#128 In Practice, NOV/DEC 2009

Healing the Land for 25 Years—The 3R Ranchby Ann Adams

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2009 NUMBER 128 WWW.HOLIST ICMANAGEMENT.ORG

healthy land.sustainable future.

Development Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

NEWS and NETWORK

Soil Carbon Sequestration Champions—The Marin Carbon ProjectCHRISTOPHER PECK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Data Mine: Different Viewpoints of Multi-Paddock Grazing Managers and ResearchersRICHARD TEAGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Dealing with Peer Pressure—Starting to Manage HolisticallyBRUCE WARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Soil can Store Methane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LAND and LIVESTOCK

Growing Grass with GoatsKELLY BONEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Invest in Biological Capital—Looking Beyond the DroughtDON CAMPBELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Planned Grazing & Herding for Rangeland HealthMATT BARNES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

T-Posts and ThistlesRALPH TATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Grazing Planning—There Has To Be An Easier WayRALPH TATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Forage Evaluation Tool—The Fritzler’s RingTERRY GOMPERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Nebraska Grazing & Training EventTERRY GOMPERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

FEATURE STORIES

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

N E B R A S K ANebraska is ahotbed of HolisticManagement witha CertifiedEducator trainingprogram bringingnew energy,experience, andknowledge into the network.

Reeves and Betsy Brown have beenholistically managing the 3R Ranch inBeulah, Colorado since 1985 when theytook their first Holistic Management

course from Kirk Gadzia and Allan Savory. Their passion for the ranching life and forimproving land health is evident in everythingthey do. The results they have achieved are areflection of that passion.

Land Planning ImplementationThe 3R Ranch is approximately 10,360 acres

(4,144 ha). Of that, there is 5,110 acres (2,044ha) in grazable forest, 4,530 acres (1,812 ha) inrangeland, and 720 acres (288 ha) of irrigatedpasture and hayland. The elevation ranges from7,800 to 5,700 feet (2,364 to 1,727 m).

The timing in 1981 was perfect for the Brownsto buy the 3R. “I had always wanted to live in thefoothills of the Rocky Mountains; it took 14 yearsof stock farming in Central Texas and a reallygenerous financial offer on our 1,100 acres (440ha) before Reeves was willing to move with me tothe Rockies,” says Betsy. “I looked from theCanadian to the Mexican border with all our wishlist in mind. After two months of looking atranches, the realtor and I passed by this ranchwhich the realtor said wasridiculous to show me as we couldnot afford it. As we drove throughthe 3R Ranch, I told the realtorthat this was ‘it,’ all the criteriathat we wanted in a ranch. So weoffered the Hunt Brothers fromDallas half their asking price incash and they took our offer. Theyhad just had their big silver failureand were in real financial trouble.

“We bought the ranch inSeptember 1981. We wanted good

land that would grow good grasses and adequate irrigation water to raise hay for thecattle, and good water for cattle and a decentlylong growing season.

“Our first HRM (Holistic Management) classwas the two-week class that Kirk Gadzia and AllanSavory co-taught in Albuquerque in August 1985.Reeves and I both went to the class together whichwas absolutely needed since we are both totallyinvolved in working and managing the ranch.”

After their training, the Browns began to putinto practice the ideas they had learned as theybegan to develop infrastructure, slowly. “After theclass in 1985 we were so overwhelmed with all thepossibilities that we asked Kirk to come to theranch and help us line out a starting point andfollow up steps which he did in the fall of 1985,”says Betsy. “With our first holisticgoal in hand westarted the grazing plan, did a little electricfencing, and began our planned grazing thefollowing spring with all the cows in one herd.

“We kept dividing the pastures into 100-acreincrements as time and money for fencing wouldallow until now where we have 68 divisions. Theranch went from 16 acres (6.4 ha) to run one cow to 7.6 acres (3 ha) per cow. When we boughtthe ranch, the manager was running about

600 cows for the summer season.We now have 650 cows and 150replacement heifers for the whole year.”

The Browns doubled theirstocking rate by averaging two tofive day grazing periods, keeping aminimum of a 90-day recoveryperiod, and feeding their hay outon the rangelands in the winterwhen snow covers the ground. In

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Turn to page 16 to learn more about that training program.

2 IN PRACTICE � November / December 2009

Holistic Management International works to reverse thedegradation of private and communal land used foragriculture and conservation, restore its health andproductivity, and help create sustainable and viable

livelihoods for the people who depend on it.

STAFFPeter Holter, Chief Executive Officer

Tracy Favre, Senior Director/ Contract ServicesJutta von Gontard, Senior Director / Philanthropy

Kelly King, Chief Financial OfficerAnn Adams, Managing Editor, IN PRACTICE and

Director of Educational Products and Outreach Maryann West, Manager of Administration

and Executive Support Donna Torrez, Customer Service ManagerMary Girsch-Bock, Educational Products

& Outreach AssistantValerie Gonzales, Administrative Assistant

BOARD OF DIRECTORSBen Bartlett, Chair

Ron Chapman, Past ChairRoby Wallace, Vice-ChairGail Hammack, SecretaryChristopher Peck, Treasurer

Sallie Calhoun Mark GardnerJohn Hackley Jim McMullan

Ian Mitchell Innes Jim ParkerDennis Wobeser Jesus Almeida Valdez

FOUNDERSAllan Savory � Jody Butterfield

ADVISORY COUNCILRobert Anderson, Corrales, NMMichael Bowman,Wray, COSam Brown, Austin, TX

Lee Dueringer, Scottsdale, AZGretel Ehrlich, Gaviota, CA

Dr. Cynthia O. Harris, Albuquerque, NMLeo O. Harris, Albuquerque, NMEdward Jackson, San Carlos, CA

Clint Josey, Dallas, TXDoug McDaniel, Lostine, OR

Guillermo Osuna, Coahuila, MexicoSoren Peters, Santa Fe, NMJim Shelton, Vinita, OK

York Schueller, Ventura, CA

Africa Centre for Holistic Management Tel: (263) (11) 404 [email protected] Matanga, Director

The David West Station for Holistic Management

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

Joe & Peggy Maddox, Ranch Managers

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by Holistic Management International, 1010 Tijeras NW,

Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: [email protected].; website: www.holisticmanagement.org

Copyright © 2009


the process they changed the landscape. As Betsynotes, “Our land changed, especially with theplanned intensive grazing. When we bought thisranch in 1981, it was basically a grama grasscountry, with approximately 30-40% bare ground.Now the medium tall grasses such as wheat grasshave moved in and increased our total pounds ofharvestable vegetation hugely. We’ve also seensmooth brome, side oats grama, and even somebluestem come in. Bare ground has diminishedvastly down to 10% with lots of clover and alfalfain the pastures.”

The Browns also developed their irrigationsystem. Hay is cut then baled into big bales in midto late June with an average yield of three tons peracre (7.5 tons/ha). Hayland species are smoothbrome (70%), orchard grass and alfalfa, with aprotein rate of 12-14% because they cut at anearly bloom. They have developed a center pivotsprinkler system that runs on gravity pressure toreduce energy costs. They laid about 1.5 miles(2.5 km) of pipeline from a stream and put apivot filter at the beginning of the pipeline. The220-foot (67m) drop creates enough gravitypressure for the pivot and the only energy cost isthe electric motor that creates the hydraulicpressure to move the pivot.

Challenges and OpportunitiesIn 2002 Colorado was in a drought. Without

moisture, the ground was simply not putting forthgrass. To protect the crowns of the grass plants,the Browns moved the cows to a feedlot in PuebloCounty and then to Oklahoma for 2-1/2 years.Betsy says, “I really credit the learning throughHolistic Management with Plan-Control-Monitor-Replan with getting quick action going to see theneed and act on the need to move.”

Reeves adds, “We were able to remain in theblack during that time, although our profitmargin was reduced. We wanted to maintain theherd genetics we had built over the years withoutsacrificing the land.” The replanning they didhelped them keep the herd intact and protect theland. People around them tried to tough it outand everything suffered. The land and animalslooked terrible and when those around themfinally sold their cattle, the prices were poor.

Keeping those genetics was critical as theBrowns had moved their cow herd from a multi-colored and multi-breed group to a far moreproductive group of cattle as they bought into U.S.Premium Beef (a closed coop that owns packinghouses and is the fourth largest packer in theU.S.) and marketed their cattle through thatchannel. “With the kind help of the feedlot owner,

a veterinarian, and a bull producer in Kansas, wehave taken the "mutt" herd of cows to a vastlyimproved herd that consistently earn us premiums(approximately $40-70/head) on the grid that wesell on at the packing house,” says Betsy. Whengrain prices were high and the cost per pound ofgain was in the upper $.80’s, they were able tokeep a reasonable profit margin with thepremiums earned on the grid. Stephen Broadwell,with whom the Browns manage the 3R, has allthe cows on the Cow Sense computer programand they cull cows and select replacement heiferswith this information.

The People PartAs anyone who as practiced Holistic

Management knows, the human resourcemanagement can be the toughest part of thismanagement transition. It was no different for theBrowns. “I think the biggest challenges that wefaced were personal growth and husband/wifegrowth that were opened up as a Pandora Boxfrom our holisticgoal and the training throughwhat was then the Center for Holistic ResourceManagement (now HMI),” says Betsy. “Wecontinued to take all the courses offered, and therewas massive pain and gain from these learnings.Basically Reeves saw himself as the man incharge—his right—and I wanted respect and tohave input that was accepted. I would not want togo through the process again, it was long andhard. The equality has happened, but I have toput my number 10 boots down often yet.”

When asked how this transition was for Reeves,he noted, “Satisfying and painful. That processallowed Betsy’s latent abilities to flourish. We pullin the harness together now and the ranch isbetter off because of that.”

The 3R Ranch continued from page one

The 3R Ranch is now home to the Browns andthe Broadwells (two families making a livingfrom this ranch). Back row from left to right:Heather Broadwell and Betsy Brown. Frontrow from left to right: Stephen Broadwell,Reeves Brown, and Sadie Broadwell.

With a holisticgoal and working together as ateam, the Browns were able to enjoy the beauty oftheir ranch, improving the vegetation, improvingtheir cattle herd, and as their debt load was laidaside, being able to spend time and moneyimproving the ranch—fences, irrigation,buildings, and erosion control.

They also were able to look at otheropportunities on their ranch. About half of theirland is timbered, so for the last 15 years they havehad two men timbering this rough, heavily-timbered land. The Browns like having these menliving on the mountainous part of the ranch forsecurity, and for their work in thinning the timber.The dollars to the ranch from the sale of thetimber are helpful to the budget, but it is theimprovement to the health of the forest that is themotivator.

Harvesting the timber slowly allows for a small,steady income and a continuous job for these twomen and the logging truck driver. It may not be asprofitable as the cow herd, but the Brownsappreciate the sustainable nature it which it isbeing harvested. These men also do guided huntsfor bear, elk, and deer. Having the money to hiregood people to work with them on the ranch,people who are skilled and who they genuinely

enjoy sharing the work and play, is an importantcomponent of the Browns’ quality of life.

The Browns hired Stephen and HeatherBroadwell to manage the ranch with them as theBrowns focused on improving the people part oftheir holisticgoal and addressing the issue ofgetting and keeping reliable help. They could haveprobably handled all the ranch duties, but theywanted to give others the opportunity to enjoy thislifestyle and possibly pass the ranch on to them.

The Broadwells had been living on the EastCoast where agriculture and farm land isdisappearing at a fast rate, so they began to searchfor ranching opportunities in southern Colorado.After meeting Reeves and Betsy and seeing howthey strove to improve all aspects of agriculture,they decided that the 3R Ranch is where theywanted to call home. They took their first HolisticManagement training in February 2008. TheBroadwells have found that being involved in allaspects of the ranch and working as a team toachieve group goals, as well as being able to worktogether as a family, as a very rewardingexperience.

“Getting up every morning and lookingoutside at the physical beauty of the foothills ofthe Rockies and then going outside to see the day,

tending to the cattle, I truly love working with thecattle,” says Betsy. “They are great joys to me.Through Holistic Management we learned of andwent to several Bud Williams cattle handlingseminars and that experience changed us hugely.Handling the cattle calmly and with respect forthe animals has been of untold joy for me. I enjoyjust sitting in the midst of the cows and lying inthe grass watching the cows eat and seeing whatplants they are selecting, especially when theyhave just moved to a fresh pasture. And Ianticipate taking the Broadwells’ two-year-oldSadie outside to go with me and play. It’s greathaving another generation on the ranch.”

The Browns are active in numerousorganizations, including The ColoradoCattlemen’s Association, Colorado Branch HRM,Pueblo County Stockman’s Association, and theNational Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Theirenvironment has changed from one of ruralneighbors in an agricultural community to one of being in a community of 40-acre landowners.They have had to learn to live with this and toshare the benefits of their open space, the ranch,so that these new people respect them and their

Number 128 � IN PRACTICE 3

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

In 1986 after the Browns had completed their first Holistic Management training, they began fencing and amalgamating cows into one herd andgrazing for short periods with adequate recovery periods. The Well Pasture on the 3R Ranch had been an old field. In the 1950s it was planted tocrested wheat grass and that pasture spent the next 35 years blowing to the east. There was no top soil left in 1986, just dead-centered wheat

grass plants on pedestals with bushel basket size crusted bare ground between the plants of wheat grass. There were no weeds in the bare ground.Betsy notes, “We had to be brave and put the cows in this pasture and cause as much cattle impact as reasonable. The cows were not very happy,but . . . we needed their help to bring this pasture back to life.” The following photos show this progress over a ten-year period.

When the Browns firststarted managingholistically in 1985, the landwas predominantly cappedbare ground with no topsoil, dominated by crestedwheat grass on erodedpedestals with dead centers.

1995, the crested wheat seedlingscontinue to increase.

Five years later, the land wasbeginning to showprogress with WesternWheat seedlingscoming in betweenthe crested wheatgrass on pedestals.

By 2001, bare ground has greatly diminishedand there are no dead centers. Alfalfa andclovers are in the forage mix now.

This photo was taken in September 2009 afterhaving been grazed one month earlier. It hadbeen a very dry month since the grazing.


Soil Carbon Sequestration Champions—The Marin Carbon Projectby Christopher Peck

Irecently spent a lovely Saturday with John Wick and Peggy Rathmann at their Nicasio, CA ranch, home of the Marin Carbon Project. Their story is a big story, a story of transformation, a love story, an exciting science-based world-changing adventure, and an excellent example of applied Holistic Management. It is also a story of how they came to live with 1,500 bags

of soil in their living room.

I wrote an article with Allan Savory on soilcarbon sequestration in IN PRACTICE #115(September 2007) where I calculated that wecould pull all of the world’s legacy carbon (whathas built up in the atmosphere since 1850 andcauses global warming) out of the atmosphereand store it in the soil, by improving our landmanagement techniques. Christine Jones, founder of the Australian company Carbon For Life makes the point well:

“The fabulous thing about sequestering carbon in grasslands is that you can keep on doing it forever—you can keep building soil onsoil on soil … and there’s no limit to how muchsoil you can build . . . and, we would only have to improve the stored carbon percentage by one percent on the 415 million hectares(1,025,487,333 acres) of agricultural soil inAustralia and we could sequester all of the planet’s legacy load of carbon. It’s quite a stunning figure.”

John and Peggy share this global vision, andwith their passion it looks like they might try tostore it all on their little slice of heaven!

Cows Are Good?John and Peggy didn’t set out to save the world

with cows and carbon. They bought a big barn toserve as art studio for Peggy’s work, and the ranchcame with it. Peggy is an award-winningchildren’s book author and illustrator, and if youhave kids or grandkids or nieces or nephews, it’shighly likely you’ve read her work. I know I havepersonally read Good Night Gorilla at least 50times. John’s a carpenter and has been a projectmanager for high-end home remodels, skills thatcontinue to serve him. As good environmentaliststhey moved in and promptly got rid of theanimals, as they “knew” that cows were bad forthe land. But quickly, within four years, they could see the encroachment of coyote bush on the hillside across from the porch of their house,and their paradigms started to shift. Jeff Creque,PhD, an Agroecology and RangelandManagement Consultant, observed that the landneeds animals, and this got them started.

A major next step was getting HolisticManagement training, and Abe Collins, of CarbonFarmers of America, was called in. He led themthrough defining their whole and holisticgoal,helped them deepen their realization about howessential animals are to land health, and urgedthem to use research to guide their practice. Out ofthis was born the Marin Carbon Project (MCP), anambitious plan with the vision to “establish landowners and managers as soil carbon sequestrationchampions by providing economical andecological solutions to global climate change.”The MCP was born and received funding fromseveral sources, and though it has existed for onlya couple years, already has results on the ground.

Do It BigJohn Wick’s goal is no less than a global

revolution, and he knows how to assemble people to do it. He now has representatives ofgovernment, academic, agriculture, andenvironmental organizations participatingactively in the MCP, including: Marin AgriculturalLand Trust, Marin Organic, Marin ResourceConservation District, University of California,Berkeley, University of California CooperativeExtension, and USDA Natural ResourcesConservation Service. John is working closely withseveral scientists on their research projects at theranch, research that will determine the mosteffective means of sequestering large quantities of carbon in soil, quickly. They are doingtrials of planned grazing, keylinedevelopment with the Yeoman’s plow,compost applications, and overlaps ofthese and other strategies to see if stand-alone or combined techniques store the most organic matter.

John has also innovated in thetechnology department, such asscrounging an old army truck andoutfitting it with two water tanks for aninexpensive and easy-to-manage mobilewatering unit. They purchased a Yeoman’s plow to help open up soilcompaction and help perennial plant

This is what a whole looks like: academics,neighboring ranchers, interns, and grass.

roots access infiltrated water and nutrients. They’re using the Tumble Wheel movable electricfence that simplifies strip grazing. And they’reusing the best of ultra-high density plannedgrazing, long recovery periods, and obsessivemonitoring. John is out in the field pulling soil samples before and after animals utilize a paddock, with more detailed analysis to follow on a specified plan.

It’s a rare rancher (or farmer or businessperson for that matter) who can persevere ontesting, monitoring, testing, monitoring. There’sno question that planned grazing works; I’veexperienced it first hand, and I imagine you havetoo. But how many of us have rigorously testedwhich combinations of grazing, land shaping,amendments, grazing duration and intensity, andmore provide the biggest bang for the buck? Whatmight we discover if we continued to test, researchand develop? Part of the goal of the Marin CarbonProject is to help demonstrate to Marin County,the state of California, and the whole world really,what is possible in terms of storing carbon in thesoil, and demonstrating with solid science as wellas grass on the ground, so to speak.

Big TakeawaysJohn stresses four big takeaways: 1) create

enclosures, 2) get a researcher involved, 3) testyour soil, and 4) bring in volunteers.

Enclosures are small areas of pasture,approximately 5m x 5m, (three per treatmentarea) that are fenced off from the usual treatmentand grazing areas so researchers can see what hashappened over time in the area that hasn’t beengrazed or received compost or had the Yeomansplow or whatever other treatment you’re applying.Hopefully in ten years, if you follow the advicebeing offered in these pages, you’ll have a hardtime finding your enclosures; they’ll be hiddenbehind all the tall grass!

Holistic Management as a movement isrealizing the importance of research Get ascientist to help you determine what ought to be

tried, measured and tested. Frank Aragonna ofAgroInnovations, who’s worked with HMI on theWest Ranch, has many interesting ideas in thisregard. Bring in volunteers, but be strategic about it. Too many people too soon create amanagement burden, but many folks are dyingfor a connection to the land, for an opportunity to be a part of something that is making a positive difference in the world. Give them thatopportunity, and it can create benefits for you too.

Unknown PossibilitiesWhen John first started ranching, he was

afraid of the animals. He didn’t know them, hehadn’t worked with them, and he didn’t knowwhat to expect. But after working closely togetherfor a year and half, he has “fallen in love,” anemotion I believe is quite common, thoughperhaps rarely spoken, amongst those who workwith animals. John began by sinking enormoussteel posts and stringing multiple electric lines to contain the “onslaught” of cattle. Now hebarely needs a single hot tape to keep them in.The animals respond to verbal commands and his demeanor more than anything.

What if he was intimate enough with theanimals that his handling and voice commandscould keep them in place? What if he couldcombine many more herds together and eachrancher in the area only worked a month a year,with no fencing, and ever increasing benefit to theland? What if we’ll have to burn coal to keep theEarth warm enough as we lock down all thiscarbon in the soil? As the land improves and wecan smell it breathing in and out, the truemeaning of inspiration becomes clear, and ourdreams seem less like dreams and more likepossibilities we are about to realize.

Contact the Marin Carbon Project atwww.marincarbonproject.org.


ranch and see them as good neighbors who have a viewshed that theyappreciate and a way of life that they find worth protecting and learningabout.

When asked how Holistic Management has affected their lives, Betsy says,“Reeves and I have always been very conservative with our money andplanned carefully for our income and expenses and savings, but the financialplanning forms and now computer bookkeeping have made this processsmoother. Even though we no longer have debt, we are equally diligent withposting and monitoring our financial status and sharing that informationwith the people who work with us.

“Because of this monitoring and planning, the ranch can remainprofitable in the future. One cannot imagine the changes that will have to bemade, but by always being watchful and not stuck in a pattern, the ranchcan adapt and move forward wisely. I love learning and applying that newknowledge to the operation of the ranch and our lives.

“Holistic Management helped me look at the whole, especially the peoplepart. It’s made us more mellow and appreciate the good people around us.We want them to be a part of the ranch,” she says. “People skills were not myforte, and Don Green’s work on the people stuff [for the Center for HolisticManagement] was extremely helpful to me.

“To someone who is contemplating ranching today, I would tell them tobe really sure that they want to work as hard as it takes to ranch and to tendthe land well. Then I would tell them to first get themselves to one of KirkGadzia's Holistic Management classes!” In fact, the Browns will be hosting

Kirk’s February 2010 Holistic Management course (see page 22). “Holistic Management has allowed us to integrate so many production

factors and utilize and improve resources in a way I never thought I coulddo,” says Reeves. “It’s been the center of all our expectations. It has beenmonumental. Certainly the land would not have healed the way it haswithout it.”

Betsy & Reeves Brown live in Beulah, Colorado. They can be reachedat: (719) 485-3485.

The 3R Ranch continued from page three

Soil Sampling

Regular soil sampling is a crucialelement of solid research, but how do

you do it quickly and easily? John uses along auger from Ben Meadows(www.benmeadows.com); he uses the31/4-inch (12.25-cm) model. The simpleGopher unit goes for approximately $300,around the same price as a point-and-shoot camera, another essential item forland managers. The long arm of theauger lets him sample from a range ofdepths: 10cm, 10-30cm, 30-50cm, and50cm to a full meter. He bags and tagsthe samples, dries them and then storesthem in his house. He archives samplesfor use in the future if testing improves orother factors become important in thecarbon sequestration game.

John’s working with professional soilscientists for soil testing. If that option’s notavailable, you could have samples testedwith Neal Kinsey (see the back of thispublication) or from a local testingoperation. The University of Massachusettsat Amherst offers soil tests that provide acomprehensive rundown of what your soilcontains, only $13 for the version thatincludes organic matter.

In 18 months after managing holisticallyperennial grasses are proliferating.

The 3R Ranch Headquarters.


I have also had the opportunity to travelwidely in the world to present at internationalconferences and have gone out of my way to meetand visit ranchers in various countries inAustralasia, southern Africa, and South and North America who practice multi-paddockgrazing so I could learn more about the subjectfrom them. This has given me a broad knowledgebase from both rancher and research scientistperspectives. In this article, I outline thedifferences I have observed between researchersand multi-paddock managers. I try to explainhow such divergent views have arisen and makesome comments that may help facilitateresearchers and managers working together for mutual benefit in the future.

Different WorldsWhen one examines the worlds of the

ranchers and grazing management researchers it is apparent that there is little to connect them,even though they are dealing with the samesubject. Ranchers need to know answers topractical questions such as: how good is thismanagement option, where is it successful, and what does it take to make it work as well as possible? Successful ranchers managestrategically to achieve the best long-termprofitability and ecosystem health. They use basic knowledge of plant physiology and ecology within an adaptive, goal-orientedmanagement strategy to implement plannedgrazing management.

Ranchers must also manage in environmentswith all the inherent variability of uniquelandscapes and the vagaries of the weather andmarket place. So they view grazing schedules andstocking rates as variables to be applied in anadaptive management context to meet a varietyof management objectives under constantlychanging circumstances. Ranchers evaluate

grazing management within the context of total system performance in relation to their own unique goals.

In stark contrast, researchers are required to publish as much as possible in journals. They rely on grant funding that usually lasts for only two to three years, and not only do theywork on small areas of land, but they deliberatelyuse small treatment plots or paddocks to reducevariability. Consequently they can appearsuccessful without working on details that arerelevant to ranchers. Researchers have differentgoals to ranch managers, and getting the bestresults from multi-paddock grazing in terms of desired animal or vegetation goals is usuallynot one of them.

They evaluate success of treatments bycomparing plant and animal production ratherthan the effect on ecosystem health and function,the real arbiters of productivity and profitability.Research protocols almost invariably applygrazing variables as fixed “treatments” to avoidconfounding “grazing management” with othervariables. Stocking rates, grazing schedules andresting/recovery schedules are examples of"treatments" that have been kept constant.Consequently, they do not plan or apply theirmulti-paddock grazing management in responseto changing circumstances or to achieve desirable ecosystem goals.

What It Takes to SucceedIt is instructive to examine why successful

multi-paddock managers have succeeded. Thosewho are successful want to use planned grazing,and continue to develop better skills by receivingtraining and coaching on grazing and relatedmanagement. In contrast, I have met very fewresearch scientists who have made an effort todevelop and apply multi-paddock grazingplanning and management skills. Their

emphasis is almost invariably to apply grazingmanagement as a fixed treatment. This isdisastrous in a variable climate and one of themain reasons they have not obtained good resultswith multi-paddock grazing, when rancherspracticing adaptive management have done so.

I like to use a golfing analogy to illustrate theimportance of this. To develop competence as agolfer requires training and coaching, practice,and continually working on improvement. Thosewith some talent for the game can reach singlefigure handicaps; some even achieve scratchhandicaps while more average operators can atleast get handicaps in the low double digits.Those who have tried to master golf withouttraining and practice quickly understand thateven those with potential can achieve horribleresults. It is exactly the same in multi-paddockgrazing. Management commitment, training andability are paramount. How many researchscientists have applied even basic good multi-paddock grazing management skills to achievethe best soil, plant, and livestock results?

Past Multi-Paddock Research

Research has not taken into account plantand animal processes at appropriate spatial andtemporal scales, resulting in incorrectinterpretations for rangeland management oncommercial ranches. The uneven distribution oflivestock in continuously grazed large paddocksleads to localized pasture degradation. This is notaccommodated in the design of most researchstudies using small paddock sizes to comparecontinuous grazing to multi-paddock grazing.Research at a small scale diminishes the degreeof selective use and impact that animals haveover the landscape. This oversight also assumesspatial homogeneity of forage availability andutilization, which is refuted by a large body ofpublished research at larger scales.

Grazing ungulates have an entirely differentimpact on large landscapes over long periods oftime when continuously grazed than that impliedin the small temporal and spatial scale studies. Atthe larger scale of commercial ranches,continuous grazing causes localized patch and

Having personally witnessed the benefits of planned, multi-paddock grazing management formany decades in numerous countries and continents and read about many more, it isdifficult to understand how many researchers working on this subject suggest that it is notsuperior to continuous grazing at conservative stocking rates. My work as a research scientist

since I graduated in South Africa in 1972 has focused on trying to develop more sustainable use ofrangeland. This has allowed me to follow in some detail the research that has been done on multi-paddock grazing management in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the U.S.

Different Viewpoints of Multi-PaddockGrazing Managers and Researchersby Richard Teague


area degradation that escalates with time and withincreasing grazing unit size. Although they arenot evident at the time-scale of most researchprojects, these effects are neverthelessinstrumental in causing localized degradationthat gets worse over years with continuousgrazing. At the ranch scale, the damaging effectsof area and patch selection on conservation andproduction goals are minimized by limiting thenumber or severity of defoliations through shortgraze periods and providing adequate growingseason recovery after grazing. Multi-paddockgrazing provides the framework for doing so.

Alternative ParadigmsAlthough most disciplines operate on the

tenets of a single major paradigm, consideringand comparing more than one paradigm is thebest way to generate more complete knowledge.Different paradigms are grounded infundamentally different assumptions and produce markedly different ways of approachingand building a theoretical base. Accounting fordifferent paradigmatic assumptions within abroader systems approach provides a morecomprehensive understanding of the processes of nature, and their constantly changingmanifestations.

The value of this approach to science-basedmanagement is that it keeps open the possibilityof new ways of thinking. When researchingrangeland grazing management, researchers need to expand their methods of inquiry toinclude evidence from different sources, including ranch-based information, andconstantly check existing hypotheses for anyinconsistencies between them and the evidencefrom other sources.

When the discipline of rangelandmanagement began in the early 1900s, theoriginal hypothesis and paradigm for grazingmanagement was based on observations thatdegradation of the range resource was due solelyto excessive livestock numbers. In this paradigmthe solution was to reduce numbers to achieve the rule of thumb of “take-half and leave-half”with continuous, year-long grazing. Theparadigm of providing regular deferment toimprove rangeland was developed later, followingthe experience of pioneer rancher conservationistsand scientists, who had achieved significant range improvement using growing seasondeferment to allow recovery periods. Earlyresearchers confirmed the success of usinggrowing season deferment, often in conjunctionwith rotational grazing.

In the early 1970s a third paradigm wasdeveloped, based on the earlier work and writings

of Andre Voisin and John Acocks involving the useof multi-paddocks per herd at high densities forvery short periods at higher stocking rates thantraditionally considered sustainable. Subsequentlyranchers worldwide have achieved very successfulanimal productivity and improvement of theirvegetation and quality of life using these methodswith adaptive management. Even in the face ofmuch evidence, many in the rangeland disciplinehave rejected these two alternate paradigms.

In the case of grazing management,numerous instances from research studies andevidence from scores of ranchers around theworld, as Jim Howell has outlined in his recentbook, For the Love of Land: Global Case Studiesof Grazing in Nature’s Image, provide solidreasons to modify the hypothesis expressed in2008 by David Briske and coauthors that: there isno reason to favor multi-paddock rotationalgrazing over continuous grazing andconservative stocking. I believe that the evidenceavailable to us now indicates the followinghypothesis is a more accurate alternative: at aranch management scale, planned multi-paddock grazing, when managed to give bestvegetation and animal performance, has thepotential to produce superior conservation andrestoration of resources and ranch profitability.

Researchers and Practitioners Working Together

Some Holistic Management practitionersquestion why any attempt should be made tocooperate with research scientists. HMI andHolistic Management practitioners have madeexcellent progress in spite of researchers, most ofwhom do not understand the HolisticManagement process at all. I believe there are twogood reasons to work with researchers. Firstly, onlya very small percentage of ranchers know aboutthe benefits of the Holistic Management®decision process or practice it. Land managementwould almost certainly improve if more peoplewere convinced of the benefits of the HolisticManagement process. This will require verificationby independent research before more peoplewould be amenable to adopting the HolisticManagement® Framework. Currently, those whomay consider it have little scientific evidence tosupport what HMI preaches and are discouragedfrom doing so by flawed scientific interpretationsand influential people who oppose it.

Secondly, while the adaptive managementframework of Holistic Management is a workablemodel, even leading managers would benefit frommore information than currently exists. Althoughplanning and execution of management are atthe individual ranch level, support and service at

catchment or regional scales would be invaluable.Monitoring is one of the keys to achieving desiredresults, but is not as widely or comprehensivelyconducted as it needs to be. A structured, strategicmonitoring program at a regional scale couldaddress managers’ requirements directly andprovide data to test hypotheses within anexperimental framework. Such monitoring would expand our knowledge of the responses to different management decisions and practicesat the individual ranch level, where landmanagement decisions are made.

ConclusionsWe have yet to research adaptive management

as a strategy for achieving best multi-paddockgrazing outcomes for ecosystem function andresilience, animal performance, wildlife habitatand profit. Research needs to be conducted on the effect of scale on impact over thelandscape, over adequate time frames, and indifferent environments in a manner that answersthe critical concerns to ranchers: (1) how goodcan planned multi-paddock grazing be; (2) where does it work and not work; and (3) how to manage multi-paddock grazing to give best possible results?

Research scientists have neither the facilitiesnor knowledge and management skills to do thiswithout partnering with successful multi-paddockmanagers. They need to collaborate with leadingmanagers to: (1) verify successes that have beenachieved using planned multi-paddock grazing,(2) quantify impacts that can be influenced bymanagement, (3) understand the limits ofdifferent management choices in differentenvironments, and (4) improve our knowledgeabout what management adjustments need to be made in response to changing conditions or unanticipated outcomes.

Rangeland social-ecosystems comprisenumerous complex interactions that are difficultto anticipate, predict, or control. It is imperative to develop decision frameworks to help people live sustainably within these dynamic ecosystemsrather than try to control inherent uncertainties.Future grazing management research must beholistic, straightforward, adaptive and interactive.As Fred Provenza noted, the challenge is to blendscience with the local knowledge of people tryingto earn livelihoods on landscapes ever unique intime and space.

Richard Teague is a professor in theDepartment of Ecosystem Science andManagement at Texas A&M. He can be reachedat Texas AgriLife Research, P.O. Box 1658,Vernon, TX 76385


Social challenge is almost certainly thenumber one inhibitor to change. I mainly workwith farm families. They are, by definition, living in their communities, which are “a socialgroup of any size whose members reside in aspecific locality, share government, and oftenhave a common cultural and historicalheritage.” This same definition carries on to say that a community is, “a social, religious,occupational, or other group sharing commoncharacteristics or interests and perceived orperceiving itself as distinct in some respectfrom the larger society within which it exists.”World-wide, that sounds to me like a descriptionof “the farming community.”

Successional PlanningFarm families are distinct in a very important

way: world-wide there is a heritage of familiespassing down the ownership of the underlyingland and, simultaneously, the management ofthe business carried out on that land. In almostevery other industry the two are separated. It iscomparatively much rarer in other industries for the young to work in the family business.Whilst these dual land and business transitionsare widespread in agriculture, they are far toofrequently poorly executed. This is often theprecursor to the social problem that follows. And none of it is new.

For successive generations now, in too fewfamilies have the older generation properlyworked on how to “get out of the road” of theyounger generation. So Father (it is usually him)hangs in, very often because he actually hasnothing better to do. Frequently, poor profitabilitymeant the farm occupied every waking hourunder his watch. As a result he developed no other interests, and no meaningful project tomove on to when the time was right.

But here is the irony of it all: In trying to dothe right thing the older generation have usuallyinvested substantial time, effort and money intotheir young as they are schooled, and then sentoff to good colleges and universities to gain the

best knowledge that agribusiness drivenknowledge that money can buy. They returnhome and put their knowledge to work. Often,their idea is to work like mad, and to get Mumand Dad settled in a new life. For the last 40 or 50 years or so, typically this has seen fences comedown, and tractors and boom-sprayers get bigger.New bulls and rams arrive with sexier pedigrees,and with breeding numbers to match. Cross-breeding programs are put in place to extract the maximum ‘per-head’ performance.

The Lost GenerationI call these 21 to 29 year-olds, “the lost

generation.” Until it hurts enough, they remainimpervious to the simple biological truth that inthe long run, the model may not be sustainable.At about age 30 they realize that their land is not improving, debt is threatening, and too often, family relationships are fraying. And, Dad is still there. That’s usually when people like me get to meet people like them.

These 30 year-olds usually don’t tell anyonethey are planning to attend a course, especiallyone that uses the word “holistic” in its name. In particular, they don’t tell their mates, eventhough they are pretty sure that some of them are also experiencing similar problems. Duringthe first few days they discover what might betheir real problem. They discover the word“biodiversity,” and learn about another, bigger,word called “decision-making.” They begin towork out why things aren’t working as planned,and what changes are required. Sub-consciouslythey are ready for the changes. They tellthemselves that they can do it. And I also tellthem they can do it. They leave the course “ten-foot tall and bullet-proof.”

But I am not the one who has to go homeand tell Dad about all this new stuff. Dad is smartenough and old enough to know that the kid iscoming home with stories of even more change,and haven’t we already had enough of that? Andwe should never forget that the only experiencethat Dad has is high input agriculture, because

it has become “conventional agriculture” during his lifetime. Right now, at some level,every member of the family is pretty scared. What they did years ago didn’t work, and now the most recent stuff is not really working asplanned. They are running out of room to move.And by the way, Dad still has his hand on the checkbook.

Cloistered CommunityHere we are, with two generations facing

the same problem. Each is deeply ingrained inthe same form of agriculture. Each knows thatsome of their peers are succeeding, at leastfinancially in the short term, but the young,recent graduate of a Holistic Management coursenow suspects that their success is coming atsignificant ecological cost. Each has seen peoplemove down the “organic” route and fail as well,and so are pretty wary of that direction. In short,each is very scared at the risk of moving awayfrom what they know. Besides that, even thoughthey have now seen and heard other people tellthem that their situation is now better than itwas, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what thingsthey have changed. Nobody says, “we justchanged this one thing and it all got better!”

If we take a helicopter view, it is clear what is happening. Imagine a group of farmers alltalking at the barbeque. Outside their gardenfence, and the garden fences of all their friends,there is almost certainly a biologically unsoundlandscape, yet that type of landscape is the onlyone they can all recall ever seeing. It stands toreason then that if everyone is using essentiallythe same management approach andexperiencing the same difficulties, they willalmost certainly deduce that the problem cannot be just their management—there must be something else, such as the weather.They rationalize that their problems are just too common and widespread for them to besheeted home to their own individualmanagement.

In summary, it is not easy in what iseffectively a cloistered community of farmers toaccept that one’s own management approach hasbeen wrong, and has contributed to the situation,especially when “everyone is doing it this way.”Worse still, it is far, far more difficult to tell yourdad that he, too, was wrong. In my view, largelyfor these social reasons people tend to avoid the

Dealing with Peer Pressure—Starting to Manage Holisticallyby Bruce Ward

Over a good number of years now, many thousands of people on a number of continents have attended training in Holistic Management, presented by a wide range of educators. So, assuming that the core material is sound and that the educators are capable of doingtheir job, what has stopped an even bigger uptake than has yet been achieved by those

trained people and their peers? I can best talk about the situation in Australia and New Zealand, but I expect my comments are true in every other location in the world.

big decisions. I once heard that “most peoplewould rather risk failing conventionally than risk succeeding unconventionally,” and I thinkthat is probably true.

Incentives and SecurityThe question then is, “What things can be

done for people that would help make this socialpressure easier to break through? I think theanswer lies in two words: incentive and security.

I am deeply immersed in the “soil carbon”discussion that fortunately seems to be gainingmomentum around the world. I am keen to seethe necessary scientific work carried out onproperties where management really haschanged, so that sufficient evidence comes tolight to confirm the obvious, which is thatincreasing vegetative production must meanmore carbon captured and stored in the soil. The incentive that would work well is to have the world place a financial value upon that stored carbon within a trading scheme. Then, for direct financial reasons, young managers will begin to assess and change the ecologicalimpact of their actions. By doing this they canalso more easily bring their fathers with them. No longer will the discussion be about who didwhat wrong, but how about they can all do good things and be paid well for it. Managingholistically will then tick all the boxes, socially, ecologically, and financially.

In Australia the Holistic Management®program has recently been approved by the NewSouth Wales State Government’s Technical AndFurther Education (TAFE) organization. In other places you might know them asPolytechnics or Vocational or CommunityColleges. The approval process, which brings with it national benefits, was driven by IanChapman, a Holistic Management® CertifiedEducator in training. Over nearly two years hewrote and presented the extensive paperworkrequired for the recognition. Fundamentally, this recognition changes the way we can nowpresent courses, and I am excited by theopportunities it presents.

World-wide, for programs like HolisticManagement, where the presenters are, like me,mostly free enterprise businesses rather thaneducational institutions, in order to keep the cost of knowledge transfer financially attractive,we have usually run courses for groups ofunrelated businesses. People pay a fee, and thenturn up a number of times across a few months,each time for two or three days. In great haste wedeliver the necessary information to them. Butthere is so much to learn that I think it becomes a one-way street. We deliver too much, too fast,and the recipients are swamped! Not a great

place for these poor people to be—because now they are even more scared then when they arrived.

The new TAFE model does two things. Itallows us to deliver government funded educationat a much slower pace—a pace more matchedto the real learning capacity of people. We take

many months to deliver the same informationover a great many more, much smaller “bites.”Secondly, the course is structured in such a waythat participants have to demonstrate that theyactually can do every aspect of managingholistically. Typically, in the past we havedelivered, say, grazing planning in a couple ofdays. We would begin by doing a group exercise.Then each family would prepare a plan or plansfor themselves. We see a completed plan at theend, but in reality, we are never making a formalassessment as to whether they really do “get” it. In practice, generally things are all happening

far too fast for them to correctly learn. The result, when they get home is a confused and overwhelmed mind. Under these conditions,the safest place to be is to be doing nothing. So, in reality, nothing changes for most people.Worst of all, it has taken me a long time torealize that under these circumstances, a greatmany people also feel bad about calling me up to ask for help when they most need it. They feel they must be “bad” because they didn’t “get it,” and are ashamed to call.

So, deep down, world-wide I suspect that the low uptake by trained people remains a twopronged social problem. It is a problem that hastwo related solutions: we must provide betterconditions for learning, and the NSW TAFE model (which is capable of being adopted inalmost any country), looks like a great start.Secondly, we must create a proper, results based,holistically sound incentive for change. Placing a value on the building block of all life, carbon,might just do the trick on that score. This is apotential financial enterprise that was notavailable to either father or son before. Evenbetter, it is measurably and directly related to the management decisions of the wholemanagement team to encourage them to moveforward toward greater land health.

Bruce Ward is a Certified Educator based in Sydney, Australia. He can be reached at +61 9929 5568 [email protected]


Most people would rather risk failing conventionally

than risk succeeding unconventionally.

Soil Can Store Methane

In an article for Australia Broadcasting Corporation on July 8, 2009, Keva Gocher notes that Sydney University research demonstrates that greenhouse gas methane can be absorbed by soil. This research on native grasslands near the SnowyMountains has found healthy soil bacteria absorb more methane per day than

a cow produces in an entire year."We have a good news story and the farming community needs good news stories," says

Professor Mark Adams, agricultural sustainability researcher and Dean of Agriculture at Sydney University. "Typical methane production by beef cattle is round about 60 kilograms of methane per year, and some of the high country soils are taking more than that out ofthe atmosphere every day, so one hectare is taking out, or oxidizing more methane than a cow produces in a year. This is a part of the Australian landscape where we can say thatgrazing is a methane neutral or even methane positive land use. (The native grassland)are organically rich, well drained, well structured soils and we have a lot of great bacterialiving in those soils that are doing the work for us."

Unfortunately, Professor Adams believes that low-intensity grazing and sensible firemanagement are the keys to success and sustainability for both the environment andfarming.

For the complete article go to: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nsw/content/2009/08/s2649416.htm.

10 � November / December 2009Land & Livestock

Growing Grass with Goatsby Kelly Boney

It seems we are becoming more and more a society of quick fixes andforgetting that quick doesn’t always work. In the spring of 2005 I wasasked to look at an oil field reclamation site. The 1.2-acre (.5-ha) sitewas once home to big oil holding tanks in southern Roosevelt County

in east-central New Mexico. The land had been kept bare using chemicalsfor years, gravel had been hauled in to make the pads for the tanks androads for the large trucks coming in and out. Collectively the heaviness ofthe tanks and trucks had heavily compacted the soil. Exxon had leased theland from the New Mexico State Land Office and together they wereworking to return the site to native vegetation and to remove a fence thatsurrounded the site to allow cattle back onto the site.

In compliance with their contract Exxon had hired an environmentalcompany to move the tanks, remove all foreign materials and re-seed the site.Everything had gone well except for the grass coming up. Drought wasblamed for the lack of grass coming up so they re-seeded again. The grassdidn’t come up again! Neither did it the third time! The tractor and grassdrill had been set properly, a correct mix of native grasses, forbs, and annualshad been seeded, it did rain; so why didn’t it work?

Organic Matter to the RescueAs you can see in the picture above, nothing was growing. A few

snakeweeds, a couple of beargrass (yucca) and one rather unhealthy lookingshinnery oak plant. The large rocks are remains left from the gravel put onthe site. The soil surrounding the site is very sandy, as one can see a sand hillin the right far corner. Don’t let the electrical poles fool you; each line ends atsome sort of oil field site. This is an extremely remote area.

When I was first taken to the site my first thought was “why” would a self

respecting grass plant establish itself there? The site lacked organic matter; itwas clearly 95-98% bare ground and for all practical purposes the site lookeddead. To get to the site one must travel about 20 miles over dirt road andwind in and out of Roosevelt and Chavez counties several times. So to justgive up on the site and let the rancher’s cattle ignore it would have been easy.But to the credit of the State Land Office, they didn’t hide their heads in thesand; they looked for ways to reclaim this seemingly dead site.

Eric Nelson, with the New Mexico State Land Office had seen firsthandwhat our herd of goats had been able to do on a riparian restoration job wehad worked on; so he asked me along to get my opinion of the site and whatcould be done.

Our conversation centered around the lack of organic matter, bare groundand what animal impact could do to rectify the situation. The answer seemedto be broadcast seed, spread hay on top of the seed and then herd goats overthe top of the mixture to put the seeds and hay in contact with the soil.

Knowing the history of the site, it seemed natural to use legumes to helprestore soil health. This led me to decide to use alfalfa hay instead of easier tospread wheat hay or wheat straw. To keep costs down I found rained on, andseveral year old hay. Even in this state I figured the hay still had somenitrogen that would be made available to the soil. The farmer I bought thehay from did not have enough to complete the job; so I bought some olderwheat hay to finish out our needs for the oil field site.

So on one of the hottest days in June the work began. A mixture of nativegrasses and forbs were broadcast by hand, and we began the tedious task ofspreading hay over the top of the seeds. The alfalfa was certainly the hardest

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Number 128 � 11Land & Livestock

to spread; it was clumped together making it difficult to separate; while thewheat hay was extremely easy to spread. We covered the entire area with atleast one inch (25 mm) of organic matter.

Then came a trailer load of goats! 60 to be exact. While the project couldhave used a semi-truckload of goats, it was not economically feasible; so weloaded stock trailer and used Border Collies to herd them over the project fora day. Things went well with the goats; they enjoyed the hay and could keepmoving around which they really liked. However, as the New Mexico sun beatdown on the site, the goats quickly learned the temperature was much coolerin the shinnery oak just outside the fence. The bare soil on the site heated upquickly. I’m sure there was at least a 20-30 degree temperature differencebetween the bare ground and the ground outside the area. Our feet wereplenty warm walking around the site.

Within hours we had visitors! Dung beetles were making good use of thenewly deposited goat pellets. Not just a lonely little beetle either; severalhappily rolling little balls. We found at least two separate locations of thelittle beetles working. It was amazing to see them so quickly on that hot,barren soil.

After a couple of long hot, exhausting days our work was completed. Allthe site needed now was rain and time.

holding more water and cooling the ground for the microbes and insectsbreaking down the organic matter.

You will also notice tracks in the sand at the bottom of the picture; theyare bird tracks. The birds loved their new found home.

With A Little RainThe restoration work was done in June 2005 and the above photo was taken

in late summer 2005! The large bare spots in the middle were where we usedwheat hay and the hay had blown off. We didn’t get much rain as we were stillin the middle of drought, but as you can see the land was ready for it.

One additional consideration for the seed mix we used on the oil field sitewas to provide food for the wildlife and birds of the region. This site is in theheart of Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat. The Lesser Prairie Chicken is listed asa species of concern. This little bird’s claim to fame is its early spring danceand booming sounds. With the Prairie Chicken in mind, sunflowers, legumesand cool season plants were added to the mix. The chicks hatch before mostof the warm-season grasses are coming out of dormancy so the cool-seasongrasses are a must to provide adequate forage for their survival. They alsoneed tall grasses to nest in.

There was a surprising find! I had used alfalfa for its nutrition; it provedbeneficial in another way also. The bottom of the top left picture had wheathay spread on it. We did get grass growing there; however the hay has blownaway leaving a difficult environment for the seedlings. The top of the picturehas alfalfa still on the ground providing ground cover; catching more water,

The site in the summer of 2007

There is still alfalfa providing ground cover. Notice the different types ofgrass. In essence most contracts call for having the site look like thesurrounding countryside. In this aspect we goofed. The old site looks nothinglike the rangeland outside the fence. Without a doubt the area inside thefence has hundreds of times more pounds of grass than the same size areaoutside. A simple change in management over the past several years in theoil field site has made a tremendous difference. This was once an ugly scaron the land; it now stands as a beacon showing how well the land willrespond given a chance.

It also serves as a reminder that land restoration is not a onetime onlyshot. The site is in need of another dose of animal impact; the grass isshowing signs of overrest, old growth is remaining standing on the plantwhile it needs to be put in contact with the soil so it can decay. To prevent it ashift toward woody species the grass needs to be grazed and allowed torecover, then grazed again, the way nature intended.

Kelly Boney is a Certified Educator and lives in San Jon, New Mexico.She can be reached at: 575/760-7636 or [email protected].

Late summer 2005

Late summer 2005


Invest in Biological Capital—Looking Beyond the Droughtby Don Campbell

No matter who you are or how severelyyou are being challenged by the drought (or other adverse conditions)you can be confident that things will

change. Conversely, if you are experiencing agood year you can also be sure that at somepoint that will change.

The weather is erratic and unpredictable. That is a fact that we can be sure of. It seems tome that as time passes it just becomes more so. I remember one of the first times I met AllanSavory. One of his comments was that the weatherpatterns would become less predictable and more erratic until we started to deal with climate change and desertification.

It is interesting to note that Highway 16 nearYellowhead, Saskatchewan has been closed twicein the last couple on years. One was due to awashout, and the second was due to flooding.That highway has been it the same location for 50

or 60 years. To my knowledge this kind of eventhas never happened before. The official thinkingis heavy rain, but I am sure there has been just as much rain in previous years. Does anyone ever think of an ineffective water cycle? Will things get better or worse in the future?

We can’t control the weather; it is clearly in our circle of concern. Fortunately, we can do many things in our circle of influence tomitigate the effects the weather has on us. Forexample, the best time to prepare for a drought is in the good years!

It is so easy to miss this. Most of us whenblessed with abundant growth immediately think:“Wow, what will I do with all this grass?” Theanswer is usually make more hay or feed morecattle. Seldom do we consider investing the extragrowth in biological capital. But, if you don’tinvest in biological capital in a good year when will you do it?

I challenge everyone (myself included) tofirmly resolve that the next time we are blest with abundant growth we will invest a portion of that growth as biological capital.

This is one positive way we could all benefitfrom the drought.

I think we are all aware that it is possible todouble our effective rainfall. It’s a managementchoice that we all have the skills and knowledgeto make.

I know these decisions are not easy to make,but I believe that they are possible if we focus onour holisticgoal. Most of us have something aboutmaking the land better or improving the watercycle in our holisticgoal. The way to do this is touse planned grazing to maximize our capture ofsolar energy (real wealth). The second step is todo a good financial plan so that we don’t need toharvest everything that we produce. This willallow us to invest in biological capital which will result in a more effective water cycle.

We all know these things work. We need to resolve to apply our knowledge and skills tomake things better. We can create the future we desire.

Planned Grazing and Herding for Rangeland Health

Participants in a recent Colorado workshop learned the basic conceptsof planned grazing and herding at the award-winning Blue ValleyRanch. The workshop was organized by Matt Barnes who gave apresentation on “Prescribed Grazing for Rangeland Health.”

The presentation focused on how even with “proper” or conservativestocking, poorly managed grazing leads to distribution problems, whereheavily grazed and unused patches are found side-by-side within a pasture.Barnes noted that commonly cited reasons for not adopting planned grazingare that, as usually implemented, it requires more fencing (permanent fenceis often cost-prohibitive); and it requires a lot more handling and moving oflivestock, which—with conventional handling techniques—tends to requiremore labor and management, stressing both animals and people.

Herding makes planned grazing technically practical and economicallyviable, by allowing a few individuals to move a large herd of livestock overlong distances and rough terrain, and place them—without fencing. Thismeans that stock can be moved off of sensitive areas, breaking the cycle ofrepeated grazing and improving distribution, as well as facilitating animal

impact and other vegetation treatments. Certified Educator Guy Glosson,manager of the award-winning Mesquite Grove Ranch near Snyder, Texas,was invited to teach the low-stress livestock handling techniques that helearned by working with stockmanship guru Bud Williams.

Guy taught participants to inspire the animals to want to go where theywanted the animals to go, and then let them go—or stay—there. Guy beganby demonstrating the low-stress initial approach to the herd, and then walkedthe herd up and down a fence line. Participants found that low-stress livestockhandling is not a kinder, gentler version of conventional handling, but a newmethod that requires the herder to be in a different position relative to theherd. To learn to work the lead animals from the side, participants had to letgo of their previous experience of pushing the herd from behind.

Dan Nosal of the Colorado Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI)acclaimed the workshop as the most out-of-the-box of all the workshopsfunded by the Colorado GLCI. Dave Bradford, of the Gunnison NationalForest, and John Kossler, representing the West Elk Livestock Association,rounded out the workshop with their presentation on a large-scaleapplication of planned grazing, “Livestock Herding in the West ElkMountains.” The permittees on this pooled allotment have gotten an extrathirty days of grazing on the National Forest since they adopted herding andstarted using it to apply animal impact in Gambel oak thickets, saidBradford. All of his allotments now use some form of multiple-pasturegrazing management.

Matt Barnes, Multi-County Rangeland Management Specialist withthe USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Kremmling,Colorado, can be reached at: [email protected]. Guy Glosson,Certified Educator, and manager of Mesquite Grove Ranch near Snyder,Texas, can be reached at: [email protected].

GuyGlossonexplaininglow-stresslivestockhandlingtechniques


T-Posts and Thistlesby Ralph Tate

In June of this year, after the cattle had been on pasture for about six weeks, I was wrestling with two concerns; animal scratching andthistle management. The animal scratching had me concernedbecause the objects the cattle were using to scratch on were the water

tanks, and they were doing a pretty good job of sloshing water all over,making a mud pit around the tank.

My mentor, Holistic Management® Certified Educator Paul Swanson,suggested I consider getting some sort of scratching device that they coulduse instead of the tank. The only scratching devices I was aware of werecumbersome and did not lend themselves to daily paddock moves. So, after thinking about it for a while, I placed t-posts at several locations withinthe grazing paddock, giving them an opportunity to scratch. They loved it!They used the t-posts to scratch their heads and necks so that even just after a day, they had worked them around so much I could just lift them out of the ground.

Scratching My ItchThe second part of the story is the placement of the posts. Why not

put the t-posts in the middle of some areas that needed extra animal impact, such as thistle thickets? That way, as the cows focused on scratching their itch, they were also scratching one of mine!

About this same time I also gave the herd more time in paddocks withthistles so that they came to “discover” how much they really liked thistles—they just didn’t know it! This became exciting to see. Every day we weretackling paddocks where there were plenty of thistles. When the next daycame, even though there were still thistle plants standing, they were muchshorter, many leaves had been stripped off, and there were very few heads stillattached! I recall Charles Walters making a comment in his book (Weeds,Control Without Poison), that one of the best ways to control thistles is tojust pluck the heads off. Leaving the plant intact causes the roots to weakentrying to maintain such a large plant. So I had 48 “helpers” doing just that.

In taking a holistic view of thistles and other flowering forbs, I learnedfrom one of the local wildlife managers that forbs are essential to the survivalof birds because it is the flowers of the forbs that attract the insects thatprovide the necessary protein level that young birds need to survive. So, I need to be observant in my managing of forbs, in general, and thistles, specifically, as to how I am impacting the pheasant and quailpopulations I am trying to encourage.

Someone also suggested that one of the reasons why cows like thistleheads is because they are high in sugar. So I tested the sugar level of a thistlehead, and found it registered over 22%! No wonder they like eating them—they’re gum drops!

Here are a few pictures I took in one of the paddocks to illustrate theimpact the cattle were having on the thistles.

The top picture was taken in early July. The t-post was positioned in this location specifically because of the thistles. I expected the cattle to focus on their scratching needs more than on the thistles and had hopes that significant trampling would occur as a result.

The cattle grazed this area for a couple of days. After they had moved to the next area, I came back and took a picture of the impact. The afterpicture, July 9, 2009, illustrates that although there was not much tramplingof thistles, the cattle apparently liked the taste of the leaves and heads andstripped almost all of the thistles. They did a pretty decent job on the warm season grasses as well.

Thistle Patch With T-PostBefore Grazing,July 6, 2009

Thistle Patch With T-Post After Recovery,Sept. 13, 2009

Thistle PatchWith T-Post

After Grazing, July 9, 2009

The picture taken on 9/13/09 shows the results after about two months of recovery around the t-post. Although the thistle stems are evident, they didnot recover from the stripping experience, just as Charles Walters haddescribed. In the meantime, the warm-season grasses continued to flourish.Although the method was not the method I had expected (trampling), theresult was the same (more grass, fewer thistles).

As an aside, I found during the course of summer that I could place a t-post into such a thick stand of thistles that the cows did not use it much at all.

Overall, the impact on the thistles that seemed to be occurring primarilywas that while the cattle were in the area scratching themselves, they wereeating the plants that were immediately available.

Would I recommend trying t-posts? Absolutely! Seeing how extensively the cattle used the t-posts made me realize that their not being able to scratchhad induced a significant level of stress. How significant was demonstrated byhow extensively they used the t-posts. Relieving that stress helped make themmore content and able to focus on what cows do best—eat grass!

Ralph Tate is a Certified Educator trainee from Papillion, Nebraska.He can be reached at [email protected].


In June of 2008, as part of my HMI Certified Educator training program,Certified Educator Terry Gompert had scheduled the Holistic Manage -ment® Grazing Planning class as part of a four-day immersion

experience at Chad Peterson’s ranch in the sandhills of Nebraska.At that class, we were introduced to the Holistic Management®

Grazing Plan and Control Chart as well as the 17-Step holistic grazingplanning process, and we faithfully filled out the worksheet and performedall the calculations. By the end of that class, I was convinced of two things.The first was that the plan was well thought-out and carefully constructed.I had confidence that someone who faithfully filled out the GrazingPlanning Chart would have an excellent understanding of where theystood with regard to their livestock and the amount of forage they hadthrough the course of their grazing period.

Secondly, I was convinced that the majority of graziers who wereintroduced to the plan would never try it. It took too much time, it requiredtoo many calculations, it was too tedious, and there were too manyopportunities for errors. I just could not envision a rancher, after spendinga 12-hour day outside fixing fence, tending cattle, and chasing strayscoming in at night and working through several hours of calculations tosee if a concept that was still probably foreign to him might actuallywork—it wasn’t going to happen!

I have been an engineer for a very long time, so as I thought about allthe calculations, it occurred to me that the grazing plan could be madeinto an electronic form, so that all the calculations that were requiredwould be done by the computer and the time filling in the form would besignificantly reduced. If these things were to happen, I believed thatgraziers would be more interested in trying the plan. So, over the course ofthe winter, I developed such a plan. The primary worksheet has the sameappearance as the Holistic Management® Grazing Plan Chart, so it canbe printed at a later date, if desired, and all of the calculations areperformed on a separate worksheet that follows the same steps as in theHolistic Management Handbook.

I had a few objectives that I thought were critical in setting up the E-grazing plan. The first was that it should have a familiar look and feel. I accomplished that by using the same template as the Grazing PlanChart. Likewise, I followed the same 17-step approach for the Calculationworksheet, so it follows the same calculations as are illustrated in theHolistic Management Handbook.

Secondly, I wanted to ensure that users would enter a piece of data onlyonce. So, for example, if you determine that the Animal Days perAcre/Hectare (ADA/ADH) for “Paddock A” are 80, there is one and only oneplace to enter that data. Everywhere else that uses “Paddock A” ADA/ADHdata gets it from that one entry location. Once the data is entered, it isautomatically used everywhere else in the worksheet that it is required.This eliminates the possibility that someone would unintentionally entertwo conflicting pieces of data in two different places in the worksheet.

On the Grazing Plan Chart, there are some boxes, such as Month, Year,Season, and Paddocks that are “grayed out.” This is because thisinformation is entered in the Calculation worksheet. Since the data isentered in the Calculation worksheet, it is then replicated everywhere else itis needed, to include the Grazing Plan worksheet. The reason I colored theboxes gray was to remind people that the data for that particular cell islocated somewhere else and data entry is not required there.

Grazing Planning—There Has To Be An Easier Wayby Ralph Tate

So, if we take a look at a screenshot of the calculation worksheet below,we see the steps of the Holistic Management Handbook identified along theleft column, with a brief explanation of the purpose of the step. Some of thecells are colored yellow. These cells are the cells to enter data. As data isentered into each of the yellow-colored cells, all of the calculations that usethat information are performed elsewhere and displayed.

Taking another look at the calculation worksheet, step 9 is when paddockproductivity is calculated. Paddock Name and Paddock Size are colored gray(since that was data that had been entered in the cells shown in theCalculation Worksheet. However, this is where Paddock Quality data isentered, so the cells for Paddock Quality are colored yellow. After the PaddockQuality data is entered, the Animal Days (ADs) are automatically calculatedand displayed.

Forage Quality Calculations

Snapshot of Grazing Plan Calculation Worksheet

Of course, simply because I had developed a tool didn’t mean I knew howto use it, so this summer was the trial run, both for my attempting toimplement Holistic Management principles into my grazing, as well as a testrun of the tool. I am happy to report that progress was realized with both. As Icontinued to work with the E-Grazing Plan, I added new features to it, so Ihave included a worksheet to track rainfall, for example.

Is this the tool that will make everyone want to graze holistically?Probably not. Will it make it easier to implement holistic grazing? I think so.

Starting this month, HMI is offering the Holistic Management E-Grazing Plan for sale. Twenty-five dollars of every sale are used to foster Holistic Management in the state of Nebraska. It works on Macs and PC’s that run Excel. It calculates both in English/American and Metric. See the ad on page 22.


Forage Evaluation Tool—The Fritzler’s Ringby Terry Gompert

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Percent Leaf in a collected sample is a good estimator of total digestiblenutrients (TDN). The higher the TDN, the higher the digestibility and thehigher the forage quality is. Separate the leaf from the rest of the plantmatter harvested and determine percentage of leaf by weighing leaf volume.For example, if from the 8 ounces harvested, 2 ounces are leaves, then youhave 25% leaf or 47.5 TDN.

One of the basics to master in Holistic Management® GrazingPlanning is how much forage will be available per acre and per cellin the current planning period. Ultimately the accuracy of thisinformation will help best plan the correct stocking rate and moves.

I have found the Fritzler’s Ring very helpful for teaching planning periodavailable forage. I call it the Fritzler’s Ring because a grazier friend, GaryFritzler of Plainview, Nebraska, showed me the simplicity of the ring and hiscalculations. The ring is a standard ring found on all 55 gallon barrels. Itcosts nothing. The ring is 22 1/3 inches (56.82 cm) in diameter. It, bychance, is the right size. Each one ounce of weight contained in the ring areais equivalent to 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of forage per acre. Of course, theforage moisture content needs to be factored in.

Step 1: Measure averageheight of pre-clipped andclipped grass in the 22 1/3inch diameter ring (this isgrazed height). Pull grass todesired grazed height.

Step 2: Weigh the grass to1/10th ounce weight.

Step 3: Take weight X thedetermined dry matter.

As with silage, twistingthe sample will give you aclue to moisture. If moistureforms in hand after twisting,it is over 65% moisture. Ifthe twist provides greaterdroplets when twisted, thehigher the percent ofmoisture.

Taking a sample and weighing wet and after dried with a microwave willgive an accurate dry matter moisture test.

Cool season legumes when very actively growing will tend to have 15 to30% dry matter. A more mature, slower growing cool season grass may have30 to 50% dry matter.

Step 4: Each ounce of dry matter grass equals 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of drymatter available per acre.

Step 5: Dry matter per acre in inches equals dry matter per acre divided bygrazed inches.

Calculations:Step 1 . . 9 inches (23 cm) – 4 inches (10 cm) =

5 inches (13 cm) harvestedStep 2 . . 8 ounces (224 grams) harvestedStep 3 . . DM = 35% (by squeeze)Step 4 . . 8 x 1,000 x .35 = 2,800 pounds/acre

(3,150 kg/ha) dry matter harvestedStep 5 . . 2,800 pounds divided by 5 = 560 pounds/inch

(641 kg/centimeter) of dry matter

A Use or graze to Trample ratio needs to be established that reflects yourholisticgoal and grazing plan. You will need to decide how much you canleave behind and what your stock density will be to help incorporate thatforage into the soil to feed it. So, if a standard animal unit is generallyconsidered to use 26 pounds of dry matter per day, then calculate the animaldays per acre (ADA) available using forage available X percent use to trampleratio (utilization) divided by 26.

Animal Days Per Acre (ADA) Available Calculation

• Use: trample ratio - 60% (5 inches of 9 inches standing)• AD assumption = 26 pounds dry matter needed per day

(2800 x .60) divided by 26 = 65 ADA’s Available


The Peterson Holistic Grazing Event in August at Chad Peterson’sRanch near Newport, Nebraska included a mob grazing seminar, apasture ranch tour and walk, and Holistic Management trainings inGrazing Planning, Biological Planning and Monitoring, and

Holisticgoal Setting. Over 125 attendees came from 14 states and threecountries to hear about Holistic Management. Certified Educator TerryGompert facilitated the event.

Ten of the eleven Holistic Management® Certified Educator Trainees,who are under the supervision of Terry, were present to help during theholistic grazing event. They are scheduled to graduate in September of 2010.

Chad Peterson is one of the trainees who comes to the training programwith exceptional grazing experience. He has eight years of experience withhigh stock density grazing. His herd size has varied from 300 to 900 head.

Chad has pushed the limit of stock density grazing, up to two millionpounds per acre. His preference, however, is 500,000 pounds per acre (morein highly productive areas). To accomplish these high stock densities, thecattle moves per day range from three to seven times. With cow/calf high

Nebraska Grazing and Training EventChadPeterson and TerryGompert

Mae Rose Petrehn, a graduatestudent at Ames, Iowa, gave amonitoring demonstration at the Peterson ranch. Mae Rose hasbeen monitoring at the ranch for the past two years. She is also one of the eleven HolisticManagement® Certified Educatortrainees. Other trainees include:Katie Rosing, Ralph Tate, TreyShelton, Danielle Shelton, ErinWilson, Chad Peterson, TorrayWilson, Kevin Harold, Joshua Dukart, and Tom German. Trainees arefrom Iowa, Colorado, North Dakota, Montana, and Nebraska.

stock density grazing, the conception rate is higher, but the weaningweights are slightly lower.

The land has gained too from the high stock density grazing. There ismore diversity, better water infiltration and sponginess, and more tonnageresulting in increased profits. Chad mostly custom grazes other individuals’cattle mainly in the open season.

At tour time he had one Scottish Highlander herd that approached 800total head (cows and calves). They were moved four times per day at about300,000 pounds per acre. The Peterson Ranch has the longest, continuousbuffalo grazing experience in Nebraska, dating back to the mid-’40s.Peterson says that the Scottish Highlanders are the closest cattle thatresemble the good buffalo characteristics, yet are not hard on Sandhills’pasture as the buffalo are. The Highlanders are easy keepers, winter hardy,good mothers, produce tender meat, and can be fattened on grass.

Chad has been practicing Holistic Management for about five years andis fully convinced Holistic Management® decision making process issuperior.

HMI Board Chair Ben Bartlett attended and noted, “I am especiallyencouraged to see the Certified Educators in training with Terry becausetheir age tells me that they are the future of Holistic Management and itindicates to me that Holistic Management has a bright future. This is not todisregard their skills, experience, or expertise, but 20 years in the life of soilis a blink of an eye and we need young (younger) people active in HolisticManagement. Community dynamics has taught us that we need a diversityof people for the health of the Holistic Management organization just likewe need a diversity of age and kinds of plants for health of the soil.”

Terry Gompert is an Extension Educator with the University ofNebraska. He has Black Angus cows that are developed for grassfedgenetics. You can contact Terry at [email protected].

Percent Leaf TDN Estimate0% 3510% 4020% 4530% 5040% 5550% 6060% 75

Another consideration is digestibility of plant. The higher the fiber the lower the digestibility. A simple general measuring offiber is to pull on the leaf until it breaks. The harder you have to pull to break it, the greater the fiber and the lower the quality.

Another simple tool to determine forage quality is a refractometerwhich measures Brix level, estimated sugar content, and mineraldensity. The higher the reading, the higher the forage quality.

Brix Level Est. Sugar0 Poor6 Fair10 Excellent12 Sustainable

The Fritzler’s Ring has been very helpful as a teaching tool. I use it to determine:

• Dry Matter (DM) forage available/per acre, per inch, per cell.• Animal days per acre (ADA) available• Estimate DM, TDN, Fiber, and Energy

Terry Gompert is an Extension Educator for Knox CountyExtension in Nebraska and is a Holistic Management® Certified Educator. He can be reached at: [email protected] or 402/288-5611.

Fritzler’s Ring continued from page fifteen

With apologies to Stanley Kubrick, HMI’sstory might now be called 2034: ALand Odyssey. Throughout this year,we’ve celebrated the first twenty-five

years of Holistic Management, but this point intime is also the launch date of HMI’s secondtwenty-five years. No one knows what 2034 willlook like, but HMI, and you—all of us—areembarking on a new era fueled by fresh vision,expanding partnerships and initiatives that holdgreater promise for reaching our shared goal ofhealing the land we all depend on.

This summer, HMI Board and staff gottogether to start planning the next twenty-fiveyears of this odyssey, focusing on the next threefirst. We all agreed that effectiveness, impact,scope, and scalability have to be at the heart ofeverything we do—be it corporate consultingcontracts, educational outreach, or special projectsfunded by philanthropic gifts.

Next year, 2010, offers a tantalizing glimpse of the future, and it . . . is . . . exciting. Some ofthe following initiatives are underway, some are in the planning stage and some are dreams yet to be realized. All, however, will in some waycontribute to “improving the health, productivity,and profitability of land and spread the practice of Holistic Management.”

Women-Owned FarmsAt the top of our list is a three-year training

program for beginning women farmers in theNortheast. This is particularly exciting because ithas us collaborating with well-respected women’sassociations, academic institutions, and several of our Certified Educators. The goal is to providewhole farm training to over 180 women farmersin Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts,New York, and New Hampshire, with the ultimategoal of making their farms economically,ecologically, and socially viable. This initiativegives Holistic Management yet another visible rolein the movement towards locally grown food andestablishing local food security. The $800,000project is funded in large part by USDA. We onlyhave to raise $50,000 each year as a match.

Collaborative Grazing We’re in the final stages of negotiating a

grazing lease on 2,000 acres of public land inCentral Texas that is under Corps of Engineersmanagement. This will be a model ofcollaboration between a Holistic Management

practitioner, a government agency, and HMI. We’llbe improving the health of the land and share theprofits of the cattle operation with the grazier. Ifthis project is successful, there may be others likeit coming our way. Talk about scalable!

Kids on the LandWhile school districts across America have

embraced the need to introduce children toecology, and to the importance of preserving ourenvironment, "hands in the dirt" education hasn’tmade it into many classrooms. We’re doingsomething about it. Kids on the Land, a hands-onand on-site educational program for grade schoolkids, has been a great success in the Ozona andCrockett School Districts of Texas. Under theguidance of Maryann West, Peggy Maddox andher volunteers are putting the finishing toucheson the curriculum for K–6th grade so we can startreplicating the program in other key states. Wehope to be ready for introduction in Californianext year. Kids on the Land is a pilot program thatis loaded with potential and ready for take-off!

Data, Documentation and Holistic Remediation

Rigorous monitoring of all projects andimpact evaluation has moved front and center forall initiatives we’re undertaking. With a seed grantfrom the Dixon Water Foundation, we’veestablished a Data & Documentation division atHMI. That means we’re collecting relevant datafrom our own projects, including experimentsgoing on at the West Ranch. We are networkingand communicating with researchers all acrossthe country, and we are publishing importantfindings in this journal (watch for the Data Minecolumn). All that to make sure that the claimswe—and others—are making can be backed upby hard facts. The value of this documentationeffort cannot be overstated. For example, we hopeto prove that Holistic Management can enhance

remediation efforts on private and public landsthat have been drilled for oil. Because effectiveremediation is extremely valuable to oilproducers, we may be able to make thisapplication of Holistic Management one of HMI’sstandard product offerings.

More Support for Holistic Management Grassroots

We’ll also be increasing our support topractitioners, Management Clubs and field days. Aspecial small grants program will help underwritesome of the costs of field days, one of the mosteffective ways of getting others acquainted andinvolved with Holistic Management practices andthe difference they can make for land and people.

Film Screenings for New AudiencesThe eye-opening lessons of the PBS

documentary “The First Millimeter: Healing theEarth” will still be relevant in 2034. That’s whywe’re taking it on the road again in 2010, withfive private screenings planned in key areas of the country. Want to play a fun and veryimportant role in HMI’s fundraising efforts? Host a screening of the film! For information,please get in touch with Jutta von Gontard, ourSenior Director of Philanthropy, at [email protected].

These are just some of the things for whichwe’ll need your counsel, input, and financialsupport in the near future. Meanwhile, our flagship programs like the Certified Educator Program continues at full speed, our contract services are increasing in scope andeffectiveness, and Peggy and Joe Maddox aredoing great work at the West Ranch. We will bereporting on all these initiatives in IN PRACTICEand elsewhere. For now, many thanks for all YOU do to spread the word about HolisticManagement and healing the earth in your part of the country. All aboard for 2034!


DEVELOPMENT CORNER2034: A Land Odyssey All Aboard for HMI’s Next 25 Years!


Beginning Women Farmer Grant

In September Holistic ManagementInternational received a $639,301 grant fromthe U.S. Department of Agriculture’sCooperative Services Research,Education, and Service (USDA-CSREES) totrain beginning women from the Northeast U.S.in whole farm planning. During this three-yearprogram we will train 180 beginning womenfarmers. From that pool, we will also train nineCertified Educators to further support thistraining. HMI is partnering with a number of collaborators including: Maine Women inAgricultural Network (WAgN), University of New Hampshire, Cornell University Small FarmsProgram, The Small and Beginner Farmers of New Hampshire, Central New York ResourceConservation & Development, MassachusettsCommunity Involved in Sustaining Agriculture,Vermont WAgN, Connecticut WAgN, andNortheast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)of Connecticut and Rhode Island. This grantbegins in October 2009 and culminates in aconference in September 2012.

2009 Organic Farmers of the Year

Holistic Management practitioners, Tomand Irene Frantzen were named the

Midwestern Organic and Sustainable EducationService (MOSES) 2009 Organic Farmers of the Year. The Frantzens own 300 tillable acres.They raise crops, hogs, and beef cattle. Theirfarmland has been certified organic since 1998.Their beef and pork are marketed throughOrganic Prairie Meat Company. In 2001, theFrantzens launched a company that suppliesorganic hog, poultry, dairy feeds to farmers in the Midwest.

The Frantzens have long been recognized as pioneers in sustainable agriculture. Tomfrequently speaks and writes about sustainableagriculture and the Frantzen’s use of HolisticManagement. Congratulations to the Frantzens!

New Certified Educator

Kelly Boney of San Jon, New Mexicocompleted her Certified Educator Training

in August. She visited the HMI office for agraduation celebration. She is the first graduateof HMI’s Individualized Training Program. This

program allows trainees the opportunity to select instructors and locations of training and complete more of the course work throughdistance learning. Currently there are 16 trainees in this program from Canada, Australia,Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, Texas,Colorado, and Iowa. If you would like to learnmore about this program, contact Ann Adams at [email protected], Kelly!

On the Road

Chief Executive Officer, Peter Holter,presented at the Oklahoma Grazing LandsCoalition Initiative in August . The theatricalrelease of “The First Millimeter: Healing thePlanet” was also shown there. On September12th, he traveled to Wimberley, Texas to speak at HMI Texas’ “Going with the Flow” WaterConference. Holter also presented at the Rodale Institute Film Festival in Kutztown,Pennsylvania in conjunction with “The FirstMillimeter” showing on October 28th.

Ann Adams, Director of EducationalProducts & Outreach, presented at the AlbuquerqueFilm Festival on August 7th. She also staffed theHMI booth at the Small Farm Conference inSpringfield, Illinois in September. At EarlhamCollege in Richmond, Indiana she presented a talkon Holistic Management to a senior biologyseminar, “Conservation Issues in the DesertSouthwest,” dealing with issues of overgrazing, fire,invasive species, and riparian areas.

Jutta von Gontard, Senior Director ofPhilanthropy, represented HMI at the Slow Money Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico in September.

Financial Planning Software

HMI has recently released a new user-friendlyfinancial planning software that uses a

database format much like Quicken orQuickbooks. This software has many newfeatures including net worth and asset tracking,check writing and invoice generation, easybackup and file sharing, and customizablereports. To learn more about this softwareprogram go to: http://holisticmanagement.org/store//page8.html.

Training in Mexico

Certified Educator Arturo Mora Benitezbegan training a group of 40 technicians

of various careers, mostly veterinarians,agronomist engineers, industrial engineers, and accountants in September in Guanajuato,Mexico. These workshops are being sponsored by the government of the State of Guanajuatothrough the Secretaría de DesarrolloAgropecuario (SDA), and the FederalGovernment through the Delegation of theSecretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, DesarrolloRural, Pesca y Alimentación (SAGARPA).

The participants have experience in animalscience, cow/calf operations, rural development,grass seeding, veterinarian practices, managingmicro watersheds, grazing allotments, GIS, andnatural protected area management. They areattending these workshops because of theirconcern about grazing land deterioration.

New HMI Wear

We have additional membership wear itemsavailable on our online store, including

cotton twill and bamboo button down shirts.Our entire selection is offered, at: http://holisticmanagement.org/store//page14.html.

T h e

news from holistic management international � people, programs & projects

In Memoriam

It is with greatsadness that wereport the loss ofCertified EducatorAspen Edge whodied September 10,2009. Aspen and

her husband, David, ran Semilla Besadanear Granada, Spain as a holisticallymanaged, Permaculture site. Aspenbecame a Certified Educator in 2004 and was an active educator with runningHolistic Management trainings in Spainas well as contributing articles to INPRACTICE. She will be greatly missed.


CALIFORNIA

Bill Burrows12250 Colyear Springs RoadRed Bluff, CA 96080530/529-1535 • 530/200-2419 (c)[email protected]

Richard King1675 Adobe Rd.Petaluma, CA 94954707/769-1490707/794-8692(w)[email protected]

* Kelly MulvilleP.O Box 323, Valley Ford, CA 94972-0323707/431-8060; 707/[email protected]

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

COLORADO

Joel BensonP.O. Box 4924, Buena Vista, CO 81211719/395-6119 • [email protected]

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

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

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

Tom WaltherP.O. Box 1158Longmont, CO 80502-1158510/499-7479 • [email protected]

GEORGIA

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

IOWA

� Margaret SmithIowa State University,CES Sustainable Agriculture972 110th St., Hampton, IA 50441-7578515/294-0887 • [email protected]

LOUISIANA

Tina PilioneP.O. 923, Eunice, LA 70535phone: 337/[email protected]

MAINE

* Vivianne Holmes239 E. Buckfield Rd.Buckfield, ME 04220-4209207/[email protected]

MICHIGAN

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

* Larry Dyer604 West 8th Ave. Sault Sainte Marie, MI 49783906/248-3354 x4245 (w)906/253-1504 (h)[email protected]

MONTANA

Wayne Burleson322 N. Stillwater Rd., Absarokee, MT 59001406/[email protected]

Roland Kroos 4926 Itana CircleBozeman, MT 59715406/[email protected]

* Cliff MontagneP.O. Box 173120Montana State University Department of Land Resources &Environmental ScienceBozeman, MT 59717406/[email protected]

NEBRASKA

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

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

NEW HAMPSHIRE

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

NEW MEXICO

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

Kelly Boney4865 Quay Road L, San Jon, NM 88434575/760-7636 • [email protected]

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

NEW YORK

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

John Thurgood15 Farone Dr., Apt. E26Oneonta, NY 13820-1331607/[email protected]

NORTH DAKOTA

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

OREGON

Jeff Goebel52 NW Mcleay Blvd. • Portland, OR 97210541/610-7084 • [email protected]

Andrea & Tony MalmbergP.O. Box 167, LaGrande, OR 97850541/805-1124 • [email protected]@LifeEnergy.us

PENNSYLVANIA

Jim 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 Glosson6717 Hwy. 380, Snyder, TX 79549806/[email protected]

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

UN I T E D S TAT E S

UN I T E D S TAT E S

TEXAS

Chandler McLayP.O. Box 1796, Glen Rose, TX 76043303/888-8799 • [email protected]

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

WASHINGTON

Craig MadsenP.O. Box 107, Edwall, WA 99008509/236-2451 • [email protected]

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

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

WISCONSIN

Andy Hager W. 3597 Pine Ave., Stetsonville, WI 54480-9559715/678-2465

Larry JohnsonW886 State Rd. 92, Brooklyn, WI 53521608/[email protected]

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

To our knowledge, Certified Educators are the best qualified indivi duals to help others learn to practice Holistic Management and to provide them with technical as sis tance when necessary. On a yearly basis, Cer ti fi ed Educators renew their agree ment to be affiliated with HMI. This agreement requires their com mitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives, to seek out opportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Man age ment and to maintain a high stan dard of ethical conduct in their work.

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

Certified Educators

Certified Educators

I N T E RNAT IONA L

AUSTRALIA

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

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

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

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

Graeme Hand 150 Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 330261-3-5578-6272 (h) • 61-4-0996-4466 (c)[email protected]

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

� These educators provide Holistic Managementinstruction on behalf of theinstitutions they represent.

* These associate educatorsprovide educational services to their communities and peer groups.


SOUTH AFRICA

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

Dick RichardsonP.O. Box 1853, Vryburg 8600tel/fx: 27-082-934-6139 [email protected]

UNITED KINGDOM

Philip Bubb32 Dart Close, St. IvesCambridge, PE27 3JB44-1480-496-2925 (h)44-1223-814-662 (w)[email protected]

ZIMBABWE

Sunny MoyoAfrica Centre for Holistic ManagementP. Bag 5950, Victoria Falls;[email protected]; 263-13-42199 (w)

John NyilikaPrivate Bag 5950Victoria Falls, [email protected]

KENYA

Richard HatfieldP.O. Box 10091-00100, [email protected]

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

Belinda LowP.O. Box 15109, Langata, [email protected]

MEXICO

Arturo Mora BenitezSan Juan Bosco 169Fracc., La MisiónCelaya, Guanajuato 3801652-461-615-7632 • [email protected]

Elco Blanco-MadridHacienda de la Luz 1803Fracc. Haciendas del Valle IIChihuahua, Chih 3123852/614-423-4413 (h) • 52/614-415-0176 (f)[email protected]

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

NAMIBIA

Usiel KandjiiP.O. Box 23319, Windhoek264-61-205-2324 [email protected]

Colin NottP.O. Box 11977, Windhoek264/61-225085 (h) 264/[email protected]

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

NEW ZEALAND

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

SOUTH AFRICA

Wayne KnightP.O. Box 537Mokopane [email protected]

Jozua LambrechtsP.O. Box 5070Helderberg, Somerset West, Western Cape 713527-21-851-5669; 27-21-851-2430 (w)[email protected]

I N T E RNAT IONA L

AUSTRALIA

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 WehlburgKindee, NSW •61-02-6587-4353

Jason VirtueMary River Park1588 Bruce Hwy. SouthGympie, QLD [email protected]

CANADA

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

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

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

SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS INCLUDE:

John IkerdTerry GompertPam IwanchyskoDon CampbellAnn AdamsBlain HjertaasTony & Fran McQuailKelly SidorykAllison GuichonBrian LuceRalph & Linda Corcoran

TOPICS INCLUDE:

Finding Purpose in Peril,Building a New Economy, Profitable Farming,Cropping and Land Management,Financial Management,

. . . AND MORE!

For more information, call 206/622-2006 or go to

www.mbforagecouncil.mb.ca

Online registration will begin December 1, 2009.

Save theDate!

Western CanadianHolistic Management Conference

February 8-10,2010

RUSSELL,MANITOBA

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

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

Want to make the world a better place?

Interested in teaching others about Holistic Management?


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

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EVALUATING SOIL FERTILITYFOR WINEGRAPES

For consulting or educational services contact:

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

February 15-17, 2010

WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARD

ORDERS (VISA, MC)

OptionalVineyard

Tour! Embassy SuitesNapa ValleyNapa, Calif.

This workshop utilizes 100 actual soil tests taken for numerous wineriesand vineyards from many wine-growing areas. Using the AlbrechtMethod, nutrient requirements are determined with a specific formula.

Each formula is explained by subject covered in this workshop.

$1,500/person(INCLUDES: PROGRAM, LUNCH, BREAKFAST, AND ACCOMMODATIONS AT EMBASSY SUITES)



GRANDINLIVESTOCK SYSTEMS

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

970/229-0703www.grandin.com

CORRAL DESIGNS

By World Famous Dr. GrandinOriginator of Curved Ranch CorralsThe wide curved Lane makes filling

the crowding tub easy.

Includes detailed drawings for loading ramp, V chute, round crowd pen, dip vat, gates and hinges. Plus cell center layouts and layouts compatible with electronic sorting systems. Articles on cattle behavior. 27 corral layouts. $55.Low Stress Cattle Handling Video $59.

Send checks/money order to:

Realize Immediate Benefits

Offered By Whole New Concepts, LLCP.O. Box 218 Lewis CO 81327 USA

StayAt Home– All You

Need Is APhone

Cindy Dvergsten, a Holistic Management® Certified Educator, has 12 years experience in personal practice,

training & facilitation of Holistic Management, and 25 years experience in resource management & agriculture.

She offers customized solutions to family farms & ranches, communities and organizations worldwide.

Apply What You Learn As You Learn With Our Hands On Approach, Step

by Step Workbook And Personalized Mentoring. Enjoy Flexible Scheduling. Choose to Work Independently or In

Small Groups. Get Started Now.

Start Using Holistic Management Today!

Join Our Distance Learning Program

Find More Details On The Web at www.wholenewconcepts.com

By Phone at 970-882-4222 or e-mail us [email protected]

(Limited to 15, register NOW!)

We improve the way you manage your land, human and financial resources.

Roland or Brenda Kroos(406) 522.3862 • [email protected]

On-site Introductory HM CourseDurham Ranch*, Wright, WY

Dec. 9-12, 2009Register for this

dynamic-participatory course involving the Durham Ranch staff and Roland Kroos,

HMI certified educator.*Durham Ranch was featured in the

Healing the Earth PBS Documentary.

Contact

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

PastureScene

Investigation

Resource ManagementServices, LLC

Holistic Management Comprehensive Training

February 15-20, 2010

Pueblo Colorado Community CollegePueblo, Colorado

Remember, profitable agriculture is not about harder work.... It is about making better decisions!

For more information and registration, visit our new website:

www.resourcemanagementservices.com

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

HMI GRAZING PLANNING SOFTWARE

TO SEE A DEMO OF THE SOFTWARE GO TO: http://holisticmanagement.org/store//page8.html

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

LowIntroductory

Price of$100



WANTED:More Grass

Kelly Boney, Certified Educator

4865 QUAY ROAD LSAN JON, NM 88434

575/[email protected]

REWARD:Heavier Livestock and Greater Profit

HMIWearUnique holiday giftsfor everyoneon your shopping list!

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TODAY!Phone orders call 505/842-5252

TO SEE A DEMO OF THE SOFTWARE GO TO:http://holisticmanagement.org/

store//page8.htmlCall 505/842-5252 or order online at www.holisticmanagement.org

• Userfriendly Database interface (like Quicken or Quickbooks)• Independent Software (doesn’t require Excel and works on Macs with DOS interface)• Customizable reports that can be saved as PDF, Excel or Word• Write checks or invoices• Track Net Worth and Assets easily• Comes with User’s Manual• A planning, management, and accounting software all in one• Agricultural focus including a Livestock Production Worksheet• Track performance of stock classes or enterprises• Easy Gross Profit Analysis interface ($/acre or $/unit options)• Files can be saved and shared on multiple computers• Easy backup feature• Categorizes Expenses and track (investment versus maintenance).• Friendly and knowledgeable technical support

HMI FINANCIAL PLANNING SOFTWARE

New & Updated!

LowIntroductory

Price of $149($100 less than the current software)

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

_ Hardcover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $55_ 15-set CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $99_ One month rental of CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35_ Spanish Version (soft). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25

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

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

_ Stockmanship, by Steve Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35_ The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25_ The Oglin, by Dick Richardson & Rio de la Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25_ Gardeners of Eden, by Dan Dagget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25_ Video: Healing the Land Through Multi-Species Grazing (VHS/DVD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30

TO ORDER

Subscribe to IN PRACTICE_ A bimonthly journal for Holistic Management practitioners

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

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

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

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

_ CD of Back Issues: #71 - 89 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$25

Planning and Monitoring Guides

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Control Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 5

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

MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

Amount $_____________ Please designate program you would like us

to apply contribution toward _________________________________________

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

over $91: add $12

Shipping & Handling

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT MAIL ORDER EMPORIUMHOLISTIC MANAGEMENT MAIL ORDER EMPORIUM

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

SoftwareHolistic Management® Financial Planning (single-user license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $249 Please specify PC or Mac, Office ‘95 or ‘97, 2000, XP, or 2003 and version of Excel you are using

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

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

return service requested

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

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDALBUQUERQUE, NM

PERMIT NO 880


Printed on recycled paper

Indicate quantity on line next to item, make sure your shipping address is correct, mail this page (or a copy) and your check or money order payable in U.S. funds from a U.S. bank or your credit card number and expiration date to: Holistic Management International, 1010 Tijeras Ave. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102.You can also call in or fax credit card orders. Phone calls to: 505/842-5252; Fax: 505/843-7900.

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

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

Call 505/842-5252 forall other shipping rates.

Documents

#128 In Practice, NOV/DEC 2009