mixing bowl tomkat overview
TRANSCRIPT
1 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Ranching for the Future Wendy Millet
The Mixing Bowl October 2014
2 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Our Mission
Provide healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to ac?on
3 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Caring for Grasslands
Store Carbon
Provide Biodiversity
Improve Water and Soil Quality
Produce Food (and local economy)
• 40% of earth’s surface • Provide many benefits • Highly altered by management and modifica?on
4 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Research Teach Learn Sponsor Connect Empower
Integrated Management Plan
Learning Lab on Sustainable Agriculture
TomKat Ranch Educa?onal Founda?on
5 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Happy Animals
Healthy Wilderness
Healthy Food
Head
Heart
Hundred Years
Our Values
6 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Our Initiatives
Ø Climate-‐Smart Ranch Ø Sustainable Landscapes Ø Raising the Steaks Ø Learning Landscapes
7 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Explore ways to use animal agriculture to build soil, improve water cycle, and reduce carbon footprint
Climate Smart
“Soil is teaming with organisms which cycle nutrients to plants and back again.” ATTRA
8 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Preparing for Unknown
• Look 100 years ago & 100 years ahead • Develop ranch-‐wide Water Conserva?on & Management Plan • Reduce GHG emissions from infrastructure and opera?ons • Develop land and business plans that are flexible and adap?ve
9 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
What We Are Doing
Ø Collect weather data (gray lines = rainfall)
Ø Compare to historical records (blue dots)
Ø Compare to climate model projec?ons (orange dots)
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Scenario Planning for Future
11 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Growing Grass Out of Thin Air
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“As I see it, the only real way that large-‐scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere can start today is if we encourage plant photosynthesis and land-‐based carbon storage ac<vi<es. In other words, we need to start growing more grass.”
-‐Courtney White, The Carbon Ranch
The Carbon Ranch
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Sustainable Landscapes
• Test and promote ranching prac?ces that provide • Economic benefits • Environmental benefits • Address climate change
• Metrics: Ø Increase locally grown food Ø Increase na?ve perennial grasses Ø Reduce supplemental animal feed needs Ø Measure carbon storage of management prac?ces
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Meet Our Team
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Sometimes the Grass is Greener…
16 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Use science to iden?fy important areas for both forage and habitats
How We Manage – Science as Guide
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Stacked Agriculture
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Grassland EvoluKon
Predator
Herbivores Grasslands
Millions of Years of Productivity and Soil Health
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Bio-‐‑Mimicry and Sustainable Food
Sustainable Ranching
Predator
Herbivores Grasslands
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Moo-‐ving the Herd
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22 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
23 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
24 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
25 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Right # of animals, right place, right time, right reasons Key to Good Grazing
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27 Providing healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Pasture values
High quality bird habitat
Adjacent to streams
Low quality bird habitat
Heavy rain Heavy rain
Bird breeding season
Grass growing season
Calving
Grazing Plan to Maximize Benefits
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Track Pastures to Prioritize Actions
6
30
57
43
8
32
12a
53
9
14
6310
26
19
34
25
36
31
56
52
12b
11
41
35
50
3 4
48
33
68
37a
16b
57
18
37b
29
28
59
67
40
16a
2a
47
65
58a
55
64a
62
17
51
61
4246
15
60
66
45
24
27
44
23
22
2b
38
39a
21
20
Mowing PriorityHigh
Med
Low
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Perennial Grasses = Sustainability
Cox et al. August 2006. Bioscience. Vol. 56, No. 8
Annual Perennial
Compared to annual grasses, perennials: Ø Are more drought resilient Ø Improve water infiltra?on Ø Hold more water and soil Ø Store more carbon Ø Provide more forage and
habitat
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Success So Far
Na?ve Perennial Grass Distribu?on 2011 Na?ve Perennial Grass Distribu?on 2013
Con?nuous Grazing Planned Grazing
Pasture with no perennial grass found Pasture with at least one perennial grass found
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Raising the Steaks
• We want to create condi?ons that enable animal agriculture to be both ecologically and economically success, in the face of climate change • Large-‐scale industrial efficiency doesn’t account for, or priori?ze, externali?es • Outcomes
Ø Solu?ons to boilenecks of sustainable animal agriculture
Ø Educa?on, outreach, and business partnerships that create solu?ons
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LeftCoast GrassFed -‐‑ our grassfed &
grass-‐‑finished beef
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Animals used as management tool to achieve a range of benefits: • Increase soil fer?lity • Improve ecosystem processes • Reduce carbon in the air • Restore water and nutrient cycles • Increase biodiversity
Environmental Benefits
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Health Benefits
• Leaner than grain-‐fed, lower in calories • More omega-‐3 faiy acids for heart & brain • More an?oxidants, vitamins, minerals -‐ beta-‐carotene, vitamin E, calcium, iron • More CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) • Faiy acid helps prevents cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, inflamma?on.
• Doctor recommended for diabe?c & auto-‐immune pa?ents
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Animal Benefits
• Eat grass, live in pastures, move in herds • Reduce stress and disease -‐ need for an?bio?cs • No grains -‐ unhealthy acids in diges?ve systems • Low stress stockmanship
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• Diet — No grains or corns • Confinement — No feedlots • Hormones — No growth hormones. • Best PracKces -‐ Con?nually improve prac?ces
Certifications
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BoSleneck: 2014 Rancho Recall
• 8.7 million pounds of beef recalled; no reported illness • USDA unfamiliar with supply chain for small processors • If we want small sustainable producers to be successful,
we have to address all the barriers
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Learning Landscapes
• We want to build the next genera?on of land managers, consumers, and leaders who understand the connec?ons between nature, sustainable prac?ces, animal agriculture, and healthy food. • Outcomes
Ø Managers, ranchers, scien?sts par?cipate in programs and workshops
Ø Consumers par?cipate in tours and programs Ø Together we iden?fy barriers and solu?ons
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Food & Wellness Our Goal: Build healthy habits -‐ ea?ng, buying, preparing, recycling A Few of Our Programs: • LHPUSD Healthy Meal Program – Teach students to prepare meals using local ingredients • CAFF's Harvest of the Month Kits -‐ Connect students to local farmers, increase fresh fruits and vegetables consumed through tas?ng kits and lessons. (ex: kale chips, cauliflower popcorn) • Food Lab -‐ Involve students in school meal planning, cooking, serving, while learning about nutri?on, food safety, compos?ng, math, science, history, culture. • Girls on the Run – Teach empowerment and life-‐skills
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Ecology & Agriculture
Our Goal: Provide people of all ages the opportunity to learn about connec?ons between food, health, science, conserva?on & ranching A Few of Our Programs: • Bird Banding, Earth Explorers • Students & Teachers Restoring A Watershed (STRAW) • Sustainable Agriculture Internship • Rancher to Rancher • Holis?c Management Ins?tute Training
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Our Workshops • 30 tours, 10 workshops each year • Topics include: Holis?c Management, Low-‐Stress Animal Handling, Conserva?on Ranching, Water Conserva?on and Management, etc
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Manage complex communities… as if everything ma:ers