JanuaryJanuary // FebruaryFebruary 20062006 Number 105105 www.holisticmanagement.orgwww.holisticmanagement.org New Direction for Holistic INSIDE THIS ISSUE Management International Shannon Horst & Ron Chapman

he upcoming year, 2006, brings many educational products and services to meet the positive changes to the Savory Center, needs of our markets, both in the U.S. and including the decision to change our internationally. Tname to Holistic Management Inter- A primary goal of our work, of course, is to national, more accurately reflecting the breadth facilitate a healthy, productive, profitable and scope of our worldwide operations. This name resource base as a fundamental contribution to change comes not only with the blessing of the a robust economy, both in the U.S. and Abbey Kingdon found she had to leave Board, but also with the support of Founders, internationally, hence the theme line, “Healthy home to find home. Read her story of Allan and Jody, who remain actively engaged in a Land. Healthy Profits.” learning how Holistic Management has variety of projects throughout the world. Our strategies for accomplishing this goal given her hope and a way to help create With the name change comes a new logo, over the next three years include: positive change in the world on page six. She learned a lot from her travels in reflected in the flag and masthead of this edition Year 1 of IN PRACTICE, and a new tagline, “Healthy Africa from ranchers like Judy Land. Healthy Profits.” • Identify and prioritize target markets to Richardson, pictured here with Abbey. We have developed these approaches as a include: commercial family farms and ranches result of our new 3-year strategic plan, designed in all regions; “new wealth” buying into FEATURE STORIES to enhance Holistic Management International’s agriculture; agencies who work with and regulate farmers / ranchers; Non- New Directions for Holistic current activity and provide a tightly focused plan Management International ...... 1 for future growth. This plan is the result of Governmental Organizations, pastoralists, and Shannon Horst & Ron Chapman extensive discussions with a number of communal landholders; private land-holding Enhancing Food Security in Zimbabwe – stakeholders, all of whom concur with the bold companies; donors; Certified Educators; and An Africa Centre Update ...... 3 directions described below. like-minded strategic partners. Jody Butterfield It is also important to note we have assembled • Re-vamp services, products, and materials as What’s The Problem?– talented and experienced management comprised needed in line with a market/needs-based Japanese Stilt Grass in Central Appalachia ...... 4 of long-time as well as new staff. Similarly, we approach. Create new “retail” level products. Fred Hays have undertaken an aggressive board develop- Implement organizational changes to support After Africa–Finding Home Again . . . . . 6 ment campaign to increase our governance and that focus. Beta-test new products. Abbey Kingdon leadership capacity. These actions bring real • Restructure delivery systems for getting retail depth to our efforts at Holistic Management (practitioner) and wholesale (Certified LAND & LIVESTOCK International, which when combined with our Educators) level training to the market. healthy financial position, lay the foundation for Same Path, New Horizons– • Redesign and improve Certification and ...... a period of consistent, steady growth. Del Cerro at The Howell Ranch 7 Certification renewal process for being qualified Jim Howell Market-Driven Focus to teach. Paddock Monitoring– Are We On Track? ...... 11 We are shifting to a clear market-driven focus, • Recreate focused market message and the Mark Gardner with David Marsh with a priority on assessing and ranking, then “tools” (website, brochures) to support the effort. meeting the needs of our primary constituencies. • Enhance the role of our learning sites in NEWS & NETWORK To do this, we are using the plan and our holistic providing support to the educational, public An African Journey ...... 14 goal to guide our actions, and we are building a relations, and research efforts. strong, consistent market message. We are in the The Grapevine ...... 16 • Maintain existing revenue streams. Certified Educators ...... 18 process of clarifying and strengthening our Network ...... 20 relationships with Certified Educators and others. • Grow our philanthropic base and secure transitional funding. Marketplace ...... 20 And, we are developing a variety of new continued on page 2 New Direction continued from page 1

Year 2 and the direction of this plan have been tested, and presented to the Board of Directors, which • Deploy and implement full array of retail and has been enthusiastic in its support. wholesale level training programs. At the operational level, driving the plan will • Maintain healthy programs. be a management team adhering to the Holistic Management International is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting resource • Consolidate and trim those programs not in principles of Focus; Consolidation; Action; management that restores land to health and operations keeping with our holistic goal, mission, and Sustained Implementation; Monitoring; and to profitability. As the worldwide pioneer of Holistic plan, and any that are marginal performers. Measurement. Management, we’ve worked successfully with ranchers, farmers, pastoral communities and other entities since • Continue to grow philanthropic base and We look forward to this exciting next chapter 1984. replace transitional funding with fee-based in the growth of Holistic Management FOUNDERS income. International, and, of course, always encourage Allan Savory Jody Butterfield your comments, questions, and suggestions. Year 3 STAFF Shannon Horst, Executive Director • Monitor, measure, and assess the Return on Peter Holter, Senior Director of Marketing Investment of this effort. and Product Development Shannon Horst, Executive Director Bob Borgeson, • Update product development efforts and Director of Finance, Accounting and Administration review and re-assess market needs. Jutta von Gontard, Director of Development • Maintain lean organization tightly focused Kelly (Pasztor) White, on results. Director of Educational Services Over the last six months, we have worked very Constance Neely, International Training Programs Director hard to bring this plan together. Key elements Ron Chapman, Chairman of the Board Ann Adams, Managing Editor, IN PRACTICE and Director of Publications and Outreach Maryann West, Executive Assistant Donna Torrez, Administrative Assistant BOARD OF DIRECTORS Summary of Strategic Plan Ron Chapman, Chair Ben Bartlett, Vice-Chair Who we are – A lean, market-focused enterprise engaged in a social entrepreneur Jody Butterfield, Secretary model, with unique products, services, and processes specifically designed and developed Sue Probart, Treasurer for well-defined target markets, where wants and needs have been demonstrated and Gail Hammack Brian Marshall quantified. Jim McMullan Who we sell to and serve – Very specific, well-defined target segments that have Jim Parker been identified, ranked and prioritized, both by economic potential and social need. Our Ian Mitchell Innes Dennis Wobeser first best targets are in those niches where we have demonstrated expertise, and significant Terry Word competitive advantage. ADVISORY COUNCIL What we provide – A variety of products, services, and processes designed to deliver Jim Shelton, Chair, Vinita, OK significant measurable economic, social and environmental benefits via technical mastery, Robert Anderson, Corrales, NM accessibility, and ease of use in targeted market segments. Our offerings are consolidated Michael Bowman,Wray, CO Sam Brown, Austin, TX into “wholesale” and “retail” product lines – prioritized and organized for efficient Lee Dueringer, Scottsdale, AZ deployment of Holistic Management International resources (time, money, personnel) by Gretel Ehrlich, Gaviota, CA market demand, economic potential, and social need. Ultimately, products will be Cynthia & Leo Harris, Albuquerque, NM Clint Josey, Dallas, TX clustered and managed by product-line (or service-line) managers. Doug McDaniel, Lostine, OR How we sell – A tightly focused, but independent, organization operating on a “hub” Guillermo Osuna, Coahuila, Mexico strategy of communication and sales, with tiered levels of engagement with the Jim Parker, Montrose, CO York Schueller, El Segundo, CA independent entities. How we administer and manage – Utilizing technology wherever possible, Holistic Africa Centre for Holistic Management Private Bag 5950, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Management International’s goal is to run lean, cross training and consolidating Tel: (263) (11) 404 979; email: [email protected] functions and capabilities wherever possible. We will orient to a market-focus and, then, Huggins Matanga, Director operate with speed and precision in the comprehensive development and deployment of

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE programs. We will keep plans simple and flexible. We will establish a clear core identity (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by and mission and action plan each year, so that everyone feels they are performing a Holistic Management International, 1010 Tijeras NW, critical aspect of the job, for the same enterprise. Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; How we fund/finance – Our financial strategy comes from social entrepreneurship, email: [email protected].; developing a fair economic return while delivering social value in a targeted market website: www.holisticmanagement.org environment. We thrive through diversified, balanced income (philanthropy and fee-based). Copyright © 2006.

2 IN PRACTICE January / February 2006 Enhancing Food Security in Zimbabwe– An Africa Centre Update by Jody Butterfield ince June 2005, Holistic Management headmen and chiefs present: to put all their instance, quite often responded yes to the International and the Africa Centre for animals in a single herd; to build a lion-proof question, “condoms will protect my family.” Holistic Management have collaborated kraal (corral) to house the herd at night; to Women often responded, “no” saying that if men on one of our biggest projects to date – determine how they would pay for maintenance have access to condoms they will use them with Sfunded by the US Agency for International of their water point; to provide up to 10 herders prostitutes. In all three communities, we found Development (USAID). Our efforts to enhance for training and two people to monitor the that people were fairly comfortable talking about food security in Zimbabwe is a challenging feat, herders once herding began. HIV/AIDS, particularly so in Monde. But the particularly given the current economic In October, the first 20 trainee-herders spent a remaining three training modules (and the challenges in Zimbabwe. But we are making week on Dimbangombe (the Africa Centre’s followup sessions in bank meetings) will be good progress and have learned some valuable learning site) where they could see a large, mixed critical to reinforcing what they’ve learned about lessons along the way, which we can share with herd being moved every day by our own herders, distinguishing fact from myth, and becoming development agencies seeking to initiate similar talk to our herdsmen, and practice with them. even more comfortable discussing the issue so projects. The trainees were astonished at how quiet the they more readily seek diagnosis and treatment. Goats As Currency Banking Dimbangombe herd was, both while out grazing We have already started to see some and in the kraal, and learned themselves how to movement toward gender empowerment. Each of The key with our Goats-As-Currency village achieve the same thing in their communities the communities included women when selecting banks is requiring each of three pilot through low-stress handling techniques. their herders. In the case of Sianyanga and communities – Monde, Sianyanga, and Ndajiili / Water development in two of the communities Ndajiila/Masikili, women were among the first to Masikili – to make a series of commitments volunteer, and were readily accepted by the (mentioned below) before they are eligible for men. This came as a surprise to the Africa receiving goats. As we were going to press, the Centre staff since women traditionally do not two banks in the Monde community had herd stock. The total number of “beneficiaries” moved forward well and were mid-way through for this project is 600 families (3,660 their six-week bank training period. Several individuals). former bank members from surrounding villages had joined this group and will be Preliminary Lessons Learned grazing their goats in the Monde herd. A third One of the first lessons we’ve learned is how bank had been established in the Sianyanga important it is to start small and to plan on at community, which was a little behind Monde least six months for familiarization and in terms of training, but not in enthusiasm. training. And in our case, that means six In phase two, with bank training to begin months prior to the rainy season. For example, in January and bank launch in March, we have Africa Center staff members, Elias Ncube (standing) we began working with the Monde community planned two additional banks (one more in and Sunny Moyo (seated, with video camera) in April 2005 and that three-month head start Sianyanga and one in Ndajiila/Masikili), facilitating a training session in a school room at made a world of difference in terms of bringing the total to five for this pilot project. Monde. Some training sessions are videotaped to community commitment. We purchased the bank goats with the monitor participation by women in the discussions. We’ve also learned that it is best to include help of program partner Heifer International / will be fairly straight forward. We are using grant a mix of entrepreneurs and vulnerable people Zimbabwe. As we were going to press, the goats funds to provide troughs and piping, with the among the bank families. In the Monde were running with the Dimbangombe herd, communities providing the labor. The Sianyanga community we have found those somewhat better getting used to the idea of running in one community, however, offers a big challenge. Its off have been generous with their time in helping multi-species herd, before going out to their boreholes (wells) are few and at the best of them those who can less help themselves, and it has communities. We are loaning 10 goats to each the women can only pump three buckets before resulted in a sense of community empowerment family. Fewer goats would not give these the hole is dry. and solidarity that has enhanced all areas of this families enough of a headstart in becoming Only when the boreholes become strong project. food-secure; more goats, and the goat owners enough in a couple of years, as a result of the Lastly, the commitment of formal and would be considered wealthy, which could grazing management, will we be able to develop informal leaders is critical and should be present problems. a major watering facility. confirmed before going to the “followers.” We did Land Restoration through Planned Grazing attempt to do this with two workshops devoted to Gender Empowerment leader familiarization for the five communities A total of five communities were considered All three communities have actively under consideration as pilot communities. for this pilot project. To make the final cut, and participated in several training sessions on gender We will continue to update our readers on this to be eligible for a village bank, each community empowerment and HIV stigmatization. Some of project as we have new results and learnings to had to make a series of commitments, with their the early findings are fascinating. Men, for share.

Number 105 IN PRACTICE 3 What’s The Problem?– Japanese Stilt Grass in Central Appalachia by Fred Hays he premise behind the Holistic without orienting some research, primarily the brittleness scale, which means that there is Management® diagnostic process is to monitoring, and test plots to determine answers fairly consistent moisture and, therefore, systematically look at how humans to basic diagnostic questions. ongoing biological activity much of the year have used available tools to The result is the following structured which affects how management practices affect Tconsciously or unconsciously create a natural diagnosis for Japanese Stilt Grass. the environment. resource problem. There are only six tools It should be noted that the initial monitoring I then looked at the next question: Which available that humans can use to affect change included West Virginia University Extension, ecosystem process is most appropriate to focus of ecosystem processes. The specific tools are Conservation Agency, and Natural Resources on to reason out what is happening to bring fire, rest, grazing, animal impact, Conservation Service personnel, but that no on the Stilt Grass? Community dynamics is the technology, and living organisms. government funding was used to conduct this most appropriate area because we have a During the past few years, there has been increasing discussion and alarm raised by many people about organisms they view as a problem or a threat. Often, these organisms are labeled as an “invader.” With the Holistic Management® framework and practice, we find that the presence of undesired organisms or weeds are seldom, if ever, the problem itself but are, instead, symptoms of something more seriously amiss in ecosystem functioning. Invasion of the Stilt Grass In our region, there has been much concern about Japanese Stilt Grass as an “invader.” As a result, I began to monitor what is happening in association with this plant two years ago. Japanese Stilt Grass is viewed as a problem in grasslands and forestlands alike. This alone suggests that the complexity of the issue may be greater than problems in any one kind of This picture is taken a little more than a year later and farther into summer. There are more environment. Forest practitioners and livestock perennials in the mix and there is a shift away from a domination of stilt grass due to animal farmers alike express problems with this plant impact. “taking over” their operations. A cursory review of the problem indicates study. The motivation for this endeavor has been problem with a species explosion (stilt grass) that Stilt Grass quickly establishes itself on purely to address a problem associated with one that is simplifying the normal tendency for timber haul roads and other disturbed areas organism – both to find solutions and to biodiversity. By focusing on this window into the within a forest. The same is true on grasslands, demonstrate the process of diagnosing such ecosystem, we are forced to look at how various but in grassland it is restricted to areas, which problems from a holistic perspective. organisms have become linked and how other have higher moisture. This is somewhat true in processes might be at work in a way that is the forest also, but to a lesser extent. A Structured Approach allowing the stilt grass to flourish. In other Because Stilt Grass creates a dense Using the structured Holistic Management® words, what are we doing to contribute to this monoculture in forest edges and is accused of Diagnosis mode, I started with the first problem? crowding out many plants that are desirable, question: Is the probable cause of this After I determined the ecosystem process to and because it establishes in grasslands the problem human or naturally caused? Has focus on, I had to determine what appropriate same way and is not palatable to livestock, the any natural disaster occurred that could biological principles would help me get to the stated problem would be that it places a have contributed to the problem? On many route of the problem. Because I had identified limitation on the use of the land. This creates a sites in the region, an ice storm destroyed much community dynamics as the ecosystem process sustainability issue for any enterprise, which of the upper tree canopy of forests three years to look at, I thought I would likely need to look may be involved in one’s holistic goal or ago. However, this has not been the case in most at the biology of species at play in this situation. otherwise. For this reason, I have taken on the parts of the region. The cause is most likely When I considered how the various tools issue of diagnosing the problem and seeking human perhaps exacerbated by natural forces available to humans to manage the healthy solutions. in some areas. environment had affected community dynamics This problem could not be properly diagnosed I then determined that this area is a 2-4 on in this neck of the woods, I realized that on

4 IN PRACTICE January / February 2006 grasslands, overgrazing and permanent to be the first areas engulfed by Stilt Grass, the because they can tolerate poor soils and will partial rest will result in compaction, capping, deer seem to have no other role in Stilt Grass cover quickly. Fescues primarily need good more weed species, more woody species, erosion, progression, except from a symptomatic point moisture levels like Stilt Grass. and poor water cycling, which will affect as they carry the seeds on their hoofs and work In looking at the weak point of fescue community dynamics dramatically. However, them into the soil as they go. grasses, we find that they do not tolerate hot these practices occurred forty years ago and rest In taking in all these factors it becomes weather well and will become dormant. If the has provided recovery in all areas except those clear the root cause of the presence of Stilt fescues are dormant, they do not use water and recently disturbed by technology. Grass as a problem stems from the unintended nutrients and, therefore, permit other species Technology in the forest has impacted all consequences of planting cool weather grasses that prefer hot weather to take hold in apparent ecosystem processes. Tree removal has changed in the past. Plants such as Deer Tongue and empty voids. We end up with a one-two kind of soil quality. Water diversion has permanently Wild Pea could eventually establish on the types growing season with the Stilt grass weed having changed water cycling. This region had few of sites where fescues were used as a cover for freedom to grow during the heat of summer. species of grasses growing naturally at the time of disturbances. In forested areas, there is a long Therefore, Stilt Grass will have the tendency to original settlement. Over the years, farmers have list of plants that would normally re-establish dominate these sites during the warm weather, planted various species of grasses for livestock. after the return of medium to heavy shade. especially if the soil is not diverse enough to Utility companies have habitually planted various support high quality summer forage grasses types of grasses on disturbed sites, with a tendency An Unfair Advantage also. Monitoring of these sites in spring to seek out species that would thrive on such sites When dealing with a problem organism, it is confirms a high density of growing fescue with to provide quick cover of the impaired soil crucial to address the weakest point in the life almost no Stilt Grass, while later there is a surface. These grasses have seriously altered the cycle of that organism. In looking at the weak reversal. community dynamics of the area beyond just link in the life cycle of the Stilt Grass, I observed In the forested areas, loggers have long used changing from forestland to grassland. Chemical it can only grow during the warmest months of fescues as the cover of choice to obtain herbicides have been used at some locations to the year, but must have adequate moisture to vegetative cover on their disturbed sites. Fescues can grow in shady conditions, as is the case with Stilt Grass also. The energy flow cycle is disrupted by the removal of trees, thus more light gets in to these sites allowing for grasses like fescue to take hold. Usually fescues are short-lived because the forest begins to grow back and the grass is eventually shaded out. It is at this point in the cycle, that normal shade tolerant forest under story plants such as cohosh, maidenhair fern, wild ginger and a long list of others would return to dominance. An interesting quality about the Stilt Grass is that it can grow in more shade than the fescue. Yet, it struggles under dense canopy in areas where many valuable forest plants continue to thrive. Therefore, the haul roads will eventually be mostly Stilt Grass without intervention, at least until full recovery of the forest canopy has returned. This is because the road itself, if kept open, will remain as an edge site of mixed Both of these pictures are of the same area but from different angles. The picture above shows energy flow. The technology disturbance in these more stilt grass than perennial grasses along with a lot of other weeds. areas has weakened the soil structure enough that the Stilt Grass can form seedbeds and manage timber stands. This practice results in the survive. The reproductive nature of the plant is dominates the plants that should be re- weakening of soil structure, which leads to strong with a seed bank of many years. emerging. biodiversity loss. Therefore, weeding and any form of eradication The progression of the Stilt Grass is the In looking through the lens of community beyond hand weeding critical crop areas will be same whether in grassland or in forest, but dynamics, we recognize that humans have been a futile use of resources. result from two different forces at work. using various species of grasses for various Sites with the greatest amount of Stilt Grass Grassland aspects where Stilt Grass will emerge purposes on these sites for a long time. We also are sites in grasslands that have plenty of tend to be north-facing slopes or east-facing know that community dynamics ties into all moisture and the presence of cool weather slopes because these will remain moist even other ecosystem processes. Technology use has grasses, primarily fescues. Farmers have planted during the hottest weather. It may be difficult to played a large role in managing and using the fescues as a livestock forage for cold weather get high quality grasses to grow on these sites forest. The energy flow has had strong grazing. In this particular area, fescues have unless the energy flow can be increased, disturbance from trees being removed in the been used by oil companies and pipeline however the mineral cycle is often impaired to forest. While paths and roads used by deer seem companies as plantings on disturbed areas continued on page 13

Number 105 IN PRACTICE 5 After Africa– Finding Home Again by Abbey Kingdon

llan Savory changed my life. But I didn’t South Africa and working on cattle farms, I’d realize that until I stepped onto the learned that to really view the land I had to tarmac of the San Francisco Internation- crawl through the veld with my eyes on the soil al Airport. As I walked to a 19-minute surface, stick my hands in the soil, smell for Aexpress flight to Sacramento after 2 days of travel minerals and water in the soil, and notice what from Johannesburg, South Africa, thoughts of types and variety of life grew in that land. In the 2 months I spent in Africa played through Africa, I saw healthy land, abundant with all Abbey my mind like an old film. I couldn’t believe it types of life and I saw sick land, choked with at age was over. I’d spent a year and a half researching, monocultures that slowly let the life slip away five with saving, and planning to get myself to Africa for a with the soil, turning the place to desert. I saw a lamb. Holistic Management internship. All this was cattle as more than beef. I saw the good work because of a soft-spoken man who drank hot tea their hooves could do with proper grazing My relationship with rangelands and their with lunch, who said “graws,” not “grass,” and planning. I marveled at the role the rumen accessories – cattle, cowboys, ranchers, water, and who over the course of an afternoon interview, played in the ecosystem of a low-rainfall grass – began at birth, long before I decided to planted the idea of healthy, sustainable land in environment. The rumen gives ruminants, like attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and study my mind. As the heavy glass door pushed open cattle, the ability to break down organic animal science, ethnic studies, and agricultural and I filed out behind other travelers in a neat material and provide the resources for new communications. I was involved with rangelands line to the little plane, I inhaled a deep breath of plants to grow. I learned to love wild places, to long before I began working for Cal Poly’s ocean air. California, at last. Home. enjoy a sunset from the veranda, listening to student-run newspaper, the Mustang Daily, But home had changed, too. After the open the birds, the baboons, the bats, and the bugs. which led to the sustainability issue we produced high veld (rangeland) that borders the Kalahari That glimmer of hope and interest in healthy, that led to the interview with Savory. As the and the abundant bush veld (filled with impala, open land that began with a conversation with daughter of ranchers, I was raised in cattle ranch kudu, warthogs, mambas, and baboons) that I Savory bloomed and took root in South Africa. fields of Indian Valley, my Sierra Nevada had walked through just days before, my Sierra I chose to study Holistic Management in mountain valley home. Nevada mountain valley home appeared small South Africa simply because that’s where it My parents had a house, of course, but I and a little less alive. The permanent fences began. I first planned to go to Zimbabwe, to don’t remember being inside much. Before I crisscrossing the valley stood out like weathered Savory’s ranch which is now a Holistic went to school, I was following my father out to Management learning center, but national irrigate, watching his footsteps in front of me as political instability diverted me south, to South I struggled to keep up, listening for the clink of Africa. I stayed with two families who were the metal shovel as it hit rocks in the soil, then holistically managing their cattle operations. later swimming in those same ditches or The first family, the Knights, opened their jumping over them on my pony. homes to me, offering good South African food, My younger brother and I would picnic with conversation, advice, and lots of tea. Wayne and our mother as she watched the sheep in the Hillary, and Wayne’s parents, Tom and Wendy, fields, moving them and protecting them became lifelong mentors and friends to me. against coyotes. As she worked, we swung from Dick and Judy Richardson, my second hosts, are the branches of pine trees lining the meadow, the top Holistic Management educators in raced through gullies, and made forts out of Southern Africa. I left the Richardsons’ ranch fallen cottonwood trees. We’d eat breakfast and feeling that I had gained surrogate South lunch in the field with our mother. Somehow During her internship, Abbey learned how regular old Raisin Bran or sandwiches of holistic grazing planning is helping Certified African parents. The country, culture, and people were so peanut butter and jelly always tasted better in Educator trainee, Wayne Knight, and his the fresh air. family from Limpopo, South Africa. wonderful, so diverse, and so full of contrasts and raw natural beauty that I never wanted to When we were older, we worked with our statues against the weak green of the early leave. But Africa is not my home. My American parents, herding cows, branding, doctoring, and spring grass. The land looked totally occupied. psyche could not process some of the realities raking hay. They taught us to work with the Before Africa, I saw a picturesque landscape inherent in South African life, like land claims cows, the grass, the water, and the seasons, but when I looked at the valley: tall grass, thick and farm murders. When I returned to the also to enjoy them. Hot summer afternoons forests, abundant wildlife, and happy cows grazing United States, I transplanted clippings of a were meant for swimming at the river and the open meadows. But that was only a glance. South African love, respect, and appreciation for school holidays for friends coming with their When I got home I knew how to take a closer look. nature and for natural processes into my work horses for rides through the river willows and While studying Holistic Management in and life. continued on page 17

6 IN PRACTICE January / February 2006 LIVESTOCK & Same Path, New Horizons – Del Cerro at The Howell Ranch by Jim Howell Editor’s Note: In this issue we welcome back Jim Howell as enterprise mix provided limited economic niches. She could carry on in Contributing Editor for Land & Livestock. The following article is the first Dad’s foosteps and become a custom-grazier of beef cattle, a hunting guide, in a series on the Howell’s newest business venture, Del Cerro. or forester/chainsaw operator. She might have a knack for finance or marketing, and she could fill those roles as well. Of course she can always y wife, Daniela, and I have been making a living from a variety develop her own enterprise on the ranch, but we reasoned that if we developed of enterprises based on our land here in western Colorado, as an enterprise with a diverse range of skill-based and economic niches, the well as additional education-based efforts off the ranch, for ten likelihood of her successfully finding her specific niche would be much greater. years now, and it’s been great. But as we have periodically sat Third, we have, in recent years, felt that we needed to be less insular and Mdown to refine the core values that drive us, and to clarify what those more involved with the proactive evolution of our community’s character. In mean in terms of what we should actually be doing everyday, several particular, we’ve felt a longing to support the creative, passion-driven small realizations have gradually crystallized. So while we are still on the same businesses and individuals in our area. We do that through direct patronage, path, it has evolved to where we can see some new horizons. but what if we could devise a business that might also more fully engage some of these people? A Sharper Focus on a Bigger Vision There was one more driver on top of those three, especially for Daniela. First, although our off-ranch activities are fun, usually profitable, and She longed to see some sort of tangible, beautiful output of all the work enriching, our love for our land and we do every year on the land. For our passion for being in this place, me, it’s very satisfying to receive learning how to live here in seven loads of cattle and send harmony has evolved into our back ten, knowing that my greatest motivators. Moreover, we’ve grazing management had a lot to come to realize that our land is our do with growing 150,000 new most stable asset. If we take care of pounds of beef. The elk and deer it, nurture it, and grow intimate with we harvest every fall, the it, its capacity for sustaining us is measurable improvement in indefinite. Indeed, a healthy land ecosystem processes – these are base generating infinitely renewable other tangible products. But we solar dollars is the ultimate source of also longed for something even profitability and security. more directly tied to our So, for reasons both practical and planning and implementing and emotional, we began to direct our The cashmere goats browse a number of forbs and woody plants including monitoring ... a beautiful and creative juices toward building a new silver sage. meaningful product that we land-based enterprise, or at least add value to our existing enterprises, to be could touch, admire, enjoy, and that was enduring. able to derive our entire income from the ranch itself. What that would be wasn’t clear initially, but we’ve kept our eyes and hearts more open to new The Right Fit possibilities. We both loved the idea of focusing our energies on a highly We started with a premise fundamental to any successful business venture profitable, meaningful, land-based business that enlisted our personal – this new enterprise first and foremost had to enlist our personal passions. passions, and that was ideally suited to our climate and resource base. Jim Collins, in his book, Good to Great, writes of the importance of loving Second, we realized that if our daughter, Savanna, eventually decides she one’s work and states that all great companies have figured out what they wants to stay on the land and in the family business, our then-existing continued on page 8

Number 105 Land & Livestock 7 Same Path, New Horizons continued from page seven can do better than anybody else in the world, and they stick to that specialty with unwavering rigor and discipline. Similarly, Allan Nation of the Stockman Grass Farmer emphasizes that each unique whole under management will have its own “unreasonable advantage.” Now, I love cows, but I’ve long realized that our ranch comprises a huge range of grazing and (especially) browsing niches that cows never even sniff at. The cows eat the grass, and not much else. Most of our biomass is comprised of a diverse mix of big sagebrush, silver sagebrush, quaking aspen, shrubby cinquefoil, sulfur buckwheat, several species of rabbit brush, gambel oak brush, service berries, snow berries, squaw currants, squaw apples, and fringed sage - among many other shrub and Karakul sheep take cover behind a service berry bush – even though they had a shelter, these tough tree species. sheep prefer to stay out and find their own protection from the elements. Highly gregarious, they I’ve heard of ranchers who’ve been able to get remain tightly bunched in all kinds of weather. their cows to eat all that, but I haven’t had much luck. So looking at our “unreasonable advantage,” environment, our average low during winter hovers around 0 degrees F (-18 we realized our cold, brush-dominated, high altitude ranch, though it can C), with week-long stretches of 20 below (-29 C) not uncommon. Coupled grow beautiful cattle, certainly doesn’t match up to vast tracts of the earth with the fact that we’re under snow for about four months, we reasoned that that provide much better cattle habitat. Cattle might fill a niche here, but we could grow very clean, high quality fiber. Those conditions are pretty bad we’ll never be the best in the world at custom-grazing cattle, because that’s for trying to winter a beef cow, but pretty ideal if you’re trying to grow fine not where our unreasonable advantage lies. wool and cashmere. We realized we’d have to feed hay on the snow, but most Since cows mostly eat our grasses, we typically wait to receive cattle until of our brush species stick up through the snow, so we figured they’d provide a late in the spring, after all our native cool season grasses have been able to major component of the winter diet as well. get a good start. But in early spring, we have a diversity of native, succulent, annual and perennial forbs that grow in profusion as soon as the snow Creating a Purple Alpaca melts. By the time the grass has come on, most of those early forbs have So, thanks to our climate and the unique traits of our landscape, we can withered in the warmer temperatures, and the cows get little if any good out produce high quality animal fiber – maybe even the best fiber in the world, of them. So that’s another grazing/browsing niche that has gone unutilized. and the prospect of doing that motivates the heck out of me. But to achieve To tap our unreasonable advantage – to devise a grazing/browsing an attractive gross profit, we realized we had to add a lot of value to this fiber. enterprise that we could do better than anyone else in the world – it was Daniela, in addition to her passion for the land and understanding of the clear to us that we had to do something different. role of animals to sustain and regenerate its health, just happens to have a keen interest and amazing aptitude for creating beautiful, artistic, livable, From Cow Herd to Fiber Flerd welcoming spaces. She never felt sufficient meaning in this pursuit, however, As a student and fanatic enthusiast of naturally functioning rangeland to develop it beyond her own homes. But it finally dawned on her that, by environments, I’ve realized that most of these places, in their pristine states, using ranch-raised fiber in the creation of beautiful products to be used for support a broad diversity of grazing and browsing animals to fill all of these home interiors, she could tie her love for interior design in a meaningful wonderful niches. Similarly, most native, nomadic herding cultures way back to the land. incorporate a range of domestic grazers, such as the Mongolians, with their But that still begged the question – what exactly would we produce? We sheep, goats, yaks, camels, and horses. It became clear this was the model we knew we had to be different and remarkable to have a chance (see Seth had to work toward, and this prospect of attempting to mimic nature with a Godin’s The Purple Cow). To make a long story short, we decided that our broad range of diverse domestic herbivores lined right up with my passion. primary product would be artistic, hand-woven textiles intended for use in But what exactly would this mix of critters look like? More importantly, interiors, including, but not limited to, upholstery applications. what would we sell? That was the key. Passion only goes so far without profit. Why? It’s a product that is nearly non-existent, so we would be A multi-species herd of sheep, goats, and camelids might fill our vacant attempting to fill a totally empty niche (or, perhaps, creating a new niche). niches perfectly, but we didn’t want to embark on that path until we figured Because it’s hand-woven by Colorado weavers, and we’re selling it as art, not out how to market their products through profitable avenues. Selling high just upholstery fabric, we are able to add a tremendous amount of value. In quality, grass- and shrub-finished meat was the obvious choice, but for a our marketing, we’re also emphasizing the story behind our product – i.e. number of reasons, neither Daniela nor I have ever been too fired up about produced in nature’s image through restorative land management practices, going the direct market meat route. That is still a possibility, and one we’ll by the Howell Family on the Howell Ranch, with Savanna being the fifth probably pursue at some point (with the right person in charge), but it’s not generation of Howells to walk this land, etc. The combination of these factors where either of our interests lie. genuinely results in an impossible-to-duplicate, truly exquisite, and (perhaps But certain breeds of goats, most sheep breeds, and camelids (alpacas most importantly for the market we are targeting) exclusive product. We call and llamas) obviously produce fiber. In the extreme dry cold of our our new venture Del Cerro (meaning “from the mountain” in Spanish), and

8 Land & Livestock January / February 2006 we create “Fine textile art for natural interiors.” make an extremely soft, lofty yarn for our throws). We’ve designed six lines of textiles, each inspired by different landscapes Despite the fact we were a long way from actually having a product to and cultures from around the world, as well as throws for accent pieces. sell, we began to source animals and create our flerd (a flock/herd We’ve been working with a master weaver in our community, Cheri Isgreen, combination). At that point, we were still in the R&D phase of figuring out in the process of doing all the research necessary to create these textiles the designs and sorting through the technical weaving challenges of our (starting with the right type of fiber species/breeds, then yarn specifications, different textile patterns. But, as we began to actively market (realizing that twist, density of the cloth, durability, etc., plus the actual designs within each the time lag between initiating a marketing strategy and actually selling line). That has all been a steeper learning curve than we anticipated (and something might take a while), we realized we needed to have at least a we’re still climbing). starter herd on the place to give us a degree of credibility (since the “story” of We are working with a small, locally-owned processing mill in Taos, New how the fibers are actually produced is a big part of this strategy). I was also Mexico for our scouring, carding, and spinning needs. Besides Cheri, we anxious to see how this mix of animals was actually going to use our land, have a full team of eight more highly experienced handweavers working and was especially keen to get some experience taking them through a with us, all based in Colorado. A master dyer from New Mexico, Leslie King, winter. So, at this point our flerd contains about 150 head, and over the next has been tutoring us on the complex art of natural dyeing, and we’ve also five years, as we phase into full production, we plan to build to a maximum achieved USDA Organic Certification for our land, animals and fiber. herd size of between 800-1000 animals, at which point we’ll be stocked to our full sustainable carrying capacity. Finding the Right Mix In the process of doing our research, we learned that an upholstery yarn Goat Control Issues has to be both strong and reasonably soft to the touch (called “hand” in the A cornerstone of our operation and our whole production model is weaving world). These two traits work against each other, since long fibers restorative, ecologically enhancing land management. We have to manage (which give strength to the yarn) are typically courser (and therefore our animals this way if we expect to continue doing this many generations scratchier) than fibers from sheep breeds with a shorter staple length. We down the road, not to mention that a big part of our marketing strategy also were very determined to include a wide range of naturally colored fibers stresses our commitment to responsible, earth-friendly production methods. in our product – that is, in addition to white, we wanted off-whites, beiges, That means we have to holistically plan our grazing/browsing patterns, which tans, grays, browns, and black. We are including naturally-dyed yarns in our means that somehow I had to figure out how to control all those darn goats. textiles (dyed with natural pigments derived from soils, insects, and plants). Compared to the sheep and the camelids, the goats are a pain. In the fall But to simplify production and help keep our cost slightly lower, we are of 2004, we built a few small pastures around the house, mostly in intent on using designs that primarily incorporate the natural colors of the productive riparian areas, with full-on, 39-inch (99-cm) woven wire with a fibers themselves. hot wire on top. We moved the animals through these pastures throughout So, that meant we needed to find a mix of species and breeds that, either the fall, and then started feeding on the snow in these pastures throughout by themselves or through the blending of different fibers, could meet a fairly the winter. Those fences worked fine, with the exception of any spot where challenging set of specifications. After much debating and trial and error, the the bottom of the woven wire was more than 5 inches (124 mm) off the mix of species/breeds we have assembled includes: karakul sheep (for color ground. The goats found all those spots. They’re incredibly good at and long staple length for strength), Icelandic sheep (with their dual coat, squeezing under things, and as soon as one figures it out, the rest follow they provide both strength and softness, plus a wide range of color), colored immediately. and white angora goats (which produce mohair, giving both strength and The perimeter on our lower country is fenced with woven wire, but luster), llamas (also providing color and a long staple length for strength), these fences were new about 80 years ago, so are fairly goat-permeable. I cashmere goats, and alpacas (the cashmere is blended with alpaca fiber to decided to grit my teeth, turn ‘em loose, and accept the learning curve that lay ahead of me. Once turned out in the first pasture, they promptly led me to every weak spot in the fence. After 10 or 12 escape episodes over the course of about a month, I had most of the holes plugged, but the whole experience wasn’t really that fun. My passion waned on many days. I spent dozens of unproductive hours on horseback trying to find the ornery caprines on the neighbor’s place, which is one big 2000-acre (800- ha), very hilly, very brushy pasture. But there were some bright spots. The east side of this first pasture was formerly a one-wire, hi-tensile electric fence designed to turn lumbering bovines. The wire was set at an average height of about 30 inches (76 cm). We lowered that wire about six inches (150 mm), then added a second hot wire 12 or 13 inches (300-325 mm) below that, to make a two-wire fence. I’d never heard of anybody controlling goats with 2 hot wires, but nobody had ever told me it couldn’t be done, either. Since that was the easiest and cheapest fence modification I could think of, that’s where I started, and I’ll be darned if it didn’t work. The goats never crossed that fence one time. The key, I think, was that it was hotter than h___. In July, we moved the whole flerd up to our high place, 15 miles (25 km) away and 2000 feet (600 m) higher. For the rest of the summer, we planned The camelids (alpacas and llamas) fill their grazing niche on the to use a big open park right on the edge of our summer camp. We reckoned summer place. continued on page 10

Number 105 Land & Livestock 9 Same Path, New Horizons continued from page nine that the open and easy terrain, in an area where we could see them all want them with two hot wires is a major burden off my back. Flerd the time, would be a good place to begin experimenting with tighter control behavior, and the associated predation issues, is going to be a tougher nut and portable fencing. But we had another challenge. The perimeter fence up to crack. Our coyote, bear, mountain lion, and eagle populations are all there is also of 1915 vintage, some of it with four rusty, brittle, sagging thriving, and that’s fine with me. They all fill essential ecological niches, barbed wires, and some with just three. Not only was this fence as good as and I figure it’s our duty as managers to figure out how to live together. nothing for the goats, but the sheep wouldn’t have been slowed down by it We’ve got an awesome Akbash guard dog, Bella, and she does her best at either. So, along with our hired man, Jesse Wright, we again asked ourselves, running off the predators. The problem is that these various species/breeds “What’s the minimum, least costly approach we might take to make this are segregationists. It’s not that they don’t like each other, but they have thing goat-proof?” little if any desire to mix company. That makes it tough for Bella to keep We decided that on the 4-wire fence, we could put in an offset hot wire track of them all. between the third and fourth barbed wires (with Gallagher offset With the exception of the Icelandic sheep, each species/breed sticks with brackets). It would stick out from the fence about a foot (300 mm), and their own kind exceptionally well. The angora and cashmere goats like each be 7 to 12 inches (175-300 mm) off the ground. To get under the barbed other and are always together in a tight bunch, and the alpacas and llamas wire fence, a goat would have to touch that offset wire at the same time, are always together. Sometimes the goats and camelids will decide to hang the combination of which would effectively ground the heck out of him out together for a few days at a time. The karakul sheep are incredibly and give a serious zap. To walk through the fence (as opposed to gregarious with an amazing flocking instinct. They act like they’re one squeezing under it), a goat would also have a heckuva time without organism and are extremely wary of everything. Once in a while I’ll catch touching the offset hot wire during the escape attempt. them with the other flerd members, but most of the time they’re pretty aloof. For the 3-wire fence, an offset wire The Icelandic sheep, however, get between the second and third wires was spread out and forget (and don’t too high, so we had to add a non- seem to care) where their mates are, electrified fourth hi-tensile wire below and unfortunately aren’t scared of the three barbed wires, and then add an anything. I suspect this is because offset wire between that wire and the they evolved in Iceland over several bottom barbed wire. That effectively hundred years, in the absence of any made the challenge of crossing the predation pressure. As a result of same as with the 4 wire fence. This their sitting duck behavior patterns, solution worked perfectly. We didn’t we lost five to a bear while on our have one escape event through this high place this summer. I think modified 80-year-old fence all summer. another guard dog will help, and as We also did a bunch of portable the number of Icelandic sheep grows, fencing within this pasture, effectively maybe they will flock better, but splitting it up into areas roughly big that’s a challenge that remains to be enough for 10-day grazing periods. We resolved. I’ve been tempted to get rid used two small diameter cable wires, set of them, but their fiber is perfect for at about 10 and 22 inches (250-550 Here the cashmere and angora goats enjoy a feast of baby aspens. our specific textile applications. We mm) off the ground. These wires are lost a couple young Karakul lambs to easy to roll up, and they pack a heck of a shock. The problem is that they’re coyotes last spring, and haven’t lost any goats or alpacas. The presence of not too strong, and our main problem was keeping them up given the deer, the llamas seems to help the alpacas. elk, and bear traffic. But, most of the time, whenever the wires broke, the As the flerd grows and stock density increases, and as new babies are born flerd still respected them laying there on the ground. Only when the wires got into this multi-species mix, I predict that a new flerd culture will gradually strung out all over the place did the flerd get away. Polywire is actually much evolve. They’ll grow to know each pasture intimately, including where to go stronger than the cable wire, but not as conductive, but I think it will be the to minimize predation risk. As long as we don’t start killing predators answer to the wildlife problem. It works great in portable applications with (thereby inviting new individuals into vacated home ranges, which is all that our cattle, where wildlife is also abundant. happens when killing predators, unless a blitzkrieg-like eradication policy is And, predictably but amazingly, we are now utilizing our whole range of pursued), I think our guard dog(s) and predators will get to know each other grazing and browsing niches. The goats consume every single plant we have- and develop relationships of reluctant but peaceful tolerance. We also plan to with gusto. The sheep target the dozens of species of broad-leaved forbs and eventually employ a full time herder who will live with the animals, more tender grasses, but also browse significantly. The camelids are happy purposefully keeping everybody together all day, and bedding them down consuming the grasses (filling the niche formerly occupied by cattle), but together at night. This should help tremendously with the predation seem happy to have both tender forbs and coarse browse to go along with issues, and I suspect will accelerate the transition to a more integrated them. It’s an amazing thing to watch, if you’re into that sort of thing, and I flerd culture. At this point, I’m the herder, and along with the double hot haven’t decided yet which ones are my favorites. wire, we’re making do. The only certainty is that we have a lifetime of learning and refinement Flerd Sociology ahead of us, and not just in managing grazing and predation issues, but in So, we feel confident that we can control the flerd. No doubt we’ll every aspect of this new venture. For more information, please visit our continue to refine, but the fact that we know we can put goats where we website at www.delcerrotextiles.com.

10 Land & Livestock January / February 2006 Paddock Monitoring – Are We On Track? by Mark Gardner with David Marsh avid and Mary Marsh and their family live on “Allendale,” track of changes,” says David. “We have been involved in natural 2,032 acres (813 ha) of undulating country close to Boorowa in resource management for a long time, but if we don’t measure our land, the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. how do we really know it’s changed. Is the landscape moving towards the While the rainfall averages 25 inches (625 mm), David Marsh future we want, as described in our holistic goal?” Destimates their position on the brittleness scale is somewhere around a six or seven out of ten due to long dry periods. But despite a challenging Review Your Focus landscape and a drought to boot, the Marshes have been able to decrease The first step in the On Track Paddock Indicator process is to thorough- their bare ground by 400 percent in the last three years. ly review your holistic goal, particularly focusing on the future resource base Since completing Holistic Management training with me and Brian description. This helps to ensure that monitoring is directed towards a clear Marshall in 1990, the Marsh family has changed many aspects of their and defined end point, and makes it easy to determine if the land farming operation. Originally management decisions over mixed livestock and cereal time have led to progress croppers, the Marshes have being on track or not. moved their enterprise mix The review process is also towards all livestock, which useful to make sure the are now moved through their holistic goal has been country using Holistic recently renewed and is an Management® Planned up-to-date reflection of Grazing principles. reality. Extensive fencing and For the Marsh Family, water development have now their future landscape given them 90 paddocks description taken from their through which animals move holistic goal is as follows: according to the growth rates “A diverse landscape of the plants and the desired Bluebells, danthonia, redgrass, brushtail spear grass (all native plants) thrive in the with soils covered year recovery period. The Marsh Marsh paddocks as the Marshes produce an increasingly diverse landscape on round, effective water cycle family has a strong Allandale through planned grazing and the Paddock Indicator monitoring approach. with a diverse and environmental focus, and the abundant soil life efficiently holistic grazing planning has allowed them to use their stock as a tool to cycling minerals, supported by an increasing flow of energy via regenerate the land, in line with their holistic goal. sunlight harvest. Increasing perennials in the plant layer with complex age structure and increased species diversity. Stable revegetated riparian Keep It Simple areas, and diverse, well-structured tree/shrub native grass/forb areas Some four years ago, David became interested in monitoring the with good connectivity as fauna habitat.” condition of his paddocks. At the same time, Certified Educator Graeme Hand and I saw a need to develop a simple monitoring process for land Site Selection managers to be able to check the condition of their land and relate this to David established two formal monitoring sites across the property, and the landscape component of their holistic goal, to check if their paddock other sites that are monitored with photos. These were chosen in areas management decisions are on track or not and to make any changes where changes were required. “We picked paddocks that were different, necessary. and where we wanted to see changes. We really wanted to see changes in To do this, we have combined an active review of the holistic goal, plant composition, more native perennials and better ground cover,” says with use of the Holistic Management® Early Warning Biological David. Monitoring process and a change-based coaching framework to help The sites chosen are on different soil types. The first site had few crops holistic decision makers check the progress of their land-based decisions. grown on it over a 35-year period, and had a large percentage of introduced We created the On Track Paddock Indicators and have used them at species (phalaris) and a small percentage of native perennial grasses. On “Allendale” for three years. this site, David was looking to use the tools of grazing, animal impact, and Monitoring land is an important, but often underutilized, component planned recovery to promote even more native grasses. “On the other site we of Holistic Management. Much information exists at the soil surface that started monitoring in an area which already had some native grasses, and can tell us about our paddock management decisions, if we can just we were looking for a spread,” says David, again using a range of tools (and spend the time to look! different combinations) to create the desired changes. There is an Australian saying: “What you see of your country is These tools looked good in relation to his holistic goal, when proportional to your ground speed.” Taking the time to walk across the land, compared to costly technology based options. looking down at a few key indicators, can really help to fine tune decisions. Fixed point photo shots have been used for a “macro” level view of “We decided that we needed to do some paddock monitoring to keep changes on the two main sites, as well as on another three sites. Transect

Number 105 Land & Livestock 11 2. Evidence of living organisms and type 3. Seasonal characteristics of the perennial base 4. Distance between perennial plants 5. Age structure of the perennial base 6. Species composition David and I talk over the phone, discussing how the measurements relate to the landscape description, and toss around ideas and options for future management. These ideas and options can then be evaluated, by using the testing questions to ensure management decisions are moving the whole toward the freshly renewed holistic goal. Next year, any changes can be noted, and the process starts again. Put It to Use David Marsh’s animals are being used in a planned way to create a Land management and monitoring can be a long-term process, where healthy landscape. Plant material not eaten is trampled onto the soil trends over time become important. To date the results David has surface and eventually will become litter which will turn into soil – achieved have been very encouraging. The state of New South Wales has an investment into the ecosystem. been in a severe drought for the last three years, and this is a major measurement is used for more detailed and early warning data collection context in which we have viewed the results of David’s monitoring. on the two main sites. On the two main sites, the Early Warning Biological “Even in the last three years, which have been very hard seasons, we Monitoring approach, with some slight modifications, is used to collect data. are seeing the distance to perennials decreasing, bare soil diminishing, The key point is that sites should be selected for their usefulness in and litter accumulating. One of the great things is also an increase in the giving management information to determine if the direction of change number of native perennial species starting to appear slowly over the occurring in the landscape matches the desired future landscape sites,” says David. This is not just wishful thinking; the paddock description. If it is, a great deal of confidence can be gained. If not, monitoring has measured actual changes over time. changes can be made! To date these changes show posi- Paddock Indicators Collecting The Data Distance to perennial, Back Bullock paddock tive movement

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land management, s practical implication for paddock management decisions. Graphi 1: The Back Bullock site over the last “The last thing most farmers want to do is to spend a heap of time with continual threeD years, shows distance to perennial collecting data that at the end of the day they say ... so what!” says adjustments, as the decreasing over time. This trend shows progress Graeme. By relating paddock information to the landscape description in graphs below in relation to the future landscape description, their holistic goal, the paddock indicators create an immediate context. indicate: as described in the Marshes’ holistic goal. It’s even better to use when examining trends over time for a paddock. Other sites show further positive change towards the desired future landscape description Keeping On Track by better soil surface coverage. We are trying to present the On Track Paddock Indicators as an On the Redgrass site, ongoing process that farmers can check to see if their land-based a reduction in bare soil Paddock Indicators decisions are on or off track, in terms of what they are trying to create has been a positive Soil Surface Condition: Redgrass Paddock 100 for their landscape – putting the information into a dynamic and regular development. Now soil is 90 80 evaluation process. To many farmers, this process has an action-based covered by either new 70 60 feel to it, and has got quite a few interested. It also helps them gain focus litter, or larger plant % 50 40 as the process requires them to get reacquainted with and/or freshen up bases. 30 20 their holistic goal. One of the things I 10 0 Bare Soil Litter 1 Litter 2 Rock Plant David undertakes monitoring in spring each year, a time when have seen in this process Base identification of plant species is easily undertaken. Some sites are is the importance of a Soil Surface monitored in autumn, which is often the lowest point in the ecosystem, long recovery period. In Graph 2: This site shows a reduction in bare often coming after a long dry summer. such tough times, using soil and an increase in Litter 1 (plants For each of the sites, David collected the paddock data and sent it to technology through recently knocked down to create new me. I then present summary tables to show shift over time and six graphs, water and fence mulch) accumulating over time – another which show some of the time series for key grouped data. The six key development has given positive movement towards the Marshes’ groupings are: David the flexibility to future landscape description. 1. Soil surface condition increase the number of

12 Land & Livestock January / February 2006 paddocks and, hence, the ability to give plants the recovery periods Trust the Process that they really need. Another important aspect to producing these results Understanding that changes may not always happen as quickly as we is the effort David has made to budget grazing days ahead of the main would sometimes like is a concept of great value. “It would be great to see mob, and to make decisions to reduce or increase stock numbers based the changes happening even quicker, but at least we know now that the on this calculation. changes occurring are in the direction we want,” says David. Having As well as using the On Track Paddock Indicators, David has a farm patience and developing confidence that management decisions are mapping program on his computer. Each year he identifies on a map the having a positive impact on the land even in times of severe drought has area in which provided the Marsh family with some positive feedback on their Graph 6: Paddock Indicators Red Grass Species native perennials 70 management decisions. are appearing ® 60 The value of Holistic Management Planned Grazing cannot be 50 across the farm. I N underestimated. “The quick defoliation, coupled with a longer recovery 40 Year 1 A O H % L L T Year 2 He says, “In 1999 30 E N period (from 30 to 180 days depending on growth rates) has created the S R A Year 3 S B DA 20 A M we had less than R U G conditions for seeds to germinate and establish, even in drought,” says 10 Y R D T L E 2.5 acres (1 ha) of O R 0 IA David. Under constant stocking this does not seem to occur. O F N Species I N R S K E our country where A L C R “It is good to be able to examine the changes of our management, A O E H C PE PS native perennials through a measuring process,” says David. “If we don’t see what we want, were evident; now we have to work out why, and then do something differently.” In this Graph 3 shows how over time Redgrass, Umbrella it is 95 acres (38 respect, the monitoring process being undertaken on Allendale through Grass and Danthonia (all desirable native ha). the On Track Paddock Indicators provides a practical way in which land perennial grasses) are starting to slowly appear. Again, this managers can easily monitor their land-based management decisions to incredible make sure they are on track, and if not, act to make changes. increase is a very positive outcome given the fact it was accomplished in the last three years during a drought. While landscape changes can Mark Gardner is a Certified Educator who lives in Dubbo, New take time, the most interesting aspect to the monitoring on Allendale is South Wales, Australia. He can be reached at: 61-0268-0844401 or that even with a severe drought, changes have advanced quite rapidly. [email protected].

What’s The Problem? continued from page five

compound the problem. Complete rest of High quality grasses did not exist on this site Biodiversity lacking in the soil is an element grassland has been the most prominent practice and therefore no seed was present. A mixture of we cannot ignore in addressing this problem. for the past fifty years as many people left orchard grass, red clover, white clover, timothy, The tilled planting demonstrates the fescue link family farms to seek work elsewhere. The and lespedeza were sown on the site. The area to the problem. It also demonstrates that simply complete lack of grazing and animal impact has remained primarily free of Stilt Grass as planting the correct grasses may not solve the has resulted in many changes in ecosystem these plants do not go dormant during the problem because the high quality grasses processes with a complexity that cannot fully be summer and have not given Stilt Grass seed a require high quality soil. Planting seed and understood without adapting a holistic chance to emerge above growth points. The site adding fertilizer would only be another perspective. has been quickly grazed off three times already temporary fix that does not address the long- I also noticed open sites that have a this year. When this occurs, many very small term root cause. The use of rich nitrogen dominance of Wild Pea and Deer Tongue do not stilt grass plants are exposed beneath the fertilizer also has the tendency to destroy soil have Stilt Grass or at least have a strong grasses, but do not get the chance to grow structure. The same can be said of tillage. resistance to it. These are also plants of high dominant because the soil was so strengthened Bunching the animals may be far more value as forage for livestock. This may be of use by the animal impact. important than one may realize since the later as a possible solution. For confirmation, I tilled another site and biological activity needed happens in the guts of planted Tall Fescue and White clover on the site. these animals as well as in the soil. The Grand Experiment On this site, as the Fescue has gone dormant, Spending a lot of energy and money on In orienting relevant research to field-test Stilt Grass has again emerged in greater density removing large stands of Stilt grass in the forest my diagnosis, I conducted one experiment on a than before the treatment. Almost no clover can is not likely to meet marginal reaction Stilt Grass /Fescue site this past winter. Six head be found on this site. standards. Adding biodiversity and developing of cattle were bunched to impact a .25 acre- With a plan for dealing with the issue, I am an understanding of the community dynamics paddock (.10 ha). They were fed hay on this site continuing to monitor, control, and re-plan as will permit us to address the root cause of the to add diversity to the soil. Only warm weather necessary. From a holistic perspective, it is problem. grasses were planted on this site after the important to maintain the feedback loop by animals were finished. Seed was used to speed assuming you are wrong and looking for Fred Hays is a Certified Educator in the process and to observe if this practice might unintended consequences. I will conduct Elkview, West Virginia and is the Executive result in usable grazing land, which had been another experiment which will involve the use Director of Center for Sustainable Resources. primarily Stilt Grass that the animals would not of animal impact in a woodland setting during He can be reached at: 304/548-7117 or graze. the winter. [email protected].

Number 105 Land & Livestock 13 An African Journey “For years I have asked supporters to visit progress and meet many of the villagers whose Dimbangombe, guaranteeing them a good time and commitment impressed them, but they were also wanting them to see the work and meet the people able to see and photograph game in nearby Chobe and animals whose lives are improving. This year, to National Park. One of the visitors, long-time friend celebrate my 70th birthday, Jutta von Gontard, our and supporter, Harriet Dublin from Midland, Texas, new Development Director, organized a visit of agreed to share excerpts of her journal she kept thirteen people and my wish was granted. I thank during the week at Dimbanbombe. We have planned those who visited and believe we all had a good time. another trip to Dimbangombe the beginning of May At least one person described it as a life-changing 2006. I hope you take the time to read about experience and all learned just how safe, calm, and Harriet’s experience and consider joining us in May enjoyable this part of Africa is at present despite all for another unforgettable journey. Allan Savory, 70 years the bad press. Not only did the group see the work in –Allan Savory young at Dimbangombe.

ohn, my husband, and I flew to South the beautiful, nearby village of Victoria Falls Africa for a reason. We had been invited to where we shopped the local shops, spent several visit Allan Savory for a birthday celebration hours walking and enjoying the Falls, which is and ended up having an experience of a one of the most spectacular, wonders of the lifetime. Little did we know when we made the world. decision to go Botswana, a small country that borders that it would be Zimbabwe to the East, was our destination for such an the next day on the Zambezi River. Our group adventure. As boarded the boat at Chobe Safari Lodge and we flew out of enjoyed a cruise on the river for several hours, Johannesburg where game viewing was impressive to say the toward Victoria The schoolchildren of the Monde village. least. Chobe National Park is known for its Falls in out, an elephant looked me eye to eye. After huge herds of elephant and cape buffalo, as Zimbabwe, we recovering from my surprise, I returned to the well as crocodiles, hippos, egrets, warthogs. We had no idea front of the lodge where Allan introduced us to saw an enormous herd of elephants that came what to expect. “Dojiwe,” a young, female elephant that has down to the river from the hills to water and When we been with the Centre since she was found as a bathe. arrived at “doggie.” This introduction was the start to One of the highlights of the week for me was Dimbangombe, many other interactions with wildlife at a visit to Monde Primary School, where we Victoria Falls is the largest we were greeted Dimbangombe. observed the classrooms, watched the children curtain of water in the by Allan Savory Our days at Dimbangombe started with a play games on the school grounds, and later world and cascades an and Jody morning drive around the property to get an met with some of the leaders of that village, average of 550,000 cubic Butterfield, and idea of what the land and habitat was like. At especially the women who are in charge of the meters of water over the a smiling staff different locations during the drive, edge every minute. of anxious Rodger Savory, Allan’s son, would explain attendants who welcomed us graciously with to us how the land has improved since drinks. We were shown to our rooms, and as I the Africa Centre began managing the unpacked a few of our belongings, I heard a land holistically. We saw a large herd of loud noise just outside our door. When I looked sable antelope, giraffe, elephant, waterbuck, and many other species of game that have become more plentiful because of the Africa Centre’s work. The cattle on the property were healthy and were handled quite differently than what we are accustomed to. They were herded from daylight until sundown, and then they were penned in a lion-proof pen at night. There are no Women cut thatch by hand and carry it to the village fences there because a barbed wire fence center on their heads. The thatching is used to make wouldn’t stand a chance with a herd of the roofs of all the buildings in the Hwange village elephants or a pride of large male lions. and at the Africa Centre. All the material used to build Dojiwe, the Africa Centre’s tame elephant, When we weren’t out in the bush, we the Africa Centre’s accommodations is found right on with handler. had time to relax and take pleasure in the property including grass, mud, and wood.

14 IN PRACTICE January / February 2006 Allan Savory’s birthday was a gift to me. As a child I understood all things come from the soil. But, I had forgotten it. Now I know this again. For this I thank Allan, Jody, Jutta, Dimbangombe, Zimbabwe, and Africa. – Katie Peters

Guests at Dimbangombe learn about the land management practices used to improve land health and help villagers work in Many different harmony with nature, including species of wildlife the herding of cattle (below), and call Dimbangombe the elephant trenches dug one home, like these yard wide and deep to keep impala grazing in elephants, who are unable to front of the main jump, out of crop fields so they rondavel (top left), can’t destroy the crops (above). the guest chalets (above) and this giraffe spotted on safari (left).

local village banking system initiated by the Africa Centre for Holistic Management. We were privileged to hear the seventh grade class sing their National Anthem a cappella. On our last day there we met the chiefs of the villages on the special day and night of Allan’s birthday. It was quite an experience to be a part of such a cultural event with the local villagers who came out to entertain us with their tribal What stands out most for me about the dances. Between the African trip were the people. I was quite taken entertainment and the roasted with their intelligence, their capacity, and their warthog feast, it was a night to willingness to get out there and work. It struck remember. me during the trip that after 10,000 years of It was such a privilege to be agricultural practice, we still don’t know how included on this adventure, and to relate to the land. Holistic Management is it has changed my life by on the leading edge of sustainable land use in making me more aware of the the world, and Dimbangombe is a learning needs of others and appreciative site for that practice.– Don Youngbauer of all our blessings. – Harriet Dublin Don Youngbauer from Montana (in cowboy hat) with Midland, Texas Peter Howarth of Australia and Judy Pierson of New Mexico.

Number 105 IN PRACTICE 15 Conservation District of Texas, Region II. The He is presently a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association and of the Bexar County Beef Cattle Committee. Jim also teaches a popular class in Ranch Management offered by the continuing news from holistic management international people, programs & projects education department of the North East Independent School District of San Antonio. activity, she enjoys riding, tennis, hiking, skiing, Jim first heard Allan Savory in Del Rio, Board of Director News reading, and being a grandmother. Texas in the early ‘80s when Allan was a speaker at the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers s part of Holistic Management rian Marshall is a grazier managing Association. Not long after, the McMullans took International’s annual meeting in Bholistically at “Tara” Guyra, New South Allan’s week-long introductory course at San November 2005, the Board of Directors Wales, Australia. He has previously been a Antonio, Texas, and about a year later took voted in the new Board officers to lead farmer and grazier with his wife, Rosemary, and another one-week course. Athe Board in 2006. Ron Chapman graciously five children in the Warren, Breeza, and Nundle agreed to serve another term as Board Chair to districts of New South Wales. He has also had an Mitchell-Innes ranches with Beefmaster maintain continuity. Ben Bartlett will be family grazing property and employment Icattle on the family property in Kwa Zulu Vice-Chair, with Sue Probart as Treasurer and experience in Queensland. Natal, South Africa. He and his wife, Pam, have recently been joined by their son, William, Jody Butterfield as Secretary. Holistic Brian has tertiary making him the fifth generation to ranch the Management International wishes to thank qualifications in same land. Terry Word who served as Vice-Chair in 2005. Australia and the U.S. He will remain on the Board. We also offer our (Bachelors of Science Ian has been a very active member of the appreciation to our outgoing Board members and Masters in Southern African Holistic Clint Josey, Judy Richardson, and Bruce Agriculture at Texas Management community Ward for their contributions to Board A&M). He is a Certified since the mid-’90s. He leadership. We welcome our five new Board Educator and has been was initially trained by members and take some space here to introduce Brian Marshall training groups in Dick Richardson; and in them to our supporters. Holistic Management since 1995 in many 1999, he participated in diverse regions of Australia. He is a practical the African Certified ail Hammack currently lives in Lostine, educator with experience in cropping, beef, and Educator Training Oregon on a small ranch with her G sheep enterprises, plus direct beef marketing. He Program. He became a husband, Doug McDaniel, a long-time Advisory Ian Mitchell-Innes has been an advisory council member of an Certified Educator in Council member. Doug and Gail have recently agricultural college and served as a director on 2001, and is a founding member of Community retired from cattle ranching. school, recreational club, and family company Dynamics, the South African Association of Gail earned her boards. Certified Educators and Practitioners. He served Masters of Business as President of Community Dynamics in 2002 Administration from im McMullan and his wife, Ann, raise cattle, and 2003. the University of Jgoats and sheep on a Crockett County ranch Ian’s experience as a practitioner has been Dallas and worked for established by his grandfather, on land leased invaluable to the success of Holistic the McDonald’s from the University of Texas, and on land in Gua- Management in Kwa Zulu-Natal (KZN). He has Corporation for 26 years dalupe County, Texas purchased in the late ‘70s. been instrumental in implementing much of before retiring in 1998 He is a graduate of the the Holistic Management thinking in his high Gail Hammack as Regional Vice- College of Veterinary rainfall area. His ranch, Blanerne, provides a President of the Boston region. Medicine at Texas A&M learning and research site for Holistic She has been involved in a variety of and has served in a Management that is visited by community work including her work as a Board number of volunteer farmers/ranchers, students, academics and member for Wallowa County Business Facilita- positions including: international visitors frequently. Ian also works tion, a non-profit helping entrepreneurs start President of Bexar County with the Department of Agriculture in KZN, and stay in business. She has also been a Board Veterinary Medical involving them in Holistic Management. member for Wallowa Resouces, a non-profit Jim McMullan Association, Member of He is also involved in assisting emerging helping those who work to improve the land and the Texas Veterinary Medical Association and commercial farmers in his area with training economic viability of the community. She also the American Veterinary Medical Association, and mentoring. He has recently been has been a victim’s advocate and facilitator in President of South Texas Farm and Ranch approached to provide training for 50 batterer intervention program for Safe Harbors, Club, and Board Member of HRM of Texas. communal farmers in the south of Kwa Zulu- a non-profit working to support victims of Jim has won numerous awards including Natal. domestic violence and to influence batterers to being named Outstanding Conservation Ian is an African with a deep knowledge consider changing their violent beliefs. Rancher, Crockett County, Texas, and Absentee and understanding of African culture. He is When Gail is not involved in community Conservation Rancher, Soil and Water fluent in Zulu, Afrikaans, and English.

16 IN PRACTICE January / February 2006 ennis Wobeser is from Lloydminster, been active members of the Devon Management DAlberta, Canada and was born and raised Group which has organized many seminars and Small Acreage Workshops on a farm just outside of Regina, field days. Dennis often speaks on their olistic Resource Management of Texas held Saskatchewan. He attended the University of operation and Holistic Management. Hits first-ever workshop for small acreage Saskatchewan where he earned a degree in land managers on November 12, 2005 in Animal Science. After completing university, he Horizon Organic Contract Wimberley, Texas. “Preserving Your Paradise” sold feed for Shur-Gain, and he and his wife, olistic Management International will be was a huge success with attendance at 120 and Jean, relocated to Lloydminster, Alberta. Hworking throughout 2006 with Horizon many more people on a waiting list for the next In the early ‘60s, Organic. Under a new partnership, HMI will workshop. Dennis and a partner facilitate the planning for some of the facilities The morning session included the basics of started a custom cattle that produce milk for Horizon’s line of Holistic Management by Certified Educators feeding operation. It was products. Dick Richardson and Peggy Maddox, as one of the first feedlots in The purpose of this effort is to create a new well as information on the ecosystem processes Western Canada with an standard for pasture and range management by several instructors. Pat Richardson eventual capacity of for organic dairies. Faced with insufficient illustrated the concept of wholes within wholes Dennis Wobeser 8,000 head. At this time product to meet the growing demand, and with as well as showing a 15-minute video of the Dennis was active with the local Exhibition changing standards for organic dairies that animals living beneath the grasses and trees at Association and the Alberta Cattle Feeders. require the animals to be out on the land more Holistic Management International’s West In the early ‘80s, amid much transition in than is currently required, Horizon has engaged Ranch in Ozona, Texas. the cattle feeding industry, Dennis was HMI as a key strategic partner. Horizon has After lunch, the participants were introduced to Holistic Resource Management hired HMI to assist their company in meeting transported hayride style to the 15-acre through fellow cattle feeder Blake Holtman the new pasture standards, converting more ranchette owned by HRM of Texas Executive from Taber, Alberta. When the operation was at confinement operations to organic production, Director, Peggy Cole, for a hands-on lesson in a crossroad, much of what he and his family and producing healthy and productive irrigated land planning. Besides demonstrations on learned through Holistic Management made pastures and rangelands. portable, electric fencing, speakers also shared sense, thus began the change from a feedlot to The two companies will be using the work at their experiences with multi-species grazing on a grass-based cattle operation. The operation the initial operations to create templates and small acreage and showed other types of includes two locations of 11,000 acres running models that can be used in the coming years portable net fencing. both cows and yearlings. Also involved in the with existing Horizon producers and/or with Participants worked in small groups on the operation are daughter, Kelly, and son, Brady, potential producers who need assistance land with a group leader to help answer and their families. His daughter, Wendy, is a making the conversion from conventional questions, teach plant identification, and guide medical doctor in Kingston, Ontario. dairying to organic. Executive Director the group in coming up with management Through this time, Dennis and Jean have Shannon Horst will be the lead on this project. ideas.

After Africa continued from page six

up overgrown mountain trails. Since Sometimes I browse travel sites on the then, the open spaces and growing things Internet, looking for a way back to South of rangelands have been my friends. This Africa for a visit to my friends who feel like land is more than a place to live or work; it family and the pieces of my heart that is something alive and amazing that stayed in the open veld. deserves the best care. Until the interview with Savory, I didn’t Abbey Kingdon, age 23, the daughter know how to make a change, how to work of a cattle ranching family, grew up in toward giving rangelands the best care. So Northeastern California. She graduated I left. Like most children of a rural from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and community, like most of my friends and recently completed a Holistic classmates, I exchanged the dwindling Management internship with Holistic rural economy for college, a career, and a Kingdon cattle at the Johnson Ranch, Indian Valley, Management educators on cattle farms fastpaced life. When I met Savory, I saw being moved with dogs Lucy and Todd. Taylorsville, the in South Africa. She is the River Center that there was a chance for my generation author’s hometown, sits behind her parents’ ranch. Director for The River Center in Alturas, to have a healthy, prosperous rural California and can be reached at: existence, as Holistic Management provides the perspective and my future plans, but I didn’t 530/233-5085 or [email protected]. tools to account for the triple bottom line: realize it until my introduction to Holistic financial, social, and ecological wealth. With Management. This article has been reprinted by this tool, my thinking became positive. It gave Today, I am pursuing a career in natural permission from Abbey Kingdon and me hope. The happy outdoor freedom of my resource management in Modoc County, Rangelands, (Alliance Communications childhood had tremendous power over my California, and getting into the cattle business. Group).

Number 105 IN PRACTICE 17 Roland Kroos 4926 Itana Circle, Bozeman, MT 59715 406/522-3862 • [email protected] CertifiedCertified EducatorsEducators * Cliff Montagne Montana State University To our knowledge, Certified Educators are the best qualified individuals to help others learn to practice Holistic Management Department of Land Resources & Environmental Science and to provide them with technical assistance when necessary. On a yearly basis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to be Bozeman, MT 59717 affiliated with HMI. This agreement requires their commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives, to seek out 406/994-5079 • [email protected] opportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management and to maintain a high standard of NEBRASKA Terry Gompert ethical conduct in their work. P.O. Box 45, Center, NE 68724-0045 For more information about or application forms for the U.S., Africa, or International Certified 402/288-5611 (w) • [email protected] Educator Training Programs, contact Kelly Pasztor or visit our website at: www.holisticmanagement.org NEW HAMPSHIRE Seth Wilner * These educators provide Holistic Management instruction on behalf of the institutions they represent. 104 Cornish Turnpike, Newport, NH 03773 603/863-4497 (h) 603/863-9200 (w) UNITED STATES [email protected] NEW MEXICO ARIZONA Byron Shelton * Ann Adams Tim Morrison 33900 Surrey Lane, Buena Vista, CO 81211 The Savory Center 230 1st Ave N, Phoenix, AZ 85003 719/395-8157 • [email protected] 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 602/280-8803 • [email protected] GEORGIA 505/842-5252 • [email protected] CALIFORNIA Constance Neely Mark Duran Monte Bell 1160 Twelve Oaks Circle, Watkinsville, GA 30677 58 Arroyo Salado #B, Santa Fe, NM 87508 325 Meadowood Dr., Orland, CA 95963 706/310-0678 • [email protected] 505/422-2280 • [email protected] 530/865-3246 • [email protected] IDAHO Kirk Gadzia Julie Bohannon Amy Driggs P.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004 652 Milo Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90042 1132 East E St., Moscow, ID 83843 505/867-4685 • fax: 505/867-0262 323/257-1915 • [email protected] 208/310-6664 (w) • [email protected] [email protected] Bill Burrows IOWA Ken Jacobson 12250 Colyear Springs Rd., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Bill Casey 12101 Menaul Blvd. NE, Ste A Albuquerque, NM 87112; 505/293-7570 530/529-1535 • [email protected] 1800 Grand Ave., Keokuk, IA 52632-2944 [email protected] Marquita Chamblee 319/524-5098 • [email protected] 960 Tulare Ave, Albany, CA 94707-2540 * Kelly (Pasztor) White [email protected] LOUISIANA The Savory Center Richard King Tina Pilione 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954 P.O. 923, Eunice, LA 70535 505/842-5252 • [email protected] 707/769-1490 • 707/794-8692 (w) phone: 337/580-0068 • [email protected] Sue Probart [email protected] MAINE P.O. Box 81827, Albuquerque, NM 87198 Tim McGaffic Vivianne Holmes 505/265-4554 • [email protected] 13592 Bora Bora Way #327 239 E. Buckfield Rd., Buckfield, ME 04220-4209 David Trew Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 207/336-2484 • [email protected] 369 Montezuma Ave. #243, Santa Fe, NM 87501 310/741-0167 • [email protected] Tobey Williamson 505/751-0471 • [email protected] Kelly Mulville 52 Center Street Vicki Turpen 225 Portola State Park, Lahonda, CA 94020 Portland, ME 04101 03 El Nido Amado SW, Albuquerque, NM 87121 650/704-5157 (c) 650/917-6120 (w) 207/774-2458 x115 • [email protected] 505/873-0473 • [email protected] [email protected] MASSACHUSETTS NEW YORK Christopher Peck * Christine Jost Erica Frenay P.O. Box 2286, Sebastopol, CA 95472 Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine 454 Old 76 Road, Brooktondale, NY 14817 707/758-0171 • [email protected] 200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536 607/539-3246 (h) 607/279-7978 (c) • [email protected] Rob Rutherford 508/887-4763 • [email protected] Phil Metzger CA Polytechnic State University MICHIGAN 99 N. Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815 San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 Ben Bartlett 607/334-3231 x4 (w); 607/334-2407 (h) 805/75-1475 • [email protected] N 4632 ET Rd., Travnik, MI 49891 [email protected] Tom Walther 906/439-5210 (h) 906/439-5880 (w) Karl North 5550 Griffin St., Oakland, CA 94605 [email protected] 3501 Hoxie Gorge Rd., Marathon, NY 13803 510/530-6410 • 510/482-1846 • [email protected] MINNESOTA 607/849-3328 • [email protected] COLORADO Gretchen Blank John Thurgood Joel Benson 4625 Cottonwood Lane N, Plymouth, MN 55442-2902 44 West St. Ste 1, Walton, NY 13856 P.O. Box 4924, Buena Vista, CO 81211 763/553-9922 • [email protected] 607/832-4617 • 607/865-7090 • [email protected] 719/395-6119 • [email protected] Terri Goodfellow-Heyer NORTH CAROLINA Cindy Dvergsten 4660 Cottonwood Lane North, Plymouth, MN 55442 Sam Bingham 17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323 763/559-0099 • [email protected] 394 Vanderbilt Rd., Asheville, NC 28803 970/882-4222 • [email protected] MISSISSIPPI 828/274-1309 • [email protected] Rio de la Vista Preston Sullivan NORTH DAKOTA P.O. Box 777, Monte Vista, CO 81144 610 Ed Sullivan Lane, NE, Meadville, MS 39653 * Wayne Berry 719/850-2255 • [email protected] 601/384-5310 • [email protected] University of North Dakota—Williston Daniela and Jim Howell MONTANA P.O. Box 1326, Williston, ND 58802 P.O. Box 67, Cimarron, CO 81220-0067 701/774-4269 or 701/774-4200 970/249-0353 • [email protected] Elizabeth Bird 3009 Langohr Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715 [email protected] Craig Leggett 406/586-8799 • [email protected] OKLAHOMA 2078 County Rd. 234, Durango, CO 81301 Kim Barker 970/259-8998 • [email protected] Wayne Burleson RT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001 RT 2, Box 67, Waynoka, OK 73860 Chadwick McKellar 406/328-6808 • [email protected] 580/824-9011 • [email protected] 16775 Southwood Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80908 719/495-4641 • [email protected]

18 IN PRACTICE January / February 2006 PENNSYLVANIA INTERNATIONAL Jim Weaver 428 Copp Hollow Rd. AUSTRALIA NAMIBIA Wellsboro, PA 16901-8976 Mark Gardner Gero Diekmann 570/724-7788 • [email protected] P.O. Box 1395, Dubbo, NSW 2830 P.O. Box 363, Okahandja 9000 TEXAS 61-2-6882-0605 264-62-518091 • [email protected] Christina Allday-Bondy [email protected] Colin Nott 2703 Grennock Dr., Austin, TX 78745 George Gundry P.O. Box 11977, Windhoek 512/441-2019 • [email protected] Willeroo, Tarago, NSW 2580 264-61-228506 Guy Glosson 048-446-223 • [email protected] [email protected] 6717 Hwy 380, Snyder, TX 79549 Steve Hailstone Wiebke Volkmann 806/237-2554 • [email protected] 5 Lampert Rd., Crafers, SA 5152 P.O. Box 182, Otavi Jennifer Hamre 61-4-1882-2212 264-67-234-557 or 264-81-127-0081 [email protected] 602 W. St. Johns Ave., Austin, TX 78752 [email protected] 512/374-0104; [email protected] Graeme Hand NEW ZEALAND Peggy Maddox “Inverary” John King P.O. Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943-0694 Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 3302 P.O. Box 12011 325/392-2292 • [email protected] 61-3-5578-6272 • 61-4-1853-2130 Beckenham, Christchurch 8030 [email protected] 64-3-338-5506 * R.H. (Dick) Richardson [email protected] University of Texas at Austin Helen Lewis Department of Integrative Biology P.O. Box 1263, Warwick, QLD 4370 SOUTH AFRICA Austin, TX 78712 61-7-46617393 • 61-7-46670835 Sheldon Barnes 512/471-4128 • [email protected] [email protected] P.O. Box 300, Kimberly 8300 Peggy Sechrist Paul Griffiths [email protected] 25 Thunderbird Rd. P.O. Box 3045 Johan Blom Fredericksburg, TX 78624 North Turramura, NSW 2074 P.O. Box 568, Graaf-Reinet 6280 830/990-2529 • [email protected] 61-029-1443975 • [email protected] 27-49-891-0163 Elizabeth Williams Brian Marshall [email protected] 4106 Avenue B P.O. Box 300, Guyra NSW 2365 Ian Mitchell-Innes Austin, TX 78751-4220 61-2-6779-1927 • fax: 61-2-6779-1947 P.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte 2900 512/323-2858 • [email protected] [email protected] 27-36-421-1747 WASHINGTON Bruce Ward [email protected] Craig Madsen P.O. Box 103, Milsons Pt., NSW 1565 Norman Neave P.O. Box 107, Edwall, WA 99008 61-2-9929-5568 • fax: 61-2-9929-5569 P.O. Box 69, Mtubatuba 3935 509/236-2451 [email protected] 27-084-2452/62 [email protected] Brian Wehlburg [email protected] Sandra Matheson c/o “Sunnyholt”, Injue, QLD 4454 Dick Richardson 228 E. Smith Rd. 61-7-4626-7187 • [email protected] P.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600 Bellingham, WA 98226 CANADA tel/fax: 27-53-927-4367 360/398-7866 • [email protected] Don and Randee Halladay [email protected] * Don Nelson Box 2, Site 2, RR 1 Colleen Todd Washington State University Rocky Mountain House, AB, T0M 1T0 P.O. Box 21, Hoedspruit 1380 P.O. Box 646310, Pullman, WA 99164 403/729-2472 • [email protected] 27-82-335-3901 (cell) 509/335-2922 • [email protected] Noel McNaughton [email protected] Maurice Robinette 5704-144 St., Edmondton, AB, T6H 4H4s S. 16102 Wolfe Rd., Cheney, WA 99004 SPAIN 780/432-5492 • [email protected] Aspen Edge 509/299-4942 • [email protected] Len Pigott Doug Warnock Apartado de Correos 19 Box 222, Dysart, SK, SOH 1HO 18420 Lanjaron 151 Cedar Cove Rd., Ellensburg, WA 98926 306/432-4583 • [email protected] Granada 509/925-9127 • [email protected] Kelly Sidoryk (0034)-958-347-053 WEST VIRGINIA Box 374, Lloydminster, AB, S9V 0Y4 [email protected] Fred Hayes 403/875-4418 • [email protected] P.O. Box 241, Elkview, WV 25071 ZAMBIA 304/548-7117 • [email protected] MEXICO Mutizwa Mukute Steve Ritz Ivan Aguirre Pelum Zambia Office HC 63, Box 2240, Romney, WV 26757 La Inmaculada P.O. Box 36524, Lusaka 304/822-5818; 304/822-3020 Apdo. Postal 304, Hermosillo, Sonora 83000 260-1-261119/261124/261118/263514 [email protected] tel/fax: 52-915-613-4282 [email protected] [email protected] WISCONSIN Elco Blanco-Madrid ZIMBABWE Heather Flashinski Hacienda de la Luz 1803 Liberty Mabhena 1633 Valmont Ave., Eau Claire, WI 54701-4448 Fracc. Haciendas del Valle II Spring Cabinet 715/552-7861 • [email protected] Chihuahua Chih., 31238 P.O. Box 853, Harare Andy Hager 52-614-423-4413 (h) • 52-614-107-8960 (c) 263-4-210021/2 • 263-4-210577/8 W. 3597 Pine Ave., Stetsonville, WI 54480-9559 [email protected] fax: 263-4-210273 715/678-2465 • [email protected] Manuel Casas-Perez Huggins Matanga Larry Johnson Calle Amarguva No. 61 Private Bag 5950, Victoria Falls W886 State Road 92, Brooklyn, WI 53521 Lomas Herradura 263-11-404-979 608/455-1685 • [email protected] Huixquilucan, Mexico City CP 52785 [email protected] Laura Paine 52-55-5291-3934 (w) 52-55-54020090 (c) Elias Ncube P.O. Box 567, Portage, WI 53901-0567 Jose Ramon “Moncho” Villar P. Bag 5950, Victoria Falls 608/742-9682 (h) 920/623-447? (w) Av. Las Americas #1178 263-3-454519 [email protected] Fracc. Cumbres, Saltillo, Coahuila 25270 [email protected] 52-844-415-1542 [email protected]

Number 105 IN PRACTICE 19 There are several branch organizations or groups affiliated with Holistic Management in the U.S. and Network Affiliates abroad (some publish their own newsletters.) We encourage you to contact the group closest to you: UNITED STATES ARIZONA NEWYORK TEXAS West Station for Holistic Management HRM of Arizona Billie Best HRM of Texas Peggy Maddox Norm Lowe Regional Farm & Food Project Peggy Cole, Executive Director PO Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943 2660 E. Hemberg, Flagstaff, AZ 86004 295 Eighth St., Troy, NY 12180 5 Limestone Trail, 325-392-2292 928/214-0040 • [email protected] 518/271-0744; www.farmandfood.org Wimberley, TX 78676 [email protected] [email protected] 512-847-3822 CALIFORNIA Central NY RC&D [email protected] Holistic Management of California www.hrm-texas.org Tom Walther, newsletter editor Phil Metzger 5550 Griffin St. 99 North Broad St., Oakland, CA 94605 Norwich, NY 13815 INTERNATIONAL 510-530-6410; [email protected] 607/334-3231, ext. 4 [email protected] AUSTRALIA Elco Blanco-Madrid, COLORADO Judi Earl Director of Education Colorado Branch For Holistic NORTHWEST 73 Harding E. Hacienda de la Luz 1803 Management Managing Wholes Guyra, NSW 2365 Fracc. Haciendas del Valle II Megan Phillips, newletter editor Peter Donovan 61-267-792286 Chihuahua, Chih. C.P. 31238 PO Box 310, Mesa, CO 81643 501 South St., Enterprise, OR 97828 [email protected] 52-614-423-4413 (h) 970-487-3515 541/426-2145 52-614-107-8960 (c) CANADA [email protected] www.managingwholes.com Canadian Holistic Management NAMIBIA GEORGIA OKLAHOMA Lee Pengilly Namibia Centre for Holistic Constance Neely Oklahoma Land Stewardship Alliance Box 216, Stirling Management SANREM CRSP Charles Griffith, contact person AB, T0K 2E0 Argo Rust, contact person 1422 Experiment Station Route 5, Box E44, Ardmore, OK 73401 403-327-9262 P.O. Box 23600, Windhoek 9000 Watkinsville, GA 30677 580/223-7471 tel/fax: 62-540430; 62-81-2463319 MEXICO 706/769-3792 [email protected] [email protected] Fundacion para Fomentar [email protected] PENNSYLVANIA el Manejo Holistico, A.C., SOUTH AFRICA MONTANA Northern Penn Network Jose Ramon Villar, President Community Dynamics Beartooth Management Club Jim Weaver, contact person Ave. Las Cumbres Saltillo (Newsletter in English) Wayne Burleson 428 Copp Hollow Rd. Coahuila 25270 Dick & Judy Richardson RT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001 Wellsboro, PA 16901 tel/fax:52-844-415-1542 P.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600 406/328-6808 717/724-7788; [email protected] [email protected] tel/fax: 27-53-9274367 [email protected] [email protected] THE MARKETPLACE HANDS-ON AGRONOMY BASIC SOIL FERTILITY GUIDELINES

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Number 105 IN PRACTICE 21 THE MARKETPLACE

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22 IN PRACTICE January / February 2006 THE MARKETPLACE OWN A PIECE OF HISTORY! Savory Center Membership Merchandise on Sale AT COST!

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SUPPLIES LIVESTOCK Are you not as quick on your feet as you once were? 5 Bar Beef Harvesting the Deserts of the World Can’t find help when you need to doctor sick Livestock? BARZONA RANGE BULLS F.J. FITZPATRICK • HIGHLY GREGARIOUS DESERT CATTLE Have you lost Livestock because 714/749-5717 • P.O. BOX 41 • SILVERADO, CA 92676 [email protected] you were unable to medicate or catch them? PUBLICATIONS Since 1957 we have been in Featherman PRO the business of helping with Pluckers and scalders these problems. 660/684-6035 or www.schaferfarmsnaturalmeats.com PALMER CAP-CHUR EQUIPMENT, INC. The Range Ad P/U from #104 page 23 800/294-9462 FAX: 770/949-3562 email: [email protected]

Number 105 IN PRACTICE 23 HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT MAIL ORDER EMPORIUM Subscribe to IN PRACTICE Pocket Cards _ A bimonthly journal for Holistic Management practitioners Holistic Management® model & testing questions, March 2000 ...... $4 Subscribe for 1 year for only $30/U.S. ($35/International) 2 years ($55/U.S.; $65/International) 3 years ($80/U.S.; $90/International) Planning and Monitoring Guides _ Special Edition: An Introduction to Holistic Management ...... $5 _The Complete Holistic Management® _ Audio Cassette Version ...... $12 Planning and Monitoring Guide _ Compact Disk Version ...... $14 September 2000, 192 page 3-ring binder ...... $45 _ Bulk subscriptions available. _Financial Planning One year for $17 each/U.S., or $22 each/International May 2000, 44 pages ...... $15 (To qualify you must order 7 or more one-year subscriptions, paid in full. Issues will _Aide Memoire for Grazing Planning be sent in bulk to one address for distribution at your end). May 2000, 46 pages...... $15 ______Please indicate number of one-year subscriptions _Early Warning Biological Monitoring— Croplands April 2000, 26 pages ...... $14 _ Back Issues: $5 each; bulk orders (5 or more issues) $3 each. List _Early Warning Biological Monitoring—Rangelands and Please indicate issue numbers desired: ___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___,___ Grasslands _ CD of Back Issues: #71 - 89 ...... $25 January 1999, 32 pages ...... $14 _Land Planning—For The Rancher or Farmer Running Livestock Books & Multimedia January 1999, 36 pages ...... $15 Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision-Making, _ Second Edition, by Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield...... $30 Planning Forms (All forms are padded - 25 sheets per pad) _ Hardcover ...... $50 _Annual Income & Expense Plan ...... $17 _ 15-set CD or tape collection (circle choice) ...... $99 _Worksheet ...... $ 7 _ One month rental of CD or tape collection (circle choice) ...... $35 _Livestock Production Worksheet ...... $17 _ At Home With Holistic Management, by Ann Adams ...... $20 _Control Sheet ...... $ 5 _ Holistic Management: A New Environmental Intelligence ...... $10 _Grazing Plan & Control Chart ...... $15 _ Improving Whole Farm Planning ...... $10 Membership Items _ Video: Creating a Sustainable Civilization— An Introduction to Holistic Decision-Making, based on a lecture given _Savory Center Membership/Gift Membership by Allan Savory. (Please specify if you want PAL format) ...... $29 (international add $5/each) ...... $30 _ Stockmanship, by Steve Cote...... $35 _Organic Cotton Cap w/ logo ...... $20 _ The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes ...... $30 _Organic Cotton T-shirt w/ logo ...... $15 _ The Oglin, by Dick Richardson & Rio de la Vista ...... $25 _Organic Cotton Totebag w/ logo ...... $15 _ Gardeners of Eden, by Dan Dagget ...... $25 _All the Time in the World CD or Cassette ...... $7 _ Video: Healing the Land Through Multi-Species Grazing ...... $30 Software MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION Holistic Management® Financial Planning (single-user license) ...... $249 Amount $______Please designate program you would like us Please specify PC or Mac, Office ‘95 or ‘97, 2000, XP, or 2003 and version of Excel you are using to apply contribution toward ______

TO ORDER Questions? 505/842-5252 or savorycenterholisticmanagement.org SHIPPING AND HANDLING Indicate quantity in box preceding item, print shipping address at right, mail this page up to $15: add $ 5 To rates at left, for: (or a copy) and your check or international money order payable in U.S. funds from $16 to $35: add $ 6 Canada & Mexico add $ 5 a U.S. bank only to: $36 to $50: add $ 8 Other countries add $10 Holistic Management International, 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 $51 to $70: add $ 9 All shipping is surface or media mail. Credit card orders: 505/842-5252, or fax: 505/843-7900. $71 to $90: add $10 Contact HMI for shipping rates for priority, For online ordering visit our secure website at: www.holisticmanagement.org over $91: add $12 express or air mail.

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