#107, in practice, may/june 2006

INS IDE THIS ISSUE

Craig Leggett is the project lead for HMI’sNasaru Holistic Management Initiative inKiserian, Kenya. This project is a contractthrough World Vision, an international non-profit. Craig’s task is to train the Maasaicommunity in a region called Loodariak inHolistic Management so they can once againbecome a thriving pastoral community withthe means to provide for their own foodsecurity rather than relying on internationalaid. The following is an excerpt from his notesfrom the field.

Iwent to Zimbabwe and came back to aKenya that I hadn’t seen before.Somewhere within the 10 days gone itrained and, with no time lost, grass grew.

The hot, dusty, brown landscape with meagerair has changed to fresh spring green with rich,soft air. For a month prior, I had been wateringa patch of ground by my back steps just to seesome life emerge from the ground. Sprigs ofgreen were my reward. But now! The wholelawn is springing to life, and within a weekeverything has surpassed what I hadstarted–including sprouts of a millionwhatevers that had no inclination to break forthbefore being blessed by the heavens. A liliacae,which was a pitiful munched-on survivor undera tree in the front yard when I left, now bloomswith vigor that was well-hidden.

Upon my return to Kenya, we picked up twocases of sodas, 15 loaves of bread, the flipchartand markers in Kiserian, and then headed tothe lower end of the district to do a workshop inOltepesi. Everyone was at the center of town(two buildings) for another meeting about fooddistribution–which always draws a crowd. Alittle searching located the chief, and Phillipand Marias, my interpreters, arranged for us tosay a few words before his meeting started.There must have been 140 people under theacacia tree when we started!

Management has a different meaning here. It

Bringing Hope to Africa–World Vision/Kenyaby Craig Leggett

INS IDE THIS ISSUE

Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Horizon Organic Update . . . . . . . . . 16Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

FEATURE STORIES

NEWS & NETWORK

Achieving Milestones–-An Africa Centre Update . . . . . . . . . . .2Jody Butterfield

Managing a Holiday DestinationHolistically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Aspen Edge

Planning Your Grazing–-Time, Paddocks, and Land Divisions . . .6Jody Butterfield, et al.

continued on page 18

HMI is working around the world withagricultural producers andpastoralists–improving the land, increasingprofits, and improving their quality of life. ReadCraig Leggett’s article on this page as he shareshis experience working with the Maasai inKenya as part of HMI’s World Vision Project.Elizabeth, a schoolgirl in the Loodariak regionof Kenya, is one of many Maasai learning howto better steward their natural resources.

LAND & LIVESTOCKNew Soil and No Grain–-Planned Grazing on Cimarron Farm . . .8Abe Collins

Prosperity through Simplicity—The Coughlans of Tarabah . . . . . . . . .12Jim Howell

The Modern Native—Living Consciously in the Age of Choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Jim Howell

seems that getting things done here is more like agame of chance than a planned effort–it may ormay not happen. But probability has asmattering of grace to it, and given enough timesomething is bound to happen that you hadhoped would happen. Surprisingly, that happensa lot here and has made me ponder deepthoughts. In the West, we plan things and expectthem to happen and are disappointed andsurprised when they don’t. Here, it doesn’t matterif you plan (or don’t plan) because you don’tdare to expect anything to happen, and you arepleasantly surprised when they do happen. Theseare gross generalities, of course, but underlyingthe two extremes is a fundamental truth aboutwhat is in our control and what isn’t.

So is there hope? Can people living on theedge get a strong foothold and prosper? Iintroduced Holistic Management to a group ofsixth, seventh, and eighth graders today, about 70of them. We talked about looking at the worldthrough four ecosystem “windows,” biodiversity,sustainability, overgrazing and overrest–thebasics. And we touched on how they can createthe life they want–they have the power to do that.I get to come back and go beyond the basics nextmonth. Hopefully they will get something thatallows them to go above the basics in their lives.

Taking ChargeOne girl’s name was Elizabeth. She

answered all the questions for the group: Whatis a water cycle, what is biodiversity, and so on.She is sharp, and she is not afraid to stand upin front of all the others and say what sheknows (students stand up when talking to theteacher and elders). She makes me believe thatthere is hope.

And there is more hope with the LoodoriakWomen Bead Group in Kenya. I talked to themabout Holistic Management® FinancialPlanning. They banded together, solicited World

January / February 2006 Number 105 www.holisticmanagement.orgMay / June 2006 Number 107 www.holisticmanagement.org

At the end of January, HolisticManagement International, the AfricaCentre for Holistic Management, and the

partners in our community land andlivelihoods restoration program celebrated somemilestones. This pilot program, funded by theUS Agency for International Development, hadreached its midpoint, which also proved to be aturning point. We had achieved our number onepriority–two pilot communities in Zimbabwecombining theiranimals intosingle herdsunder plannedgrazing–anddone so despiteunimaginablechallenges.

Goats-as-CurrencyBanking

We now havea total of fourbanks in the twopilot grazingcommunities.The first twobanks were launched in the Monde communityon January 27–a major event attended by local,national, and even some international, guestsand press, with numerous speeches, singing,dancing and feasting. Monde’s Chief Mvutu,shown in the photo here, officially opened thebanks in a speech made from within the lion-proof livestock kraal (corral) constructed by thevillagers. The second two goats-as-currencybanks were launched in the Sianyangacommunity, with the same fanfare andexcitement, as we were going to press in March.

We were lucky to be able to launch theMonde banks as early as we did. We haddifficulty sourcing the 400 goats (10 each for 40families) required, and those we found were nothealthy, having come from a drought-strickenarea. Their condition worsened rapidly whenthey arrived in the Monde area where heavyrains had produced lush vegetation, and aninadequate number of vaccinations failed toprotect goat rumens from the drastic change indiet. A number of goats delivered to the Mondebanks died within a few days from pulpy kidneydisease or pneumonia, and we risked losing a

great deal of the enthusiasm for the “goatbanks.” However, our guarantee that any goatsdying within 30 days of delivery would bereplaced, left the community’s trust in us intact.In February we found a better source for goatsand our goat buying troubles were apparentlyover.

Each bank has an agreement with the AfricaCentre, as lender, that specifies interest rates (20percent–or two weaned goats per family per

year), dates ofpayment(annually) andterm of loan(three years).Each bank, inturn is creatingbylaws throughwhich they willmanage theirbank. Therehave beenseveral drafts, asbank membersimplementsuggested bylawsand thendiscover grey

areas that need clarifying–e.g., who inherits thegoats (and the loan liability) when a head ofhousehold dies or two parents divorce? Thisprocess of developing bylaws has proved to be animportant contributor to communityempowerment.

Land Restoration Through Planned GrazingRight up to mid-December we weren’t sure to

what degree we might succeed in getting alllivestock owners in each community to combinetheir animals. That we did succeed is due in largepart to the enormous effort made by our AfricaCentre staff. They spent the Christmas holidayperiod visiting the homesteads of each livestockowner in Monde that had not brought his/heranimals into the herd, explaining the programand the importance of the livestock comingtogether until the owner understood. Because fuelwas short, the staff did much of their visiting onfoot–up to 20 miles (32 km) in a day. Ownerswho had reservations about keeping their animalsin the communal kraal at night, agreed to walkthem to the starting point each morning, whichmeant starting their trek before daybreak.

2 IN PRACTICE � May / June 2006

Holistic Management International is a non-profitorganization dedicated to promoting resourcemanagement that restores land to health and operationsto profitability. As the worldwide pioneer of HolisticManagement, we’ve worked successfully with ranchers,farmers, pastoral communities and other entities since1984.

FOUNDERSAllan Savory � Jody Butterfield

STAFFShannon Horst, Executive Director

Peter Holter, Senior Director of Marketing and Product Development

Bob Borgeson,Director of Finance, Accounting and Administration

Jutta von Gontard, Director of Development

Kelly White,Director of Educational Services

Constance Neely, International Training Programs Director

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

Maryann West, Executive Assistant

Donna Torrez, Administrative Assistant

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ron Chapman, ChairBen Bartlett, Vice-Chair

Jody Butterfield, SecretarySue Probart, Treasurer

Ivan AguirreGail Hammack

Leo HarrisBrian MarshallJim McMullan

Ian Mitchell InnesJim ParkerJim Shelton

Dennis Wobeser

ADVISORY COUNCILRobert Anderson, Corrales, NM

Michael Bowman,Wray, COSam Brown, Austin, TX

Sallie Calhoun, Paicines, CALee Dueringer, Scottsdale, AZGretel Ehrlich, Gaviota, CA

Cynthia Harris, Albuquerque, NMClint Josey, Dallas, TX

Doug McDaniel, Lostine, ORGuillermo Osuna, Coahuila, Mexico

York Schueller, El Segundo, CA

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

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

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE (ISSN: 1098-8157) is published six times a year by Holistic Management International, 1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 505/842-5252, fax: 505/843-7900; email: [email protected].; website: www.holisticmanagement.org Copyright © 2006.

Achieving Milestones–An Africa Centre Updateby Jody Butterfield

Chief Mvutu officially opening the two goats-as-currencybanks at Monde.

In Sianyanga, the community cametogether with their animals fairlyquickly. A handful of families initiallyremoved their animals from the herd,taking them to a nearby riparian areato graze separately, but they soonreturned. A couple of families, who lostanimals to lions, quickly saw theadvantage of the lion-proof kraal andthe supervised grazing and broughttheir animals in.

By the end of December all but acouple of livestock owners had theiranimals grazing with the Monde herd(265 cattle, 46 donkeys, 406 goats,including 200 bank goats) undersupervision of the herders. It was thesame at Sianyanga a month later (173cattle, 28 donkeys, 216 goats, 25sheep), though goats are run in aseparate herd so herders can keep closerwatch on them in the dense bush.

In both communities, the livestockowners, through their GrazingCommittee, have organized themselvesinto teams of about a dozen herders that changeweekly. Half the team herds a six-hour morningshift, and the other half a six-hour afternoon

shift. Both men and women are herding, as wellas teenaged “school-leaver” boys. In bothcommunities the wet-season grazing areas are

quite rugged and the bush very dense,particularly so at Sianyanga where theherders return each day with theirclothes in shreds. The lion-proof kraalsin both communities are indeed lionproof. Villagers in neighboringcommunities have asked to be part ofthe program so they can put theiranimals in the community kraal, too.

Due to the heavy rains, livestockdiseases have been particularly severe.Many of the goats at Monde, asmentioned earlier, failed to thrive;community cattle, too, were affected atMonde, mainly by Theileriosis (Parvalorensiai–transmitted by the brown eartick). The Monde wet-season grazingarea includes a national park whereTheileriosis is endemic in the buffaloherds. None of the community cattlehad been vaccinated for this, so AfricaCentre staff agreed to vaccinateimmediately, and the cattle owners willpay for the vaccine.

To keep parasite populations downin the kraals, where the herd spends each night,

Number 107 � IN PRACTICE 3

Hoof-Tilled Crop Field

Though cropping was not being addressed in this pilot program, we didplan to include cropfields in the dry-season grazing plans so animalscould clean up crop residue, deposit dung and urine and churn up thesoil. One village headman, Libian Sibanda, agreed to bring a herd of

cattle onto a new cropfield last year before the rainy season to demonstrate whatmight happen. He agreed not to plow the field, nor to cut down any trees, and toplant straight into the soil “tilled” by the cattle. At the same time he agreed to dig

a trench aroundthis much-smaller-than-average-field, thatwould keep crop-damagingelephants out(they won’t jumpa one-meter gap).

The results ofthe treatment havesurprised all of us. The photo above shows the hoof-tilled cropfield in mid-February.The corn plants are six to eight feet (two to three meters) tall, dark green and withwell-developed cobs. The photo on the left shows one of many surrounding fieldsmanaged conventionally; the corn plants are two to three feet (up to one meter) tall,yellowish and without cobs.

Villagers all around have taken notice and should eagerly welcome thecommunity herd onto their fields in the coming dry season without our staff havingto convince them of the benefits.

HMI’s International Training Programs Director ConstanceNeely stands in the midst of 8-foot-tall corn plants in thehoof-tilled, elephant-proof field.

This field, just 200 yards away, is typical of every other fieldin the Monde community. Corn plants are stunted and willproduce very little food this year.

continued on page 4

Senior Program Officer Sunny Moyo (right) dancing with some ofthe Monde bank members. Her leadership has inspired the villagewomen and won the hearts of both men and women in our twopilot communities.


we’ve advised community members to movethe kraal (the fencing is portable) sitefrequently, and to housetheir chickens at the site, asmany have seen us do onDimbangombe Ranch.

Gender/HIV JusticeGender empowerment

and HIV prevention andstigmatization are two issuesthat directly affect the long-term success of the banksand the grazing aspects ofthis pilot program. Weprovided training on bothsubjects prior to launchingthe banks, and it is beingreinforced in the monthlybank meetings. One of manythings we’ve learned alreadyfrom the initial training isthat as women begin tospeak up about issues suchas condom use, orexpenditure of household funds, their husbandsmay respond by beating them (occasionally it isthe other way around with the womanbecoming violent). Program partner, VivianNcube, indicated at our January meeting thattraining in the development of negotiating skillscan help overcome this problem and isvolunteering her time to provide that training.

The Dimbangombe Ranch staff, whichincludes 40 to 60 general workers and theirspouses, most of whom hail from the pilotcommunity areas, will receive the sametraining. A number of staff members are HIV-

positive, and if we can encourage them to freelydiscuss that fact, and assist them in seeking

help, it will have a positiveimpact in our two pilotcommunities, wherestigmatization makesadmission of a positivediagnosis taboo.

ChallengesOne visitor to the Monde

community noted that if wecan make this program fly inZimbabwe, given the chaosthat exists in the country, it

could probably work anywhere. That may betrue, but our timeline was off by about sixmonths, partly due to the difficulties ofoperating in Zimbabwe. Thus we requested, andwere granted, a four-month extension fromUSAID (through September 2006) forcompletion of this pilot program. Our twobiggest challenges are:

1. Hyperinflation–In JanuaryZimbabwe’s official inflation rate reached 600percent, and by end of February had risen to justover 800 percent. The unofficial and morerealistic rate is probably greater than 1,000percent. This has created hardships all around,of course, but for our program it has made theaccounting between U.S. and Zimbabwe dollars

W hen we moved to southern Spain todevelop a 30-acre farm, part of ourshort-term financial plan wasconverting the existing workshop

into self-contained accommodation for holidaymakers. However, four years on, we had not beenable to derive any consistent income from thisspace. It was then Holistic Management becamepart of our lives and highlighted many of thereasons why we were not having the success forwhich we had hoped.

We realized that our desire to ensure that

holidaymakers did not deplete, or adverselyaffect, the natural resources meant that wesimply were not prepared to provide the facilitiesfor which people were looking. This in turnhighlighted that we were “fishing in the wrongpond!” Our lack of clarity had been directlyaffecting our success. Creating a clear holisticgoal in turn led us to defining a clear targetmarket. Once our market was defined–self-guided walkers–we were then able to create aclear marketing messenger and ensure thateverything that we did was “on brand.” All our

efforts were going in the same direction, and webecame much more effective as a result.

Once we had created our forms of productionwe were able to determine what social, economicand environmental strategies should be applied.These, in turn, led to the development ofpolicies. For example, one of our social policiesis that we are perceived as friendly, caring,attentive and authentic. Finally, we determinedthe objectives and their timelines. Thisinformation was fed into the life plan, ouradaptation of holistic grazing planning for other

A woman herds the cattle in the Sianyangagrazing area. The goats have been pulled outinto a separate herd nearby so herders canwatch them carefully and not lose them in thedense bush.

African Centre trainer Nicholas Ncube (right) holding up theSianyanga wet-season grazing plan with one of the communityherders. The grazing plan shows many days spent in anindividual “paddock” but herders graze different sections withinthe paddock on each of those days.

Achieving Milestones continued from page 3

Managing a Holiday Destination Holisticallyby Aspen Edge

areas of management, which made sure that westayed on target through providing a baselinefor monitoring, control, and re-planning.

Through applying the testing questions, we

were able to determine the weak link in theprocess and target our financial resources wherethey were going to count most. We realized wehad wasted much time through simply notidentifying the area which was slowing overallprogress towards generating a sustainable andconsistent income. In addition, the use ofHolistic Management also provided us with ourunique selling proposition which was that wewere the first holiday destination in Europe touse Holistic Management “to put theenvironment top of the agenda!”

As we have developed greater clarity andestablished sound management procedures, wehave derived any number of additional benefits,not the least of which has been psychological,

because we now know exactly where we areheaded and are confident in our ability tomanage to a successful outcome every time. Inour first three weeks of operation, we hadalready received two bookings from couples whoappreciated the fact that we managed forenvironmental sustainability and were preparedto support us in that aim.

Aspen is a Certified Educator and lives withher family at Semilla Besada in southernSpain, where people can come and stay at TheLodge and see Holistic Management at workaround them, whilst they enjoy walking in thebeautiful surrounding countryside. To learnmore visit www.holisticdecisions.com or emailAspen at: [email protected].

a special challenge due to exchange rates thatfluctuate daily. Sourcing enough cash topurchase goats from “cash-only” goat sellershas also been a challenge. Banks have limitedcash, and we often have to travel by road over360 miles (600 km) to procure it (the bulk andstorage required rules out bus, train or airtravel). And, of course, when we do manage toget the cash, we have to find a way to makehundreds of millions of dollars (a single goatnow costs Z$2 million) look inconspicuousstored on the back of a truck.

2. Fuel Availability–Fuel remainsboth costly and scarce. Our Africa Centre staffhave done their best to minimize fuelconsumption–in some cases by working on foot,which is admirable but not cost effective interms of time. To further reduce costs, the staffare taking turns being stationed in each pilotcommunity for a week at a time, going homeonly on weekends to be with their families.

Acknowledging our SuccessesManaging to convince two communities to

overcome their fears and to trust in their newunderstanding of how animals can be used torestore land is undoubtedly our biggest success.Launching our first goats-as-currency bank, andgetting as many dignitaries as we did to share inthe celebration, is a close second. And rightbehind or in front of that is the ownership eachcommunity has taken in “their” program. Whenour staff visited Monde without an appointment,they were reprimanded for acting as if it wastheir program, rather than the community’s.Just as pleasing to all the program staff is thatthe people in both communities, despite all thesetbacks, errors, miscommunications, andwrong turns, remain deeply committed and soenthusiastic that they are a continual source ofinspiration.


Our Program PartnersWe are indebted to our program partners who have contributed so much to the success of this

pilot program. They include:ZIA International (Albuquerque, New Mexico). The three principals–Judy

Pierson, Paul Bonaparte and Suzanne Stalls–were responsible for setting up the monitoringprotocols, designing the data gathering instruments and will be providing the data analysis. Inaddition they designed and are monitoring the HIV awareness/stigmatization curriculum and,with Vivian Ncube (see below),the gender empowermentcurriculum. All three havegenerously donated manymore hours than we could paythem.

Peter Mundy(Bulawayo, Zimbabwe).Peter is professor of Forest andWildlife Management atZimbabwe’s NationalUniversity for Science andTechnology. Peter has providedexcellent critiques of our plansand the monitoring programand student interns to assist indata gathering.

Vivian Ncube(Harare, Zimbabwe). Vivian is, among other things, a gender specialist with many yearsexperience in designing training programs specific to Zimbabwe and even more specifically torural and communal areas. She, too, has been very generous with her time, donatingunbudgeted training sessions just because they were needed.

Heifer International (Gweru, Zimbabwe). The Heifer/Zim staff volunteered theirtime to train our herder trainees in animal health. They also assisted in the goat buying and willbe contributing four Boer goat sires to the program to help improve the quality of the pilotcommunity goats.

We also owe a thanks to the program’s independent evaluator–Colin Nott, a HolisticManagement® Certified Educator based in Namibia. Even though he was only required to submita final report, he has provided program staff and partners ongoing and thought-provokingfeedback that has been most helpful.

Judy Pierson, of ZIA International, gathering data frombank members in the Monde community.

The Lodge


Editor’s Note: This is another excerpt fromthe soon to be published Holistic ManagementHandbook: Healthy Land, Healthy Profits, to bereleased this fall. Watch for sales details in theJuly issue of IN PRACTICE.

Timing and planning on a chart–theseare the keys to holistic grazingmanagement. As explained both here,and in detail in the textbook,

overgrazing occurs when animals takeregrowing foliage before the plant has recoveredfrom a previous bite. This happens whenanimals linger too long in one area or return toit too soon. Since, in all environments, plantsgrow at different rates, timing demands thoughtand vigilance even without such complicationsas calving and lambing, poisonous plantseasons, water scarcity, weather, and competingland uses.

With almost all holistic goals involving landmanagement–from small, tidy pastures to wideopen desertifying rangelands–land divisions arethe instrument for striving toward what you need

to achieve. These divisions can be demarcated byfences, natural barriers, or for herders by blazedtrees or natural features. In the future, technologymay provide a practical form of virtual fencing.

Whether you’re running a multi-paddockradial cell, leased land transected by ancientbarbed wire, or unfenced range, you will have todecide how long your animals will stay together inone place, how big that place will be, where theywill move next, and when they will come back.

The Effect of Paddock Numbers on TimingAs the diagrams in Figure 1 show, the more

divisions of land you have, the more recovery timeper day of grazing each paddock gets. Increasingthe number of paddocks doesn’t change theanimal days per acre or hectare (ADA or ADH)yielded by the cell as a whole. It just means thateach acre or hectare gives up its share in a shortertime.

Once paddock numbers have built up to thepoint where the longest recovery period (slow-growth conditions) dictates grazing periods

averaging no more than three days, you have theoption of using a single recovery period–say 150days, rather than 30 days for fast growth and 150days for slow growth–which simplifies thearithmetic when you get down to planning. Youcan do this because even if the growth rate is fastthere is little danger that plants will be overgrazedwhen exposed to animals for three days.

However, you may prefer to stick with using arange of recovery periods to better cater for thenutritional needs of your animals. Although youare not likely to overgraze plants over three daysusing that longer recovery period, you could getbetter animal performance during periods of rapidgrowth by dropping to a one-day grazing whengrowth is fast. Not only are the animals movingmore rapidly onto fresh grazing, the plants theyare selecting from will be less fibrous. Dependingon the number of days that growth was rapidbefore you again experienced slow growth andhad to lengthen grazing periods, this wouldshorten all recovery periods to less than 150 days.This should still give adequate recovery time since

all paddocks would likely haveexperienced rapid growth.

As the number of paddocksincreases, the grazing periodsbecome too short for overgrazing tooccur, as mentioned, but otherdangers increase, as Figure 2 shows.Note that at 30 paddocks or so, slowmoves during fast growth cease tocause overgrazing. However, if forsome reason animals do return toany paddock before the plants inthat paddock are fully recovered youwill experience great damage.

The reason is simply because thestock density will also be rising withdecreasing paddock size and so ifany paddock is badly handled agreat many plants will be overgrazedat the same time, leading not only todamaged plants but also, in a brittleenvironment, exposed soil. Once youattain high paddock numbers–up to100 or more–the chances ofreturning before plants haverecovered generally diminishes.

Moving too fast is a greattemptation because a large numberof animals crowded into a smallarea will deplete it quickly, andmoving them a day early leaves a

Planning Your Grazing–Time, Paddocks, and Land Divisionsby Jody Butterfield, et al

More Paddocks Mean More Recovery Time/Day of Grazing

With 2 paddocks, each would get 90 days of grazing and 90 days of recovery in a growing season of 180 days.

Paddock 190 days grazing 90 days recovery

Paddock 290 days recovery 90 days grazing

Paddock 130 days grazing 90 days recovery

Paddock 230 days grazing



With 4 paddocks, each would get 30 days grazing followed by 90 days of recovery. Each of the first two paddocks grazed might then get a further 30 days of grazing followed by recovery until the 180-day growing season ends.

Figure 1. The more divisions of land you have, the more recovery time per day of grazing each paddock gets.

paddock looking much better and the animalshappier. However, in a 30-paddock cell this cutsthe recovery period in every paddock by a month,and the combination of both increased stockingrate and increased stock density may overgrazeevery single plant. The best way to avoid any ofthese dangers is to plan the grazing using aplanning chart on which you are able to keepan eye on recovery periods for each individualpaddock and the cell as a whole.

In general, most ranches are understocked astheir mangers begin to manage holistically andthus, in terms of holistic financial planning,“product conversion” is the weak link. In thesecases the best marginal reaction per dollar comesfrom increasing animal numbers rather thanpaddock numbers. However, once the point isreached where the resource (energy) conversionlink is weakest, the return on producing morepaddocks–either fenced or demarcated forherding–is amazingly high. Seldom if ever canthe provision of additional water or any attempt toreduce heavy invasions of woody plants begin tocompete dollar for dollar. It is because of suchreasoning that while paddock numbers are low itgenerally pays to find an inexpensive way toconfine animals to smaller units of land–such asstrip grazing within the larger paddocks.

At some point water also becomes a limitingfactor, but again be cautious in how you deal withit. Avoid rushing into costly water provisionprematurely. Water, like fencing or livestock,should only have money spent on it when it alonewill push production from sunlight to solar dollar

further than any other measure.Up to about 30 paddocks, each new division

significantly shortens the average grazingperiod, as Figure 3 shows. After that, the timegains (in terms of your ability to minimizeovergrazing) taper off. However, as we will see,additional paddocks continue to increase stockdensity on a straight-line basis. As partial rest iscommonly a greater problem than overgrazingon brittle environment ranges, you will want toincrease stock density and/or herd effect to helpovercome it.

If you are running stock in a non-brittleenvironment, the rule of thumb about maximumdensity and minimum timestill applies although forslightly different reasons.For instance, in 100-inchrainfall tropical forestenvironments farmersworking with Allan Savoryfound that only by movingthe animals very frequentlycould they get reasonableanimal performance. Thesefast moves automaticallycame from high paddocknumbers and higherdensity.

In any environment,increased paddocks willsimultaneously improvethe graze (and trample)-to-recovery ratio. In

desertifying, low-rainfall brittle environments,the better this ratio the more rapid the reversalof desertification tends to be, provided animalimpact is adequate. And in non-brittleenvironments the better this ratio the betteranimals tend to perform and the easier it is toslow the natural tendency of pastures to revert toforest. Aesthetic and legal considerations, type ofterrain, cost of labor, herders, wildlife needs, andabove all your holistic goal, will control both thepace and level of development. All this becomeseasier the better you grasp the principlesgoverning time, density, land and animalperformance.


Paddock Number and Grazing Periods

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

025

10

15

20

Number of Paddocks

Graz

ing

Perio

d

5 paddocks15 days

30 paddocks2 days

Figure 3. The curve shows how the grazing period derived from anaverage 60-day recovery period shortens as the number of paddocksrise.

Effects of Timing with Various Paddock Numbers

Rapid Growth Slow Growth

Paddocks Days/Grazing Days/Recover Grazing Period Recovery Period Grazing Period Recovery Period

8 4 30 FAIR GOOD GOOD DANGERtoo short

8 13 90DANGERregrowthregrazed

GOOD GOOD GOOD

31 1 30 GOOD GOOD GOODEXTREME

OVERGRAZING

31 3 90FAIR GOOD GOOD GOOD

91 1 90 GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOD

(Few plants grazed at low stock density)

(More plants grazed as time in paddock increased)

(More plants grazed at higher stock density)

(Even more plants grazed at higher stock density and longer time)

(Many plants grazed at very high stock density)

Figure 2: As the number of paddocks increases, the grazing periods generally become too short for overgrazing to occur. However, moving too fastduring slow growth cuts the recovery period by a month in a 30-paddock cell and the animals may overgraze every plant.

As an all grass, no-grain dairy, we pay close attention to our grazing,and our experience with transitioning from management intensivegrazing (MIG) to planned grazing on Cimarron Farm has been rewarding. I am confident that holistic planned grazing gives us

the best results possible, and things just keep getting better. Some of thebenefits we’ve experienced are:

• Everybody on the farm enjoys taking a few days during the cold ofwinter to contribute to a plan that they can see and work with throughthe whole season.

• The cattle end up where they are supposed to be, when they aresupposed to be there. Thinking through the year before-hand oftenopens up new possibilities that we hadn’t considered before.

• We don’t “run out of grass” duringslow growth periods, as we haveplanned moves based on slowgrowth.

• Animal performance keepsimproving, and recovery periods keepdecreasing.

• Grazing planning is a great way to“enter the mind of the land”... weapproach it like a game of biologicalchess, where everyone wins.

The basic ecological principlesoutlined in Holistic Management havealso led us to experiment with some grazing and soilbuilding strategiesthat differ from management-intensive grazing convention in these parts.The results have been encouraging.

I will qualify what follows by noting that we are located in non-brittleVermont, running cows, (about 70 mature cows and 40 youngstock, thisyear), and this farm was rotationally grazed for twenty years prior toplanning our grazing. I write in the spirit of experimentation. We havemade changes in management that have yielded positive results, and weare still monitoring!

Grazing TallThe standard advice in management intensive grazing circles is to

graze 4- to 8-inch (100-200 mm) pastures down to 1-3 inches (25-75

mm). Reasons offered include even re-growth, high digestibility, highprotein for high milk and meat production, avoidance of pokey stemscausing pink-eye, higher clover content due to less light competition, andeven better water cycling due to less leaf transpiration!

This strategy comes with built-in problems. Our challenge in lushpasture grazing is to provide enough energy to balance the very high levelsof “protein,” including non-protein nitrogen. When stock are forced to eatshort, lush, high protein pasture, the microbes in the gut still need to getenergy from somewhere, so amino acids, proteins etc. are de-aminized toget at the energy stored in underlying carbon bonds (i.e. protein is turnedinto energy). Energy is freed up, but the cost is ammonia that the liverand kidneys are forced to deal with. It takes a lot of energy to run thosefilters. Additionally, oxygen in the blood is replaced by ammonia, in effect

leading to oxygen starvation. Mark Bader, of Free Choice

Enterprises, was the first to alert us tothe fact that by grazing very lushpasture, we were creating alkolosis inthe herd. When we were grazing lushpasture like this, the smell of ammoniain the milking parlor was very strong,and the manure was similar to greenpaint. We had an alkolosis problem.Andre Voisin also warned about thedangers of non-protein nitrogen inGrass Productivity, and Jerry Brunetti,

of Agri-Dynamics, helps grassfarmers manage for forage that minimizes“funny protein.”

To counter the negative effects of low fiber and alkalosis that resultfrom grazing such immature pasture, most producers around here feedsupplemental hay, silage and grain during the grazing season. Havingchosen to pursue the all-pasture path, we determined to figure out how tobetter meet the nutritional needs of the stock entirely in the pasture. Thisled us to experiment with “grazing tall.” (We should note that we do feedfree-choice minerals, as well as supplement apple-cider vinegar at the rateof 2-3 oz/head/day in the drinking water.) For more information on thebenefits of cider vinegar as a supplement for livestock, see D.C. Jarvis’book, Folk Medicine.

The benefits of the “grazing tall” strategy, though not called this, are laid

&LIVESTOCK &New Soil and No Grain–Planned Grazing on Cimarron Farmby Abe Collins

8 Land & Livestock � May / June 2006

Our recovery periods dropped byabout 15 days when we began

grazing tall, and our maximumrecovery period dropped from

60 days to 45 days in one year.

out in the chapter on energy flow in Holistic Management. In practice, welet pasture grow up to the early boot stage, at least 12 inches (300 mm) tall,usually taller, graze at high stock density, and leave a well-trampled, highresidual, about 4-7 inches (100-175 mm). We still generally achieve 55 ADA,but the harvested forage is shifted higher up on the plant.

This practice keeps growth in the steepest part of the sigmoid curve (s-curve) rather than repeatedly knocking the grass back to the bottom,shallow slope of the s-curve. Grazing tall leaves lots of leaf area to kick-start re-growth through above ground energy reserves and photosynthesis.

Our recovery periods dropped by about 15 days when we began grazingtall, and our maximum recovery period dropped from 60 days to 45 daysin one year. Other factors, such as spring management, also figured intothis.

Grazing tall results in much more developed root systems,deepening the topsoil-building zone and enhancing mineral cycling.The greater depth of root development is a plus during dry spells, as rootscan tap deep water in soils. It also leaves a nice mulch layer that seems toreduce soil drying/evaporation sowater cycling is generally enhanced.

Malcolm Beck points out thatthe dense litter that results fromtrampled residual also leads to highlevels of CO2 from litter decay in thepasture tangle, which localizes andaccelerates carbon cycling, andkeeps leaf stomata closed longerand more often, reducingtranspiration. Sounds good to us.

Grazing higher on the sigmoidcurve is where we find the bestenergy/protein ratio, and accountsfor some of our better animalperformance. With our coolerweather here in the northeast, wehave fewer problems withlignification than grassfarmers inwarmer climes.

Allowing the animals to grazethe top portions of the plant, and leave the bottoms, also increases theenergy levels in the grazed forage. As the cows happily graze the tops of thepasture plants, I suspect that they are telling us that glucose levels arehighest in the upper portions of the plant, where photosynthesis is activelyoccurring.

Increasing Pasture ProductivityGrazing at high density (we aim for stock density of between 400-800

animals/acre or 1,000-2,000 animals/ha) tramples most everything down,and results in even regrowth, not at all clumpy, even when the grass weturn the animals into is over-mature. It means a lot of moves in the courseof a day, but that is the best part of our job.

High density is not generally used in management intensive grazing,but we have found it to pay off. Clipping pastures to deal with“clumpiness” is becoming a dim memory.

Another boost to production has come from afternoon strip grazing.This stimulates the animals’ appetite when the sugar levels in the grassare substantially higher. We realized an increase in milk production of 5lbs (2.25 kg) per day per animal once we started restricting morninggrazing and emphasizing frequent moves during afternoon and earlyevening grazing (four and more moves between 11:00 am and 6:00pm,with a larger break for the early evening meal). Hot days need to be

accounted for, as we don’t want to overheat the cows, but observing thegeneral principle has been rewarding in terms of cow condition and milkproduction.

Jim Howell’s article on Llewellyn Manske’s research into rangelandecology at North Dakota State University was an eye-opener for us. Therealization that the secondary tillers generated in the fall by a grass plantbecome lead tillers in the spring leads us to be cautious with fall/wintergrazing, and leave the residual or re-growth, where possible, so these littletillers stay intact.

Dr. Manske’s research is rich. Like eating an artichoke, we just keepfinding good stuff as we peel away. Dr. Manske points out that lightdefoliation after third leaf development in the spring results in high levelsof carbon exudates from roots that stimulate soil life in the rhizosphere,enhancing mineral cycling and energy flow and promoting acceleratedplant growth through the season. This is very exciting stuff to us, andcompliments Christine Jones’ illuminating writings on the same subject(see IN PRACTICE #97).

Manske’s research shows at leasta 40 percent increase in growingseason grassland yield when coolseason perennials’ lead tillers arelightly defoliated after third-and-a-half leaf stage in the spring. That’sa lot of extra grass. In addition tothe carbon exudates, grazing afterthird leaf-plus increases tillering.

With this knowledge I amrealizing that we have to abandonthe high-production mindset andattend to the needs of the plants andsoil dwellers before production andperformance can really begin toclimb.

Management intensive grazingrecommendations that I haveencountered actually encourage theopposite of the above information.The MIG advice is to get your

animals on pasture way too early, so forage doesn’t get ahead of you, andto set up a grazing wedge (staggered forage volumes in paddocks).

In translation on many farms, this means that animals hit the groundvery early in the season. Many farmers graze through every paddock beforeany substantial growth even occurs, or start grazing when grass has just“achieved a definite green color.” By the time they get to the last paddockson the farm, they are hitting the grass at a reasonable height. This knocksback that pesky spring flush of grass and sets up a grazing wedge, but at atremendous cost; many plants in many paddocks are overgrazed at thebeginning of the season. Remember, overgrazing occurs when we stay toolong, come back too soon, or graze too soon after dormancy. If a plant isgrazed that is growing from carbohydrate reserves, rather than from activephotosynthesis, it has been overgrazed.

If the “graze really early” advice is combined with the advice to grazedown to 1-3 inch (25-75 mm) residual throughout the rest of the season,the effect is that we bite off the babies’ heads, expecting them to grow intohealthy adults, and then keep them doing arithmetic, rather thanmultiplication, for the rest of the season (i.e., they are maintained at thelow, shallow section of the sigmoid curve).

Number 107 � Land & Livestock 9

Abe finds that grazing plants tall result in more developed root systems,deepening of the topsoil-building zone, and enhanced mineral cycling.


Fall & Winter GrazingJust waiting longer to turn the animals out in the spring, though, can

lead to the troubles of a big winter hay bill, low nutritional levels late in thecows’ pregnancy (we calve in the spring), no grazing wedge, and manyacres of low-value, over-mature feed. There are many creative ways toaddress this.

One way we have stumbled onto grew from thinking through step five inthe Holistic Management® GrazingPlanning Aide Memoire (note andaddress unfavorable grazingpatterns). What we are working withnow is setting up our grazing wedgethe fall before by allowingsubstantial re-growth in somepaddocks, higher residual in others,and a normal graze-down on lastgraze in still others. This staggers thecarbohydrate reserves (and thesurvival of fall tillers) that plantshave going into winter withinvarious paddocks.

Spring growth respondsconsistently–lots of carbohydratesmeans early, robust spring growth.Since this is all recorded on our lastgrowing season plan, it is easy tomake the following growing seasonplan with reference to the record.The result is that we are not forced toovergraze any plants, get that necessary grazing wedge, and increase overallgrass production through the season on the order of 40 percent and more.From our experience with this, the gain in grass production manifests itselfin reduced recovery periods and higher plant density.

We have not been wildly successful with our winter grazing yet. We areusually on the bedded pack in the barn by the end of November. Admittedly,we have been struggling to overcome the common, profitability-impairingattitude that afflicts many Northeastern graziers: “We can’t winter grazebecause ... too much snow, delicate cows, diesel is still cheap, we likesupporting feed suppliers, we love making hay ... etc.”

This doesn’t mean winter grazing, and attendant planning, is not a goodidea. We just haven’t done much with it yet. I suspect that when we do,that’s when we’ll need a shovel to deal with the cash flow. (Winter feed andbedding are our biggest expenses.)

In the recent past our land was overstocked, in that we grazed much ofour summer growth, and bought in a lot of hay for the winter. I suspect thatthis common strategy for dairy graziers will not hold up well in the face ofdecreasing oil supplies.

Toward matching our stocking rate to the carrying capacity of the farm,we have de-stocked, and now carry about 1 animal to two acres. We expectthat the land will be able to carry more animals as we build soil health, butwe are growing into it.

Beginning this summer, we plan to experiment with some winter grazingwork. We have the advantage of a new Keyline Flood Flow irrigation system,which will enable us to have optimal moisture/ temperature conditions forgrowing experimental forage varieties we will be planting this year.

We will be reseeding with improved perennials this year, with herbal leyingredients tossed in for good measure, due to earth work related to the

Keyline® irrigation system. Experimenting with varieties that hold up well towinter grazing will be part of that.

We will also experiment with planting turnips and kale into close-grazedpasture this year. We expect a beautiful crop of kale for the cows to grazethrough the snow once the ground freezes. Think of the energy tetrahedron,and the implications of lengthening the time side by growing a forage thateffectively harvests sunlight through mid-December. Brassicas also hold theirsugar better than perennial grasses once it gets cold–another contribution to

more effective harvest of solar energyand animal performance.

The cost benefits of brassicas arestaggering, and the energy input isminimal–especially with zero-tillage(and zero herbicide) seeding. Wehave been assured by at a few otherfarmers that brassicas can be plantedsuccessfully into standing pasturewith herd effect. We achieve herdeffect routinely by stripgrazing withvery small breaks in our strip-grazing.

Is planting annuals sustainable?Given the energy used in putting uphay, as well as the effects ofmachinery on the land, I suspect itwill be. Granted, we need brassicaseeds, which had to be grownsomewhere. Current prices are a fewbucks a pound, and the seeding rate

is about 2-4 lbs/acre (2.25 kg/ha).I spoke with a farmer in mid-state New York who gets 175 ADA (438

ADH) during winter grazing on turnips at negligible cost, although he doesdisc harrow and culti-pack to establish the crop. We’re early in thedevelopment of these ideas, but we’ll keep folks up to date on progress.

Along these lines, it has been illuminating to read Newman Turner’sFertility Pastures. His tried and true strategies for outwintering dairy cowsmatch and pre-date our ideas by over 50 years.

We aim to minimize the energy/money/time investment in storedforage. Beyond winter grazing, we will be experimenting with buckrakingun-wilted cut grass into vacuum silage clamps early in the season, when dryhay is hard to make. Later in the season, we will make loose hay-stacks. Ourequipment costs for transitioning from round bale and wrapping equipmentto two old hay loaders, buck rakes and so on has been very affordable–mostequipment has been found in hedgerows and old barns.

Building TopsoilAs part of the general Keyline development of the land, which I will

describe in more detail in a later article, we have been subsoil plowingpastures.

P.A. Yeomans discovered over 60 years ago that subsoiling land aftergrazing and prior to rain or irrigation, during warm weather, led to veryfast rates of topsoil formation. It is the experience of the Yeomans familythat four to six inches (100-150 mm) of subsoil can be converted to high-humus topsoil per year!!

Grazing of grass and legume pastures at about early boot-stage prunesoff a large amount of high carbon and nitrogen root-mass, whichcomposts readily in the high oxygen, moist environment of land that has


Afternoon strip grazing stimulates the animals’ appetite when the sugarlevels in the grass are substantially higher.

New Soil continued from page 9

been subsoiled. Creating multiple biological climaxes in the soil throughplanned grazing and increasingly deep subsoiling yields stable new topsoil.

Three years of twice yearly subsoiling, in concert with planned grazing,can give us 18 inches (450 mm) of new topsoil that can be maintainedindefinitely through continued planned grazing. New topsoil, rich in high-carbon humus, holds vast quantities of sequestered atmospheric carbondioxide.

Drawing on a lifetime of experience withsoilbuilding, Allan Yeomans, son of P.A.Yeomans, predicts in his new book PriorityOne: Together We Can Beat Global Warming,that we farmers, with the support of consciouseaters, can stabilize climate change within adecade through rapid soilbuilding, and greatlydecreased fossil fuel use. I highly recommendhis book. It can be purchased or downloadedfor free from www.yeomansplow.com.au.

Our monitoring of carbon sequestrationthrough planned grazing and subsoiling will begin in earnest this comingspring. I did spend a good portion of my summer on my hands and kneesin the pastures, with my arms up to my elbows in the topsoil, and what Ifound there gave me a lot of hope.

All of the ecosystem processes were visibly enhanced by subsoilingwithin planned grazing. Root growth was incredible. The smell was justright. Soil structure in formerly compacted clays was crumbly and loose.

This leads me to share an assumption that is fore in my life. I believethat we holistic grassfarmers are humanity’s front line in restoringbiodiversity. There is so much room for meaningful creativity in our work,and it is really helped along by the use of the planned grazing procedure.The insights offered by people like the Yeomans family, Lee Manske, andChristine Jones are all gifts that we do well to use.

I can’t help but think, too, that the synthesisof knowledge and practice we are able toachieve on our little plots of earth give us themarketing message of a lifetime: “Bypurchasing the food we grow for you, you willhelp create the new topsoil in the next few yearsthat will feed a thousand generations. Together,we can localize the mineral cycle, create aneffective water cycle, stabilize the atmosphere,increase biodiversity, provide your family withperfect nutrition and true food security, enableyou to power down while your life improves,

and enable you to a practice the deepest environmentalism possible atevery meal.”

Abe Collins is a dairy grassfarmer in Swanton, Vermont and waspart of the 2001 Class of the HMI Certified Educator TrainingProgram. He can be reached at: [email protected] or802/527-2913.


Buying Clubs–Part of the Solution

One thought which I repeatedly come back to these days has todo with holistic social forms that can serve as fulcrums inachieving deep social change toward localized, powered downsocieties, the need for which is becoming more apparent

daily. I look to the future resource base, the parts where it says that theland, water and air are all healthy, nutrients are cycling locally andfarms are prosperous. Somewhere back in forms of production in ourholistic goal there was mention of eaters and farmers directlyconnected in the process of realizing perfect nutrition while increasingecological health.

When I ask what the shortest route between where we are now andthe future resource base we’ve described, I always come back to farmermanagement clubs and eater/consumer buying clubs.

Benefits of buying clubs would be:• Everyday people organize to meet real needs (good food) in a long-

lasting way that builds community and consciousness.• Perfect opportunity for non-farmers to support each other in

learning/practicing holistic decision-making.• Buying clubs place large orders to farms, greatly decreasing the

amount of energy farmers need to invest in marketing, anddropping costs for eaters. CSA’s and similar arrangements havealready laid a strong foundation for this type of arrangement.

• Farms and buying clubs merge into new wholes that connectpeople, food, farmers, and ecology.

• Buying club members can contribute labor at critical times onfarms.

• Energy expenditure per food unit is greatly reduced, due to locality,shared transport, and so on.

• Buying clubs form the social network that can provide the politicalpower needed to advocate and protect farmers in this time ofincreasing pressure/attack on family farms.

• Buying clubs open the door to other arrangements such as cow-share corporations, which dovetail perfectly with buying clubs. Inthis way, we all become holistic grassfarmers. Goodbyedesertification; hello topsoil and food security.

We have formed a buying club with about a dozen other localfamilies, and I can say from our experience that it is an exhilaratingexperience. We can see a real web of connections growing, and it istying us all together, as well as meeting our desire to support otherfarmers, increase land health, and decrease fuel use.

To me, buying clubs are one of the most simple, effective ways forsociety to begin the immediate “Power-Down” process that we owe athousand generations of our descendants, starting today with the kidsin the U.S. and around the world.

One way to help jumpstart this buying club movement might be forus holistic grassfarmers to publicly offer what no other farmer inhistory has been able to offer.

–Abe Collins

Four to six inches (100-150 mm) of subsoil can be converted to high-humus topsoil per year!!

Michael and Anna Coughlan, along with their tribe ofyoungsters (Lily, Harry, Molly, Isabelle, and Emma), areamong the world’s greatest harvesters of sunlight. We first metthem on a ranch tour that Daniela and I led through the

Rocky Mountains in the summer of 2000, and in April of 2001 added theirincredible property, Tarabah (on the plains of southwestern New SouthWales), to the itinerary of another tour of Australia and New Zealand.

It was a good decision. Tarabah blew us away with its biologicalabundance, streamlined simplicity, herds of kangaroos, and 100 percentforage-based economic prosperity. And, at that time, they were just gettingstarted in Holistic Management, having taken their first course withAustralian Certified Educator Bruce Ward in 1997. I wrote an article based onthat initial visit in the September 2001 issue of IN PRACTICE. Much of thefollowing article builds on what’s happened since that story was published.

Building on SuccessWe made another trip to Tarabah in 2004 to witness their progress, and

we’ve just had the opportunity to spendtwo weeks with Michael and Anna on arecent tour through Argentina. So,we’re updated on their progress. In2001, Tarabah carried 1,000 mothercows, close to 1,000 yearlings, and10,000 Merino sheep on 45,000 acres(18,000 ha) with one full-time hiredman (in addition to themselves).Today, five years later, the purchase of5,000 adjacent acres (2,000 ha) hasbrought the total area to 50,000(20,000 ha). Through the swapping ofsheep and cattle stock units, total animal numbers now include 2,000mother cows and, for much of the year, close to 2,000 yearlings, and Michaeland Anna hint that there is still room for expansion. Total number ofpastures has increased from 71 to 97, and they’ve decided that their one hiredman was excessive, so they now do all the day-to-day work themselves.

In addition to Tarabah, the Coughlans also own another property acouple hours to the east, in a wetter, much more productive environment,called Moombril. Its 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) feeds another 1,000 cows and1,000 yearlings, and everything stays humming with one half-time employee,in addition to a visit by Michael once every couple weeks. So, betweenMichael and Anna and the Moombril part-timer, 2 1/2 full-time labor unitsmanage to get all the day-to-day work accomplished on an outfit that attimes of the year carries close to 6,000 cattle. That’s what I mean by efficient.

No Frills ManagementNow, back to Tarabah. With only a 17-inch (425-mm), winter-dominant

rainfall pattern, the grazing on Tarabah is planned through a six-month,winter-spring growing season from early May through October (remember,we’re in the southern hemisphere), and the dormant season includes the restof the year from November through April. During the growing season, 90-dayrecovery periods are planned (resulting in most pastures receiving twograzings), and two herds are managed–mature cows and mixed sexyearlings. This results in average grazing periods of only two days. During the

six-month dormant season, all the animals are put into one herd and movedthrough all 97 pastures, taking only one selection over the dry season.

If you’ve got 6,000 cattle and no help, it’s tough to get too carried awaywith keeping records, monitoring calving, or running animals through achute. The Coughlans have cut this sort of work back to the absoluteminimum, and as you’ll see, the results speak for themselves. Calving nowhappens in June and July (instead of the area’s traditional fall calving seasonin March and April), the middle of winter. But in their mild Mediterraneanenvironment, winter isn’t really winter. It’s the beginning of the green season,with calves hitting the ground as grass growth gets under way. By the timethe bulls go out on August 20, the cows have had at least two months ofabundant green grass, and, despite the demands of lactation, are in primeshape to conceive.

Calving happens unassisted over the course of 45 days, and first calfheifers all calve in the same herd as the mature cows and at the same time.Calves are worked at three to four months of age, in late September and earlyOctober (when the bulls come out), before it gets too hot. They aren’t

touched again until weaning in lateApril, at nearly 11 months of age.Mature cows aren’t preg checked. Ifthey don’t have a live calf at side bymid-August, just before the bulls goout, they are culled and sold.

So the main herd is worked once tosort off dry cows, then again six weekslater to work the calves, and that’s it.The Tarabah cattle receive novaccinations, no treatment for internalor external parasites, no mineralsupplements–not even any salt.

Tarabah is now certified organic, so they can’t do a lot of that stuff anyway. After weaning (which takes place right at the end of the dormant season),

all the steers and heifers stay together right through the coming winter andspring growing season. The Coughlans emphasize that because this big herdof youngsters is born and raised together (and therefore have their socialissues worked out), the common problem of steers riding heifers is nearlynon-existent. The bulls actually go straight into this big herd of steers andheifers on August 20, with no problems at all, and just like the cows, theycome out 45 days later.

During September and October, the steers are all marketed as grass-finished organic beef at a liveweight averaging 880 pounds (400 kg) at 16months. This marketing happens right through the peak of their springgrowing season, after these young cattle have made the best of the year’shighest quality green grass, and before quality starts to decline into thesummer. By early December (beginning of summer), all the steers are gone,and the heifers are preg checked. Those that are bred (average breed up onheifers is 78 percent over 45 days) go straight into the cow herd, and nevercome out again. The opens go down the road. The Coughlans don’t need thismany for replacements, but they remain in an expansion mode, so anythingthat catches stays at this point.

For every 100 mature cows put to the bull, 85-90 calves reach their firstbirthday, and 78 for every 100 yearling heifers joined. Given their hands-offapproach, that’s awfully good. It also indicates that their intensive


Michael and Anna Coughlan, with only one part-time helper, manage6,000 head of cattle, moving them on an average of every two days.

Prosperity through Simplicity–

The Coughlans of Tarabahby Jim Howell

management of the cow herd through calving is excellent, given that theyare moving 2,000 head every 2-3 days with baby calves all over the place. Inother words, they aren’t orphaning many calves.

The key, Michael emphasizes, is to open gates and let them movethemselves. The cattle are never actually moved–they voluntarily migratethrough the property. The Coughlans just open and close gates to control thespeed and direction of the migration. During calving especially, gates are leftopen behind the cows so those that are calving or those that have left a calfbehind can catch up or go back if needed. All moves are always to adjacentpastures during this time. Ifa significant size group getstoo far behind, they willoften skip this group acrossa fence to a pasture themain mob is approaching,and get everythingrecombined when the bigbunch arrives.

So, by early in thedormant season (which isalso a very, very hot season,with average daytime highstypically over 104 F or 40 C),yearling steers and openheifers are all sold, all thefemales are bred up, everymature cow on the place hasa calf at its side, andeverything is in one herd.Now nothing needs tohappen for another fivemonths when calves are weaned. Michael emphasizes one of the biggestadvantages to shifting their calving to June-July is that no cattle working takesplace in the searing months of summer.

Watering the HerdSpeaking of heat and summer, you may be wondering how in the world

they manage to water one huge herd of lactating bovines without stress. Inthe previous article in IN PRACTICE, I mentioned that their proposed landplan included 37 miles (59 km) of three-inch (75-mm) water line. At thattime they were making do with creeks, windmills and small dams (many ofwhich were filled by windmills), but that wasn’t ideal. Now all of this pipe isin, plus another 6 miles (9.6 km) on the new 5,000-acre place. Water can bepumped from the main creek at the rate of 78,000 gallons (330,000 liters)per day. This volume can be sent to whatever water point the cattle arecurrently using. At most of these points, the water first enters a 30-foot (10-meter) trough with a three-inch (75-mm) overflow hole at the other end.The water continuously runs through this trough, then overflows out thehole, into a pipe, and into an adjacent pond.

The Coughlans have found this to be the perfect combination forwatering large herds. With only trough space available, lots of trough space isrequired to water several thousand animals. With only a dirt dam, water getsquickly fouled and water quality suffers. But with the availability of freshrunning water in the trough, the cattle are happy to go and drink dirtierpond water as well (the level of fouling in this water is partly alleviated by thepumped water constantly overflowing into it).

And with the availability of the pond water, the necessity for lots of troughspace is hugely reduced, and crowding problems are eliminated. If thepumping-pipe system breaks down, the ponds ensure that the cattle will stillhave access to water, which is good for the Coughlans’ quality of sleep. Most

of these water points also have an old windmill close by, and when the cattleare gone, the windmill is left on to keep the ponds full. The system is actuallydesigned to handle up to 5,000 cattle in a single herd.

When we first visited the Coughlans in 2001, they were receivingapproximately US$.50/lb ($1.10/kg) for their yearlings, and that was an all-time record high. With an unbelievably low cost of production of US$.10/lb($.22/kg), they were understandably pretty comfortable and content withtheir profit margins. Now, five years later, cost of production is still the same,but price has risen to US$.80/lb ($1.76/kg) for a finished yearling (as a resultof a continued market upswing combined with their organic premium). I’lllet you do the math from there. Incidentally, every critter the Coughlans ownis a straight Hereford. That’s what I mean by prospering through simplicity.

Return of the PerennialsBut, of course, no story is holistically complete without an account of the

state of the land. Indeed, that’s what the Coughlans are most eager to share.Because of the winter and spring concentration of precipitation, drylandwheat farming, and over a century of continuous grazing, vast tracts of landin southwestern New South Wales have lost their perennials and reverted tograsslands dominated by cool season annuals.

All this is starting to change on Tarabah. The Coughlans take photopointsevery six months, and read transects every two to three years, and with thisdata (combined with everyday observation) are seeing some amazing thingshappen. For example, Kangaroo grass, a native, warm-season perennial ofthe genus Themeda, is making a comeback on parts Tarabah. It’s nearlynon-existent for miles in any other direction. The Coughlans have createdthe niche, and long-dormant Themeda seed has responded.

When they began managing holistically in 1997, they set the ambitiousgoal of achieving 100 percent ground cover; and, in Michael’s words, “We arethere.” The duck-billed platypus in the creeks are increasing in abundanceevery year, and echidnas (little porcupine-looking critters) are making acomeback. During his entire childhood on Tarabah, Michael never saw anechidna, and last year he saw ten.

When I think of Tarabah, I think of the marginal reaction test. TheCoughlans don’t do anything that doesn’t make a fantastic holistically soundreturn to their triple bottom line. And, as their example shows, if doneconsistently, the result is abundance, in every sense of the word. Another resultis synergy. For example, despite spending no money on veterinary expenses, theCoughlans have no health issues with their animals. This is because nutritionis optimized with incredibly good grazing planning and implementation, theircalving season fits the environment, and the cattle are never stressed. If you canget what matters right, everything else falls into place.


Watering large herds can bechallenging. The Coughlans

have found a 30-foot trough,with constantly running water

and overflow diverted to thepond, offers sufficient clean

water for up to 5,000 head ofcattle while minimizing pond

fouling and crowding problems.

Afew years back I wrote an article entitled On Becoming Native.That was the summer when it dawned on me that myfamily–recently transplanted English settlers in a landscape as

foreign as the moon–wasn’t native to our high altitude ranch inColorado. Even after four generations and over 100 years, I could see thatwe were still pioneers in this place. We knew well all of our importedEuropeans tools and assets (equipment, livestock, etc.), but we remainedlargely ignorant of the effects of these tools on our land. Our recognitionof intimate details and patterns on the land itself, at the level of the soilsurface, remained cloudy at best.

Since that awakening, I’ve striven to be as observant and attentive tothe intricacies of our land as my perception allows. And as time passes, wecontinue to discover new details.Every year, every season, has newlessons to teach. We have beendoing our best to incorporate theselessons into our behavior–intoensuring that our actions in thisplace are building up rather thantearing down. And we are makingprogress. Our monitoring tells usthat, even after deviations andsetbacks, we’re on the right track.The soil surface enters each wintermore covered (or, as my good friendDuke Phillips says, “furred over”)than the last, creeks are flowingclearly, wildlife is abundant, andour critters are fat.

The lessons will continue comingfor the rest of our lives, and there willforever be refinements to make. Butwe are changing this place for thebetter, and our presence here, I’verealized, is a keystone element in itshealth. As the years pass, therelationships we are forging with this land are transitioning from pioneer tonative. We are beginning to build.

Native StrugglesBut I’ve also had some new thoughts on this whole issue of becoming

and being native. If you follow my line of reasoning to its logical conclusion,societies that are truly native to a place, living in harmony with their naturalsurroundings, should have the capacity to flourish indefinitely. The fact isthat they almost never do. Some infusion from the outside almost alwaysseems to do them in. Often these infusions (usually some form oftechnology) are forced upon them by an invading neighbor. But why did theneighbor invade, and how did he have the capacity to invade, to begin with?This neighbor, theoretically, should be from a native culture, too, living inperfect harmony with its environment. Why would he feel pressured to crossthe mountain and fight?

The answer, nearly always, is tied to resource scarcity, which begs thequestion, “Why did the resource become scarce in the first place?” Again,the answer is typically tied to adoption of a new tool with which the native

culture did not co evolve. For example, the infusion of horses andgunpowder into the cultures of native Americans created mass confusionand turmoil on a continental scale. With these new means of resourceextraction, suddenly there were seemingly infinite new possibilities, but thepursuit of these possibilities–beyond horizons that, previously, had beenadmired from a distance, not ridden over with loaded rifle–broughtdepletion, scarcity, and inevitable conflict. This exact dynamic hasrepeated itself countless times throughout history, and, of course, itcontinues.

If the Europeans had stopped on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and notfollowed their feral horses inland, the native Americans would eventuallyhave learned to use their new tools sustainably and in harmony with their

environment. They would haveevolved a new native, adapted culturethat incorporated the horse. Theresulting natural resource base mayhave turned out the poorer for it, but anew equilibrium of sustainabilitywould have resulted. Where it has hada chance, this pattern of adaptationhas also repeated itself over and over.But, why the difficult transitions? Whydon’t native cultures automaticallyknow what’s good for them and what’snot? To me, that’s the heart of theissue.

I think the answer lies in theextent to which each culture isconscious of its place as a native,keystone species. After countlessgenerations in the same place, livingbasically the same way, I wonder towhat extent native humanpopulations are conscious of thecritical roles they play. They might noteven possess the concept of “being

native,” since it is likely their only reality. So infusion of anything new,especially if it has obvious potential advantages to quality of life andlikelihood of survival, is understandably hard to resist. I’m not suggestingthat resistance to anything new is the appropriate response, but we all need toevaluate how new elements will fit into our whole.

So, my question is, “As humans living in the modern, globally connectedworld, where we all have access to (or at least awareness of) basically everyform of technology and scrap of knowledge, how do we stay on the path ofbeing native?” We aren’t confronted with the occasional new tool; we receivea daily onslaught of advertising encouraging our adaptation of thousands ofnew technologies, procedures, and widgets.

Holistic Management® decision-making can help an awful lot with thisconundrum. With a clearly defined direction and purpose (in the form of aholistic goal), we have the advantage of clarity and conviction, which resultsin a much better chance of consciously choosing what fits and what doesn’t.With a grasp of the testing questions, we can filter through masses ofinformation. To me, this is the heart of what it means to be native in today’scomplex world. We are conscious of the need to live in harmony with our


The Modern Native–Living Consciously in the Age of Choiceby Jim Howell

Making conscious decisions about technology is much easier with HolisticManagement. Through testing their alternatives for solving a stock waterproblem, the Howells found an elegant solution–the ram pump, which ispowered my gravity and requires no other outside energy source topump water.

environment, and be profitable at the same time. And because we areconscious, we can be deliberate in our choices toward these ends.

Holistic PumpingHere’s an example from the Howell Ranch. We’ve got a stockwater

situation on our high place that had perplexed us for decades. We’ve got onegood creek and two springs, but they are all on the bottom of canyons. Mostof our country lies up another 500 feet (152 m) above the water. The pathsleading to the canyon bottoms are constricted and steep, and years of cattletrailing had left them vulnerable to erosion. More importantly, without wateron the top, we realized that we’d never be able to do a good job of planningthe grazing on the property as a whole.

To move water uphill, it has to be pumped. I assumed we would haveto build a small cistern at one of the springs, mount a submersible pumpinside it, haul up a generator, place a huge storage tank at the highestpoint up on top, bury tons of pipe through rocks and forest, and gravityflow from the tank to a series of troughs. It was going to take a lot of workand a lot of money, and would require alot of attention to keep running. I lovedthe idea of having water up there, but Ididn’t like the idea of all thisinfrastructure.

Now, here’s the point. We refused togive in to conventional engineering andmade the conscious, native, holistically-grounded choice to look for analternative that would lead us on a moredirect path to our holistic goal. And, tomake a long story short, that consciousdecision led to a pump called a HighLifter. I had never seen one before, andhave still never seen another besides ours.

This pump works on gravity. It’s alittle, 18-inch (450-mm) long, two-inch(50-mm) diameter stainless steel tubewith some simple pistons, valves, andseals inside. It’s so simple I can’t figureout how it works. It uses a high volumeof low-pressure water to pump a smallervolume of high-pressure water. The principle is called a “hydraulic lever.” Forevery 4.5 gallons (17 liters) of water that get to the pump, one gallon (3.8liters) gets pumped back up the hill and 3.5 gallons (13 liters) are dischargedout of the pump. From the spring source to the pump, there are 900horizontal feet (273 m) and 130 vertical feet (39 m), which creates enoughhead at the pump to send one gallon (3.8 liters) per minute 430 feet (130 m)up the mountain. That’s 1,500 gallons (5,700 liters) per day, which isenough for the number of cattle we run on that place.

We also realized that since we only use this part of the ranch in thesummer, we didn’t need to bury the pipe (160 psi black poly pipe), and wedidn’t need a big storage to store water between pumpings, since the pumpworks 24 hours per day. It is a form of elegant technology perfectly suited toour situation–a much more holistically sound solution to our problem thananything else. And, without the perspective of Holistic Management, weprobably never would have taken the time to find it.

Conscious ChoicesI’ve never visited the Amish, but I’ve read quite a bit about them. I know

they have troubles just like we all do, but there is no question that as asustainable, intact culture, they are miles ahead of mainstream Americanagriculture. Their farms are small, energy-efficient, biologically complex,

profitable, and subsidy-free. Their kids choose to return to the land, and theyexpand their assets with cash purchases. They are faced with the samemyriad of choices that we all are, but are deeply conscious that their nativetraditions form the pillars of this model of sustainability, and they make theirchoices accordingly. We don’t all need to become Amish farmers, but theirexample is telling.

The Amish don’t hesitate to expand into new territory, either, if that’s whatmakes economic, ecological, and cultural sense. New Amish communitiesare sprouting up in many regions of the country, far away from theirtraditional strongholds in the East and Upper Midwest.

And that brings me to a new insight–one that hit me hard, and withwhich I’m still struggling. Being native doesn’t necessarily mean staying put.Another good friend, Tony Malmberg, recently sent me a poem called TheThree Fish, by Turkish poet Rumi. The three fish are the three biggest in theirnative lake, happy and successful as can be, but one is wise, one is half-stupid, and the other is just plain stupid. Then some fishermen arrive, andthe wise fish immediately decides to leave. He doesn’t tell the others of his

decision, for he is afraid that theirdeep love and sentiment for theirlake will weaken his resolve. Heswims out of the lake, has atortuous journey down the river tothe sea, but once in the sea, he isfree and the possibilities areendless. This fish emphasizes thatit is not wrong to love your home,but home is where you are going,not where you are.

The half-stupid fish, afterrealizing that the wise fish, hismentor, has fled, regrets hisdecision to stay. He suddenly findshimself in the fishermen’s net,but devises a risky plan to escape.He plays dead, and the fishermenthrow him out onto the bank,cursing their bad fortune that thebiggest fish is dead. The fish flipsand flops himself back into the

lake, and swims to the ocean to join his wise comrade. The stupid fish endsup in the frying pan, and while sizzling, has the audacity to state that if heever gets out of this fix, he’ll go to the ocean, too. But, of course, it’s too late.

I realize this poem is symbolic and isn’t exclusively referring to a physicalchange of address as the only means to deal with a threatening, challenging,or difficult situation. But, with the Amish, I would surmise that when facedwith the necessity to expand their resource base because of a growingpopulation, or to move to escape threatening dynamics over which they haveno control (like a Walmart Supercenter next door), they make their decisionsbased on where the best resource base exists to enable them to continueliving their values–to continue as natives. The ocean is their home.

So, the question is, when fishermen are perched on the bank, what is thenative response? The possibilities may be many, but if the choice is madeconsciously, in line with your family’s holistically-grounded path, it will bemade in the spirit of a native.

Jim Howell is a Holistic Management® Certified Educator. He livesin Montrose, Colorado with his wife, Daniela, and his daughter,Savanna. If you have questions or story ideas for Jim, email him at:[email protected]. The Howells bought their ram pump at SierraSolar Systems, www.sierrasolar.com.


The Amish have a tradition of making conscious decisions based on theirvalues. Holistic Management provides a framework for people todetermine their values and create direction through their holistic goal.

Board of Director Changes

Holistic Management International is excitedto welcome two new Board members, Jim

Shelton and Ivan Aguirre.

Jim Shelton has served on HMI’s advisorycouncil for many years, and we enthusiasticallywelcome him to our Board. Jim is the ExecutiveVice-President of Oklahoma State Bank in Vinita,Oklahoma. His family also owns an 1800-acrecattle ranch outside of town. Jim earned anAnimal Science degree from Oklahoma StateUniversity and is an alumni of the OklahomaAgriculture Leadership Program. He latergraduated from the Southwestern GraduateSchool of Banking at Southern MethodistUniversity.

Jim learned about Holistic Managementthrough newspaper and magazine articles in thelate 1980s and from a friend who had attendedsome of the early courses Allan taught. He becamean Advisory Council member in 2000. Jim is

involved in the local Chamber of Commerce andis President of the Board of Education of VinitaPublic Schools. He is also a member of the LongRange Capital Planning Commission for the Stateof Oklahoma, a member of the Ag 2000 TaskForce for the State of Oklahoma, a member of theBoard of Directors of the Oklahoma StateUniversity Alumni Association, and also variousother local and state organizations.

Ivan Aguirre is the new Board of Directorsrepresentative from Mexico. He and his wife,Martha, co-manage and own, Rancho LaInmaculada, in Sonora, Mexico. Ivan was born inHermosillo, Sonora, and graduated from TexasTech University’s School of Agriculture in 1982. Hebecame a HMI member in 1985 and a CertifiedEducator in 1993. Ivan is also a board memberfor the Sonoran Institute in Arizona.

Ivan first learned about Holistic Managementback in the early 1980s at a one-day seminar onthe Savory Grazing Method, in the RangeDepartment at Texas Tech, where Allan handedout handwritten forms with blue ink drawings ofthe Holistic Management process and theecosystem processes.

Ivan is the fourth generation to ranch onRancho La Inmaculada, a 25,000-acre ranch.Besides raising Beefmaster cattle, the Aguirresproduce handcrafted mesquite items (uniqueflooring, household utensils, lumber, charcoalfuel, and food), as well as grow produce in theirhome garden. The ranch also manages a muledeer herd, offers trophy hunts, and operates the

Mezquite Café and a guest ranch facility.Ivan is excited about contributing to HMI

through his work on the Board and his work atRancho La Inmaculada. “Our local commitmentto HMI is to strengthen active learning sites,empower local rural communities and expand thepractice of Holistic Management. Now with atextbook in Spanish, there is no doubt that interestwill solidify and there will a greater need forstrategic work in this area of the world.”

We also give a heartfelt thanks to TerryWord, our past Chair for his tireless efforts inmoving HMI forward. Terry’s term expired, and heis already planning what to do with all his freetime. Many thanks!

New Advisory Council Member

HMI is also excited to welcome SallieCalhoun to the Advisory Council. Sallie was

raised in Tennessee and graduated from RiceUniversity with an Electrical Engineering degree.She then moved toCalifornia in the 1970swhere she worked for anumber of high-techstartup companies.

In 2001, Sallie andher husband, MattChristino, purchased a7,300-acre ranch nearPaicines, which had once been owned bylong-time HMI member, Joy Law. Joy told Sallie toread Holistic Management. When Sallie did readthe book, she signed herself and her ranchmanager, Chris Ketchum, for HMI’s Ranch &Range Manager Training Program. DoodlebugRanch now runs 600 cow/calf and 900 yearlings.

Sallie says that the R&R Training Programreally affected how they view the land. Now theyare better able to see the erosion and biodiversityand other monitoring indicators of land health.

In September, Horizon Organic Dairycontracted Holistic ManagementInternational to work with the developmentof a new dairy facility, close to an existing

dairy facility owned by Horizon near Twin Falls,Idaho. Certified Educators Byron Shelton and JoelBenson (from Colorado) are heading up the HMIplanning team, addressing Horizon’s request forassistance with holistic goal development, testingdecisions, holistic planned grazing and its relatedland planning and monitoring.

A Tailored PlanThe new organic dairy should be operational

in 2007. Approximately half the cows from theexisting parlor should begin to graze the newsite’s irrigated permanent pastures under holisticplanned grazing in the 2007 growing season.Proper planned grazing and land planning in thisarea of inconsistent humidity are essential tomove the ecosystem processes to increase pasturehealth and productivity, as well as to maintainanimal health and milk production.

Our initial focus for the project was on theNew Dairy site. Much of our discussions focusedon cattle movements within and around thefacility. Unlike a beef operation, the dairymanagement limits flexibility in pasturemanagement because of the need for milking anddistance to travel.

Other dairy management needs requiredmultiple groups of animals to remain togetherthroughout their time in the dairy parlor, as wellas once they reached pasture. The layout of theNew Dairy needed to allow for maximum accessto pasture, appropriate levels of production, low-stress on the animals, timing of plant recovery,and handling ease for milking, pregnancy checks,feed rationing, etc

Working with dairy personnel, the

Horizon Organic Dairy–Holistic Planning for a New Dairyby Joel Benson & Byron Shelton

T h e

news from holistic management international � people, programs & projects

Jim Shelton & Ivan Aguirre

Sallie Calhoun


Horizon/HMI team first calculated foragepotential, herd size possibilities, acreage available,ADA’s, etc. We determined that the herd sizedesired by Horizon would be appropriate for theirrigated on-site pastures. We then set to work onthe facility layout in conjunction with pastureneeds and the myriad management needs.

Using existing plans as a point of departure,the on-site team developed around twentyadditional land plans, ranging from adaptationsof the existing layout, to series of satellite parlors,and even a mobile parlor design. We settled onone design centered on the mile-squared plot ofland, using natural contours for drainage, andconsidering shelter needs, wildlife, distance, etc.The result was an added fourth freestall, alleywaysdirecting cattle flow into the corners of the

squared piece of land, and an irrigation layoutthat allowed for maximum flexibility in plantrecovery and cattle movements.

Dairy management called for no fewer thaneight groups of animals. The layout, therefore,has four quadrants that coordinate with fourfreestall barns. Since each freestall holds twogroups, we split the quadrant into two cells, givingeight total grazing cells. The alleyways and cellsare all designed with maximum managementflexibility so that, if necessary in the future, cellscan be merged and the number of herds adjusted.Besides serving pasture management needs, thefour freestall barns were a necessary improvementto parlor management itself.

One significant question surrounding the NewDairy has been whether or not to plant crops for

grazing, or to help develop a permanent pasture.Andre Voisin’s work helps us understand thebenefits of a permanent pasture in terms of soilhealth, mineral availability, and biodiversity. Cropswould help maintain pasture productivity in theshort-term, but would ultimately not achieveHorizon’s desire to reach past organic standardsand into actually improving soil health and animalwelfare–which showed up in the testing of thisdecision. The current plan, thus, is to develop per-manent pasture, while designing flexibility into theirrigation plan to allow for any future use of the land.

After settling on a land plan and facilitylayout, we shifted focus to include other facets ofthe existing dairy facility. We are currentlyworking to improve planned grazing at the

She also noted that learning about the holisticgoal validated how she and Matt had alwayslooked at the world. The R&R Training Programgave them the context and confidence to take onthis new ranch enterprise. In fact, Sallie now findsthe world of high-tech startups boring comparedto ranching.

Sallie is excited about joining the AdvisoryCouncil because she sees how Holistic Managementhas so many answers, but there are many peoplewho still don’t know about it. She wants to be apart of the solution, and finds that HolisticManagement practitioners are some of the mostinteresting, curious, and smart people she’s met.

Welcome, Sallie!

Africa Centre’s Endowment Herd

In February 2004 the Maria Gans NorburyFund awarded HMI a grant of $25,000 to

create an endowment fund that would helpsupport the work of the Africa Centre for HolisticManagement in Zimbabwe. Since inflation inZimbabwe was running over 600 percent at thetime, the grant allowed us to invest theendowment funds in cattle that would be run onthe Africa Centre’s Dimbanbombe Ranch. Thiswould enable us to grow the endowmentprincipal through retention of females, and earn“interest” through sales of male progeny andcull cows and bulls, which would then be used

to support Africa Centre programs.We had two years to purchase all the animals

and only just managed to do that by February2006, when we purchased our 67th animal.Zimbabwe’s national herd has been decimateddue to political turmoil in the country; less than125,000 cattle are left of 1.4 million. We had tobuy animals where we could find them and few ofthem had immunity to the local diseases,Theileriosis in particular. Eleven heifers died,though none since March 2005. To date therehave been 18 calves born and two deaths,bringing total herd numbers to 72 by February2006. The herd value was estimated at $27,500,which will of course continue to grow.

We’re grateful to the Norbury Fund for makingthe creation of this endowment possible, and forits willingness to back a unique approach to theinvestment of endowment funds.

Elephant-Proof Cropfields

The German Development Service(DED) has awarded the Africa Centre for

Holistic Management a grant of US$7,600 to testthe effectiveness of chili powder as a deterrent tocrop-raiding elephants. The chili powder ismixed with elephant dung into balls that areburned like incense that elephants apparentlyfind disgusting. Many elephants are shot eachyear while raiding village crops. The chili“incense” could help minimize the loss ofelephants, as well as crops–a family’s six-monthfood supply can be wiped out in one night. TheAfrica Centre is experimenting with anothertechnique for elephant-proofing cropfields,mentioned on page 3.

West Ranch Field Day

On March 24th, more than 50 people followedthe long and winding road to HMI’s David

West Station for Holistic Management for the twinagendas of a field day learning about the ongoing

Southern Sustainable Agricultural Research andEducation (SARE) research grant and honoringlong time Holistic Management advocate BobSteger.

After welcomes by West Station manager JoeMaddox and HRM of TX president RichardSechrist, Dr. Pat Richardson, the SAREresearch team leader, explained the project,“Addressing Cedar Infestations Sustainably-UsingAnimal Impact to Increase Forage Production andImprove Soil Health.” Pat described how theprotocol team of Dr. Richard Teague (TAMUVernon Experiment Station), Dr. John Walker(TAMU San Angelo Experiment Station), Dr.Dick Richardson (UT Austin), Steve Nelle(NRCS), Art Roane (Hair Sheep Association),Peggy Cole (HRM of TX), Joe & PeggyMaddox (HMI) decided to test four grazing

treatments: continuous graze, continuous rest,one herd with four-paddock rotation, and oneherd with 10-paddock planned graze.

During the afternoon session, after Dr. PatRichardson’s ground-breaking video of WestRanch soil mesofauna, speakers Allan Savory,Clint Josey, and Walt Davis surprised BobSteger with a thank you for all his hard work forHolistic Management and HRM of TX. Thank you,Bob!


The Dimbangombe Endowment Herd

Clint Josey presenting Bob Steger with thankyou gifts.



Vision to provide them with beads and suppliesto get started, and in three month’s time madebead work for sale. Cash is hard to come byhere, especially for women. The men have acorner on it with their cattle sales, so it getsspent where they feel it should be spent. Now, thehope is that the women can make their ownmoney and can pay school fees with it so thattheir children–including the girls–can get aneducation, and they can put food on the tablewhen the land is dry, and maybe even dare todream about getting something “extra.”

Another interesting story is Peninah and hermother (a Bead Group member). Peninah was aWorld Vision-sponsored child starting in primaryschool. She was to be married after that–whichis common. Her mother said no, and her fatherrelented–which is not common. She finishedsecondary school and college and has beenaccepted in a degree program at Western SydneyUniversity in Australia. She is working for WorldVision now and is my interpreter when I talkwith the women. The mothers–and the

and barefoot in grass where only last year was apitiful example of pasture. He told a group fromHeifer International and World Vision what toolthey used on this land–and what anyone elsecan use to have the land come alive again (it’scalled “animal impact”). There’s more in theHolistic Management tool bag, and here inKenya I feel like a traveling Home Depot. Luckyfor me, the Maasai are in the market for a littlehome improvement.

Fifteen years ago I read an article about aman who said desertification–and the ills thatcome with it–is reversible. It’s an idea that wascontrary to popular belief, but it happened to beconsistent with mine. He had an answer to myquestion: But how?

Time has a funny way of working things out.Now I am here, walking on land that is dryingup and blowing away and among people whosuffer from all the ills associated with it. Theywant a better life for themselves, their families,their animals, and they ask me “but how?” So Ishow them.

existing parlor, a replacement heifer facility, and adry cow facility for the 2006 growing season. Wehave nearly finalized infrastructure plans for thesethree planning units and will begin grazing underthe new plan this spring, training the dairypersonnel and new herdsmen in Bud Williams’low stress animal handling techniques.

The existing facility is in transition; in 2007,half of the herd will be transferred to the NewDairy, and half kept at the existing facility. Carefulplanning, infrastructure development, andcreativity with pasture and pen layout will helpprovide all animals remaining at the existingdairy with pasture a minimum of 120 days peryear, and work towards a goal of providing at least30 percent dry matter.

Grazing HoursThe goal of providing pasture can be reached,

but provides a unique management and planningchallenge. Namely, when working through ourgrazing plan, we have found that we need a newcalculation. Given the numbers of animals we areworking with, and since we are not planning for100 percent dry matter (as the cattle aresupplemented with cottonseed, flax and canolameal, vitamins and minerals, etc. for optimalherd health), we need to calculate the actualhours of grazing that can occur on each paddockover the minimum and maximum grazingperiods. To the Grazing Plan, we added a row #39– Average Hours per Grazing Period, and an

additional column, Actual Hours per GrazingPeriod. The formula for row #39 would be:

(8*) (percent removal) (AMGP or AMxGP) =Average Hours of Grazing per Min or Max GrazingPeriod(* = a constant for the hours of grazing a cowdoes, according to research)

Eight hours of actual eating multiplied by thepercent dry matter removed and multiplied againby the average minimum or maximum grazingperiods yields the hours of active grazing duringthe grazing period. The first calculation gives anaverage time per day that the animals can activelygraze. The herdsmen therefore need to be aware ofactual time eating. If 30 percent dry matter wouldgive 2.4 hours of grazing per day, and the animalsare eating during the entire time, the herdsmenwould need to pull the animals off after 2.4 hoursbecause they would have eaten their allotted grassfor the day.

If the cows eat a bite and then laze around,they can be grazing on the land for a longerperiod the next day. The animals can only grazefor a particular number of hours during theminimum or maximum grazing period. If theplants are taken down too far, their recoverywould be slower and, therefore, recovery periodslonger. Actual times would need to be calculatedfor each paddock as well. Actual Hours would becalculated using the same formula, substitutingactual amounts for the average figures.

In addition to the land and grazingplanning, the Horizon team is developing anunderstanding of the decision-makingframework, using a holistic goal developed byHorizon workers from milkers to seniormanagement (team members). A coremanagement group responsible for the dairiesin Idaho actively tests decisions aboutinfrastructure and pasture operations towardthis holistic goal.

As the year progresses, we will train staff indaily pasture monitoring, annual biologicalmonitoring, plant recovery, pasture managementbased on recovery periods, low-stress animalhandling, etc. We are working to establish socialbaseline monitoring and indicators of progress,and in the fall we will facilitate holistic financialplanning.

Horizon and HMI members involved areenjoying a lot of learning and constant dialoguewith many valuable lessons. As managingholistically is size neutral, lessons learned maybe applied to smaller dairies, including othersinvolved in producing milk for Horizon. Weanticipate that we will also take time in thefuture to consolidate our learnings from thiswork and share it with Certified Educators andHolistic Management practitioners so that thereis learning for all. We will also periodicallyupdate IN PRACTICE readers with what we learnand experience through this Horizon/ HMIproject.

Peninah, a World-Vision interpreter, and hermother, a Loodariak Bead Group member.

Bringing Hope to Africa continued from page one

Horizon Organic Dairy continued from page 17

fathers–see that a girl with an education can beof value (she brought home food during thedrought when others were waiting forinternational relief). I think these two have beenan inspiration for the others. “Points of light”comes to mind, as does “heroic.”

Talking about points of light, here is one. Iwatched Allan Savory in his element–in hishomeland of Zimbabwe and standing waist deep


ARIZONATim Morrison 230 1st Ave N, Phoenix, AZ 85003602/280-8803 • [email protected] Bell325 Meadowood Dr., Orland, CA 95963530/865-3246 • [email protected] Bohannon652 Milo Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90042323/257-1915 • [email protected] Burrows12250 Colyear Springs Rd., Red Bluff, CA 96080530/529-1535 • [email protected] Chamblee960 Tulare Ave, Albany, CA [email protected] King1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954707/769-1490 • 707/794-8692 (w)[email protected] McGaffic13592 Bora Bora Way #327Marina Del Rey, CA 90292310/741-0167 • [email protected] Mulville225 Portola State Park, Lahonda, CA 94020650/704-5157 (c) 650/917-6120 (w)[email protected] Christopher PeckP.O. Box 2286, Sebastopol, CA 95472707/758-0171 • [email protected] RutherfordCA Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis Obispo, CA 93407805/75-1475 • [email protected] Walther 5550 Griffin St., Oakland, CA 94605510/530-6410 • 510/482-1846 • [email protected] BensonP.O. Box 4924, Buena Vista, CO 81211719/395-6119 • [email protected] Dvergsten17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323970/882-4222 • [email protected] de la VistaP.O. Box 777, Monte Vista, CO 81144 719/850-2255 • [email protected] and Jim HowellP.O. Box 67, Cimarron, CO 81220-0067970/249-0353 • [email protected] Leggett2078 County Rd. 234, Durango, CO 81301970/259-8998 • [email protected] McKellar16775 Southwood Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80908719/495-4641 • [email protected]

Roland Kroos 4926 Itana Circle, Bozeman, MT 59715406/522-3862 • [email protected]* Cliff MontagneMontana State University Department of Land Resources & Environmental ScienceBozeman, MT 59717406/994-5079 • [email protected] GompertP.O. Box 45, Center, NE 68724-0045402/288-5611 (w) • [email protected] HAMPSHIRESeth Wilner104 Cornish Turnpike, Newport, NH 03773603/863-4497 (h) 603/863-9200 (w)[email protected] MEXICO* Ann AdamsHolistic Management International1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102505/842-5252 • [email protected] Duran58 Arroyo Salado #B, Santa Fe, NM 87508505/422-2280 • [email protected] GadziaP.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004505/867-4685 • fax: 505/[email protected] Jacobson12101 Menaul Blvd. NE, Ste AAlbuquerque, NM 87112; 505/[email protected]* Kelly WhiteHolistic Management International1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102505/842-5252 • [email protected] ProbartP.O. Box 81827, Albuquerque, NM 87198505/265-4554 • [email protected] Trew369 Montezuma Ave. #243, Santa Fe, NM 87501505/751-0471 • [email protected] Turpen03 El Nido Amado SW, Albuquerque, NM 87121505/873-0473 • [email protected] YORKErica Frenay454 Old 76 Road, Brooktondale, NY 14817607/539-3246 (h) 607/279-7978 (c) • [email protected] Metzger99 N. Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815607/334-3231 x4 (w); 607/334-2407 (h)[email protected] North3501 Hoxie Gorge Rd., Marathon, NY 13803607/849-3328 • [email protected] Thurgood44 West St. Ste 1, Walton, NY 13856607/832-4617 • 607/865-7090 • [email protected] CAROLINASam Bingham 394 Vanderbilt Rd., Asheville, NC 28803828/274-1309 • [email protected] DAKOTA* Wayne Berry University of North Dakota—WillistonP.O. Box 1326, Williston, ND 58802 701/774-4269 or 701/[email protected] Dahlberg386 8th Ave. SFargo, ND 58103-2826701/271-8513 (h)218/936-5615 (w)[email protected]

Byron Shelton33900 Surrey Lane, Buena Vista, CO 81211719/395-8157 • [email protected] Neely1160 Twelve Oaks Circle, Watkinsville, GA 30677706/310-0678 • [email protected] Driggs1132 East E St., Moscow, ID 83843208/310-6664 (w) • [email protected] Casey 1800 Grand Ave., Keokuk, IA 52632-2944319/524-5098 • [email protected] PilioneP.O. 923, Eunice, LA 70535phone: 337/580-0068 • [email protected] Holmes239 E. Buckfield Rd., Buckfield, ME 04220-4209207/336-2484 • [email protected] Williamson52 Center StreetPortland, ME 04101207/774-2458 x115 • [email protected]* Christine Jost Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536508/887-4763 • [email protected] BartlettN 4632 ET Rd., Travnik, MI 49891906/439-5210 (h) 906/439-5880 (w)[email protected] Blank4625 Cottonwood Lane N, Plymouth, MN 55442-2902763/553-9922 • [email protected] Goodfellow-Heyer4660 Cottonwood Lane North, Plymouth, MN 55442763/559-0099 • [email protected] Sullivan 610 Ed Sullivan Lane, NE, Meadville, MS 39653601/384-5310 • [email protected] Bird3009 Langohr Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715406/586-8799 • [email protected] BurlesonRT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001406/328-6808 • [email protected]

Certified Educators

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

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

To our knowledge, Certified Educators are the best qualified individuals to help others learn to practice Holistic Managementand to provide them with technical assistance when necessary. On a yearly basis, Certified Educators renew their agreement to beaffiliated with HMI. This agreement requires their commitment to practice Holistic Management in their own lives, to seek outopportunities for staying current with the latest developments in Holistic Management and to maintain a high standard ofethical conduct in their work.

For more information about or application forms for the U.S., Africa, or International CertifiedEducator Training Programs, contact Kelly Pasztor or visit our website at: www.holisticmanagement.org

Certified Educators


OKLAHOMAKim Barker RT 2, Box 67, Waynoka, OK 73860580/824-9011 • [email protected] Weaver428 Copp Hollow Rd.Wellsboro, PA 16901-8976570/724-7788 • [email protected] Allday-Bondy2703 Grennock Dr., Austin, TX 78745512/441-2019 • [email protected] Glosson6717 Hwy 380, Snyder, TX 79549806/237-2554 • [email protected] Hamre602 W. St. Johns Ave., Austin, TX 78752512/374-0104; [email protected] MaddoxP.O. Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943-0694325/392-2292 • [email protected]* R.H. (Dick) RichardsonUniversity of Texas at Austin Department of Integrative BiologyAustin, TX 78712512/471-4128 • [email protected] Sechrist25 Thunderbird Rd.Fredericksburg, TX 78624830/990-2529 • [email protected] Williams4106 Avenue BAustin, TX 78751-4220512/323-2858 • [email protected] Madsen P.O. Box 107, Edwall, WA 99008509/[email protected] Matheson228 E. Smith Rd.Bellingham, WA 98226360/398-7866 • [email protected]* Don NelsonWashington State University P.O. Box 646310, Pullman, WA 99164509/335-2922 • [email protected] RobinetteS. 16102 Wolfe Rd., Cheney, WA 99004509/299-4942 • [email protected] Warnock151 Cedar Cove Rd., Ellensburg, WA 98926509/925-9127 • [email protected] VIRGINIAFred Hays P.O. Box 241, Elkview, WV 25071304/548-7117 • [email protected] Ritz HC 63, Box 2240, Romney, WV 26757304/822-5818; 304/[email protected] Flashinski 1633 Valmont Ave., Eau Claire, WI 54701-4448715/552-7861 • [email protected] Hager W. 3597 Pine Ave., Stetsonville, WI 54480-9559715/678-2465 • [email protected] JohnsonW886 State Road 92, Brooklyn, WI 53521608/455-1685 • [email protected]* Laura PaineWisconsin DATCPP.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911608/224-5120 (w) • 608/742-9682 (h)[email protected]

AUSTRALIAMark GardnerP.O. Box 1395, Dubbo, NSW [email protected] Gundry Willeroo, Tarago, NSW 2580048-446-223 • [email protected] Hailstone5 Lampert Rd., Crafers, SA [email protected] Hand “Inverary”Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 330261-3-5578-6272 • [email protected] Helen LewisP.O. Box 1263, Warwick, QLD 437061-7-46617393 • 61-7-46670835 [email protected] GriffithsP.O. Box 3045, Horth Turramura, NSW 2074, Sydney, NSW61-29-1443975 • [email protected] Brian MarshallP.O. Box 300, Guyra NSW 236561-2-6779-1927 • fax: [email protected] VirtueMary River Park1588 Bruce Highway SouthGympie, QLD [email protected] WardP.O. Box 103, Milsons Pt., NSW 156561-2-9929-5568 • fax: [email protected] Wehlburgc/o “Sunnyholt”, Injue, QLD 445461-7-4626-7187 • [email protected]

CANADADon CampbellBox 817 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y6306/[email protected] and Randee HalladayBox 2, Site 2, RR 1Rocky Mountain House, AB, T0M 1T0403/729-2472 • [email protected] McNaughton5704-144 St., Edmondton, AB, T6H 4H4s780/432-5492 • [email protected] PigottBox 222, Dysart, SK, SOH 1HO 306/432-4583 • [email protected] SidorykBox 374, Lloydminster, AB, S9V 0Y4403/875-4418 • [email protected]

MEXICOIvan AguirreLa InmaculadaApdo. Postal 304, Hermosillo, Sonora 83000tel/fax: [email protected] Blanco-MadridHacienda de la Luz 1803Fracc. Haciendas del Valle II Chihuahua Chih., 3123852-614-423-4413 (h) • 52-614-107-8960 (c)[email protected] Casas-PerezCalle Amarguva No. 61, Lomas Herradura Huixquilucan, Mexico City CP 5278552-55-5291-3934 (w) 52-55-54020090 (c)

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

NAMIBIAGero Diekmann P.O. Box 363, Okahandja 9000264-62-518091 • [email protected] Nott P.O. Box 11977, [email protected] VolkmannP.O. Box 182, Otavi264-67-234-557 or 264-81-127-0081 [email protected]

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

SOUTH AFRICASheldon Barnes P.O. Box 300, Kimberly [email protected] Blom P.O. Box 568, Graaf-Reinet [email protected] Mitchell-InnesP.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte [email protected] NeaveP.O. Box 69, Mtubatuba 393527-084-2452/[email protected] RichardsonP.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600tel/fax: 27-53-927-4367 [email protected] ToddP.O. Box 21, Hoedspruit 138027-82-335-3901 (cell)[email protected]

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

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

ZIMBABWELiberty MabhenaSpring CabinetP.O. Box 853, Harare263-4-210021/2 • 263-4-210577/8fax: 263-4-210273Huggins MatangaPrivate Bag 5950, Victoria [email protected] NcubeP. Bag 5950, Victoria Falls263-3-454519 [email protected]

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

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HANDS-ON AGRONOMYBASIC SOIL FERTILITY GUIDELINES

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We accept credit card orders (Visa, MC)

The new edition of Hands-On Agronomy: UnderstandingSoil Fertility and Fertilizer Use is available this month!Preorder now to receive your copy. Or order the80-minute video today to learn the highlights of Neal Kinsey’s work! Visit www.kinseyag.com to learn

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Kirk GadziaCertified Educator

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENTTRAINING & CONSULTING

Ph: 505/867-4685 Fax: 505/867-9952

Kirk GadziaP.O. Box 1100Bernalillo, NM [email protected]

Kirk Gadzia has over 15 years experience conducting Holistic Management training sessionsworldwide and assisting peopleon the land in solving real problems. With his hands-on,results-oriented approach, Kirk is uniquely qualified to help yourorganization achieve its goals.

Contact:

Introduction to HolisticManagement Courses

February 5-10, 2007Albuquerque, New Mexico


BARZONA RANGE BULLSF.J. FITZPATRICK • HIGHLY GREGARIOUS DESERT CATTLE 714/749-5717 • P.O. BOX 41 • SILVERADO, CA 92676

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HMI2006Course Schedule

Introductory Courses

August 25-27October 13-15

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Ranch & Range Manager

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For more information, call

505/842-5252

Printed on recycled paper

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

_ Second Edition, by Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30_ Hardcover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50_ 15-set CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $99_ One month rental of CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35_ 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

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

TO ORDERIndicate quantity in box preceding item, print shipping address at right, mail this page (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

_ Audio Cassette Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$12_ 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

_The Complete Holistic Management®

Planning and Monitoring GuideSeptember 2000, 192 page 3-ring binder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$45

_Financial PlanningMay 2000, 44 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15

_Aide Memoire for Grazing PlanningMay 2000, 46 pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15

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

_Early Warning Biological Monitoring—Rangelands and GrasslandsJanuary 1999, 32 pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14

_Land Planning—For The Rancher or Farmer Running LivestockJanuary 1999, 36 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15

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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]

Pocket CardsHolistic Management® model & 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

#107, in practice, may/june 2006

Documents

hmis world vision project

project lead

land divisions

contractthrough world

loodariak regionof kenya

seesome life

quality of life

grainplanned grazing