decisions are made for the best interest of the company, versuseach family’s self interest. For example, all the paddocks are supplied waterfrom the one dam.” Likewise, alternative stock water is obtained from anumber of different sources across the commons and piped in the mostcost-effective manner across the land-title boundaries. In this way thecombined resources allows the management team to compete at a largerscale economy.

The big picture perspective resulted in an interesting behavior. Familiesbecame more proactive in managing the grazing company than they had beenon their own farm businesses. For example, upon working together, familiesmade the decision to cut stock numbers earlier when drought loomed.

Previously, families delayed this kind of decision when managing theirown operations. Brunckhorst believes this change in risk managementbehavior comes from a deep desire to work together resulting from themutual support each family provides one another and a reluctance to letone another down.

This communal spirit has strengthened over the years as theirconfidence in managing common land has grown. Family members nowfreely access each other’s properties, and increasingly operational meetingshappen informally in the paddock of the property grazing the stock ratherthan at board meetings around a table.

More Profit, Less Labor

The most significant saving has been in labor, time, and quality of life.As Brunckhorst points out, “The labor contribution of each family isdetermined by the size of their property. Essentially the larger the property,the more time the animals spend there. Yet the overall labor demands foreach family dropped allowing time for pursuing family interests andenvironmental projects.”

The Tilbuster Commons Company leases land from each property soeveryone knows and contributes to the development of the grazing plan.The group has developed maps to plan grazing routes and determine howanimal behavior can be employed to regenerate the landscape. Usingholistic planned grazing rather than rotational grazing has meant familiescan have animals in the right place, at the right time for the right reasonand improve land use efficiency. Such a change has eliminated the need to crop for winter feed which also reduces labor.

Putting all the cattle in one mob had immediate benefits for the group.It improved the calving rate, allowed them to pull through drought easier,increased soil cover to the degree that water quality improved by 300percent because of better infiltration. Cattle numbers float from 220 to 400 head with the animals taking anywhere from 90 days to 230 days tograze around the four properties. The stock policy is to run slight highernumbers and sell at lighter weights as this gives better returns bothfinancially and environmentally.

The long pasture recovery times have allowed the native grasses toreturn and flourish, one of the aims of the original project. As a resultpasture renovation costs have drastically reduced as well as the need forwinter grazing crops. The financial returns for the families has been around10 percent above what they were achieving individually and headingtowards 20 percent now that they have full organic certification for theCompany and all properties. Six years of drought—the worst beyond allrecords—has seriously influenced profitability and degradation on localfarms, but Tilbuster Commons has weathered the drought whilemaintaining good ground cover and profitability.

John King is a Certified Educator who lives in Christchurch, New Zealand.He can be reached at: [email protected] or 64-3-338-5506. Furtherdetails of the project including relevant property law has been publishedin the book by S. Williams, D. Brunckhorst and G. Kelly, Reinventing the Commons—Cross Boundary Farming for a Sustainable Future byFederation Press 2003.


Beyond the Boundary Fence—Tilbuster Commonsby John King


World Vision Contract

World Vision Australia, in conjunctionwith World Vision Kenya, has awarded

The Savory Center $216,000 to provide cuttingedge natural resource management training toMaasai community members and leaders in theLoodariak Area Development Program, located inKajiado District, Rift Valley province in Kenya,approximately 36 miles southwest of Nairobi.This project began July 2005 and will continuethrough June 2008. Executive Director Shannon

Horst will oversee this project with CertifiedEducator Craig Leggett as lead trainer andDirector of International Training ProgramsConstance Neely as trainer of trainers.

This development area covers approximately540 square miles with an estimated populationof 17,000 people. Livestock such as cattle, goatsand sheep are the Maasai’s primary source ofincome, and land degradation is on the increasein Kajiado. As demands for wood fuel in thedistrict has increased, there has been rampantcutting of trees for fuel wood and charcoalproduction. All told, 50-100 percent of vegetation cover has disappeared in this area since colonial times.

This management hasled to degradation of watercatchments, riversidevegetation, hilly areas andthe result has been soilerosion, loss of biodiversity,wildlife habitats and adverseclimatic phenomena likerecurring droughts.

Kenya has 2 millionpeople chronically hungry with over 5 million during times of drought.Subsistence farmers accountfor over 50 percent of thetotal poor and 80 percent of the population do nothave sufficient livestock to meet basic needs, and

thus frequently depend on relief.This project is targeted at assisting 1,500

Maasai households to use their animals to restore deteriorating grasslands and watersupplies and to create the means to provide for their own food needs and reduce thedependency on international relief monies.

New Savory Center Staff

The Savory Center is excited to introducetwo new members to our team. Peter Holter

has come on board as our Senior Director

of Marketing and Product Development. Peter’score competencies include implementation ofsales, marketing,new product andcommunicationsstrategies, alongwith a generalmanagement skillset. He has been thepresident of twosuccessful, nationalcompanies—one aprofessional servicesfirm he started,

grew, and sold; the other a manufacturingcompany he took over in a successfulturnaround venture.

Peter served as chief operating officer andvice-president of marketing for a companyspecializing in the development of holistic healthplans for businesses throughout the westernUnited States. As a management consultant, hehas worked extensively with entrepreneurialcompanies seeking the next level of growth andhas also done significant work in highly volatileturnaround situations. He has advised many notfor profits on the role of entrepreneurship andeconomic self-sufficiency.

As a young man, Peter worked on ranches inCalifornia’s San Joaquin Valley and in SonomaCounty. He has had, as clients, many majoragricultural producers, and manufacturers oftechnology and equipment used in farming and ranching.

Jutta von Gontard

is our new Director

of Development. She has 17 years of fundraising andgrant managementexperience and has worked withKatalysis, amicrolending non-profit for the lasteleven years.

During that tenure, Jutta was in charge of thefundraising and communications department,and she significantly broadened Katalysis’ privatedonor and foundation base.

She also provided extensive onsite technicalassistance to Katalysis Central American Partnersin the area of project development, proposalwriting, and donor relations. Previously, Jutta wasExecutive Director of a private foundationwhere she oversaw all grant-making decisions.Educated in Ecuador and Germany, Jutta isfluent in Spanish and German.

T h eGRAPEVINE

news f rom t he savo r y cen te r * peop le , p rog rams & p ro jec t s

Maasai villagers

Peter Holter

Jutta von Gontard



this book: “You can’t have your cake, unless youeat it too.”

While this concept might not be new tothose practicing Holistic Management, I’m suremany of you have had your fair share of tryingto explain these concepts to others. Gardenersof Eden is the perfect book to hand to a newacquaintance and say, “I think you’ll understandbetter what I’ve been talking about or doingafter you read this book.”

For example, in the beginning of the book,Dagget notes that we do not see bees as arrogantor unthoughtful when they take pollen from aflower, or we do not believe the plant ismanipulating the bee to spread its pollen. We see such synergy and mutualism as the waynature functions. Yet, many people see humansas separate from nature so once we begin tointeract with it, even in a mutually beneficialway, we are seen as aliens invading this pristinenatural world.

Dagget’s point throughout the book is wehave been gardeners in Eden for a long time.Since our introduction as a species we have beenshaping the landscape. In fact, that bastion ofprimordial nature, the Amazon rainforest, is asmuch a cultural artifact as the landscapes we see outside our homes. In other words, the

natives of that area manipulated the landscape,albeit with more focus toward symbiosis andmutualism than the average human today.

This argument is so critical when workingwith environmentalists, who take a “leave italone” approach to nature, believing nature isalways better off if humans stay out of thepicture. Of course, the problem with the “leave italone” argument is that we can’t stay out of thepicture with our current population even ifthere are areas from which we have removedourselves. Moreover, as Dagget explains, we areneeded to tend the garden. We are part ofnatural synergy and in removing ourselves wehave let nature down.

Just The Facts

As Dagget travels around the countrygathering stories to prove his point, his selectionis a veritable Who’s Who in HolisticManagement. Chronicled in this book are thelives and work of Tony & Jerrie Tipton, DavidOgilvie, Gene Goven, George Work, Joe Morris,Doc and Connie Hatfield, and Gregg Simonds.

With the Tiptons, located near Mina, Nevada, Dagget picks up where he left off inRangeland Conflict. He talks about their minereclamation work where they worked with amine tailings pile, which had been sterilized bycyanide, and which had a salt absorption rate(SAR) of 200. The Tiptons needed to lower thatSAR to 10 in order for the reclamation work to be

complete. Within six months they had the SARdown to 3.6 using the tool of animal impact (theanimals processed and injected their organic wasteinto the rocks through hoof action) to create asoil microbial community that transformed thearea—all on less than one inch of rain.

From the Tiptons, Dagget turns to DavidOgilive of the U Bar Ranch in southwesternNew Mexico. The U Bar is home to the largest known population of the endangeredsouthwestern willow flycatcher and to twothreatened species—the common black hawkand the spikedace (a fish). It also supportssignificant populations of several other rarespecies, is inhabited by the highest density of nesting songbirds in North America,and has one of the highest ratio of native to

nonnative fish (99 percent to 1 percent) in the Southwest.

The irony, of course, is that cattle are thesupposed nemesis of both the southwesternwillow flycatcher and the spikedace, yet here arelarge populations of both species on a workingranch. There are two preserves (one upstreamand one downstream) near the U Bar. In 2001,there were only 7 pairs combined between thetwo preserves. There were 137 pairs at the U Bar.In 2002, the preserves had none while the U Barhad 156 pairs.

No chronicle of land restoration would becomplete without including Gene Goven ofTurtle Lake, North Dakota. Dr. Jim Richardson, a

Outreach Activities

Allan Savory’s travel schedule has continued to be full with a week long

workshop as part of a NASA sponsored GISConference at Idaho State University in July.Allan also spoke and led workshops, along with other Savory Center members Charley

Orchard and Kim Barker, at the OklahomaGrazing Lands Conference the beginning ofAugust. At the Nebraska Grazing Conference,also held at the beginning of August, a numberof Savory Center members were speakers,including Pat and Dick Richardson speaking on “Increasing Productivity with Dung Beetles,” Terry Gompert speaking on “GrasslandMonitoring,” and Burke Teichert speaking on “Economic Considerations in Buying a Ranch.”

West Ranch Update

The monitoring from The Savory Center’sWest Ranch learning site this year shows

the following changes between 2002 and 2005: Year 2002 2005

Bare soil 67.5% 52%Mature capping 70% 36.6%Av. Distance to plants 5.6” 2.98”Healthy plants 11.6% 55.9%Overrested (damaged) 38.5% 29.4%Dying or dead 49% 5%This recorded change has been very

promising as we move in the direction of ourholistic goal and our future resource base. Wewill continue to increase the stocking rate andincrease the paddocks as we can to increaseanimal impact to prevent overresting.

The monitoring of the West Ranch is in

conjunction with the use of the ranch with HRM of Texas for a Southeastern SustainableResearch & Education (SE SARE) Research Granton the effects of animal impact on soil health as it relates to cedar (juniper) infestation. Theresearch team will monitor 12 transect lines withpegs set every 10 meters in all paddocks. Baselinedata has already been gathered. Anothermonitoring will take place after all the fences are in and the West Ranch livestock movesthrough. The monitoring will continue until this grant ends in 2007.

The research review committee consists ofDr. Pat Richardson, soil ecologist of University of Texas, Steve Nelle, wildlife biologist for Natural Resource Conservation Service, Dr. John Walker, range scientist for Texas A&MExperiment Station at Angelo State University,Art Roane, local rancher, and Dr. Dick

Richardson, professor and biologist of Universityof Texas. Joe and Peggy Maddox, managers of

Book Reviewcontinued from page 7

The Grapevine continued from page 15

scientist from North Dakota State University, hasdone a wonderful job of quantifying the resultsGene has achieved through his use of animalimpact to improve the health of the land. Thathealth has translated for Gene into increasedforage production on the land. He notes that hispastures used to produce 2,000 to 2,500 poundsof grass per acre. Now he has that much forageleft over after his cattle finish grazing. Suchfecundity provides Goven a 16 percent gain onmoney where the average in his area is usuallytwo percent.

In the chapter, “The Economics of Eden,”Dagget visits with Doc & Connie Hatfield inBrothers, Oregon. The Hatfields started OregonCountry Beef in 1986 with thirteen otherranchers and have been one of the leaders inthe grassfed industry which is now educatingconsumers about their role in creating Eden. As Dagget notes, food is at the heart of anymutualistic relationship, and the grassfedindustry is a clear line of connection to naturefor many people who are not particularlyinterested in directly working the land.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating chaptersis “Building a New Economy for Eden,” in which Dagget visits with Gregg Simonds of theDeseret Ranch in northern Utah. Like the U BarRanch, the Deseret Ranch is a haven for birds,including the sage grouse. In fact, 25 years agothe ranch had a population of 600 sage grouse.Now the population is 2,500. Likewise, their elk

population continues to grow; and at $12,500 per elk, this resource provides a sizeable income for the ranch.

But Simonds is interested in othermarketable resources that ranch offers, includingits ability to sequester carbon. He believes thatone must be able to define what they aremarketing, defend your claim that you candeliver the product, and divest the product tothe client (the 3 D’s). With a host oftechnological devices, Simonds is determined tomap how much carbon can and has beensequestered so that producers can sell thatcommodity at its current $25/acre price tag.

The conclusion of the book is a call toaction, to inspire people to become native again. Dagget notes that learning to adapt tonature’s response to our management andactions is the essence of life and evolution. Hewrites, “If this book is to help establish a newenvironmentalism… this strategy [of adaptation],which is a cornerstone of management, science,evolution, holism, and life, would be the centralstrategy of that environmentalism.” By setting a goal, working to achieve it, reading thefeedback, and correcting what we do, we act as a living system, as native.

While I truly enjoyed Dagget’s storytellingand found myself vigorously nodding my headthroughout the book, I found myself wantinghim to provide me a roadmap to helping those from the “Leave It Alone” Club make the

transition to the “Gardeners of Eden” Club. But a recipe for such paradigm shifts was notforthcoming. In fact, Dagget comments on hisown lack of success at getting people tounderstand these concepts despite years andmany presentations to the masses. He likens his experience to showing dog pictures to cat fanatics.

So where does that leave us? With ourcircles of influence. Ultimately people changewhen they are ready to absorb new information or ideas because they have heardand seen enough evidence that persuades them that the risk of change (includingchanging an unconsciously held belief) is worth taking. They are more likely to have that kind of paradigm shift when they see theresults they want to attain. And the reality ismany people are not as excited about peoplemaking grass grow on bare ground as they areabout their own economic stability, happiness,and success. Moreover, people have to believethey too can achieve the results they want more easily through a mutualistic relationshipwith nature.

But, that kind of paradigm shift willpredominantly occur through neighborwatching neighbor over time. Dagget’s book is awonderful addition to our toolbox as we reachout to those people in our circle of influenceand provide them an opportunity to hear thismessage one more time in a new way.

West Ranch, The Texas Hair Sheep Association,and Peggy Cole, Executive Director of HRM ofTX are other cooperators.

Another outcome of this grant is Dr. PatRichardson’s digital videography of the soilsamples taken that will document the presence

and changes in soil mesofauna.These will be made into videosfor classroom use. Since the WestRanch is a working ranch and alearning site for The SavoryCenter, opportunities for onsitevisitations and publications ofdata will be available.

Savory Center MemberAwards

Certified Educator and SouthAfrican Farmer, Dick

Richardson, was awarded theVryburg Farmers Union Farmer

of the Year 2005. This competition is organizedthrough Agri SA—the organization representingcommercial farmers/ranchers in South Africa.

Dick was nominated by his local Farmer’sAssociation and competed againstfarmers/ranchers from seven Associations in

the Farmers Union which covers about 40million acres (16 million hectares) andapproximately 250 members out of about 650 farmers/ranchers in the district.

Dick also won runner up in the BeefFarmer category. During the Farmer of the Yearcompetition, Dick received special mention ofhis triple bottom-line success. This award is ahuge achievement for Dick and for HolisticManagement, especially given the fact that Dickhas only been on this particular land for fiveyears. He will now automatically be put forwardto the next level of the competition which is the Provincial Competition.

Correction

In our last issue of IN PRACTICE, we mentioneda US AID workshop in Zimbabwe. However, the

workshop was sponsored by, and the participantswere from, the United Nations Food & AgricultureOrganization (FAO). Our apologies for the error.

SARE Monitoring team at the West Ranch.



ARIZONATim Morrison230 1st Ave N, Phoenix, AZ 85003602/280-8803 • [email protected]

CALIFORNIAMonte Bell 325 Meadowood Dr., Orland, CA 95963530/865-3246 • [email protected]

Julie Bohannon 652 Milo Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90042323/257-1915 • [email protected]

Bill Burrows12250 Colyear Springs Rd., Red Bluff, CA 96080530/529-1535 • [email protected]

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

Tim McGaffic13592 Bora Bora Way #327Marina Del Rey, CA 90292310/741-0167 • [email protected]

Kelly Mulville225 Portola State Park, Lahonda, CA 94020650/704-5157 (c) 650/917-6120 (w)[email protected]

Christopher PeckP.O. Box 2286, Sebastopol, CA 95472707/758-0171 • [email protected]

Rob RutherfordCA Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis Obispo, CA 93407805/75-1475 • [email protected]

Tom Walther5550 Griffin St., Oakland, CA 94605510/530-6410 • 510/482-1846 • [email protected]

COLORADOJoel Benson P.O. Box 4924, Buena Vista, CO 81211719/395-6119 • [email protected]

Cindy Dvergsten17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323970/882-4222 • [email protected]

Rio de la VistaP.O. Box 777, Monte Vista, CO 81144 719/850-2255 • [email protected]

Daniela and Jim Howell P.O. Box 67, Cimarron, CO 81220-0067970/249-0353 • [email protected]

Craig Leggett2078 County Rd. 234, Durango, CO 81301970/259-8998 • [email protected]

Chadwick McKellar16775 Southwood Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80908719/495-4641 • [email protected]

* Cliff MontagneMontana State University Department of Land Resources &Environmental ScienceBozeman, MT 59717406/994-5079 • [email protected]

NEBRASKATerry GompertP.O. Box 45, Center, NE 68724-0045402/288-5612 (w) • [email protected]

NEW HAMPSHIRESeth Wilner104 Cornish Turnpike, Newport, NH 03773603/863-4497 (w) 603/863-9200 (h)[email protected]

NEW MEXICO* Ann AdamsThe Savory Center1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102505/842-5252 • [email protected]

Mark Duran58 Arroyo Salado #B, Santa Fe, NM 87508505/422-2280 • [email protected]

Kirk GadziaP.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004505/867-4685 • fax: 505/[email protected]

Ken Jacobson12101 Menaul Blvd. NE, Ste AAlbuquerque, NM 87112; 505/[email protected]

* Kelly (Pasztor) WhiteThe Savory Center1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102505/842-5252 • [email protected]

Sue ProbartP.O. Box 81827, Albuquerque, NM 87198505/265-4554 • [email protected]

David Trew369 Montezuma Ave. #243, Santa Fe, NM 87501505/751-0471 • [email protected]

Vicki Turpen03 El Nido Amado SW, Albuquerque, NM 87121505/873-0473 • [email protected]

NEW YORKErica Frenay454 Old 76 Road, Brooktondale, NY 14817607/539-3246 (h) 607/279-7978 (c) •[email protected]

Phil Metzger99 N. Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815607/334-3231 x4 (w); 607/334-2407 (h)[email protected]

Karl North3501 Hoxie Gorge Rd., Marathon, NY 13803607/849-3328 • [email protected]

John Thurgood44 West St. Ste 1, Walton, NY 13856607/832-4617 • 607/865-7090 • [email protected]

NORTH CAROLINASam Bingham394 Vanderbilt Rd., Asheville, NC 28803828/274-1309 • [email protected]

NORTH DAKOTA* Wayne BerryUniversity of North Dakota—WillistonP.O. Box 1326, Williston, ND 58802 701/774-4269 or 701/[email protected]

OKLAHOMAKim BarkerRT 2, Box 67, Waynoka, OK 73860580/824-9011 • [email protected]

Byron Shelton33900 Surrey Lane, Buena Vista, CO 81211719/395-8157 • [email protected]

GEORGIAConstance Neely1160 Twelve Oaks Circle, Watkinsville, GA 30677706/310-0678 • [email protected]

IDAHOAmy Driggs1132 East E St., Moscow, ID 83843208/310-6664 (w) • [email protected]

IOWABill Casey1800 Grand Ave., Keokuk, IA 52632-2944319/524-5098 • [email protected]

LOUISIANATina Pilione P.O. 923, Eunice, LA 70535phone: 337/580-0068 • [email protected]

MAINEVivianne Holmes239 E. Buckfield Rd., Buckfield, ME 04220-4209207/336-2484 • [email protected]

MASSACHUSETTS* Christine Jost Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536508/887-4763 • [email protected]

MICHIGANBen BartlettN 4632 ET Rd., Travnik, MI 49891906/439-5210 (h) 906/439-5880 (w)[email protected]

MINNESOTAGretchen Blank4625 Cottonwood Lane N, Plymouth, MN 55442-2902763/553-9922 • [email protected]

Terri Goodfellow-Heyer4660 Cottonwood Lane North, Plymouth, MN 55442763/559-0099 • [email protected]

MISSISSIPPIPreston Sullivan610 Ed Sullivan Lane, NE, Meadville, MS 39653601/384-5310 • [email protected]

MONTANAElizabeth Bird3009 Langohr Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715406/586-8799 • [email protected]

Wayne BurlesonRT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001406/328-6808 • [email protected]

Roland Kroos4926 Itana Circle, Bozeman, MT 59715406/522-3862 • [email protected]

Certified Educators

U N I T E D S T A T E S

* These educators provide Holistic Management instruction on behalf of the institutions they represent.

To our knowledge, Certified Educators are the best qualified individuals to help others learn topractice Holistic Management and to provide them with technical assistance when necessary. On ayearly basis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to be affiliated with the Center. Thisagreement requires their commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives, to seek outopportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management and tomaintain a high standard of ethical conduct in their work. For more information about or application forms for the U.S., Africa, or International Certified EducatorTraining Programs, contact Kelly Pasztor at the Savory Center or visit our website atwww.holisticmanagement.org/wwo_certed.cfm?

Certified Educators


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

TEXAS

Christina Allday-Bondy2703 Grennock Dr., Austin, TX 78745512/441-2019 • [email protected]

Guy Glosson 6717 Hwy 380, Snyder, TX 79549806/237-2554 • [email protected]

Jennifer Hamre602 W. St. Johns Ave., Austin, TX 78752512/374-0104; [email protected] MaddoxP.O. Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943-0694325/392-2292 • [email protected]

* R.H. (Dick) Richardson University of Texas at Austin Department of Integrative BiologyAustin, TX 78712512/471-4128 • [email protected]

Peggy Sechrist 25 Thunderbird Rd.Fredericksburg, TX 78624830/990-2529 • [email protected]

Liz Williams 4106 Avenue BAustin, TX 78751-4220512/323-2858 • [email protected]

WASHINGTONCraig MadsenP.O. Box 107, Edwall, WA 99008509/[email protected]

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

* Don NelsonWashington State University P.O. Box 646310, Pullman, WA 99164509/335-2922 • [email protected]

Maurice RobinetteS. 16102 Wolfe Rd., Cheney, WA 99004509/299-4942 • [email protected]

Doug Warnock151 Cedar Cove Rd., Ellensburg, WA 98926509/925-9127 • [email protected]

WEST VIRGINIAFred HayesP.O. Box 241, Elkview, WV 25071304/548-7117 • [email protected]

Steve RitzHC 63, Box 2240, Romney, WV 26757304/822-5818; 304/[email protected]

WISCONSINHeather Flashinski1633 Valmont Ave., Eau Claire, WI 54701-4448715/552-7861 • [email protected]

Andy HagerW. 3597 Pine Ave., Stetsonville, WI 54480-9559715/678-2465 • [email protected]

Larry JohnsonW886 State Road 92, Brooklyn, WI 53521608/455-1685 • [email protected]

Laura PaineP.O. Box 567, Portage, WI 53901-0567608/742-9682 (h) 920/623-447? (w)[email protected]

AUSTRALIA

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

George GundryWilleroo, Tarago, NSW 2580048-446-223 • [email protected]

Steve Hailstone5 Lampert Rd., Crafers, SA [email protected]

Graeme Hand“Inverary”Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 330261-3-5578-6272 • [email protected]

Helen LewisP.O. Box 1263, Warwick, QLD 437061-7-46617393 • 61-7-46670835 [email protected]

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

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

Brian Wehlburgc/o “Sunnyholt”, Injue, QLD [email protected]

CANADADon and Randee Halladay

Box 2, Site 2, RR 1Rocky Mountain House, AB, T0M 1T0403/729-2472 • [email protected]

Noel McNaughton5704-144 St., Edmondton, AB, T6H 4H4s780/[email protected]

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

Kelly SidorykBox 374, Lloydminster, AB, S9V 0Y4403/[email protected]

MEXICOIvan AguirreLa InmaculadaApdo. Postal 304, Hermosillo, Sonora 83000tel/fax: [email protected]

Elco Blanco-Madrid Hacienda de la Luz 1803Fracc. Haciendas del Valle II Chihuahua Chih., 3123852-614-423-4413 (h) • 52-614-107-8960 (c)[email protected]

Manuel Casas-PerezCalle Amarguva No. 61Lomas Herradura Huixquilucan, Mexico City CP 5278552-55-5291-3934 (w) 52-55-54020090 (c)

Jose Ramon “Moncho” VillarAv. Las Americas #1178Fracc. Cumbres, Saltillo, Coahuila [email protected]

NAMIBIA

Gero Diekmann P.O. Box 363, Okahandja [email protected]

Colin Nott P.O. Box 11977, [email protected]

Wiebke Volkmann P.O. Box 182, Otavi264-67-234-557 or [email protected]

NEW ZEALAND

John King P.O. Box 12011Beckenham, Christchurch [email protected]

SOUTH AFRICA

Sheldon BarnesP.O. Box 300, Kimberly [email protected]

Johan BlomP.O. Box 568, Graaf-Reinet [email protected]

Ian Mitchell-Innes P.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte [email protected]

Norman Neave P.O. Box 69, Mtubatuba 393527-084-2452/[email protected]

Dick Richardson P.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600tel/fax: 27-53-927-4367 [email protected]

Colleen ToddP.O. Box 21, Hoedspruit 138027-82-335-3901 (cell)[email protected]

SPAINAspen EdgeApartado de Correos 1918420 LanjaronGranada(0034)[email protected]

ZAMBIAMutizwa MukutePELUM Zambia OfficeP.O. Box 36524, Lusaka260-1-261119/261124/261118/[email protected]

ZIMBABWE

Liberty Mabhena Spring CabinetP.O. Box 853, Harare263-4-210021/2 • 263-4-210577/8fax: 263-4-210273

Huggins MatangaPrivate Bag 5950, Victoria [email protected]

Elias NcubeP. Bag 5950, Victoria [email protected]

I N T E R N A T I O N A L


ARIZONAHRM of ArizonaNorm Lowe2660 E. Hemberg, Flagstaff, AZ 86004928/214-0040 • [email protected]

CALIFORNIAHolistic Management of CaliforniaTom Walther, newsletter editor5550 Griffin St.Oakland, CA 94605510-530-6410; [email protected]

COLORADOColorado Branch For HolisticManagementMegan Phillips, newletter editorPO Box 310, Mesa, CO [email protected]

GEORGIAConstance NeelySANREM CRSP1422 Experiment StationWatkinsville, GA 30677706/[email protected]

MONTANABeartooth Management ClubWayne BurlesonRT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001406/[email protected]

NEWYORKBillie BestRegional Farm & Food Project295 Eighth St., Troy, NY 12180518/271-0744; [email protected]

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

NORTHWESTManaging WholesPeter Donovan501 South St., Enterprise, OR 97828541/426-2145www.managingwholes.com

OKLAHOMAOklahoma Land StewardshipAllianceCharles Griffith, contact personRoute 5, Box E44, Ardmore, OK 73401580/[email protected]

PENNSYLVANIANorthern Penn NetworkJim Weaver, contact person428 Copp Hollow Rd. Wellsboro, PA 16901717/724-7788; [email protected]

TEXASHRM of TexasPeggy Cole, Executive Director5 Limestone Trail,Wimberley, TX [email protected]

Network Affiliates There are several branch organizations or groups affiliated with The Savory Center in the U.S. andabroad (some publish their own newsletters.) We encourage you to contact the group closest to you:

U N I T E D S T A T E S

West Station for HolisticManagementPeggy MaddoxPO Box 694, Ozona, TX [email protected]

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

CANADACanadian Holistic ManagementLee PengillyBox 216, StirlingAB, T0K 2E0403-327-9262

MEXICOFundacion para Fomentarel Manejo Holistico, A.C.,Jose Ramon Villar, PresidentAve. Las Cumbres SaltilloCoahuila 25270tel/fax:[email protected]

Elco Blanco-Madrid, Director of EducationHacienda de la Luz 1803Fracc. Haciendas del Valle II Chihuahua, Chih. C.P. 3123852-614-423-4413 (h)52-614-107-8960 (c)

NAMIBIANamibia Centre for Holistic ManagementArgo Rust, contact personP.O. Box 23600, Windhoek 9000tel/fax: 62-540430; [email protected]

SOUTH AFRICACommunity Dynamics(Newsletter in English)Dick & Judy RichardsonP.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600tel/fax: [email protected]

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Documents

#104, In Practice, Nov/Dec 2005