#121 in practice sep/oct 2008

fter the July Holistic ManagementInternational board meeting, my wifeand I took advantage of the balloonride I had purchased at the HMI

Gathering auction. It was great to be able tosupport HMI and get a special experience allat the same time. The ride was super! It wassmooth, oh so quiet (except when the burnerfired), and totally dependent on the directionand speed of the wind. The pilot could controlup and down by adding heat, and where wewent was completely up to the wind.

One of the issues we tackled at our planningsession was the West Ranch and its role inachieving the Statement of Purpose of HMI. Asa result, we will put emphasis on making someof the needed immediate facility repairs andhaving a committee develop a clear purpose withsome measurable medium term outcomes due atthe November meeting.

We are also continuing to develop ouroutreach efforts to help HMI go public with ourone-hour PBS documentary, “Healing the Land:The Untold Story.” We are working hard now todevelop a plan that will maximize this type ofpublic exposure and get the word out about allthe great work our practitioners are doing.

We are also putting greater emphasis in ourcommittee work at HMI to identify outcomes,timelines and who does what. I know this is allold stuff, but sometimes it is easy to get into aHolistic Management planning vs. other systemsthinking—and its really Holistic Managementand other good ways to plan more effectively.

Planning holistically is NOT blowing inthe wind. The balloon ride was great, but itwas more entertainment than it wasaccomplishment. For HMI or for my sheepoperation or for your operation, you need tohave a clear holisticgoal/Statement of Purposeand you need to use it regularly. The Boardand staff at HMI are working very hard to do abetter job of practicing Holistic Managementin our every day HMI work. We want ouractivities to be not just a “someday we mayget there,” but an action plan for ourorganization and our lives.

Ben Bartlett is the Board Chair for HMI.He can be reached at: [email protected].

January / February 2006 Number 105 www.holisticmanagement.orgSEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2008 NUMBER 121 WWW.HOLIST ICMANAGEMENT.ORG

Blowing in the Wind—NOT!by Ben Bartlett

healthy land.sustainable future.

The Board and staff at HMIare working very hard to do a

better job of practicingHolistic Management in our

every day HMI work.

This experience made me think about theplanning we had just done as a Board/staff team.Among other things during this planning meetingwe re-visited our statement of purpose, ourholisticgoal, and some of our key issues as anorganization and a movement. We didn’t change alot, but did add some description to our Statementof Purpose to make it easier to test towards it, andwe gained clarity as a Board/staff team on how wecan better serve our resource base including ourpractitioners, educators, and supporters.

Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Network News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

NEWS and NETWORK

Why Plan Your Finances?DON CAMPBELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Nature’s Lawn MowersCINDY DVERGSTEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Achieving Your Potential—Holistic Management in MotionROLAND KROOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Food & Water Security in Zimbabwe—One Year LaterJODY BUTTERFIELD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

LAND and LIVESTOCK

Mob Grazing—Thinking It though HolisticallyJIM HOWELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Selecting for Locally Adapted LivestockFRED PROVENZA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Piling Hay—San Juan RanchTONY MALMBERG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

FEATURE STORIES

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

NATURE’S LAWN MOWERS

Want to reduce your carbon footprint?Consider getting some sheep to mowyour lawn. Learn how by readingCindy Dvergsten’s article on page 3.

A

2 IN PRACTICE � September / October 2008

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

livelihoods for the people who depend on it.

FOUNDERSAllan Savory � Jody Butterfield

STAFFPeter Holter, Executive Director

Shannon Horst, Senior Director of Strategic InitiativesTracy Favre, Senior Director/ Contract ServicesKelly Bee, Director of Finance & AccountingJutta von Gontard, Director of Development Ann Adams, Managing Editor, IN PRACTICE and Director of Educational Products and Outreach Maryann West, Manager of Administration

and Executive Support Donna Torrez, Customer Service ManagerMarisa Mancini, Development AssistantValerie Gonzales, Administrative Assistant

BOARD OF DIRECTORSBen Bartlett, Chair

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

Ivan Aguirre Jody ButterfieldSallie Calhoun Mark GardnerDaniela Howell Andrea MalmbergJim McMullan Ian Mitchell InnesJim Parker Sue ProbartJim Shelton Dennis Wobeser

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

Lee Dueringer, Scottsdale, AZGretel Ehrlich, Gaviota, CA

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

Clint Josey, Dallas, TXDoug McDaniel, Lostine, OR

Guillermo Osuna, Coahuila, MexicoSoren Peters, Santa Fe, NMYork Schueller, Ventura, CA

Africa Centre for Holistic Management Tel: (263) (11) 404 979 • [email protected]

Huggins Matanga, Director

The David West Station for Holistic ManagementTel: 325/392-2292 • Cel: 325/226-3042

[email protected] & Peggy Maddox, Ranch Managers

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

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

Copyright © 2008


Iam sure we all know & agree that there is ahuge potential value in doing a financialplan. Most of you who read this article willhave taken a Holistic Management course.

This means that you have the basic knowledgeto do a financial plan. Why is it that we know financial planningworks, we have the basicknowledge and yet many ofus don’t carry through? Iam sure there are manyreasons. Let’s explore a fewof the more common ones.

Myths of financialplanning

1. I don’t have the time.2. The market is too uncertain.3. My financial position is too shaky.

Realities of financial planning1. Everyone has the time to do what they feel

is most important. Working pays $10 to $20 perhour. Thinking and planning pays $30, $40, $50,$100 or more per hour. You can’t hire someoneto think for you. Will your business be moresuccessful if you work for $10 per hour or $50per hour?

2. The greater the uncertainty, the moreimportant it is to plan. Let me use an example Ihave heard Allan Savory use. Imagine there is awar. You are the commander in chief. You aretalking to one of your generals and you ask himwhat his plans are. He responds that war is veryuncertain, therefore he has no plan. I suggestthat you would replace him immediately.

3. The worse your financial position is themore important it is that you plan.

Our human nature can often lead us to makepoor decisions. When things are good and stable,it is relatively easy to plan. When things are badand unpredictable it is more difficult to plan.The reality is that our human nature and ourfirst response will be wrong. The more uncertainthe times and the worse your individual situationis the more important it is to plan. Begin now;don’t delay.

I challenge you to plan for the followingreasons:

1. You have the skills and talent.2. Financial planning works.3. You have a goal of being profitable.4. Financial planning will reduce the stressin your life.

5. Financial planning will help you createthe future you desire.

To make it easier I suggest you:1. Get help and supportfrom your spouse.2. Get help and supportfrom a close friend.3. Get help and supportfrom your managementclub.

At the conclusion of our last financial refresher course I started toexplain some of the benefits our business hasreceived from financial planning. I barely gotstarted when people began to share their stories.This is a sample of what was shared:

1. My banker was very impressed. It was thefirst time he had seen such a goodfinancial plan for a complete year.

2. I changed banks. My financial planmade it easy to do.

3. The bank wanted to loan me more than I needed.

The shared personal testimony was muchmore powerful than mine. Holistic financialplanning works. It can work for you. I believe inyou. I encourage you to believe in yourself.

Don Campbell is a Certified Educator who lives in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. He can be reached at 306/236-6088 [email protected].

Why Plan Your Finances?by Don Campbell

Remember, tough times are meant to make us,

not break us.

Don Campbell

Multiple Benefits The benefits of using nature’s lawn mowers go

beyond saved time and money. The ¼ acre of yardand miscellaneous areas around the house wegraze provides approximately 1,500 pounds ofgrass forage. This is enough forage to produceabout 40 pounds of Navajo Churro lamb meatand several pounds of wool with a retail value of$345.00 USD.

We get approximately 200 animal days ofgrazing from our yard area. During this time thesheep deposit about 800 pounds of manure. Thisamount of manure contains 12 pounds ofnitrogen and 10 pounds of phosphate that arereadily available for plant growth. This would be

similar to the amount of fertilizerrecommended for a spring treatmentfor lawn care.

Have you everexperienced atime whensuddenly a light

bulb comes on? Suchwas the case for mewhile on a tour in 1995of the Halladay ranchnear Rocky MountainHouse Alberta Canada.Randee Halladay wasshowing us around thehouse when she notedthat their lawn mowerhad not been used for anumber of years. Sheexplained how sheallowed their cattle to dothe lawn mowing for her,saving both time andmoney. Although at the time I did not havegrazing animals, the idea of “nature’s lawnmowers” lodged in my mind. Now I am happyto say that our gas powered lawn mower hasbeen idle for several years.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Nature’s Lawn Mowersby Cindy Dvergsten

Controlled with easy to movetemporary electric fencing, our sheepare ideal for working in small nooksaround the home and yard.

And all of the grass is converted intofertilizer pellets.

Number 121 � IN PRACTICE 3

The lambs arevery adept atedging.

Our sheep also enjoytrimming the trees,especially the aspens and weeping willow.

Where The Earth StoresCarbon:Oceans: 38,000 gigatons C(stable, average turnover of aC atom is about 100 years)Soils: 1600 - 2400 gigatons C(average turnover about 35 years)Atmosphere: 800 gigatons C(average turnover 5 years)Biomass: 600 gigatons C(average turnover 10 years)Source: Soil Carbon

Coalition. Seewww.soilcarboncoallition.orgfor interesting informationand discussion about how toincrease soil carbon.

According to Consumer Reports(http://www.consumerreports.org), small, two-stroke engines used in conventional lawn-careequipment are big polluters. Mowing a lawn onehour per week for a summer consumes only 10gallons of gas, but releases an average of 148pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions per year.Furthermore, one hour on an average ridingmower emits roughly the same amount of NO2,one of the key ingredients in smog, as driving a very clean new car for 75,000 miles.

Perhaps the most important function oursheep perform is their role in carbonsequestration. Grass removes carbon from the air through photosynthesis. Grazing animals like sheep convert the grass into manure which is readily broken down into soil organicmatter and humus by soil organisms.Sequestration of soil carbon is extremelyimportant for reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses. According to the Soil CarbonCoalition (http:// www.soilcarbon coalition.org),most of the biosphere’s carbon is in the deeplayers of the ocean while the next largest “pool”of carbon is found in the soil. More importantly,once carbon is in the soil it stays there for anaverage of 35 years.

In 2001, the Soil Science Society of Americadrafted a position paper that included thisstatement: “Worldwide, SOC [soil organic carbon]in the top 1 meter of soil comprises about 3/4 ofthe earth’s terrestrial carbon; nevertheless, there istremendous potential to sequester additionalcarbon in soil. For example, many cropland soilsof the United States have lost as much as 50% oftheir original SOC due to the effects of land

clearing and tillage. Such conventional farmingpractices ‘burn’ SOC just as we burn fossil fuelstoday. However, in the case of SOC this historicaldecline can be reversed, which is not the case forfossil fuel reserves.” (See the rest athttps://www.soils.org/pdf/pos_paper_carb_seq.pdf.)

Within 10 days the manure in our yard isgone. Nightcrawlers (a type of earthworm) play a huge role in digesting organic matter on

our farm. They both eat and carry the manure 3-4 feet down into their burrows to supply food for their young. With nature’s lawn mowers, everyone wins.

Cindy Dvergsten is a Certified Educator who lives in Dolores, Colorado. She can bereached at: [email protected] or 970/882-4222.


Nature’s Lawn Mowers continued from page three

World Fertilizer Prices SoarWorld fertilizer prices, especially, rose sharply in 2007 then skyrocketed— off the chart — from January to April 2008 according to a report bythe International Center for Soil Fertility and Agriculture. For example,the price of Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) increased by five times overthe past 15 months from about US$252 per metric ton in January 2007to about $1,230 per ton over the past three months by May of 2008. DAPis a common fertilizer containing 18 pounds of nitrogen and 46 poundsof phosphate per 100 pounds of fertilizer product.

Source: EurekAlert athttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/i-wfp052308.php

About Lawnmower Usage:• 54 million Americans mow their lawns each weekend.

• 5 percent of the nation’s air pollution comes fromtraditional gas-powered lawn mowers.

• 80 pounds of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphereeach year by the average gas-powered mower.

• 800 million gallons of gas are consumed each year by gas mowers.

Sources: Environmental Protection Agency and PeoplePowered Machines

In two weeks the lawn is nearly recovered.


Food and Water Security in Zimbabwe—One Year Laterby Jody Butterfield

There is little good news coming out ofZimbabwe these days, and that’s whatmakes it so pleasing to report on theprogress made, with the help of our Africa

Centre for Holistic Management staff andvolunteers, in the communities that neighborour headquarters near the Victoria Falls. Today,four communities have their animals incommunal management herds following agrazing plan their herders and grazingcommittees created. Villagers who treated theircropfields with animal impact last October priorto planting produced bumper crops of maizethis year, where other fields produced stunted orno crops at all. Nutrition gardens of vegetablesand herbs have been planted by and forHIV/AIDS support groups in each villagefollowing training in low-input gardening.Handfuls of men and women from eachcommunity were trained as volunteer village-based trainers who provide followup coaching to their neighbors, as senior herders who leadthe herding teams, and as animal healthworkers who can diagnose and treat commonailments. Given that most other non-

government organizations (NGOs) had to stopwork in rural areas altogether in June and July,we—community members and programstaff—feel lucky to have made and sustainedthis much progress.

Our second U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) grant of $329,750 wasawarded in September 2007 through USAID’sOffice of Foreign Disaster Assistance to address theeffects of a severe drought in Zimbabwe. So, inaddition to the program’s longer term aim ofmitigating the effects of future droughts byimproving land health, we’re also addressingmore immediate needs—adequate water forlivestock combined into single, large herds;enhanced crop production on animal-treateddemonstration fields in each community; thenutrition gardens for HIV/AIDS sufferers; trainingof community animal health workers; a self-sustaining (through sales) veterinary supply store,and a “grass bank” for 300 starvation-threatenedvillage animals, at the Africa Centre’sDimbangombe Ranch headquarters. In addition,two goats-as-currency village banks will beestablished in October this year, bringing the total to six.

Politics and ProgressThe political situation in the country in the

run-up to and aftermath of elections in March,and again in June, caused numerous delays. Staff and community volunteers were unable tohold training sessions or committee meetings ofmore than two or three people, or riskrecrimination for holding “political” meetings.So each of the four communities is behind intheir training and this has hampered the qualityof their implementation efforts.

Just as challenging have been the delays inwaterpoint construction due to the lack of drilling rigs to repair old boreholes (wells) or drill new ones. Initially, the drought kept rigsconfined to cities where the water situation was desperate, then heavy rains made roadsimpassable, then the political situation madecompanies nervous of sending expensiveequipment into rural areas. Until we know wehave a high-yielding borehole, community andstaff have to hold off construction of the reservoirthat will ensure adequate water supplies for theamalgamated community herd. Three of thecommunities had enough water to keep their

animals together. The fourth had to send theircattle to a riverine grazing area 10 miles away, buthad enough water to keep their goats in a singleherd following a grazing plan.

Dry Season Grazing ChallengesThe fact that the communities are making an

effort to keep their livestock in communal herds —even now in the dry season when the tendency is toscatter them, is a much hoped for achievement.

Another tendency in the dry season is towithhold animals fro m the communal herd sothey can graze the livestock owner’s fields beforeanyone else can do so. The livestock owners haveto trust that crop residues on all fields will beshared equally through the grazing plan thecommunal herd is following. There have been a couple of livestock owners who did hold theiranimals back to graze their own fields, but that isall. The importance of following the dry seasonplan can’t be overstated since it is designed toration out the forage until well into the next rains in case of drought.

That leads to the third challenge we face in the dry season: neighboring communities who see ungrazed forage and bring their animals to it. Where this happened in one community, theoffending neighbor asked if they could be part ofthe program, too. Since we don’t have the capacityto include a new community right now, theheadmen allocated a portion of a shared grazingarea to each community, and livestock ownersagreed to respect the boundaries and the grazingplan. Thus far, the agreement has been honored.

Community EmpowermentAn important goal in this second USAID grant

was to enhance training effectiveness with the useof “training cascades”—an idea used often inpublic health initiatives. In our case, AfricaCentre staff provided basic Holistic Managementtraining to village based trainers (at least two per 20 families) who would then train theirneighbors (under supervision of our staff) over the following months. This would help ensurethat all households were eventually reached, andbecause trainers and trainees lived in closeproximity, there would be ample opportunity fortraining reinforcement and follow up coaching.That’s it in theory, and it does seem to be workingin practice, though each community has had todeal with different challenges, especially politicalones, that have made the training of trainersuneven and hampered opportunities for the“cascade” to move through the wholecommunity. Where we were able to train villagebased trainers before elections, the communitieshave made more progress.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Community volunteer Balbinah Nyoni,flanked by an agricultural extension agent, is sharing information with communitymembers on indigenous treatments for various livestock ailments.


We attempted to set up another trainingcascade—senior herders who our staff trained to a fairly high level who were then to trainpermanent herding teams in each community.We had several challenges: we weren’t able to do an adequate job of teaching the trainers howto train others, due to the political situation, and we ran into the bigger problem of herdersnot enjoying the status they deserve. Livestockowners were unwilling to pay (in cash or kind)the herders, which meant few adults couldbecome permanent herders except part-time, and far too often children would be sent in toreplace them. We’re tackling this in two ways.First, by creating a recognition program for thedifferent herding teams (t-shirts for the herdingcaptains; competitive awards for herdingcompetence); and second, by emphasizing thevalue of the herder in our training programs.

We continue to monitor and will keep at it untilwe succeed.

Balbinah Nyoni, pictured on previous page, is one of our village based trainers. While typical inher enthusiasm and commitment, she is alsoremarkable for volunteering not only as a villagetrainer but also as a community animal healthworker, and senior herder. And she has done thiswhile raising 16 orphans, which unfortunately isnot atypical in Zimbabwe, which has the world’shighest percentage of orphans. She is alsotypical of the women who are increasingly beingseen as leaders in the four project communities.They have come a long way from the very shy,silent women many of them once were in public.She joined one of the goats-as-currency banks inher community in 2005, which is where thisprogram provides gender empowerment training(to both men and women) while providing the

context in which they can practice their skills.We have been collecting data since 2005 thatdoes show women are now more comfortablespeaking up in public and sometimes evendisagreeing with men, and also shows thatwomen are being allowed to own and inheritlivestock (a legal right, but culturally prohibitedin many cases).

This empowerment has made an enormousdifference to the success of this program, mostnotably because it is commonly the women who have the deepest commitment to doing allthey can to improve food and water security. But, we are also appreciative of some of the menwho have grown along with the women. In each of the four communities there is a solidnucleus of people who are determined to create a better future for themselves and who will notgive up.

One Year Later continued from page five

Sevi Ndlovu, left, is the owner of the field and is ecstatic about “allthis food.” Although she and her husband have planted a cover cropof pumpkins and other creeping-vine vegetables, the soil surface isdeliberately kept fairly bare to make puff adders (a highly poisonoussnake) more visible. The field on the right is typical of the fieldsthroughout this community. Manure either isn’t used by choice, orisn’t available.

Animal Impacted CropfieldsThe five animal-treated cropfields in this program have been

wonderfully successful. Fields were not plowed, nor fertilized (otherthan what the animals contributed), meaning oxen didn’t need to behired and women didn’t need to cart manure (if available) over manydays. We held field days so that other community members could see

the value of treating their fields with the communal herd, which wasmoved through the field by bringing the herd into a portable, lion-proofenclosure (constructed by the community) each night. The enclosurewould move every few days, to avoid pulverizing soil, until the whole fieldwas treated.

Those attending the field days have resolved to have their own fieldstreated next year and regret not having done so this year. Yields elsewhereare very poor. For most people in this province (Matabeleland North) theharvest this year has been disastrous. Those who didn’t have “traditional”maize seed saved from last year, planted seed saved from hybrid varietieswith predictably poor results. Few could afford fertilizers, even when theywere available.

The five cropfields treated with livestock are all obviously better (below left) than the untreated fields (below right) around them.

Number 121 � 7Land & Livestock

&&Mob Grazing—Thinking It Through Holisticallyby Jim Howell

Over the past couple years, I’ve noticed some of the more innovativelivestock trade publications are starting to get really excited about“mob grazing.” For lots of reasons, I agree that mob grazing can be an incredibly valuable means through which to apply the tools

of grazing and animal impact, and I’ll get into that below. But, mobgrazing is not a recipe—it still needs to be practiced within a holisticallysound context.

As holistic managers, we realize that each “whole under management” istotally unique, and that management must be adaptive, agile, and socially,financially, and ecologically sound simultaneously. “Mob grazing” at “somany pounds of liveweight per acre” and “moving multiple times per day”might be just what the doctor ordered. But, how do we evaluate if mob grazing,or some adaptation of mob grazing, is the right thing for our operation?

And, if we decide that it is the right approach to grazing management, arethere some guidelines that can help us as we put this tool into practice? Thisarticle (part 1 of 2) will attempt to support the fantastic claims made for mobgrazing, but will do so within the context of holistic decision making andholistic grazing planning.

Stock Density and SunshineBut first, we better define mob grazing. In general terms, mob grazing

refers to the amalgamation of domestic herbivores at very high stock densities,and moving them frequently (up to several times a day), typically with the useof portable electric fence. This isn’t a new concept. New Zealanders have beendoing this for decades, and ranchers in southern Africa pioneered a tropicaladaptation of ultra-high density grazing back in the early ‘90s.

The current mob grazing movement has added some new twists, but thebasic mechanics have been around a long time. These new twists primarilycenter on managing for much higher pre- and post-grazing pasture masses,and managing under longer recovery periods. After we go through some basics and some holistic analysis, we’ll get back to pasture mass and longerrecovery periods.

So, why is mob grazing so potentially valuable? I could write a book onthat, but here are the basics. As Allan Savory has been saying for years, thehigher we can get our graze/trample to recovery ratios, the more solar energywe’ll be able to capture. In other words, the more time plants have to grow and recover relative to being grazed and trampled, the more sunshine we’llend up capturing.

For example, imagine that you’re managing for a 60-day recovery period.If you’re managing with, say, 11 paddocks in a specific grazing cell, eachpaddock will get grazed for 6 days (the grazing period equals the recoveryperiod divided by the number of paddocks minus 1), and will recover for 60,and it will take you 66 days to get around the entire grazing cell. If you’remanaging with multiple per day moves, each patch of land might be exposedto animals for an hour or more, and for the balance of the 60 days and 20+hours, that patch will be growing. In that case, you can cover the whole farmin 61 days while still honoring the 60-day recovery period, which means you’vegiven plants five+ more days within the growing season to grow. If yourgrowing season is 240 days plus or minus, and your average recovery periodover that time ends up being 60 days (so about four times around the grazingcell), that means that, over the course of the growing season, plants will havehad the chance to grow (unimpeded by grazing muzzles) for 20 more days(four times around at five less days of grazing per round) under the mobgrazing (unlimited paddocks) scenario than under the 11 paddock scenario.

Now, that’s not a recipe—it was just a simple example to make the point.Very short grazing periods at high densities, even under the same recoveryperiod as longer grazing periods at lower densities, result in more time for

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

These cows are on our most productive irrigated pasture on our leasedranch in western Colorado, at 8,500 feet (2,600 meters). This is the firstgraze in early June, when we harvest about a quarter to a third of ourannual production. This herd of 420 pairs is on a one-day break, andharvested 45 SDA (110 SDH). After an 80-day recovery period, thispasture will accumulate about 120 more SDA (300 SDH), and will againbe harvested with a one-day break, but at a density nearly three timesgreater. With this long growing season recovery period, high pre-grazingpasture mass, and high stock density, lots of things are coming right—productivity is increasing, species diversity is exploding, and the animalsare content and thriving.

8 � September / October 2008Land & Livestock

being a lot more even, with fewer salad bar choices untouched (ungrazed) and fewer totally depleted (severely grazed), but with everybody still happy and satiated by the end of the meal.

Well, the same thing happens when you open up a salad bar to a big mobof hungry bovines. As long as your forage allocation (area opened up relativeto grazing demand) is accurate, the animals won’t be stressed and willcontinue being able to select their diet, but the dynamics of selection will have changed.

So, these two effects result in more eventual capture of solar energy, which,at the end of the day, will permit higher stocking rates (with no increasedoverhead) and greater profitability. Other fringe benefits accrue also, such asmore even distribution of dung and urine, better incorporation of a dead plantmaterial onto and into the soil, etc. Again, the result, over time, is a moreproductive land base and greater profitability.

Mob Grazing and the Financial Weak Link

Ecological resilience and ever-greater profit are obviously whatmost of us are shooting for. But let’stalk just a little more aboutprofitability. The benefits from mobgrazing strengthen the “resource”link in the financial chain ofproduction. The other two links inthis chain are “product” and“money.” We turn our raw resources(which include our forage base, our level of fencing and waterinfrastructure that enable us tooptimize the growth of this foragebase, and our own skill as grazingmanagers) into a saleable product(meat on the hoof, bales of wool,liquid milk), and then we have tosell that product into someone else’schain of production. Our productbecomes the raw resource in another enterprise (which could beanother value-added enterprisewithin our own business, or morecommonly, somebody else’s businessoff the farm).

At any given point in time, one of the three links will be the weakest. Where is your greatest problem—in your raw resources, in your product, or in your ability to sell that product? If your weak link is “resource,” thentransitioning toward mob grazing might make sense. You may be producingall the calves or pounds of gain that you possibly can under your current level of management, and you may be doing a good job of marketing thatproduct. In that case, the weak link in your financial chain of production isprobably “resource,” since forage growth is limiting stocking rate, which islimiting profitability. You need to capture more sunshine, and greater stockdensities and more precise control of time and timing of grazing will addressthis bottleneck.

But what if you’re understocked—that is, you’re long on grass and shorton critters? Or what if the quality of your animals is dismal, or you can’t keepthem alive? It doesn’t make much sense to grow more grass (i.e. strengthenthe resource link) if that’s your situation, because your weak link is “product,”not “resource.” Before you should invest any time or money in figuring outhow to grow more forage, you need more animals or higher quality animals

plants to grow. But, here’s the other way you grow more grass. In the aboveexample, whether under the 6-day grazing period or the 2-hour grazingperiod, you’ll be harvesting the same amount of grass (or stock days offorage), assuming stocking rate stays the same (and recovery period stays thesame at 60 days). However, the higher we can get stock density, the more evenanimals tend to graze across the pasture sward. This means more plants areleft ungrazed and less plants get severely grazed.

Neither an ungrazed, more mature plant, nor a severely grazed plant, is inthe ideal condition to enter a stage of rapid growth post-grazing. The matureplant may have already reached ceiling yield, where new leaves are dying asfast as old leaves, and the severely grazed plant will be left with little residualleaf area to begin recovering. So, atthe end of the grazing period at everhigher stock density (but at thesame grazing pressure, or stock daysof harvest per acre or hectare), theresult is a more even, moderatelygrazed pasture sward, with more leaf area (photosynthetic factory)remaining in the paddock, primedto begin recovering.

Ability to Select is CriticalWhen describing this

phenomenon (a more even grazingpattern at high stock density), mostfolks assume the animals have beenforced to be less selective. It’s truethat grazing behavior does change,but if we harvest the same amountof stock days per acre over thecourse of the grazing period(whether an hour long or a weeklong), how has the animal beenforced to be less selective? It hasn’t,and we don’t want to limitselectivity. Every animal has to begiven the opportunity to select itsdiet according to its daily needs. Ifwe limit this ability, we are going tohinder animal performance.

Imagine it this way. Assume you’re at a salad bar buffet, with lots ofdifferent plants to choose from. The restaurant expects a stocking rate of 100customers that day, and has allocated the appropriate quantity of veggies (orforage mass, or stock days), with the appropriate amount of residual (leftovers)planned in. Now imagine that these 100 customers come in to graze the saladbar over the course of the entire day (low stock density). They’ll pick andchoose and most likely graze the salad bar somewhat haphazardly anderratically, and the residual at the end of the day will probably not be evenlyspread across each forage variety.

Now imagine all 100 people come in and fill their plates over the course of30 minutes (with no problems accessing their choices—that is, adequatebunk space exists). It’s the same number of people and the same amount offorage, but now there will be a frenzy of grazing activity. It won’t necessarily bea stressful frenzy—more like a healthy, competitive frenzy. Remember, enoughhas been allocated for everybody. The grazing “residual” at the end of the 30-minute, high density grazing period will look much different—I imagine it

On our upland native rangeland, we are managing for up to two-yearrecovery periods. This site is on its year off, and won’t be grazed foranother year (black shape partially hidden in the grass is my dog). Thisresults in high pre-grazing pasture masses, lots of material to lay on thesoil surface as litter, and lots of plant diversity. In a given growing season,we’ll graze about 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of this country in about 150-acre (60-ha), five-day breaks. Given our topography, labor constraints,level of infrastructure development, and financial weak link, that’sabout as holistically intense as we can get.

Mob Grazing continued from page seven


(most likely the former) to more closely match stocking rate with your currentcarrying capacity. That might sound obvious, but this situation is verycommon, and most ranchers aren’t conscious of where their financial weak link lies.

The other common situation is an apparently fully or over-stocked propertythat employs little or no grazing management. In this case, “resource” mightbe the weak link initially, but with just a little herd amalgamation and somerudimentary grazing planning, that situation can be fixed pretty quickly. Inother words, once the grazing is being planned within the property’s existinginfrastructure, the farm’s forage productivity (or carrying capacity) is likely toincrease beyond the current stocking rate. “Resource” is no longer the weaklink, and “product” becomes the financial weak link. Most of these places arenot ready to plunge into high density mob grazing, and they don’t need to.Before refinement in grazing planning continues, these places need to getmore animals (product) on the place.

I can’t remember seeing this financial weak link issue addressed in any ofthe mob grazing material I’ve come ac ross, but it’s a critical point. Highdensity mob grazing is a level of grazing management refinement that the vast majority of graziers aren’t ready for, because this level of managementdoes not address their financial w eak link. It would be like putting high octane jet fuel into a dilapidatedvehicle. Lots of other steps need tobe taken before the fancy gas isgoing to make any difference.

More to Life than Grass and Money

Now, let’s say you’re already apretty savvy grazier and have beenplanning your grazing for a longtime, with good results on the landand in your finances. “Resource” iscurrently your weak link andyou’re ready to continue refining.Transitioning into ever higherstock density and more frequentmoves seems like the right moveboth ecologically and financially,but if it’s going to be a holisticallysound move, you need to thinkthrough the quality of life issues aswell. How do you feel about dailymoves, or twice daily moves, or fivedaily moves? Do you want to belocked into a strict daily routineand be as tied down as a dairyfarmer? How does that line up withthe rest of your life? How will it affect vacations, getting to your kids’ footballgames and dance practices, etc.? Will you have to hire somebody? Bring oninterns? Just think about it. If you can sort out how to make it all work,great—but think about it.

And, if you’ve determined that a mob grazing style of management isholistically sound for your unique whole, remember that it still needs to beplanned within the context of holistic grazing planning. Farms and ranchesare highly complex and dynamic, and I fear that the routine of constant daily moving might lead to some of us losing sight of this complexity. We don’t want to fall into entrenched habits and forget that we’re managing acomplex, dynamic, constantly changing whole. All those managementconsiderations (calving and branding logistics, wildlife habitat needs,

poisonous plant problems, stockwater restrictions, etc.) are still just asimportant to honor and manage for/ around as ever.

We need to be constantly aware of how each daily or hourly strip of grassmeshes with our ranch or farm as a “whole,” with its unique holisticgoal. If Icome onto your place, and you’re mob grazing, but you can’t explain to mewhy those animals are in that spot at that time and for that long, then you’rejust moving animals around and not managing holistically. Remember,holistic grazing planning is geared toward “getting animals to the right placeat the right time for the right reasons.” If you’re mob grazing under thatcontext, then I say go for it.

Don’t Worry About SeedheadsNow, as stated at the beginning of this article, there are some twists to the

current mob grazing movement that haven’t been emphasized in the past. The New Zealanders are good at mob grazing, but on perennial cool seasonpastures in particular, they are obsessed with maintaining forage plants in avegetative, leafy condition. Most of us have read this over and over, and myyear of grazing school in New Zealand definitely drilled this principle into myhead. For years, I considered it a sin to let cool season grasses go to seed.Gradually, I’ve come around to a different way of looking at things.

My first exposure to theacceptance of reproductive tillers asan asset (instead of a liability) wason a tour we led through the pampasof Argentina in March of 2001. Thisarea of the pampas is naturally veryproductive, and includes an amazingmix of both cool and warm seasonperennial grasses and legumes. Theparticular farm (where I underwentmy Aha! Moment) includedmultiple enterprises, including agrass-based dairy, dairy heiferdevelopment (all on grass), beeffinishing, and beef cow/calf. We wereon this particular property in latesummer, and from myleafy/vegetative paradigm, thingslooked pretty messy. There was a lotof leaf in the base of their pastures,but there were also lots of stems andseedheads, and I felt their pre-grazing pasture masses were far toohigh (based on my New Zealandtraining). Prior to our stop at thisplace, a common theme on otherseemingly well-managed propertieshad been the problem of pasture

persistence—particularly alfalfa persistence.This wasn’t an issue on this guy’s place, and his solution was directly tied

to managing at these higher pasture masses, and actually intentionally lettingmost pastures become reproductive and make seed every year. He wasmanaging recovery periods that never fell under 60 days, whereas 20-30 dayrecovery periods were more common elsewhere on the pampas. And he wasn’tjust successfully maintaining his alfalfa, but an amazing variety of severaldozen more species. His animals, at high density, had the most opportunity to“select” (not only from the great suite of species, but from the variety of plantstructures also—that is, stems and seedheads as well as leaf) that I’d ever seen,and his animal performance was excellent.

This is the same pasture as the first photo, but after having nearly completedits recovery period in late August. Given our level of soil fertility and the factthat we only have about a 70-day frost free period, this is about as muchgrass as we can grow. Still, with the majority of the growing season torecover from its June graze, this pasture is full of diversity—grasses,legumes, rushes, sedges, leaves, stems, and seedheads. As we continue toincrease our degree of mob grazing (higher density and shorter grazingperiods), this pasture continues to improve.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Mob Grazing continued from page nine

Most New Zealand pastures are dominated by perennial ryegrass andwhite clover (if heavily fertilized), or browntop and other less productivespecies if not fertilized. Diversity is commonly lacking, and protein is typicallyin excess of energy, leading to sub-optimal animal performance. This is all inthe name of maintaining pasture “quality,” but I’m afraid their definition ofquality is flawed. It looks good, if your definition of good means “golfcourse.” But it’s not good for dairy or beef animals, and it’s definitely notgood for pasture ecology. Years ago, I remember reading about a New Zealandgrazing consultant who made theadmission that the Kiwis are expertsat “controlled overgrazing.” Iwasn’t sure I agreed with him then,but now I do.

So, I’ve gradually accepted theidea that I don’t need to be sostressed out about letting grassplants go to seed. I was already onthis track on less productive, semi-arid rangeland, where I was startingto realize that long recovery periodsof up to two years resulted in muchmore effective ecosystem processesrelative to more frequent grazingintervals. The longer recovery periodallowed the plant to accumulate ayear’s worth of older material,which, when eventually grazed withthe current year’s growth growingup through it, ended up adding lotsof litter to the soil surface. In semi-arid, brittle-tending country, thismulch is critical. Initially, I wasn’t totally sure how animal performancewould fare, but in our type of high quality country, dominated by native coolseason grasses, animal performance didn’t suffer a lick.

Now, I’m realizing that on more productive cool season pasture (that iseither irrigated, or in more non-brittle/higher rainfall country, particularly atmore temperate latitudes), we need to also tend toward managing for thesehigher pre-grazing pasture masses, which means we need to manage withlonger recovery periods than we’re used to. Again, I don’t want to spew outany recipes, but here’s a little of my own experience. We used to try to getaround our irrigated pastures three times in our short Colorado growingseason. Between the first and second grazings, we’d usually plan for 30 daysof recovery, and between the second and third, about 50 days. And, we’d planto harvest about the same number of stock days per acre (SDA) per grazingperiod (about 35, or 105 SDA, or 260 SDH, total for the season). For the pastfive years, we’ve backed off to just two grazings per season, with 80 days ofrecovery. We graze at about the same intensity the first time around (which isearly in the season, with not too much accumulated growth). But, after 80days, LOTS of forage has grown (lots, that is, for 8,500 feet elevation withabout a 70-day frost-free period), and we’re now harvesting on the order of100 SDA (250 SDH) on the second grazing in the late summer/early fall (135 SDA, or 335 SDH, total).

So, we’ve increased production under this approach. And, after those 80days of recovery, the resulting pasture sward, as described above, creates moreopportunity for selection by the animal, and it is far more balanced in termsof energy and protein. There is A LOT of leaf in the base of the pastures, butthere are also lots of reproductive tillers. Dung piles stack up perfectly (as


opposed to splattering). Animals are amazingly content. Individual plantshave the chance to put down deep root systems and don’t need to be asaggressively irrigated.

Up to this point, we haven’t been properly mob grazing this irrigatedground. We haven’t had a “resource” weak link yet. Each year, as the landimproves and our grazing skill improves, we keep kicking up our stockingrate to address our “product” weak link, but we’ve still tended to end up withmore grass than mouths to consume it. But this year we got a little moreaggressive and increased stocking rate significantly (about 20 percent), and so far (early July), “resource” has definitely been our weak link.

On the irrigated pastures in the past, grazing periods have ranged fromtwo to eight days or so. This year, onthe first pass through, I was strippingthose pastures off in one to three daybreaks. Now the cows have all movedup into higher, non-irrigatedrangeland (that’s had the two-yearrecovery period), and I’ve beenstringing portable wire all over theplace, trying to get our average“break” down to about 150 acres fora five-day grazing period (with 420pairs). In years past, when productwas always our weak link, this levelof intensity wasn’t necessary. For our“whole,” this year, that’s the rightlevel of intensity, and things areworking great. Are we mob grazing?We’re getting there, but getting there holistically.

Range Type MattersNow, one last clarification.

Essentially everything I’ve readabout the mob grazing/high pasture mass model has either referred to non-brittle tending, high rainfall environments dominated by cool seasonperennials (in places like Missouri, Nebraska, Virginia, and New York), orhigh quality, but lower production, cool season native grasslands in placeslike eastern Montana. These obviously aren’t tropical climes, and there’s abig difference between New York and Zimbabwe.

In the productive brittle tropics, we’re dealing with essentially 100 percentwarm season grasses (because that’s the only time it rains—summertime,that is), and these types of forages are not like the clover/bluegrass/orchardgrass/brome pastures of the temperate latitudes. Protein is very seldom inexcess of energy, even when leafy and tender. And, because these tropicalpastures can grow so rapidly and prodigiously, long recovery periods in thegrowing season and high pre-grazing pasture masses aren’t what we need toshoot for. The taller and longer these pastures get, the lower in protein and thehigher in indigestible lignin they become. They become out of balance at thispoint, at least for a cow. In the tropics, elephants and rhinos are designed toconsume this sort of forage, not cows that evolved on the grasslands of Asia.

The mob grazing approach still works great in the tropics or subtropics,but tread carefully with pasture mass. Tropical applications deserve a lot moreexplanation, but that’ll have to wait till next time. I’ll also tackle mob grazingpracticalities in tough desert and steppe country in the next article. In alltypes of country, high density mob grazing has fantastic potential. No matterwhere we are, the concept is sound and the tools are the same, but the detailsof application are a little different. And (one more time), think thingsthrough holistically before you do anything. Your animals, grass, bankaccount, and family will thank you.

This Argentine gaucho is putting out the portable wire for the evening’sbreak of forage. These fattening Hereford steers were moving twice dailyonto fairly mature forage. Instead of shin-high, 100 percent leaf, this early summer pasture is thigh-high with lots of stem and seeds. These steers were gaining well, their manure stacked up perfectly, and they were utterly content.


Soils, plants, animals and the continents they inhabit changeconstantly. Even within the short span of 20,000 years since the lastglaciations, and even more recently with the Medieval Warm Periodand the Little Ice Age, changes in climate have drastically altered

physical environments and the species of plants and animals that inhabitthose environs. Nonetheless, we have attempted with massive inputs offossil fuels to eradicate “invasive” species of plants and animals. Whatwould we have done when the species we now consider “native” were“invading” after the last glaciations?

Likewise, we have attempted at great cost economically and ecologicallyto change landscapes to suit domestic animals, rather than considering howanimals must continually adapt to the ever-changing availability of foodsand habitats. With cattle and sheep in particular, we have attempted in vainwith massive mechanical and chemical inputs to convert landscapesdominated by shrubs to grass to fit our conception of livestock as grazers,rather than selecting among and within breeds of livestock for individualsthat can use the plants that exist on landscapes.

Matching Animals with Environments While we often consider cattle to be grass eaters and sheep to be forb

eaters, they can thrive under a wide range of conditions, including shrub-dominated areas in the arid southwest U.S., provided they have been selectedanatomically, physiologically, and behaviorally to survive on their own inthe landscapes they inhabit.

We emphasize means and populations in science and management, and we favor uniformity over variability, but variability is the basis foradaptability and for selection in natural and agricultural systems. Whilepeople calculate “average” values for representative populations, naturegenerates only individuals and variation. With regard to wild animals, wevalue the tremendous diversity of species across landscapes, but we have notfully realized the significance of the variation among individuals within aspecies for how we can become locally adapted to the environs we inhabit.

We must encourage and take advantage of the variation within breeds toselect for individuals able to perform efficiently on poor quality forages andforages high in secondary compounds common in arid environments, as

This steer has learned how to eat spotted knapweed as part of a balanced,locally adaptive diet.

Selecting for Locally Adapted Livestockby Fred Provenza


the potential certainly exists to do so. In arid areas, that means selecting foranimals of smaller frame size that better match the seasonal availability anddiversity of forage supplies, and selecting for animals able to consume thediverse arrays of secondary compounds found in various species of plantsnow “invading” landscapes. Smaller frame sizes reduce the amount of foodthat must be consumed, which enables animals to better mix various plantspecies thereby allowing them to cope with the chemical and physicaldefenses abundant in plants that inhabit arid environments. We should alsoconsider selecting animals within herds that have the physiological abilitiesto ingest foods of poor quality and those high in secondary compounds. Thecombination of anatomy (small body size) and physiology (ability to copewith challenging plant chemistries) leads to locally adapted animals.

Finally, we should encourage variation within flocks and herds. Thatvariation enables groups of animals to better utilize all of the resources thatoccur on a landscape. In that sense, the flock or herd becomes a super-organism capable of surviving in variable landscapes in ways that a flock orherd selected for uniformity cannot.

Matching Needs with Resources SeasonallyMatching animal needs to seasonally available forage supplies means

mothers have offspring when forage quality is highest in late spring or earlysummer, rather than when plants are mature and dormant in the middle ofwinter. Wild ruminants have adapted these reproductive behaviors to ensurethey have ample nutrients during late gestation and early lactation, timeswhen their needs are greatest. They must rely only on what nature provideseach year, as living on fossil fuels is not an option.

In the case of cattle (and sheep), the advantages of having offspring insynchrony with nature occur because 1) feed and labor costs are reduced by70 percent, 2) most (90 percent) calves are born in the first 30 days of thecalving season, without feeding any hay, and 3) more total pounds of calvesare weaned, that are worth more per pound.

Three YearsChanging management practices takes time. In the book The Last Ranch,

Sam Bingham discusses elements of change and adaptation with a livestockproducer named George Whitten. George recounts the “Old Sheep Cycle”practiced in the San Luis Valley of Colorado in the early part of the twentiethcentury. He points out that in 1935 they selected for ewes that produced a 75-pound lamb and they culled ewes with twins. In 1985, his sons wereselecting for ewes that produced 90-pound lambs, with a 150 percent lambcrop. In 1935 the ewes were selected to produce on minimal forage inputsand a nomadic way of life, while in 1985 they were selected for production onever increasing inputs. George remarks that “Our ewes were strong and aswell muscled as deer, and yours wouldn’t last a day where ours went.”

George emphasizes the value of local knowledge and adaptation, whichonce lost is difficult to regain quickly. In the latter part of the twentiethcentury, people enamored with stories about the “Old Sheep Cycle” hoped torecreate it. But as George points out, “They were crazy. Once the knowledge isgone, you can’t get it back just like that. They didn’t even have a dog thatknew anything. When they went through here, you knew they were lookingfor trouble. And they found it.” The lack of adaptation by all involved, fromdogs and sheep to people, ensured they were unable even to move the sheepfrom the bottom of the San Luis Valley into the surrounding mountains, let


alone recreate the old cycle. Everybody involved lacked the anatomical,physiological, and behavioral knowledge to accomplish the task.

In making such major changes in management, a minimum of threeyears typically are required as soils, plants, herbivores and people adapt tothe new regimes. Ray Bannister, for instance, needed three years to retrain acattle herd to “mix the best with the rest” rather than “eat the best and leavethe rest” on ranges in eastern Montana, and Bob Budd took three years toretrain cattle to use uplands as opposed to riparian areas on Red CanyonRanch near Lander, Wyoming.

Initial conditions are vital when it comes to acquiring new behaviors.Young animals begin to experience and learn about social and biophysicalenvironments at conception, and experiences in utero and early in lifemarkedly influence food and habitatselection. As environmental conditionschange, adults too must learn newbehaviors and a manager can play akey role in developing a rearingenvironment that encourages mothersto raise and educate their offspringwith minimal intervention fromhumans. It is imperative thatmanagers think carefully aboutmatching the timing and location ofcalving/lambing with appropriatefoods and habitats so mothers re-learn and offspring learnappropriate mothering, foraging andhabitat selection behaviors.

For cows/ewes and their ownerswho have been trained to calve/lambunder more intensive managementsystems, this may be a difficulttransition. Considering the power ofexperience to shape behavior, changesin management will be most difficult for mature adults; young replacements,reared in the new system, adapt readily as they know only the new system.Most producers indicate major changes in management require three yearsto complete. The first year is the most difficult, as none of the adults(livestock or people) have any experience with the new system. The secondyear is better because all those involved have a year of experience with thenew system and the animals that were unable to adjust to the new systemhave been culled. By the third year, all of the adults have two years ofexperience with the new system and the replacement females born into thenew system are becoming adult members of the flock.

Mother as a Stabilizing Force While genes certainly influence the expression of behaviors, it is just as

true that behaviors influence the expression of genes. In that sense, geneslearn from the environment. There would be no need for genes to beexpressed if biophysical and social landscapes were static, but the ever-changing nature of nature requires that genes converse with theenvironment, and much of this essential discussion occurs duringdevelopment in utero and early in life.

An important form of this discourse, termed predictive adaptive responses(PAR), refers to responses that are: 1) induced by the environment early inlife, 2) cause permanent changes neurologically, morphologically, and

physiologically, and 3) confer survival advantages when the environment ofrearing matches the environment where a young animal then lives.

In this process, mother is a transgenerational link that provides stabilityto social systems by familiarizing offspring in utero and early in life with thelocally available foods and habitats she uses. Offspring become creative forcesas they explore the potential value of foods and environments not used bymother. In the process, they create a balance between constancy (mother)and creative exploration (offspring) that enables ongoing adaptation asenvironments change from generation to generation.

Given our pre-disposition to consider behaviors as fixed genetically, wehave neither been aware of nor appreciated the significance of predictiveadaptive responses in humans or in herbivores. Nonetheless, experiences inutero and early in life have life-long influences on diet, obesity, health anddisease in humans. Likewise, experiences with diets and habitats that vary inquality have life-long influences on performance and health of herbivores.

Offspring as a Creative ForceLearning from mother begins early in

life as flavors of foods mother eats aretransferred to her offspring in utero andin her milk. In livestock, the flavor ofplants like onions and garlic istransferred this way, which increases the likelihood that young animals willeat onion and garlic when they begin to forage.

Young animals learn quickly to eatfoods mother eats, and they rememberthose foods for life. Lambs fed nutritiousfoods like wheat with their mothers for aslittle as one hour per day for five days eatmore wheat than lambs exposed to wheatwithout their mothers. Even three yearslater, with no additional exposure towheat, intake of wheat is nearly 10 timeshigher if lambs are exposed to wheatwith their mothers than if inexperienced

lambs are exposed alone or not exposed at all. Livestock also eat more of poor-quality foods and plants high in secondary

compounds when they learn to eat them early in life with their mothers. Goatsreared from one to four months of age with their mothers on blackbrush-dominated land, ate over 2.5 times more blackbrush than did goats naive toblackbrush, a poorly nutritious food high in condensed tannins. Experiencedgoats also consumed 30 percent more blackbrush than inexperienced goatswhen allowed to choose between blackbrush and alfalfa pellets.

Likewise, food intake and animal performance differed markedly during athree-year study when cows five years of age were fed straw as a major part oftheir diet from December to May. Half of the cows ate straw with theirmothers for only two months as calves, whereas the other half had never seenstraw. Throughout the three-year study, experienced cows ate more straw, lostless weight, maintained better body condition, produced more milk, and bredback sooner than cows not exposed to straw. Remarkably, with fewexceptions, these studies are conservative estimates of the degree to whichexperience early in life affects performance of adults as exposure and testingoccurred when animals were young and still learning.

Herbivores learn to optimize intake of foods in a manner consistent withtheir previous experiences with the mix of foods offered. When they eat only asmall subset of the more “palatable” foods that provide adequate nutrition,animals are unlikely to learn about the possible benefits of mixing different

Sericea is an introduced perennial legume now considered anoxious weed in some states. For this cow it’s just another part ofher diet that she will teach to her offspring.

Locally Adapted Livestock continued from page eleven


foods, especially those high in secondary compounds. Over time, suchselective foraging on pastures and rangelands will change the mix of plantson offer, further reducing opportunities to learn. However, herbivoresencouraged to eat all plants are more likely to learn to eat mixtures of foodsthat mitigate toxicity, assuming appropriate choices are available.

For instance, experience and the availability of nutritious alternativesboth influenced food choice when the preferences of lambs with threemonths’ experience mixing tannin, terpenes, and oxalates were comparedwith lambs naive to the foods containing these secondary compounds.During the studies, all lambs were offered five foods, two of them familiar toall of the lambs (ground alfalfa and a 50:50 mix of ground alfalfa:groundbarley) and three of them familiar only to experienced lambs (a groundration containing either tannins, terpenes, or oxalates). Half of the lambswere offered the familiar foods ad libitum, while half of the lambs wereoffered only 200 g of each familiar food daily.

Throughout the study, naive lambs ate much less of the foods withsecondary compounds if they had ad libitum (66 g/d) as opposed torestricted (549 g/d) access to the nutritious alternatives. Experienced lambsalso ate less of the foods with secondary compounds if they had ad libitum(809 g/d) as opposed to restricted (1497 g/d) access to the nutritiousalternatives. In both cases, however, lambs with experience ate markedlymore than naive lambs of the foods containing the secondary compounds,whether access to the alfalfa-barley alternatives was ad libitum (809 vs 66 g/d) or restricted (1497 vs 549 g/d).

In a companion study, when access to familiar foods was restricted to10, 30, 50 or 70 percent of ad libitum, animals ate more of the foods withsecondary compounds and they gained more weight along a continuum (10 = 30> 50 = 70) that illustrates animals must be encouraged to learnto eat unfamiliar foods that contain secondary compounds. Critically,grazing management can influence what animals learn: continuousgrazing at low stock densities encourages selective foraging, whereasmanagement-intensive and short-duration grazing at high stock densitiesencourages animals to learn to mix their diets.

Young sheep and cattle also learn habitat selection behaviors from theirmothers, as illustrated by cross-fostering studies with sheep and cattle. Aculture develops when learned practices contribute to the group’s success insolving problems. Cultures evolve as individuals in groups discover newways of behaving, as with finding new foods or habitats and better ways touse foods and habitats.

In summary, experiences early in life, and in particular maternallymediated effects on food and habitat selection, are widespread and theirevolutionary dynamics are unusual relative to standard genetic theory.Specifically, the evolution of maternal effects involves two levels of selection,within and among families; as a result of selection among families, muchmore genetic variance can be maintained at equilibrium with mutationthan for ordinary genes. The increased heterozygosity, in turn, permitsrandom genetic drift to quickly differentiate local populations and createsopportunities for local adaptation via individual selection.

Accelerated local divergence of isolated populations due to maternal effects can quickly contribute to locally adapted individuals, social groups and cultures which can eventually contribute to speciation. Thus, theenvironment interacting with genes creates organisms, and the development of each individual is an emergent property influenced by the interplay between its genes and social and the biophysical environments where a creature is reared.

This article is an excerpt from Fred’s talk at HMI’s conference held inNovember 2007 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fred can be reached at:[email protected]

Piling Hay—San Juan Ranchby Tony Malmberg

George Whitten stopped putting up hay the conventional way 20 years ago. By conventional I mean moving it off the field insummer and loading it to feed again in the winter. George storesthe hay in 70 pound (32 kg) piles right on the field, where cattle

eat it during the winter. This practice has reduced his costs 500 percent,increased his production by 25 percent, and improved the bio-diversity ofhis landscape.

They use a 1975 model, 1066 International tractor to pull a 1980 modelswather for windrowing the hay. It can lay down about 25 to 30 acres (10to 12 ha) per day. Immediately after the hay is cut, they use a 1946 Casetractor (22 HP 4-cylinder gas motor) pulling a 24-foot (7-meter) dumprake to pile the hay by driving down the windrow and raking the hay intopiles that settle to from 18 inches to two feet high (46 to 60 cm). The Casetakes about 30 gallons (114 liters) of gas for piling 400 acres (162 ha). It’simportant to pile the hay while it is still green, George says, or it will blow.After about one week, the green hay “thatches” and “seals” so that it wardsoff wind and moisture. However, if cattle “escape” in the meadow and stirup the piles before they are ready to be fed, the wind can get ahold andblow the piles. It also exposes the sealed pile to sunlight and the hay willlose some nutritional content.

George says the hay is 9-11 percent protein in the piles and may lose apoint or two, but it is still plenty good for cows. However, yields haveincreased from 1.5 tons per acre (3.4 metric tons per ha), when they usedto hay conventionally, to 1.92 tons per acre now (4.74 metric tons per ha).This 25 percent increase has come from increased perennial forbs. Georgeestimates his fields are 60 percent grass and 40 percent legume due to theplants maturing before he cuts the hay in the last week of August to thefirst week of September. Maturity before cutting also allows for seed set. The


George estimates it costs $50 per ton to put up hay conventionally. With hay piles it costs only $10 per ton.


practice of piling keeps the seeds near the microclimate they grew andwhere they are more likely to grow the next generation.

Pounding PostsGeorge rations out this feed in winter to his cattle using temporary

electric fence that is moved daily. For that reason, he has also developed apost-pounder, with a slide hammer, and a 50 penny nail to make a hole inthe frozen ground for the post to slide into. It takes up to 40 or 50 whacksto make the hole and three or four to get the nail back out. The hammeraspect of his post pounder also works to pull frozen posts out of theground. The posts are metal, with a loop on the end, holding the top wireat 32 inches (800 mm). They put an insulator on the post for a secondwire at 16 inches (400 mm) to keep the calves in. Yearling cattle are moreprone to go under the 32-inch wire and a second ground wire helps trainthem to the electric fence, even on insulating snow.

This method works really well in the San Luis Valley, where winters arecold and dry. Yet George said in 2006 they had eight inches (200 mm) ofprecipitation in the fall. Any baled and stacked hay that was not under aroof or tarped over got mold damage. That wasn’t the case with the piledhay because it was able to dry out more quickly. So maybe this methodwould work in wetter regions also. George advises anyone that is interestedto try a small portion of their winter hay needs the first year and see how it

works. If it goes well you can add some more the next year. George saysafter two trial years they did all of their hay in hay piles the third year.George estimates a cost of $50 per ton to put up hay conventionally, plusanother $10 per ton to haul it out and feed in the winter. It only costs $10per ton, as fed, by piling. That saves $50 per cow, or $22,500 per year forGeorge to move a little fence on a quiet winter morning.

George Whitten and his wife Julie Sullivan ranch in the San Luis Valley in South Central Colorado and can be reached at:[email protected]

San Juan Ranch continued from page thirteen

George developed a post-pounder, with a slide hammer, and a 50 pennynail to make a hole in the frozen ground for the post to slide into.

It takes George up to 40 or 50 whacks to make the fence hole and three orfour to get the nail back out.

Even if two feet of snow cover the hay piles, the cattle can get to the hay.

If you aren’t there strictly on time for the morning move, the calves willcrawl through the fence and the cows won’t be far behind. George haslearned how to move the fence by himself with years of practice, but he saysit’s usually a two-person job. He feeds the cows a dab of alfalfa to keep thembusy for ten or fifteen minutes, while he moves the fence for the day’sallotment of hay. On occasion, they will do a multi-day set if they need to go somewhere for a couple of days, but the cattle will waste a higherpercentage if not fed daily. They don’t roll up the wire but just pull the postsand hold the wire up over the brush and piles as they move. If the piles arethick, they move less distance than if they are more sparse. It takes 3 to 3 ½hours to feed three bunches totaling 450 cows without starting a huge tractorin the cold weather.

George had two feet of crusted snow on the hay piles this year. The cattledidn’t have a problem getting to the hay, but in wet spring months thebottom edge of the pile tends to freeze down. They do drag the meadows inthe spring to stir up the manure and areas like the frozen down corners ofthe hay piles. After 20 years, of building the plant material and litter, Georgehas found that it works better to graze or hay the ground on occasion.

Any piles that are not used by spring are baled and stored for the nextwinter. He has learned to keep a few tons of baled hay to get from the last ofthe pile to good green grass in the spring. If the piles lay through the growingseason they will spoil the ground underneath, and they end up with bareground. In 2008 George wintered his bulls on hay that was baled in thespring of 2007 and the bulls have done very well on the two-year old hay.


T h e

news from holistic management international � people, programs & projects

in HolisticManagement inKenya. These seeds,together with acouple years oftraining in oneKenyan communityby HMI under anagreement withWorld Vision, have producednumerous strategicefforts and keeninterest in bringing HolisticManagement to the Horn of Africa.

In the Loodariak region (southwest of Nairobi)two pilot learning sites are being establishedwhere community based organizations (CBO’s)will be establishing pilot Holistic Management

Inner Mongolia Project

In June, Shannon Horst traveled to Inner Mongolia to work with HeiferInternational and a local NGO, called SEE (Society, Environment,Entrepreneurship), on a project plan tobring Holistic Management into a nomadiccommunity near the Helan Mountains. In thisregion, nomadic families have been taken offtheir traditional lands (government policy tohalt desertification) and settled onto other lands(very poor conditions) where they do haveanimals and rights to graze.

The project plan will include assisting thenomadic communities in using their animals torestore the lands they have been moved to andusing that effort to open doors of communicationto scientists and policymakers in this regionconcerning the relationship between grazinganimals, grasslands, and desertification. Our hopeis that the project has the best potential possible tohelp China (Inner Mongolia is an autonomousregion of China) find a way forward to reversingthe significant collapse of large landscapes that isleading to the deserts swallowing up whole townsand the horrific dust storms that engulf Beijingand other cities. Holistic Management is veryexcited to be working with Heifer and SEE on this project plan.

The Kenya CETP 2008 group at their final training intensive.

Kenya Certified Educator Graduation

HMI’s Kenya-based Certified Educator TrainingProgram held its fourth and final training

intensive in June at the Mpala Research Station,Nanyuki, Kenya. Thirteen participants and threementors, all from Kenya, Zimbabwe, SouthAfrica and Namibia, attended. The entire CETPwas co-facilitated by Dr. Constance Neelyand Craig Leggett.

The Kenya CETP started in October 2006 andthe group has met three previous times: twice inKenya and once in Zimbabwe at DimbangombeRanch, operated by the Africa Centre for Holistic

Management (ACHM).Mpala Research Centre provided a unique

setting for the group. Located in the wildlife-richcentral Kenya area and surrounded by private andpastoralist-based ranches, it represented thesetting that many of the participants will beworking in. Participants represented World VisionKenya, World Vision Zimbabwe, HeiferInternational, ACHM, and Grevy’s Zebra Trust –all who directly work with improving land-basedlivelihoods. The knowledge and experience gainedby the participants in training others in HolisticManagement is being incorporated into theirorganizations’ programs.

grazing planning, implementation andmonitoring efforts to be used as educationalfocal points for surrounding Masaaicommunities.

In the Laikipia region (north of MountKenya), a local NGO and a number of landowners (communal and trusted and privatelyheld) are coming together to establishadditional pilot learning sites under theguidance of Richard Hatfield.

Additionally, new Certified EducatorBelinda Low and her team at Westgate arenow poised to implement their HolisticManagement plans on behalf of lands set asideto preserve the endangered Grevys Zebra. In thecoming years, HMI anticipates a host of sites will be restoring grasslands and providingcommunities with increased food productionand economic return as well as bringingcommunities together and resolving conflictover resource management.

Kenya Pilot Projects

For many years now, Certified EducatorConstance Neely and Richard

Hatfield have been sowing seeds of interest

The West Gate Conservency Grazing Committe members withBelinda Low (right) and Craig Leggett (middle bottom row).


When she learned about HMI, she was immediately struck by the commitment to theTriple Bottom Line approach to problem solvingand was excited about the possibility of workingwith the organization.

As our new Administrative Assistant, ValerieGonzales provides vital support to the

Finance and Administration departments. Valerieis also a student at Central New MexicoCommunity College, working toward completionof the certificate program in Court Reporting.

Outside of school andthe office, she is a busymom with two terrifickids, Joseph and Cyrea.Valerie is excited tocontribute her skillsand abilities to such adedicated, friendlyteam, and she enjoysthe diversity of tasksher work provides.Welcome Tracy and Valerie!


Canadian Conference

Holistic Management Canada is holding aHolistic Management International

Conference on October 22-25, 2008 at theKeystone Center in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.This conference is the Holistic ManagementInternational Conference for 2008. Speakersinclude Abe Collins, Ivan Aguirre, Lee Pengilly,Peggy Maddox, Peter Holter, Ron Chapman andmany other dynamic speakers. To register for the conference, call the Manitoba Forage Council at 204/622-2006 or go online at:www.mbforagecouncil.mb.ca.

2007 Annual Report

HMI’s 2007 Annual Report is now availableonline. To view it, go to:

http://www.holisticmanagement.org/n7/Annual_reports/HMI_Annual_Report_07.pdf.

Staff Changes

HMI is excited to announce the addition of two new staff members. Tracy Favre will

be joining HMI as Senior Director/ContractServices and Valerie Gonzales asAdministrative Assistant.

Tracy was born andraised in Dallas, Texasand went to Texas A&Mand completed a B.S. inPetroleum Engineeringin 1985. She spent 18years as a RegisteredProfessional Engineeringworking in the water,wastewater and stormwater engineering fieldsand eventually, withpartners, started and sold two engineeringconsulting firms, working with all types of peoplefrom field technicians to city council members.

In 2002 she and her husband moved toGermany. Exposure to European farming in thecommunity they lived in taught her somethingabout sustainability.

For years, she felt the need to find a way toutilize a systems approach to problem solving. Inher engineering business they tried to bringcommunities together to solve watershed pollutionproblems, but found that often the structure ofgovernments worked against that approach. When she found a graduate program at theUniversity of London in Sustainable Development,she signed up.

Tracy graduated with a Masters of Science inSustainable Development from the University ofLondon in 2007 with specialization in Agriculture.

Sun Valley Fundraiser

In 2007 Lea Flocchini felther life was about to change,and in October that year it didwhen she visited Zimbabwe and one of the communitiesneighboring HMI’sDimbangombe learning sitenear the Victoria Falls.

Lea and her parents, longtime HMI supporters Bud andMarylou Flocchini and son,John, plus four other familymembers, took the family trip ofa lifetime, joining Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield and Africa Centre staff for 10 days atDimbangombe. The visit to the Monde community, one of four communities HMI is working with torestore land and water resources and food security, was the highlight for everyone.

“After my touching experiences with the resilient people of Zimbabwe and their dedication toshaping a new and healthy future against all odds, I was inspired to help in my own small way to keepthis program alive,” says Lea. Her idea was to invite Allan and Jody to her community in Sun Valley,Idaho, so they could talk about the program and gain some of the support needed to keep it going andgrowing once the USAID grant currently funding most of the work expires.

Lea rounded up a formidable group of sponsors: Barbi Reed, Pirie Grossman, Priscilla Pittiglio, andJeri Waxenberg. The event, held at the Anne Reed Gallery in Hailey, on July 1, was attended by over 60people. Our heartfelt thanks to Lea and the other sponsors and to all who participated!

In Memoriam

HMI remembers supporter and friend Edith Cather ofMontrose, Colorado, who passed away on July 1 after a

courageous battle with cancer.A dynamic woman who was full of energy, Edith took over

the family business in Parkersburg, West Virginia after her firsthusband’s unexpected death. She grew it into a substantialfamily enterprise, breaking ground along the way as a womanworking full-time. Edith also dedicated herself to hercommunity in service with many organizations, includingtenure as the first woman President and Chairman of theGreater Parkersburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

Edith is survived by her children, John and HMI BoardMember Jim Parker, as well as 5 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Her contributions to HMI have helped fundmany key Holistic Management initiatives around the globe.

Edith Cather1919-2008

Tracy Favre

Valerie Gonzales


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Craig Leggett2078 County Rd. 234, Durango, CO 81301970/[email protected]

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

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

GEORGIAConstance Neely635 Patrick PlaceAtlanta, GA 30320706/[email protected]

IOWA* Margaret SmithIowa State University,CES Sustainable Agriculture972 110th St., Hampton, IA 50441-7578515/[email protected]

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

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

Tobey Williamson52 Center St., Portland, ME 04101207/774-2458 [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEW HAMPSHIRE* Seth Wilner24 Main StreetNewport, NH 03773603/863-4497 (h)603/863-9200 (w)[email protected]

NEW MEXICO* Ann AdamsHolistic Management International1010 Tijeras NWAlbuquerque, NM 87102505/[email protected]

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

NEW YORKPhil Metzger99 N. Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815607/334-3231 x4 (w) • 607/334-2407 (h)

John Thurgood15 Farone Dr., Apt. E26Oneonta, NY 13820-1331607/643-2804 • [email protected]

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

OHIOLarry DyerOlney Friends School61830 Sandy Ridge RoadBarnesville, OH 47313740/425-3655 (w) • 740/425-2775 (h)[email protected]

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

TEXASChristina Allday-Bondy2703 Grennock Dr., Austin, TX 78745512/[email protected]

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

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

UN I T E D S TAT E S

UN I T E D S TAT E S

R. H. (Dick) RichardsonUniversity of Texas at AustinSection of Integrative BiologySchool of Biological SciencesAustin, TX 78712512/471-4128

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

Sandra Matheson228 E. Smith Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226360/[email protected]

Doug Warnock1880 SE Larch Ave.College Place, WA 99324509/540-5771509/856-7101 (c)[email protected]

WEST VIRGINIAFred Hays P.O. Box 241, Elkview, WV 25071304/[email protected]

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

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

WYOMINGAndrea & Tony Malmberg768 Twin Creek Road, Lander, WY 82520307/335-7485 (w)307/332-5073 (h)307/349-1144 (c)[email protected]@LifeEnergy.us

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

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

* THESE EDUCATORS PROVIDE HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTION ON BEHALF OF THE INSTITUTIONS THEY REPRESENT.

Certified Educators

Certified Educators

I N T E RNAT IONA L

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

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

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


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

CANADA

Don CampbellBox 817 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y6306/236-6088; [email protected]

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

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

KENYAChristine C. JostInternational Livestock Research Institute

Box 30709, Nairobi 00100254-20-422-3000; 254-736-715-417 (c)[email protected]

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

MEXICO

Arturo Mora BenitezSan Juan Bosco 169Fracc., La MisiónCelaya, Guanajuato [email protected]

Ivan A. Aguirre IbarraP.O. Box 304Hermosillo, Sonora 8300052-1-662-289-0900 (from U.S.)[email protected]

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

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

NEW ZEALAND

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

I N T E RNAT IONA L

AUSTRALIA

George Gundry Willeroo, Tarago, NSW [email protected]

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

Helen LewisP.O. Box 1263, Warwick, QLD [email protected]

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

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

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

Increase Forage Production up to 400%! Ian Mitchell-Innes will teach you how:

October 25-26 . . . . . . Biological Monitoring$450 ($800 couple) at Running High Ranch, Bowie, TX;

October 27-28 . . . . . . Land Planning $450 ($800 couple) at Running High Ranch, Bowie, TX;

October 29 . . . . . . . . . Mob Grazing$100 at Decatur Civic Center, Decatur, TX

Register online at http://www.hrm-texas.org, click on October Intensives. Or register with Jeanie Dreinhofer([email protected] or 325-348-3014).

Annual Meeting 2009 celebrates our roots with Allan and Jody!

Allan and Jody are coming to the HMIT 2009 Annual Meeting!Mark your calendar now for March 6 and 7, 2009 in Abilene.

HMI Texas

SOUTH AFRICA

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

SOUTH AFRICAIan Mitchell-InnesP.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte 290027-36-421-1747; [email protected]

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

SPAIN

Aspen EdgeApartado de Correos 19, 18420 Lanjaron, Granada(0034)[email protected]

UNITED KINGDOM

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

ZIMBABWE

Amanda Atwood27 Rowland Square, Milton Park, Harare263-23-233-760; [email protected]

PPaacciiffiicc NNoorrtthhwweesstt

SSuussttaaiinniinngg AAggrriiccuullttuurree CCoonnffeerreenncceeFFeebbrruuaarryy 1100--1122,, 22000099RRiicchhllaanndd,, WWaasshhiinnggttoonn

EEaarrllyy bbiirrdd rreeggiissttrraattiioonn $$115500($275 for two people from the same family)

begins October 1, 2008

Join over 100 Holistic Management practitioners and educators from the Northwest to learn from speakers including Bob Chadwick

and Joel Huesby!

To register for the conference, send a check payable toSustainability Conference in the amount of your registration fee to:

Sustainability Conference c/o KCCD, 607 E. Mountain View Ave., Ellensburg, WA 98962

or call 509-525-3389 for more information.Special room rate at the Shilo Inn is

$70 per room plus tax. Call 509-943-2234 and tell them you are

with the Sustainability Conference.


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GIS Training and Research CenterPre-registration is required and closes at noon, October 31, 2008. Registration forms are available at http://giscenter.isu.edu/workshops or by calling (208) 282-3606. Cancellations made after noon, October 31, 2008, are not eligible for refund.

Where we goin’?

WO

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Tuesday, November 18th, 2008Pocatello, Idaho • ISU’s Pond Student Union

$400per person

Mapping to Manage the RanchLearn how and why GIS and GPS can help you make better decisions with your land through “MapWindow” software and hands-on exercises. Allan Savory will be on hand to teach students how to use maps that they create and apply holistic view for managing the land.

Workshop includes:• Valuable training to help you

better manage your ranch• Free GIS software and access

to future releases• Free Garmin GPS

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For detailed itinerary and price, contact Jim and DanielaHowell at [email protected] 970/249-0353

• Explore the extremes of the Patagonian Andes, from lush Chilean valleys to the stark immensity of the Argentine steppes

• Ranch visits to fascinating families, creatively thrivingin one of the world’s most isolated corners

• Grass finishing lessons in Chilean paradise, fine woolMerino sheep production on the Strait of Magellan,large scale Hereford ranching at the foot of the Andes

• Famous Patagonian Fly-fishing

• Exploration of the peaks, fjordlands, glaciers, and glacial-fed lakes of the southern Andes

• Off-the-beaten-path, luxury accommodation

• The best of the big city in Buenos Aires

BRITTLE AND NON-BRITTLE PATAGONIAARGENTINA AND CHILE

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Accommodations and Airport Shuttle:

A block of rooms have been booked at the following host hotels. FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE! • Royal Oak Inn: (800)852-2709 or (204)728-5775; www.royaloakinn.com• Comfort Inn and Suites: (204) 727-6232; www.choicehotels.ca• Super 8: (204) 729-8024 or 1-800-800-8800; www.super8brandon.com

Brandon Air Shuttle: www.brandonairshuttle.com

Paradigm Shifting for the FutureHolistic Management International Conference

October 22-25, 2008 Keystone Center, Brandon, Manitoba Canada

REGISTRATION:Register Early—Space is limited! Early bird price $175.

To register go to: Mbforagecouncil.mb.ca, or call 204/622-2006. For a downloadable brochure and registration form, go to www.holisticmanagement.org.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Abe CollinsIvan AguirreLee PengillyPeter HolterRon ChapmanGene GovenGabe BrownKen MeterJill ClappertonMeyers Norris PennyBlain HjertaasPeggy Maddox

SPONSORS:

• Manitoba Agriculture,Food & Rural Initiatives • Manitoba Forage Council • Holistic ManagementInternational• Manitoba RodeoCowboys Association• Manitoba RuralAdaptation Council• Canadian CattlemanAssociation• Greencover Canada

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Kirk L. Gadzia, Certified EducatorPO Box 1100

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505-263-8677

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a publication of Holistic Management International


HMI Fall Courses

Introduction to Holistic Management

Nov. 10 & 11, 2008

Holistic FinancialPlanning

Nov. 12 & 13, 2008

Holistic GrazingPlanning

Nov. 14 & 15, 2008

Holistic BiologicalMonitoring

Nov. 14 & 15, 2008

$450 PERCLASS

To register for these classes, contact HMI at 505/842-5252 or register online at www.holisticmanagement.org.

All classes held in Summerville, Oregon

INSTRUCTORS:

Tony & Andrea Malmberg

Special package discounts for multiple class registrations!

We can manage grass without fences and improve animal performance to boot. Couple seeking position as Low Stress

Stock Herders/ Cattle Placers.Contact Nate Chisholm at:

[email protected] or402/244-5331 or 608/658-4674

Position Wanted

Advertise in. . . In Practice

The practice of Holistic Management® has improvedour relationships, enabled us to run profitable enter-prises, enhanced the health of the land, animals andpeople that have enriched our lives, and given uspeace of mind when faced with troubled times. Welook forward to sharing what we have learned with youand building your capacity to create the life you desire.

For custom-designed coaching based on real-life experience contact:

Tony & Andrea Malmberg768TwinCreekRoad • Lander,WY82520U.S.A. • [email protected] •[email protected] •www.LifeEnergy.us

LIFE�

Tony &AndreaMalmbergHolistic Management® Certified Educators

Books & MultimediaHolistic Management: A New Framework for Decision-Making,

_ Second Edition, by Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $39

_ Hardcover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $55

_ 15-set CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $99

_ One month rental of CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35

_ Spanish Version (soft). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25

_ Holistic Management Handbook, by Butterfield, Bingham, Savory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $27

_ At Home With Holistic Management, by Ann Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20

_ Holistic Management: A New Environmental Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10

_ Improving Whole Farm Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10

_ Video: Creating a Sustainable Civilization—An Introduction to Holistic Decision-Making, based on a lecture given by Allan Savory. (VHS/DVD/PAL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30

_ Stockmanship, by Steve Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35

_ The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25

_ The Oglin, by Dick Richardson & Rio de la Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25

_ Gardeners of Eden, by Dan Dagget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25

_ Video: Healing the Land Through Multi-Species Grazing (VHS/DVD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30

TO ORDERIndicate quantity in box preceding item, print shipping address at right, mail thispage (or a copy) and your check or international money order payable in U.S.funds from a U.S. bank only to: Holistic Management International, 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102Credit card orders: 505/842-5252, or fax: 505/843-7900. For online ordering visit our secure website at: www.holisticmanagement.org

Subscribe to IN PRACTICE_ A bimonthly journal for Holistic Management practitioners

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)

_ Gift Subscriptions (same prices as above).

_ Special Edition: An Introduction to Holistic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5_ Compact Disk Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14

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

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

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

Planning and Monitoring Guides

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

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

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

_ Early Warning Biological Monitoring— CroplandsApril 2000, 26 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14

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

_ Land Planning—For The Rancher or Farmer Running LivestockAugust 2007, 31 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

Planning Forms (All forms are padded – 25 sheets per pad)

_Annual Income & Expense Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 7_Livestock Production Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

_Control Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 5_Grazing Plan & Control Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$17

MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

Amount $_____________ Please designate program you would like us

to apply contribution toward _________________________________________

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

over $91: add $12

SHIPPING AND HANDLINGTo rates at left, for:Canada add $10 Other countries add $20

All shipping is surface or media mail.

Contact HMI for shipping rates for priority,

express or air mail.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT MAIL ORDER EMPORIUMHOLISTIC MANAGEMENT MAIL ORDER EMPORIUM

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

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

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

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

return service requested

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDALBUQUERQUE, NM

PERMIT NO 880

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


Printed on recycled paper

#121 in practice sep/oct 2008

Documents