INS IDE THIS ISSUE

Influencing policies is an inherent part ofour democratic systems, through the voteor through more direct methods, butsuccessful outcomes seem to be few and far

between for most of us. However, state and localpolicymakers are not out of reach, and can oftenbe allies in our quest to reach our quality of lifeand healthy environment objectives. Here is anexample of how one farmer in Nebraska, KellyBruns, ‘worked the system’ to overcome some ofthe obstacles to his holistic goal, and how thatprocess helped him redefine how he could moveforward. I was mostly an observer to this process,watching policy specialists in action andwatching this farmer master the process to getwhat he wanted.

A holistic approach to policy interventionshares the fundamental steps with other uses ofHolistic Management® decision-making(described more fully in the March/April 2002 INPRACTICE and Holistic Management). It beginswith creating the holistic goal, and using it andthe testing questions, to design sound policy thatcreates the outcome you want rather thanreacting to something you don’t want. UsingHolistic Management for developing policy alsoinvolves having a clear understanding of thewhole being affected by this policy and who thedecisionmakers are within that whole. In essence,the key is to target the policy to the holistic goalrather than to a single problem. While this storybegins with a problem–a regulatory bottleneck–itends with Kelly’s holistic goal moving himforward–bottlenecks and all.

Addressing Customer NeedsAs a young dairy farmer, Kelly Bruns wanted to

restore profitability and fun to his farm, whilesupporting his community. One early step in thisprocess was to convert his machinery- and capital-intensive, silage-based dairy to a forage-basedoperation. As he made more changes, like tryingall-grass feeding, people started coming to thefarm to buy fresh milk. Some of those customers

A Holistic Focus–Beyond Policyby Wyatt Fraas

INS IDE THIS ISSUE

Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15World Vision–-Kenya Update . . . . . . . . . . 16Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Certified Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Network Affiliates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

FEATURE STORIES

NEWS & NETWORK

Keys to Influence Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Wyatt Fraas

Policy Change––A Holistic Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Fred Hays

The Sustainable Production System––Linking Beef Producers to Consumers . . . 6Abbey Kingdon

Zimbabwean Cornfield Update . . . . . . 7

continued on page 2

Kelly Bruns faced a regulatory bottleneck– he needed to change state legislation sohe could bottle his own milk on a smallscale without a large outlay of capital fora bottling machine. Read Wyatt Fraas’story on this page to learn how Kelly usedhis holistic goal to work the system andultimately move him forward–bottlenecksand all.

LAND & LIVESTOCKOn Twin Creek Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Jim Howell

Rancho San Jacinto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Jim Howell

Holistic Management® Biological Monitoring––Basic Monitoring For Results . . . . . . . . . 12Jody Butterfield, et. al.

Mini Trial Photo Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . 14

wanted old-fashioned, cream-topped milk, whileothers wanted the nutritional attributes of grass-based or unpasteurized milk. Some of thosecustomers drove hours to get milk, but sales wereerratic and difficult to manage as talkativecustomers showed up at the farm at all hours.Eventually Kelly and his brother, Kirk, who dairiednext door, decided to build an on-farm processingplant to bottle milk and make cheese.

A few years earlier, Kelly had built the firstopen-air milking parlor in the state. He knew thatit would take both good design and cooperationfrom the state agriculture regulators to succeed.Kelly showed the officials his designs, explainedhis plans, and got suggestions and cooperationthroughout the construction process. He overcametwo obstacles with good communication and goodrelations–the requirements for milk parlor doorsto have screens and for the walls to be washable.Since the regulators were by now workingalongside Kelly to design what they had come tocall a “trial facility,” they easily decided that sincethere were no doors, he didn’t need screens, andsince he had no walls, he wouldn’t need to washthem. Kelly’s milking setup became a regular stopfor farm tours, and the milk inspector was afrequent guest speaker.

That successful experience led Kelly to believehe could work through the regulations as hedesigned his processing plant, again among thefirst in the state. He again involved the regulators,from the local inspector to the agency divisionhead, from the beginning of his design process. Heshowed them his current operation, his plans,data from other states, and research results,particularly where regulations were designed forindustrial processing rather than farm-scalefacilities. As they talked about design ideas, theofficials were often concerned that, while theycould again call Kelly’s facility a “trial” setup andgive some regulatory leeway, what would they dowith future dairy processors?

Kelly repeatedly made the point that he wanted

January / February 2006 Number 105 www.holisticmanagement.orgSeptember / October 2006 Number 109 www.holisticmanagement.org

2 IN PRACTICE � September / October 2006

to provide a safe, healthful product for hiscustomers. He surprised the officials, however,when he insisted that they develop stringent farm-scale monitoring and labeling processes to applynow, not just to future farm bottlers. But Kellywasn’t thinking only about his startup problems–he was looking at his future production: hewanted flawless procedures to ensure continuedcustomer satisfaction, he wanted a model facilityfrom the regulators’ perspective, and he wanted tomake it as difficult as possible for industrialdairies to break into his market. He figured that ifthe rules called for the highest quality andmanagement, a farmer-owned and -operatedbusiness would take thetime and care to do so,while an industrial farmstaffed with hourlyemployees could not.

Taking It to theNext Level

The processing plantdesign give-and-takecontinued until it came tothe bottle-cappingprocess. State regulationssaid he must attachbottlecaps by machine,rather than by hand, forsanitation reasons. Thatmachine would cost tensof thousands of dollars,but the projected volume of sales was far fromsupporting that expense. By now the regulatorsrecognized that Kelly was serious about sanitationand safety. They agreed with him that theprocessing regulations were inappropriate for hisfacility, but said the only way to change the rulewas to change state law.

Kelly had successfully influenced dairyregulation policy in building his milk parlor afew years earlier, but now he needed to stepbeyond his local inspector and a state agency tothe state legislature level. He had no experienceworking with state senators or designinglegislation. To bridge that knowledge gap, he metwith policy organizers at the Center for RuralAffairs (a nonprofit organization experiencedwith state and national policy processes) foradvice about how to proceed. He learned thegeneral legislative process, which gatekeepers tosway, and the bargaining points to use. And helearned that as the lone advocate for hissituation, he didn’t have much leverage.

Kelly soon found out that other dairy farmers,and some of Kelly’s walk-in milk customers,wanted better access to sales of unpasteurized milk

(milk not rapidly heated and cooled to kill allbacteria). State law prohibits advertising ordelivering unpasteurized milk, although it’s ok forcustomers to travel to the farm to buy it. Thesepeople, a sizeable number, wanted to open up thismarket, and were willing to help Kelly get changesfor his processing plant, too.

Kelly met with his state representative, whohappened to be a grocer from a small town, andexplained his needs, his customers’ interest, andhow his milk processing business could be aneconomic development activity in his small townif it could get off the ground. Not coincidentally,the representative noticed that a number of his

constituents– townsfolkas well as farmers–wereasking for his help withthis. The representativewholeheartedly agreed tosponsor legislation to fixthe current regulations’shortcomings.

The representativehosted several roundtablediscussions locally and atthe capitol to get opinionsand options for theproposed legislation. Kellyand his allies (otherfarmers, an extensionagent, some customers,and some alternative-medicine doctors) made

sure to attend these discussions in force and toprovide credible information at each meeting. Itbecame obvious that linking the processing issuewith the unpasteurized milk sales issue would beproblematic, as unprocessed (“raw”) milk hasbeen considered a source of disease by regulatorsand health officials, while pasteurized milk isconsidered “damaged” by some of the “healthfood” public.

After learning of the officials’ reluctance toaccept unpasteurized milk, Kelly tried to learn thescience behind their concerns. In the process, heidentified every report of illness related tounpasteurized milk, and was surprised to find thatnone were directly attributed to unpasteurizedmilk. Although he discussed his findings with theregulators, they were not convinced.

Obviously, Kelly wanted to keep the bottle-capping and unprocessed milk issues separate, ifpossible. However, during the legislative session,the legislator introduced two bills, but they wereimmediately combined into a single bill thatincluded both issues.

Prior to the Agriculture Committee publichearing, which preceded any legislative debate,

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, Chair

Ben Bartlett, Vice-Chair

Jody Butterfield, Secretary

Sue Probart, Treasurer

Ivan Aguirre

Brian Marshall

Jim McMullan

Ian Mitchell Innes

Jim Parker

Jim 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, Ventura, CA

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

Tel: (263) (11) 404 979; email: hmatanga@mweb.co.zwHuggins 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: hmi@holisticmanagement.org.; website: www.holisticmanagement.org Copyright © 2006.

A Holistic Focus continued from page 1

One of Kelly Brun’s first attempts atinfluencing policy was his “experimental”milking parlor. He worked with stateregulators to accept a dairy barn withoutwalls which meant he didn’t need to havescreens on non-existent windows.

Number 109 � IN PRACTICE 3

undertake the risk and work of their own newprocessing facility have been severely shaken. But,because they did not undertake the processingplant construction with borrowed money, and areunder no pressure to recover those sunk costs, theyhave time to determine their next move.

Kelly’s supporters, the ones who pushed theraw milk issue in the first place, are still active. Alltheir work led the university to recall its ill-advisedfact sheet on raw milk (un)safety, and theyreceived approval to develop a publicationspecifically addressing the issues and methods ofhandling unprocessed milk for those who chooseto do so. The group sponsored a National RawMilk Summit, which 80 people from 14 statesattended, and which developed the outline for thenew publication.

While Kelly’s holistic goal led him to addressobstacles (policies) that infringed on hiseconomic objectives, he’s not focused on thoseobstacles now. Instead, he found another means

to achieve his profit targets (organic milkpremiums). Perhaps that’s the lesson? In creatingour holistic goal, we must remember in our formsof production, when we write about creatingprofit, we don’t need to (really shouldn’t) specify aparticular method of making the profit–ourtesting will assure what is an appropriate amountfor that moment in time and that our quality oflife and landscape objectives are taken intoconsideration as well. Because of Kelly’sknowledge of Holistic Management and hiscommitment in working toward his holistic goal,he continues his work to change state legislation,which affects not only his quality of life but thatof his consumers and other farmers

Wyatt Fraas is the Rural Opportunities andStewardship Program Assistant Director at theCenter for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Nebraska. Hecan be reached at: wyattf@cfra.org or402/254-6893.

Kelly and his allies met with known and potentialopponents, such as the Veterinarians Associationand the Farm Bureau, to find out where anydifferences were and whether there would be activeopposition. His presentations brought three of themost influential agricultural organizations tosupport the legislation. The supporters met todivide up the discussion points among severalpeople and practiced their presentations. Theyrequested the “radical” supporters to attend thehearing, but not speak.

At the hearing, the supporters spoke first andmade a good impression. However, they werefollowed by opponents, including universityfaculty and Department of Agriculture, whounexpectedly predicted disease outbreaks andinfant mortality if unpasteurized milk sales wereallowed. The supporters were unable to rebut thesestatements at the time, and their writtenstatements did little to reduce the emotionalimpact of the “experts” testimony. The billeventually made it out of committee unopposed(a success in itself), but the aura of “official”opposition never left it, and it made no furtherprogress, dying on the statehouse floor.

Passion & PersistenceKelly later met with reluctant university

faculty, who expected him to be furious. He was,instead, gracious and polite, but firm in hisconviction that the university was not onlyincorrect in its statements, but had no researchbasis for the statements that had been made. Heexpects them to continue to take the position thatthe health risk is too great.

This past legislative session, Kelly and hisgroup again worked with the local legislator tointroduce the bill that had made progress theprevious year. This time, it sailed through theagriculture committee with no opposition at all(probably since it had made it out of committeethe year before). But once again, it made noprogress once it hit the statehouse floor, and diedat the end of the session. The local legislator whosponsored the bill is now term-limited out of officeand his likely successor has expressed hisopposition to the whole concept, so Kelly doesn’tknow that he’ll be able to find another sponsor foreither part of the bill.

The onfarm processing plant on Kelly’sbrother’s farm, now intended primarily for cheeseproduction, still sits idle, just short of completion.

However, Kelly and his brother certified theirfarms as organic this spring and are now sellingtheir milk to an organic milk processing startupin southwest Iowa. They are selling their milk forabout $27/cwt, which is fully double what they gotfor their last delivery to their commodity milkbuyer. The economics, and the incentive, to

Keys to Influence Policy• Get your facts straight. Become the factual expert on the topic, especially in rebutting the

opposition’s issues.

• Identify the public’s benefit in your proposal. If it’s just about you, it’s not worth the agency’s orthe legislature’s time.

• Talk to the regulators. Their job is to enforce the laws and to protect the public interest, soapproach them expecting that they take that job seriously. While your proposal may be a publicbenefit, and regulators may be sympathetic to your cause, their hands may be tied bylegislation. Show them that you’re willing to work for what’s right, and they at least won’tactively oppose your efforts to change policies or laws. If they’re called to testify, they’re alreadyon your side and are perceived as having the public’s interest at heart.

• Talk to the “experts.” You may learn from them. Find out their biases and actual experiencebefore they make public statements about your project. If you (knowledgeably and politely)challenge them where fact turns to opinion, scientists will be reluctant to publicly express morethan the facts and the areas of controversy, which gives you space to build the social, economicand emotional benefits of your proposal.

• Engage your state lawmakers directly. Bring in the local ones first and often, and identify otherswith special interest in your topic. Show them why it will benefit them or their constituents andgive them opportunities to look good supporting your good ideas.

• Know your opposition. Know their arguments and be able to counter them. Better still, includethose in the planning who could veto your project. They can’t honestly oppose you if they helpbuild the proposal, and your idea will be stronger for their critical scrutiny and for building amonitoring plan that satisfies the skeptics.

• Find allies. Whether it’s other landowners, customers, environmental groups, or professionals,you speak with a louder voice as a group than as an individual. “Economic development”issues are inclusive of many special interests. And these days, unexpected allies may surface tosupport a clean environment or healthy food.

• Don’t give up. Even if you aren’t successful the first time, you’ve identified your opponents andtheir arguments and their strategies. You can be better prepared next time. If you’ve behavedprofessionally, you will have made a good impression on both your opponents and supporters,and the next round will be easier.

—Wyatt Fraas

4 IN PRACTICE � September / October 2006

Eight years ago The West Virginia GinsengGrowers Association (WVGGA) wasfounded to promote the development ofginseng farming as an economic

alternative for struggling rural landowners inAppalachia. I was one of the founders of thisorganization and at the time could not haveimagined the impending consequences of thedecision to create a new organization.

Humble BeginningsThe intent of this organization was to bring

together forest farmers and to provide combinedknowledge and resources for new growers, while atthe same time looking for economic buying andselling power. As an individual, onewould have little clout with someproduct. By putting these resourcestogether, the group could become aprice setter not a price taker.

One such example is the annualseed purchase in which we combineevery one’s orders to gain great bulkdiscounts. The same is true with rootsales where larger buyers are attractedwhen more products are on the table.This has all been in keeping with theoriginal mission.

My involvement with HolisticManagement did not occur untilseveral years after WVGGA’sbeginnings. But as I learned moreabout the Holistic Management®

Framework and worked with WVGGA,certain issues came up which lentthemselves to a holistic perspective–including the work around how and whether ornot to formally organize as a non-profit andevaluating the resource base of the organization.

The Value of WildAt a meeting four years ago, I worked with

WVGGA using the testing and diagnosis mode ofHolistic Management around the issues of wildversus cultivated ginseng. The testing anddiagnostic process revealed that U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (USFWS) Scientific Authority andCITES (Convention On International Trade ofEndangered Species), a treaty of 169 countries toprotect species of plants and animals tradedinternationally, didn’t recognize what we weredoing with our “wild cultivated ginseng.”

CITES and USFWS recognize “wild” and

“cultivated” forms of production. CITES alsoholds in their mission a support system to developartificial forms of propagation to replace demandfor the wild harvest of traded species. The obviousproblem was cultivated ginseng yields very lowvalue and is not a substitute for wild ginsengharvest, yet USFWS clearly claims ginseng of highvalue, which is being propagated by our group,falls into the wild classification and, therefore, therules and policies for managing wild populations.

It was from this insight that our group beganto work on legislation that would certify growersformally by a government program so exports ofour products could not be infringed upon byUSFWS and CITES. After two years, we were

successful getting legislation passed to address ourconcerns, with one catch. The USFWS would notaccept the fact we have been growing ginseng foryears and would not permit the state tograndfather in growers that already existed. At thistime our state legislature told us they could do nomore-any further changes would have to be onthe federal level.

Again, we were back to a dead end about whatactions to take. Advocating for our future industryis a key part of our goal. But, getting legislators toview economic, cultural, and ecological issues asinterrelated aspects of a larger whole placed ussquarely in an adversarial position against apowerful federal agency.

In 2005, the USFWS made new findings,claiming the harvest and export of roots less than

ten years old would be a detriment to ginseng. Asgrowers, we already knew ginseng viability reducessignificantly after eight years of age. The losses togrowers, if banned from selling their farm-raisedproducts, were unacceptable. The same was truefor people who traditionally harvest from wildstands of ginseng. It was essentially a ban ofginseng without the scientific evidence to provesuch a ban valid.

A Seat at the TableStruggling with how to approach this problem,

which seemed insurmountable, seemed beyondmy ability. At this point, I really began to thinkabout how to bring Holistic Management to bear

on this problem. I started with,“What is the root cause of thisproblem?” The intermingling ofdifferent bureaucracies, none ofwhom had the ability to consider theconsequences of their actions, hadcreated what seemed to be aninsurmountable obstacle.

Moreover, we, as resourcemanagers and forestland owners, werenot at the decision-making table.Therefore, the USFWS did not haveaccess to cumulatively thousands ofyears of understanding about ginsengand its habitat from theirconstituents. Decisions were beingmade that impacted us severely, whilethere was no protocol for ourinvolvement. Their research failed toinclude historical, cultural, andeconomic factors in the data

collection, while USFWS maintained these issueswere not scientific and could not influence theirdecisions. USFWS data also differed significantlyfrom producer/harvester data regarding thenumber of plants available for harvest.

The biggest challenge was we had gone togreat ends to figure out how to simulate wildconditions to get a valuable plant that resembleswild and is just as valuable as the wild category.The USFWS was essentially creating a situationwhere they would only permit us to sell plants ata $20/pound price tag when they were reallyworth $500 dollars/pound. We felt we should begiven credit for doing something trulymeaningful for the conservation of the plantinstead of being penalized.

While the growers in West Virginia had

Policy Change–A Holistic Perspectiveby Fred Hays

Cultivated ginseng is on the left side of the picture. The wild ginseng is onthe right and is worth 20 times what the cultivated ginseng is worth.

Number 109 � IN PRACTICE 5

developed a network of producers, and hadactually gotten legislation passed on the state level,the same was not true of every state east of theMississippi. We all needed to come together toaddress this issue on a national level.How could we integrate a more holisticapproach to this issue in a system thatseemed so linear and reductionist?

The ten-year ruling brought people invarious states together in discussion. Aregular core group of us from differentstates began talking online. I found manyginseng researchers equally astounded atthe difference in the data the USFWS andtheir researchers were presenting versuswhat was available within the ginsengindustry. One of the largest obstacles for uswas the USFWS seemed to call upon onebiology professor for data.

The first action plan was to hold ameeting at West Virginia University andinvite the professor and the USFWS. Wealso wanted to get people of stature in thescientific community to the meeting. Thismeeting proved fruitful, in that we didmanage to have people from variousstates attend. Unfortunately, the professor inquestion and the USFWS did not attend.

Out of this meeting, we formed a moreorganized interstate group, which also includedmajor industry stakeholders and exporters. TheAmerican Botanical Association jumped on boardwith us at this time.

Next, we developed a focused agenda. Fromthis meeting I developed a letter, which outlinedthe issues and problems, while also includingsolutions to solve the problems, based on myunderstanding of the issues from a holisticperspective. During conversations, I continuallymentioned the lack of historical, cultural, andeconomic data used in decisions by the USFWS.

Soon, other researchers in our group beganasking, “Why doesn’t the USFWS consider socialand economic issues that influence the results oftheir decisions?” This question prompted morediscussions about using cultural “research” andhistorical data along with economic issuesassociated with ginseng. Applied research versuslinear research became another primarydiscussion among these academics. The letterdeveloped from the meeting was widely distributedand ended up in the hands of congressionalrepresentatives from every ginseng state.International Affairs called me wanting a copy ofthe letter since congressional staff members wereusing the outlined points.

Turning Up the HeatI was stunned by this response. Then, a light

went on, and I turned up the heat even more. Ifound that as long as we could casually plant ideasin these circles, so these ideas could emerge later,people would use the tools we gave them to speak

for us and give us a place at the table throughtheir positions of power. I also began to providesocial and economic data to back up our claimsand recruited many others to bring more andmore data to the table–data showing theeconomic importance of ginseng trade to very poorcounties with little or no other sources of income.Likewise, we demonstrated the long history ofginseng cultivation in this country as moreevidence of the long-term history of wildsimulation.

As we proceeded to accumulate our own data,we found the senior member of the CongressionalNatural Resource Committee was a congressmanfrom our state. The letter I developed became theaccepted first statement for actions from Georgiato New York. The letter emphasized the lack of aholistic perspective point by point and was sent tothe congressman. At the same time, we had lettersand meetings with congressional representativestaking place in various states.

We were told our congressman requested ameeting with the head of the USFWS and wentthrough the letter point by point. The Director wasto address these concerns and report back to ushow they would be fixed. Several months went bywith no response from the USFWS. When wequestioned the USFWS, they began setting uppublic meetings for public input on their findings,but it seemed they were avoiding our state.

We again approached the congressman,noting we are still being left out of the decision-making process. At this time, the Director of

International Affairs told me he would besupervising the actions of the USFWS

Finally, the USFWS set a meeting in WestVirginia. It was one of the most constructive

meetings with the USFWS we ever had,with earnest discussions and increasedsupport for how to deal withinternational issues and address issuesabout regulation and policy.

As a result of this meeting, the USFWSmust now use our input as part of theirdecision-making procedure. While thenew findings and regulations have notbeen officially released, we anticipate fairguidelines based on a holistic perspective.We are excited about the new potentialfor collaboration with the USFWS,producing ever healthier stands ofginseng and a viable, sustainable sourceof income for those poverty-stricken,ginseng growing counties affected bysuch policy.

The moral of the story is a ragtagband of forest people succeeded ininfluencing national policy because weused the principles of Holistic

Management to guide us in our diagnosis ofunfair national policy and our efforts at changingthat policy. A holistic perspective, when presentedcorrectly, is very powerful, especially when it isbacked up by a diagnostic approach that requirescooperative, applied research, using the HolisticManagement® framework in the research mode.

At least three other university-affiliatedresearch departments have come forward withplans to conduct research based on socialunderstanding and the economic importance ofginseng, while at the same time seeking to verifybiological data long understood by forest people. Anew kind of research is being oriented as a resultof our efforts.

My understanding of Holistic Managementgave me the confidence and conviction to continuethrough adversity with this cause, just by beingable to recognize breaking through old policyparadigms would eventually lead us toward a goalof more inclusive and holistic policy. As othersjoined our ranks and shared their common sense,we developed a united front. Best of all, those whohad never had the opportunity to participate in thisdemocratic process at this level were empoweredthrough this process, sharing their stories andproviding insight to those in power–demonstratingjust how far astray policy can be for the people thepolicy was designed to serve.

Fred Hays is a Certified Educator in Elkview, WestVirginia. He can be reached at: 304/548-7117or sustainableresources@hotmail.com.

The Center for Sustainable Resources hosts a field day each springto share information and new findings to the public in WestVirginia. This year Fred explained how animal impact hasaddressed such problems as stilt grass infestation as well as moreinformation on the cultivation of ginseng.

6 IN PRACTICE � September / October 2006

Most beef producers in the commoditymarket don’t know the consumers oftheir product. After cattle trucks haulthe animals away from the ranch,

the producer’s segment of the production cycle iscomplete.

But for Country Natural Beef ranchers, thisisn’t the case. They are responsible for the beefthey produce clear through to the meat counter.Country Natural Beef producers even visit withconsumers of their product at retail stores. Theyspeak with potential producers and consumers,even communities and organizations outside ofproducer-consumer relations. All the time off theranch, driving to different states and cities,happens because the members of CountryNatural Beef believe this creates a sustainableproduction system.

The original organizational holistic goal forCountry Natural Beef includes this statement:“Our goal is to providesustainable means through agroup to profitably marketquality beef products desiredby the consumer, whileretaining every possible bit ofindependence.”

While each family ofCountry Natural Beef hasownership in the holisticgoal, the reason they chooseranching is somethingunique, something wovenbetween the lines of theholistic goal. It is humbleand ordinary but strong, likethe fabric of a work shirt orworn leather boots. It’s toldin a conversational-tone, likea story in the days of oraltraditions, and with the heartand hands as much as the voice. The purpose ofCountry Natural Beef is more than producing ahealthy food product; it is the art of familiesetching out a living in the landscape. It is theculture of loving the land.

Beyond WhiningIn 1986, with a low cattle market, a poor

consumer perception of red meat, decreasing landprices and high interest rates, Doc and ConnieHatfield were, “going broke and whining aboutit.” They had sold their veterinary practice

business and a small ranch in Montana in orderto purchase a large high desert ranch nearBrothers, Oregon. They said they wanted to provethey could run cattle in harmony with nature. Atthat time, they were raising commodity beef; todaythey have “de-commodified” their operation inorder to survive on the land.

It was a conversation in a fitness club thatchanged their life and planted the seed thatbecame Country Natural Beef. Connie Hatfieldwent to Bend, Oregon to ask a fitness trainer’sopinion of red meat. Ace, the trainer, said herecommended it three times a week to clients.But, he wanted Argentinean beef, because it wasgrown without hormones or antibiotics and hadless fat than American beef. Ace recommendedthis beef to fitness clients because he determinedit was a healthy product. On her drive back tothe ranch, Connie Hatfield realized a marketneed for beef that wasn’t being filled.

One week later she invited Ace, several ranchfamilies and others interested in marketingnatural beef to the Hatfield’s High Desert Ranch.This was the first meeting of the CountryNatural Beef cooperative. When their first beefproduct hit the retail market six months later,there were 14 families in the co-op, representing10,000 mother cows. Now, the co-op has 70active members representing 106,000 mothercows. This year, Country Natural Beef generated$40 million in sales. The co-op has a long-termpartnership to supply Whole Foods with natural

beef. They also supply Burgerville, a Portlandhamburger chain, with natural beef. Theirmajor markets are natural food stores inPortland, Seattle and San Francisco.

“Our customers are really concerned that thebeef is produced free of antibiotics and hormones.They realize Country Natural Beef is a differentproduct than meat that can be purchased (atmainstream chain grocery stores),” said CoreyBybee, a meat department employee in the WholeFoods store of Bellevue, Washington.

A Family-Run BusinessCountry Natural Beef is not an average

cooperative. It is not run by a five-memberboard of directors. In fact, every ranch family isa director on the board. “Five-member boardshave destroyed a lot of agricultural cooperativesbecause directors tend to become overlyimpressed with their importance and are slow to

change to meet the realitiesof the times,” says DocHatfield.

There is no profit incentivefor the Country Natural Beefcooperative itself. The co-op isa service, the Hatfieldsexplained, with the purpose ofmoving money from theconsumer straight back to theland. “The goal is to create asustainable system in whichthe profit goes back to theranches,” says Doc Hatfield.

The structure of the co-opbreaks the mold in otherways. The agreementsbetween ranchers andretailers set the price of theproduct, knocking thevolatile commodity market

out of the food production system and puttingranchers directly in business with retailers andconsumers. Country Natural Beef ranchers visittheir natural food retail partners’ stores in SanFrancisco, Seattle and Portland to chat withconsumers of their product. “Farmers andranchers are liked in these cities,” says ConnieHatfield.

Seniority doesn’t exist in Country Natural Beef.Families new to the coop have just as much say incharting the direction of the group as the originalfamilies. And family means family. Husbands and

The Sustainable Production System–Linking Beef Producers to Consumers by Abbey Kingdon

“Our product is more than beef it’s the smell of sage after a summer thunderstorm,

the cool shade of a Ponderosa Pine forest. It’s 80 year-old weathered hands

saddling a horse in the Blue Mountains, the future of a 6-year-old

in a one-room school on the High Desert. It’s a trout in a beaver built pond,

haystacks on an Aspen framed meadow.It’s the hardy quail running to join the cattle for a meal,

the welcome ring of a dinner bell at dusk.”–Doc Hatfield

wives work together on their operation and bothserve on the board, as well as children andgrandparents. There is no separation of duties ordecision-making. Families work as teams to growand market their product.

To become a producer of Country NaturalBeef, a family ranch must be nominated bycurrent co-op producers. Because all producers ofCountry Natural Beef affect each other equally,each ranch family has a vested interest inensuring fellow co-op members are producing aproduct their consumers want and by standards inline with their goal. Each member can see thecosts/profit spreadsheet for every lot of CountryNatural Beef that goes through the program. TheHatfields say this builds trust and competition.

The Country Natural Beef is certified by theFood Alliance of Portland, whose third partycertification stamp indicates that the product wasproduced with methods that are in line with socialjustice, low chemical use, humane handling anda wildlife plan, that means co-op members havean ecologically sound grazing plan.

Creating DirectionIn 1986, the original group of ranch families

wrote an organizational holistic goal forCountry Natural Beef. It includes theseguidelines:

“To be grass roots producer controlled, tocontain a bare minimum of administrativecosts, and for the costs of operation to comefrom a percentage of producer’s revenue.Country Natural Beef is an idea that needs tobe constantly examined, not an entity that canbe bought and sold.”

The mission statement of the organizationwas created in 1991 and includes this sentence:

“By striving to market our livestock in asustainable manner, the members of CountryNatural Beef will take care of and respect thecustomers, communities and lands whichsustain us.”

Doc and Connie Hatfield attended a HolisticManagement session led by Allan Savory, before they founded Country Natural Beef.From the understanding of HolisticManagement they gained at this session, theylearned the critical role a holistic goal plays ina successful organization or partnership. The Hatfields said the original rancher groupspent a lot of time making clear what theywanted in their goal. And, it’s held for 19 years,creating direction for a very successful beefcooperative.

Doc and Connie Hatfield started CountryNatural Beef in 1986 when they realized theycould fill a niche for healthy beef. All theproducers at Country Natural Beef take time toeducate consumers about their product and howthey can be part of a sustainable food system.

In IN PRACTICE 107 we shared with you thenew elephant-proof crop field we wereworking on with Libian Sibanda, one of theMonde villagers as part of our USAID project.

Libian surrounded this field with a trench one-meter (yard) wide and deep to protect the fieldfrom elephants (elephants don’t jump). He thenconcentrated all the livestock he could (othervillagers provided animals) on the field night afternight for a month or so before simply plantinginto that soil. There was no plowing or cutting oftrees despite the local belief that corn (maize)would not grow under large trees. As we notedpreviously, the response to the field was tremen-dous at the beginning of the growing season.

In the picture on the left above is the animal-treated cornfield during the rainsin February. On the same day, wetook a picture (on right above) ofLibian’s main field alongside theelephant-proof field.

At the end of the growingseason, the difference in responsefrom the two fields was quitedramatic. The picture at rightshows the maize/corn from theelephant-proof field in Libian’sright hand (on left side of picture)and the maize/corn from theconventional field in his other

hand. We also measured the two fields andquestioned him about the total yield from each.The elephant-proof field yielded approximately 15times the yield per acre!

Following this impressive difference, we areseeing marked interest from other villagers. As aconsequence, in the present dry season planning,the main herd is being kraaled overnight onmany fields in turn. In this way, we combine thepredator-friendly herding, reversingdesertification, and overnight kraaling in lion-proof kraals with better crop production.

Zimbabwean Cornfield Update

Number 109 � IN PRACTICE 7

8 Land & Livestock � September / October 2006

In January of 2001, I was given the opportunity to speak at the annualgathering of the Colorado Branch of Holistic Management, in Boulder,Colorado. As a result of traveling and working in a broad range ofbrittle-tending environments, I was starting to recognize some patterns

and tendencies, and my talk in Boulder was my first attempt to articulatethese observations.

These ideas were centered around my realization that the brittle, but veryproductive, savannas in the high rainfall tropics of Africa, though sharing thesame essential traits, are quitea bit different than the lowproduction, highly brittle,semi-desert steppelandscharacterizing so much of theAmerican West–particularlywhen it comes to practicalconsiderations ofmanagement. In nervoushaste, I spit out my speech,feeling that I’d probably donean inadequate job of makingmy point. But afterwards, aguy named Tony Malmbergapproached me.

Three Out of FourHe told me that for years, since the initiation of thoughtful grazing

planning on their central Wyoming ranch, Twin Creek–16,000 acres (6,400ha) in a 12-inch (300 mm) precipitation, highly brittle, low production,sagebrush steppe environment–production and the health of the land hadbeen improving. As fencing and water had been developed and the control oftime become increasingly refined, new grasses had come in, bare groundwas healing over, and riparian areas had blossomed. But, for the previousseveral years, a sudden negative trend had ensued. Bare ground was back onthe rise and bluebunch wheatgrass, one of the sagebrush steppe’s mostvaluable perennial grasses, was on the decline.

Before Tony told me what he’d changed in his management to bringabout this backward slide, he asked me what I would have done differentlyon the High Lonesome Ranch–also a low production, highly brittle ranchmy wife and I managed in the Chihuahua Desert of southwestern New

Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the mid-90s. I immediately blurted out,“I would have tried to manage for longer recovery periods.” I had seen what18+ month recovery periods could do on that low production, desert range.That was typically enough time to grow plenty of forage to both feed thelivestock and accumulate some older material to serve as a source of soil-covering litter. The palatable shrub species also had the chance to recoverspectacularly. When I related these experiences to Tony, he noddedknowingly and then responded, “Our collapse happened when we shortened

recovery periods and startedgrazing twice per season.”

Since then, Tony andwife, Andrea, have shiftedtheir grazing planning tograzing each pasture threeyears out of four, withtypically at least 14 monthsbetween grazing periods. Apasture grazed in the springwill be grazed in the summerof the following year, andthen not until the fall thenext year. During the fourthyear, that pasture will havethe entire year off, and thenwill be grazed in the spring

of the fifth year. That early grazing, with the new season’s leaves coming upthrough last year’s grass, gets lots of litter on the ground (no winter grazingtakes place on Twin Creek due to snow cover). This broad policy put theTwin Creek landscape back on the mend, and has resulted in the Malmbergsbeing able to weather a bad string of drought years with only minimaldestocking. This year (the toughest year anyone remembers), the pasturesthat had last year off (i.e. the 20-25 percent that weren’t grazed) haveyielded from 100-120 percent of their 10-year average harvest, while thosegrazed after June 14 last year are only yielding 50 percent.

A Thoughtful ResponseBut that’s not it, not by a long shot. It’s the way in which each pasture is

grazed that deserves some serious further explanation. Before I get into that,you need to understand that Tony is a thinking cowboy. He has a passion for

&LIVESTOCK &On Twin Creek Ranch–Acting on “Change Requests” in the Sagebrush Steppeby Jim Howell

Aerial view of the valleys, slopes, hills, and mesas through which the Twin Creek cattleare daily herded.

land, cows, and horses bordering on fanatical, and is constantly trying tolearn and incorporate those lessons into his daily management. Heconsistently observes and questions, reads classical novels for their enduringtruths, and recites timeless poetry to support his points. He and Andreaemphasize that “We have developed the habit of listening for the unexpectedrequest for change and acting on that request. If one does not act, itbecomes a habit of ignoring the facts.”

So if twice per season grazing is taking the land in the wrong direction,you don’t bury your head in the sand. You listen and act. If cattleperformance is struggling as you force them into the far corners of everypasture, you don’t ignore those results; you sort out a new tack and change.

So, that brings us back to how the grazing actually happens in eachpasture. First, with the use of portable electric fence, each permanent pastureis further subdivided so that grazingperiods are typically no longer thanfive days. Tony calls this mini-grazing period within a permanentpasture a “set.” Lots of folks wouldcall it a “break.” Where possible,these portable wires are strungthrough the sagebrush to minimize the need for posts. Most of Twin Creek’supland country (outside the riparian and flood/sub-irrigated meadows)produces on the order of 10 stock days per acre (.4 ha) in one grazing periodper year. So, that means that over five days, 600 lactating cows worth 1.5stock units will have on average access to 450 acres (180 ha).

Cow Communication That’s already pretty good stock density in a highly brittle, semi-arid,

cold steppe landscape. The vast majority of Wyoming ranchers would bedoing great to come anywhere near that level of animal concentration. But,Tony takes his grazing management to one further level of refinement. Thislast step, Tony admits, came as a result of their ranch guest vacationenterprise. Tony and Andrea take in wannabe cowboys and cowgirls andintegrate them into whatever daily activities happen to be taking place. Thislast level of refinement is daily herding, and evolved as a solution to“figuring out something for the dudes to do,” as Tony says.

But, it’s not just herding. Over the years, lots of observation and hardknocks have transformed Tony’s herding paradigm. It’s a style of herdingthat runs counterintuitive to what most of us might envision when wethink of herding. The reason we traditionally herd (as in drifting animalswhere we want them to go, not gathering or rounding up) is to improvegrazing distribution and increase stock density and animal impact tolevels that no amount of fencing can do. Most of the time, this means wepush our animals into corners or onto slopes or any hard-to-get-to spotsthat animals don’t voluntarily cover on their own. The key word there ispush, as in “against their will.”

That’s the old paradigm. Tony and his dudes did that for a long time.The first day in a new pasture, they’d pick the cattle up off of water in latemorning and drive the cattle to the top of the ridge, or to the back cornerthree miles away, or just a long ways from water, whatever the direction. Theproblem is that the cattle didn’t like doing that, and they suffered. And itdidn’t work that great anyway, because the cattle seldom stayed where youwanted them for length of time you wanted them there. They weren’t happy.

So, true to form, Tony finally listened to this “unexpected request forchange” and acted (he’s better at it now than he used to be–to listening,that is). Now, what’s the objective? Generally, to get cow tracks on everysquare foot of pasture, use the grass evenly, and achieve good animalperformance (i.e. minimize or eliminate stress). Now, instead of attemptingto get animals into the back of the paddock from Day One, on Days One and

Two of a new set, he lets them choice out the easy-to-get-to and mostpalatable areas. In the case of Twin Creek, that’s frequently along theriparian corridor running through a pasture. That’s where the cattle want tobe. Driving them away from those spots only stresses them. Moreover, youwant the cattle to graze those areas anyway, just not camp on them andoveruse them. So, it makes sense to let the cows use the good spots in thebeginning, when that’s where they want to be anyway.

Then, in successive days, Tony and his dudes will arrive at the water inmid-morning after the cattle have watered. They will decide on a direction totake them, and get movement started accordingly. As soon as the cattle droptheir heads, they release the pressure and push no further. What’s that meanwhen the cattle drop their heads? It means they’re entering fresh ground thathasn’t been fouled or grazed. Usually when trying to locate cattle, we push

them across all sorts of countrywhere they’d be happy to stop andeat. But no, we decide we’re going toget them to the top of the ridge orthe back side of the pasture, so wekeep pushing. Now, instead of tryingto get to the pasture’s back corner on

Day Two of a five-day set, Tony will get there on Day Five, dropping the cattleoff on the way there, each day a little further out. By Day Five, the backcorner is where the cows want to be, because that’s where the last unfouled,ungrazed ground is. If they drop their heads to graze, the cattle are tellingyou that “This will do, please leave us here and let us fill our bellies.”

So, to reiterate the principle, let the cattle graze out the choicest, easiestareas first, and then in the following days start gradually drifting them awayfrom these spots until they drop their heads. By the last day, the cattle will walkto the back of the pasture voluntarily and with no stress, because by then it’sthe best spot in the pasture. This makes it lots easier on cows, horses, people,and bank accounts. In the old days, Tony claimed that it took cattle from newcustom grazing clients three years to adjust to his grazing management. Now,by daily drifting cattle to fresh feed, new cattle never miss a beat.

The other positive is that during the actual herding, Tony is able toachieve herd effect across the areas the cattle are driven across. In these low-production, highly brittle environments, herd effect never happens unlessanimals are intentionally bunched. Daily herding gets this done onsignificant stretches of country.

We just visited Twin Creek on a ranch tour we led in May. The past fiveyears have been tough drought years for the most part, but this year isturning out to be a killer. In late May, the grass had already lost most of itsgreen at what should have been the most lush (lush for Wyoming) time ofthe year. Twin Creek looked pretty rough, but then we went and looked at theneighbor’s place, and if Twin Creek was tough, the neighbor’s country wasdouble tough. The difference in plant vigor and bare ground was striking(striking, that is, if your eye is in the habit of closely examining soil surfacedetail in sagebrush country). Then we went and looked at a decades-oldexclosure, and the difference was even more pronounced.

Despite all their challenges, lessons learned, hard knocks, and setbacks,Tony and Andrea are making progress through “listening for the unexpectedrequest for change,” and acting accordingly–not just at the soil surface, butin their lives and on the ranch as a whole. Now that I think about, that’sreally just a fancy way of expressing one of Holistic Management’s crucialtenets–when managing land, assume you’re wrong and monitor (listen) forthe signs that you’re off track (need to change), and then control and, ifnecessary, replan (act) to get back on track. With a clear, deeply meaningfulholistic goal driving them, Tony and Andrea have become masters atmonitoring and adapting. I’d recommend planning a visit to Twin Creek tosee for yourself.

Number 109 � Land & Livestock 9

The pastures that had last year off have yieldedfrom 100-120 percent, while those grazed

last year are only yielding 50 percent.

In the last issue of IN PRACTICE, I wrote about the ranching andecotourism potential of the steppe landscapes of Santa Cruz,Argentina–the bottom tip of Patagonia. As my wife Daniela and Itravel to different agricultural and ranching regions around the

world, each of our typically international clientele mix sees “potential”through a uniquely shaped lens.

I see lots of potential in Patagonia through my lens of the dry, coldmountains and mesas of western Colorado. Some of the Australians wetraveled with to Patagonia last year had a difficult time recognizing anyPatagonian potential. Because their lens had been shaped by the rolling,grassy abundance of Australia’s Great Dividing Range, Patagonia looked likea windswept, frigid, barren wasteland. Why would anybody want to strugglein this Godforsaken place? The fertile Pampas looked a whole lot better.Another client from Patagonia-like Wyoming had a hard time getting tooenthusiastic about the Pampas. But as our plane descended over wide-openPatagonia, he opined “things were looking better–a guy can turn his horsearound out here.”

If there’s grass, I can usually see potential, no matter how steep, cold, hot,ugly, or isolated. But just this past June, during a week of HolisticManagement training my wife Daniela and I were leading in Baja California,Mexico, I had the chance to broaden my definition of “potential” beyond thepresence of grass.

Why Bother?During our training week, we spent two days visiting ranches in the hills

and mountains within a two-hour drive of Baja California’s Pacific coast.This is winter rainfall country, just like coastal California’s Mediterraneanclimate to the north, but it is steeper and a whole lot rockier than most ofCalifornia’s coastal ranges. It is the only corner of Mexico where the rainscome in the cool season. As our bus meandered up and over rugged passes

and down and through thesinuous valleys, our students, allfrom summer dominant (or yearround) rainfall climates, andmany from much lesstopographically challenging, andmuch more productive, areas, allstruggled to see much potential.

This is a big issue, becausethere is a lot of land around theworld that, at first glance, doesn’tappear fit to bother with. Duringmuch of our drive, I hate to admitit, but that’s what I was thinking.The valley bottoms and gentlerhills–no problem–-but theoverwhelmingly dominant, highlybrittle, near vertical mountains,covered up in dense chaparral andno visible grass, appeared beyondthe reach of significant husbandryby humans. Okay, maybe a littlegoat herding, but as a NewZealander might say, “You’d haveto be bloody keen, mate.” So, rightup until the moment we drove onto Rancho San Jacinto, I was stumped.Daniela asked me, “So, what do the cows eat here?” I had no idea.

Brush CowsThe truck in front of us, driven by rancher Francisco Jimenez and guiding

us into this labyrinth of brushy cliffs, stopped inside the ranch gate.We all got out, and Francisco began to talk. Francisco is a lifelongrancher, and has a 10-year lease on Rancho San Jacinto. So,immediately, I’m thinking, “This guy doesn’t own this place, hasno intergenerational attachment to it, and could theoretically leaseany other ranch with much more obvious potential. But no, he hasfound his way to this very isolated, insanely difficult patch of rocksby choice. What am I missing?” Francisco is educated, well-spoken,seemingly well-to-do, and humble. He drives a clean, well-maintained mini-pickup and owns other ranches in Mexicali,across the border from the huge irrigated agricultural area of ElCentro, California. So, he’s been around and knows there is more tolife than chaparral, rocks, and gravity.

As he talks, we find out the ranch is 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) andcurrently carrying 300 mother cows plus a couple hundred weaners.What? Here? I’d been in lots of country that looked better than thisthat would take three or four times that much ground for that manycattle. Oh, and this year, the normal winter deluge of 10-12 inches(250-300 mm), which typically begins in November and finishes byApril, didn’t start until mid-March. This year’s total added up to awhopping 3.5 inches (88 mm) before the summer arrived, which, inMediterranean climates, is the guaranteed dry season.

Francisco went on to explain that the ranch currently has 16A few of Francisco’s Charolais cattle headed back up the mountain after coming towater.

Rancher Francisco Jimenezexplaining his water developmentproject in the 3,000 acre pasturebehind him.

Rancho San Jacinto–Tapping Potential in the Baja Badlandsby Jim Howell

10 Land & Livestock � September / October 2006

pastures, mostly smaller ones around the headquarters, and that he wascurrently in the process of implementing a land plan on the bulk of theranch, which was in three big pastures. He has had some exposure to HolisticManagement training, and one of our students, Victor Morales (from theBaja town of Ensenada) is working alongside Francisco as they develop andimplement this plan. This year, because of the late rains, very little grass grew(these Mediterranean environments are dominated by cool season annualgrasses), but he assured us that most years, a handful of annual grasses andforbs provide a high energy diet through the winter and spring.

Because of this ephemeral but usually reliable pulse of cool season green,his Charolais and Red Brangus cows start calving in January and continuethrough the winter. Despite lactation, mother cows gain weight fast (usuallythey’re in good shape at calving, because in most years they will have had atleast two months of green prior to calving). Calves typically stay on the cowstraight through the summer and are weaned inearly fall. This winter’s lack of annuals, however, hadpulled the cows down through lactation, andFrancisco had been progressively early weaning sinceMarch to preserve cow condition.

At this point we’re still just inside the ranch gate,and I’m still confused. If no annuals grew this year,what’s he going to live on for the next sixmonths–the first likely chance of new grass? So Iasked. And I was given a stare that made me feelstupid. Wasn’t it obvious? They eat the brush. Whatelse are they going to eat? See this white flower onthis spindly little thing? Cows love that, and drycows can get fat on it. My eyes started to focus onwhat I had been assuming was marginal bee food,and suddenly I saw a lot of it–some potential.Francisco went on to explain that his cows will pickat just about every shrub on the whole place.They’re brush cows and don’t know any better.

Or, more accurately, they do know better.Suddenly, the work of Fred Provenza (see my article“Cows Have Culture, Too” in # 82 IN PRACTICE),the Utah State University animal nutritionist /behaviorist who has demonstrated through sound,unequivocal research that animals learn what andhow much of what to eat (it’s not all instinct),leaped into mind.

Francisco’s cows, the living members of a cattle culture that had beensurviving and thriving on Baja California browse for decades, know howmuch of what they can eat. And, as we were to see, they knew they could eateverything to a greater or lesser extent. Essentially all shrubs contain toxinsthat are anti-herbivorous. That is, after a certain level of consumption, theypoison the animal. But, just like we can eat a certain quantity of brusselsprouts or broccoli before we get sick, Francisco’s cows can take a few bites ofeach of these Mediterranean shrub species without any ill effects. And just likewe have to learn to eat brussel sprouts and broccoli from our elders, the samegoes with cows. Calves learn what to eat from mom. It’s really tough to plopdown a bunch of cows from anywhere else onto the brushy slopes of Baja andexpect them to know how to make a living. Think about it. European settlersin new lands had a heck of a time until they learned what to eat from thenatives.

Climbing CowsSo, these cows were eating the brush, but from our vantage point, it looked

like most of the brush was growing where cows were unlikely to venture. I was

still confused, but Francisco said his cows could climb. We loaded back intoour bus and started down a very rough, bus-unfriendly road toward thepasture where the cows were. Pretty soon I noticed a brand new fence on ourleft, and cattle tracks on the other side. There really were cows here.

The only reason the fence looked new was due to the shiny new threestands of barbed wire. All the posts looked like salvaged sticks from a burnpile (and they were). On his ranch in Mexicali, Francisco burns patches ofthe native mesquite and other shrub species while they’re green, thenharvests the charred trunks for posts. He says they last forever. Thetopography on the other side of the fence was flat for zero to 20yards/meters, then rose precipitously. Suddenly, we stopped for no apparentreason, and we all got out. It seemed Francisco could sense my (andprobably everybody’s) skepticism. He pointed to the slope at our side, andwith a concentrated focus, I suddenly realized that those white and buff

colored boulders on the side of the mountainweren’t all boulders, but Charolais cows actinglike mountain goats.

This was previously a 5,000 acre pasture (2,000ha) that had been split in two. The steep side hadbeen fenced off from the less steep side we weredriving through, where historically the cows hadlingered for excessive stretches of time and hadreally stuffed up a lot of country. Francisco’s landplan aimed at alleviating this unhealthy pattern,and hence the new fence splitting the 3,000 uplandacres (1,200 ha) from the bottoms–the first ofseveral divisions planned in this part of the ranch(Incidentally, Francisco’s arrangement with theranch owner trades developing this newinfrastructure in exchange for a free lease duringthe lease’s first five years). High up on the mountainthere was also a strong spring, producing maybe tengallons (38 liters) per minute. This spring naturallyrose from the rocks, filled a little pool, and thendisappeared twenty or thirty yards down the slope asit soaked into the gravel.

Through a truly heroic effort, Francisco hasdeveloped a pipeline system that gravity feeds thisspring water to five strategically placed water pointsacross this 3,000 acre pasture. As a result of the newfence and water, these cows were now covering

nearly every square foot of this 3,000 acre mountainside. “Te felicito,” I toldFrancisco, which means “congratulations.” Putting Charolais cows in suchplaces is not an easy thing to do.

But he was doing it, and making money in the process. He was clearlymotivated by his achievements and excited about the path of managementrefinement that lay ahead. On our drive back out of the mountains, I lookedat them all with a new perspective, imagining guys like Francisco developingsprings and building fences and making a living from the land. The realitythat very few people have the skill or “ganas” (Spanish for desire) to live alife on the land, especially this type of land, is sobering.

I guess getting people to climb these mountains is tougher than coaxingup a few cows. But how else will we ever have a sustainable food economyand ecologically healthy land, based on local farms and ranches, withoutlocal people, intimate with their cherished landscapes, owning andmanaging them? At the end of the day, this is the only model that can workin the long term. And when the time comes that we have no choice but to goback to the land, hopefully there will still be a few guys like FranciscoJimenez who can show us the way.

Number 109 � Land & Livestock 11

One of San Jacinto’s highly palatable shrubspecies showing serious signs of browsing.These shrubs will recover through the summerwith help from moisture in the frequent fogsthat roll into the mountains from the nearbyPacific.

12 Land & Livestock � September / October 2006

Editor’s Note: This is another excerpt from the soon to be publishedHolistic Management Handbook: Healthy Land, Healthy Profits, to bereleased in October 2006. Order your copy by filling out the enclosedinsert and mailing or faxing it to us today!

Afundamental principle of Holistic Management is that successrequiresplanning–andsuccessful planning

requires implementation (ofcourse), monitoring,controlling, and replanning.The textbook makes thispoint in many ways andcontexts, and earlier chaptersin this handbook haverepeated it. In any situationyou manage, you should bemonitoring to make happenwhat you want to happen–tobring about desired changesin line with your holisticgoal. Monitoringdevelopments in thebiological sphere, however,deserves its own treatmentbecause much of what we doas land managers may leadto unanticipated effects.Anytime you plan to alterecosystem processes in anyway, you must alwaysassume you could bewrong because the land ismore complex than humanswill ever understand.

The livestock industrytraditionally monitors manyaspects of animalperformance. In the cattlebusiness, the statistics onconception rates, bullperformance, daily gain, weight per day of age, calf and weaner weights,more or less define the quality of an operation in traditional terms.

With the development of Holistic Management, ranchers are beginning tounderstand what crop farmers have long understood: that yield per acre orhectare is more important to profit than yield per plant or animal. Whileit is important to monitor animal performance, it is even more important tomonitor the land’s performance, its ability to convert sunlight to grass, andthus to saleable livestock products, other potential enterprises (wildlife,recreation), and ultimately money.

In assuming that any action we plan to take could go wrong because of theland’s complexity, we want to have the earliest possible warning so we can

make changes before damage is done. Old-time coal miners found it wiser tomonitor air quality in the shaft by counting dead canaries instead of deadminers, because canaries died first. Similarly, a drop in conception rates showsa problem–but after the fact and without any clue of how to correct it. Many ofthe numbers we ardently compile and ponder fail us in the same way.

Obviously, you can steer a ship better looking over the bow than back atthe wake, but only if you knowwhat to monitor. Ideally,biological monitoring shouldpick up changing conditionsand deviations from plan soyou won’t miss an opportunityto change course and replan.As you apply any one of themanagementtools–technology, animalimpact, fire, grazing, rest, orliving organisms–you willneed to determine whatcriteria you can monitor thatwill give the earliest warningsof adverse change. Monitoringchanges in plant or animalspecies, a common practice, isa measurement that comestoo late, indicatingconsiderable change hasalready occurred that may nothave been in line with yourholistic goal. You want todetect changes well beforethat.

You must address thischallenge on three levels.First, you must cultivate ageneral and ongoingawareness of the condition ofthe four ecosystem processes(water cycle, mineral cycle,energy flow and communitydynamics) and how the toolsyou apply affect them.

Second, each year you must carry out an annual assessment of the soilsurface and the life upon it based on one of the procedures described in“Monitoring Your Land,” which will help you to predict changes andtrends.

Third, if you are managing livestock you must also monitor growth rates,water supplies, the development of unfavorable grazing patterns, and so on,when working to a Holistic Management grazing plan.

Basic Monitoring If you haven’t ever done it before, taking the responsibility for monitoring

your land yourself should symbolize a significant shift in your whole

Holistic Management® Biological Monitoring–

Basic Monitoring For Results by Jody Butterfield, et. al.

Biological Monitoring Data - Basic(Five needed per transect)

1. Soil Surface. Describe the naturenature of the bulk of the soil surface

between plants. (Is it bare,capped,broken, covered with litter, covered

with algae and lichen, hard, soft,porous, etc.? Are their signs of soil

movement/erosion, such as pedestaling,siltation in low points, etc?)

2. Animal Sign. What signs ofanimal life are present (small or large

animals, birds, insects, reptiles)?

3. Litter. If there is litter present,describe its quality/ condition (fresh,

old, or breaking down so it is hard to distinguish where litter ends

and soil begins).

4. Perennial Grass Condition. Ifperennial grasses present, describe

their condition. (Are they healthy,mature, young, seedlings, dead/dying,

overrested, overgrazed?)

5. Grass Species. List grass speciesin the plot if you know their names.

6. Other Plants. List or commenton other non-grass plant species

present (legumes, forbs, etc.).

7. Points of Interest. Note anyother points of interest, includingthings that might not show well

in the photo.

Property _____________________________________ Transect/Plot Number________ Photo No’s _________

Date________________ Examiner(s)___________________________________

Most of the surface has recently broken capping & fair amountof litter. Still some patches (+/-5%) of mature capping.

Lots of insect sign, mostly ants. Rabbit droppings.

Litter is all fresh—all from this year.

Most plants now healthy (5); one is dying from overrest (gray).

Little Bluestem.

One new legume of unknown species. A few weeds (species unknown).

The overrested plant is the same species as the healthy ones—Little Bluestem!

Harris Ranch 1-2 1-2

6-2 1-05 John, Amy

Completed Monitoring Data Form

approach to management. Almost all stock growers weigh their animals atleast once a year. When you realize that the stock functions only as a brokerin the marketing of solar energy, it makes even more sense to “weigh” theprimary agent in this transaction–your land. And just as you would neverconsider calling in a stranger to weigh your stock, you shouldn’t trust themonitoring of your land to anyone but yourself.

This monitoring is all most managers require as a routine monitoringprocedure, and it’s also handy for monitoring test applications, or “minitrials,” of different tools or techniques in test areas. It shouldn’t take morethan a day of your time each year–about 45 minutes per transect (dependingon your observation skills); a few hours or less for a mini trial. Althoughsimple, this monitoring procedure is effective in that with minimum work itallows you to observe changes closely and also provides a good record ofthose changes.

Equipment • A digital (preferably) camera• Substantial metal posts, or heavy-duty plastic stakes, to be driven well into

the ground at either end of a line as permanent markers (2 per transect)*• Metal tape of 100-foot (30-meter) length • 5 short lengths of rebar rod (about a foot, or 30 cm long), or heavy-duty

plastic survey “whiskers” with spikes *• Heavy hammer adequate to hammer rebar rods fully into the ground, if

rebar is used *• 1 square yard (meter) frame made of lightweight PVC

• Magnetic stud finder, if rebar is used instead of whisker spikes • Pad of paper (or small dry-erase board) and marker pen• Clipboard and pen or pencil• Monitoring data forms (five per transect)

(*Only required the first time when establishing transects)

Selecting Monitoring TransectsYou will need to select your monitoring sites carefully. Pick

areas to sample that are either typical of the whole area, orwhere you particularly want to produce a lot of change. Themore uniform the land, the fewer the sites necessary. Onuniform ranches a minimum of three to five transects give goodinformation.

At each site establish a transect line by hammering the firstpost well into the ground. Make sure posts extend high enoughabove ground to be clearly visible to anyone traveling on a four-wheeler or motorbike. To discourage animals from rubbingagainst posts and dislodging them, try piling stones aroundthem.

Once the first post is in place, string out the 100-foot (30-meter) tape, to the East or West, and hammer in the secondpost. Leave the tape tautly stretched between the posts.

Next go along the tape and at five equally spacedmeasures–10, 30, 50, 70 and 90 feet (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25meters)–hammer in a short rebar rod flush with the soilsurface. The tape will help you relocate the rod each year, butyou may also need a stud finder. Alternatively, you can markeach spot with survey “whiskers”–bright-colored plastic frillsthat protrude about 5 inches (12.5 cm) above ground after youhave secured them with an 8-inch (20 cm) spike. Their colorwill fade over time, but they generally provide an effectivemarker for several years. In the U.S. these are readily availablefrom any company selling surveying equipment.

Recording Transect InformationFill in the required information (except photo numbers) at the top of the

Basic Monitoring Data Form. You will need five forms per transect, one formfor each plot. Assign a number to the transect (e.g., “1”), and to each plot(e.g., “1-1,” “1-2,” etc.). Note the date, and the name of the person recordingthe information. Use the back of each sheet to record any other informationyou feel you need to record.

Taking PhotosStart by taking two photos, one from each end of the transect line, to

show the general view in each direction. Each photo should include one-third sky and two-thirds foreground. Once you have printed the photos, labelthem using the transect number and direction photo was taken. For example,if the line for transect 1 runs East-West, the photo taken from the West endlooking East could be identified as 1-E (Eastern view), and vice versa. Notethe photo information in the blank area at the top right hand corner of thefirst Monitoring Data Form you fill in. If there are no fixed features in eitherof the two photos, and you risk not being able to identify them later, write theidentifying detail (1-E, etc.) and date on a large piece of paper that can betent-folded so it stands up. Two dry-erase boards hinged together with strapsand set upright like a tent also work well. Place the paper or board within thecamera’s field of vision and close enough that the writing is visible.

Next, at each marker along the transect, lay down the PVC frame so thatone corner is sitting over the rebar peg or plastic marker and one side is flush

continued on page 14

Property _____________________________________ Transect/Plot Numbers_________ Photo No’s _________

Date________________ Examiner(s)___________________________________

1. What are we trying to achieve in the area surrounding this transect?

Community Dynamics:

Water Cycle:

Mineral cycle:

Energy flow:

Community Dynamics:

Water Cycle:

Mineral cycle:

Energy flow:

Biological Monitoring Analysis - Basic(Use one per transect)

3. What natural or managementfactors might have influenced what

we are seeing on the ground?

4. If adverse changes have occurred or no change, where

change was planned: What is theunderlying cause—what tools

have we applied, and how havewe applied them?

5. What are we going to changein this next year to keep our land

moving toward the future landscapedescribed in our holistic goal?

2. What progress have we made his year, compared to last?

Completed Monitoring Analysis Form

Harris Ranch 1-1 to 1-5 1-1 to 1-5

6-2 1-05 John, Amy

Healthy grassland with legumes & other forbs in open country.

Very effective to restore groundwater.

Effective—100% biological decay.

High

Improvement! Lots of new plants, grass & forbs.

Great improvement—less capping, more litter.

Improved. Far less oxidizing grass.

Improved greatly—healthier plants, more of them green.

Rain average, and good distribution.

All tools working to plan. If anything, stocking rate still low sincethere’s still a lot of old grass.

Increase stocking rate slightly, as product conversion is still the financial weak link in the cattle operation.

Number 109 � Land & Livestock 13

with the stretched tape. Write the plot number and the date boldly on a pieceof paper, or dry-erase board, large enough that the letters will show clearly inthe photo. Place this piece of paper, or the board, in one corner of the frame.(You will need to position the frame and the piece of paper or board inexactly the same place each time you retake the photos.) Take a photo ofeach of the five plots along the transect with the camera directly above thecenter of the plot and at such a height that the entire PVC frame is within theview of the camera.

Recording Your ObservationsAfter taking the photo at each plot, use the Basic Monitoring Data form to

record your observations. Start by filling in the information at the top of theform, including the photo number. • Soil Surface. Describe the nature of the bulk of the soil surface

between plants.• Animal Sign. What signs of animal life are present?• Litter. If there is litter present, describe its quality/condition. • Perennial Grass Condition. If perennial grasses are present,

describe their condition. • Grass Species. List grass species in the plot if you know their names. • Other Species. List or comment on other non-grass plant species

present. • Points of Interest. Note any other points of interest, including

things that might not show well in the photo.

Analyzing Your ObservationsRemember that the primary purpose of this monitoring is to make happen

what you want to happen. Based on what you observed at each of the photoplots, you can begin drawing conclusions on where you stand relative to yourholistic goal and what action you need to take to ensure you keep movingtoward it.

Fill in one Monitoring Analysis form for each transect. Start by recordingthe details at the top of the form. If your files ever become separated, there

should be no doubt about which Monitoring Data Forms are covered by thisone.

Review each of the Monitoring Data Forms filled in for the transect andsummarize your findings relative to each of the questions asked on theMonitoring Analysis Form. In the first year the photos and your analysis willserve as “baseline” information. In subsequent years the information yourecord on the Monitoring Analysis form becomes the basis of a great manydecisions you will make. Record your answers to the following questions,using the back of the form as needed:

Future Landscape DescriptionWhat are we trying to achieve in the area surrounding this

transect? The landscape described in your holistic goal should have beenexpressed in terms of the four ecosystem processes. Describe the futurecondition of those four processes specific to the area surrounding eachtransect.

Progress CheckWhat progress have we made this year, compared to last? Review each

of the Monitoring Data Forms to get a sense of where you are now. Notespecific positive or adverse changes, or no change at all, in terms ofcommunity dynamics, water and mineral cycles, and energy flow.

Influencing FactorsWhat natural or management factors might have influenced what we

are seeing on the ground? Think in terms of natural forces–a fire or floodthat swept through the transect area during the year; weather factors, such asa heavy downpour or a hailstorm that occurred in the area a few days beforeyou made your observations, or a complete rainfall failure. If your stock havebeen in the paddock covered by the transect very recently, or not for months,that would be worth noting. If you created herd effect with an attractant, theland will be different than it would have been otherwise, and you should notethat it occurred.

Holistic Management® Biological Monitoring continued from page 13

Mini-Trial Photo MonitoringIn the photos shown here, all that was done for the trial was to take fixed-point photos of an

area before and after receiving ultra-high animal impact for a week to break up some very hardcapping. Animal impact was the tool on trial to see if it could have an effect on land that hadbeen bare and hard-capped for decades. If you want to do something similar, the key is to makesure you have fixed features in the camera viewfinder so there is no doubt that you’re looking atthe same piece of ground.

This area on HMI’s learning site inZimbabwe had been capped hard andbare for several decades and was believedby many to be beyond reclamation. A herd of between 300 and 600 cattle and goats hadmade no impact in four years. This photo was taken at the end of the dry season.The same area six months later at the end of the growing season in a drought year (8inches/200 mm of rain received in a 30-inch/750 mm rainfall area) after a herd of 200cattle and just over 100 goats spent each night for one week bunched in a temporarypredator-proof corral. The resulting spurt of growth, in a drought year, was all the managerneeded to see to be convinced that this and other hard-capped areas could be healed with veryhigh animal impact (herd effect). It also ruled out the possibility that some soil factor wasinhibiting growth, or nearby trees poisoning the soil with toxins released by their roots.

continued on page 17

14 Land & Livestock � September / October 2006

How often have you thought after astressful verbal exchange, especiallywith someone in authority or anadversary, “I wish I had known then,

what I know now!” Or, “Too soon old, and toolate smart!” When enlightened by the knowledgecontained within Crucial Conversations andCrucial Confrontations, we now have somenew concepts and tools for successfullynavigating encounters with people in important,but hard to deal with, situations. Moreover, Ihave found these two books very complementaryto Holistic Management, especially when thestakes are high, and the desired outcome iseffective action with a win-win solution.

As the authors state, these books arecousins–with radical ideas that can helpmanagers of change transform a moment ofbreakdown to an opportunity for breakthrough.Crucial conversations and crucial confrontationsare similar in that in both situations the stakesare high, likely to be stressful and emotional.These situations are also different in some ways.

The primary characteristic of a crucialconversation is the disagreement that occurswhen two or more individuals do not know howto resolve their differences. The consequences ofpoorly managed disagreements are stressedrelationships, inferior decisions, and oftendamaging results.

The primary characteristic of a crucialconfrontation, in contrast, is thedisappointment that occurs when promises arenot kept, performance falls below expectations,and other types of less than acceptable behavior.Confrontations occur when an agency and/orsomeone fails to do what they were supposed todo. Confrontations, when handled well, are thebeginning of accountability. Confrontations endwhen a solution is found.

Holistic Management advocates andpractitioners, by our very nature, “think outsidethe box” of existing resource managementparadigms. Because we know from experiencethat resource management dilemmas can oftenbe overcome by better understanding of thewhole context, seeing the possibilities,recognizing and seizing opportunities, we are

sometimes surprised when non holistic thinkerswrite us off as “Well meaning, but not realistic!”Impractical! Or flaky!

It is my observation that when in a crisis,those ill-equipped for positive change will hangon to old ways even tighter because that is whatthey know. The results often are tragic losseswith life savings, health, marriages, families andhealthy productive land unnecessarily beingsacrificed, even with the best of intentions, andhard work by practitioners of the status quo.This is tough territory.

What Kerry Patterson and his colleagueshave provided are helpful simple concepts andmethods for building positive humanrelationships and real whole system solutionswhere one does not have to be a psychologist ora therapist to successfully use them.

At the core of every successful crucialconversation and confrontation is the free flowof relevant information. But, this cannot occur,until there is a feeling of safety between all thoseinvolved.

A difficult time for a crucial conversation isoften at the beginning, when others we aretrying to work with are threatened by new ideas,or compelling information that questionslongstanding paradigms of the “way we dothings around here,” especially when theseissues involve sensitive issues such as livelihoodsand incomes.

Emotional responses under these situationscan vary from silence (with behaviors ofwithdrawing, avoidance, masking) to perhapseven violence (with behaviors of controlling,labeling, and attacking). The radical ideas inthese two books are about learning how to begraceful under pressure. To do so requiresworking on ourselves, especially our motivationsand natural behavioral tendencies under stress.

The authors’ advise is to focus first on whatone really wants. Holistic Managementpractitioners recognize this as the holistic goalincluding quality of life. Once you have yourholistic goal, you can prepare for a crucialconversation by keeping your holistic goal inmind while asking yourself: What do I reallywant for myself? For others? For the

relationship? We can also use the society andculture, social weak link, and sustainability testsinternally to help us explore win-win solutionsthat work for all.

Another difficult time for a crucialconversation is at the end when decisions aremade. Again, Holistic Management can help atthis juncture because the seven testing questionshelp create a conversation where people canexplore the merits of alternatives and inputthrough a shared outcome (the holistic goal) inwhich everyone has ownership. The key is tointegrate those questions in a way that iscomfortable for all involved.

The beginning and end of a successfulcrucial conversation and confrontation is thecreation of a “pool of shared meaning” betweenall involved. When everyone feels safe bydemonstrated mutual respect, and a sense ofmutual purpose, the breakthrough conditionsfor a win-win solution can be created, with thebreakthrough possibility for effective action andmeaningful results following.

Both books include self-assessment testswhere readers can rate their current capacityand skills to be successful in a crucialconversation and/or confrontation. These booksalso discuss processes to conduct meaningfuldialogue, identified by acronyms of keywords toguide our thinking and behavior when in themidst of a difficult situation. The authors alsoreply to the “yeah, buts” to help persuade peopleunconvinced of their advice on difficult or toughcases. They also make suggestions on how tothink and act even more effectively when thingsdo go right.

Patterson and his colleagues have made amajor contribution for breakthroughmanagement of human affairs. I wish had readthese books and learned these skills thirty yearsago. With effective handling of crucialconversations and confrontations, we can allbecome better Holistic Managementpractitioners, and speed our progress towards amore peaceful, prosperous, healthy, andecologically sustainable world.

For more information, consult the websitewww.crucialconversations.com.

Book Review by Ray Travers

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are HighKerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler. 2002. McGraw HillandCrucial Confrontations: Tools for Resolving Broken Promises, Violated Expectations and Bad BehaviorKerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler. 2005. McGraw Hill

Number 109 � IN PRACTICE 15

World Vision–Kenya Updateby Craig Leggett

We continue to have numerousmeetings with the Maasaithroughout the Loodariak region ofMaasai as part of our efforts to share

Holistic Management. Because I’ve been here longenough working, some of the World Vision staffcan talk with the Maasai. For example, Marias, avolunteer community member, talked aboutecosystem processes with pre-schoolers fromInyonyori Primary School. He has a good waywith them, and they respond well. They talkedabout erosion: how it gets started and what theycan do to slow it down. At theirtender years, they know aboutone–rock dams.

As part of our communityoutreach, we attended a“Celebration of the Girl Child”event. They had skits by thechildren, speeches by thedignitaries, and awards tooutstanding mothers anddaughters. There is a lot of workgoing on for the empowerment ofwomen (and girls), and it wasgood to see public recognition ofit. Education in general, and of girls specifically,was stressed, and one primary school won anoverall award. They broke out in song and dancedaround the ceremony ground.

Likewise, I am sharing Holistic Managementwith other NGO’s (non-governmentalorganizations) and government agencies. I metwith Patrick Siparo and the managementcommittee of the Namunyak WildlifeConservancy Trust and gave them a brief overviewof Holistic Management. They are from theSamburu District and are part of the NorthernRangeland Trust. Their group ranch covers187,500 acres (75,000 ha).

Currently we are only doing the biologicalmonitoring with the core team–Marias, Philip,and Sam. Eventually we will bring in more of thecommunity. We did a transect at Ilmasin near a

compound and community water hole.We did another one in Ensonorua oncommunity land near the river wherethey water where the land is over 80percent bare. On the valley bottomtransects, the vegetation is nearly 100percent annuals, and the litter is leftover annuals that will not be around long enoughto do much good. There are other places that haveperennial grass cover, but we side stepped them atthis time because for our purposes at this point wewanted to monitor the more “typical” sites. This is

the more brittle of our areas. Thetransect in Ilmasin had over 80percent covered ground. Most allwere graze-tolerant perennialgrasses. This area is higher,cooler, with a longer rain period,and biodiversity is low.

We also had a meeting withthe chief and a chairman fromIlkilorit. The chief had been atthe first Eremit workshop inJanuary, and we have had twoother workshops since then. Hetold us how people took what we

said and started fencing their boundaries withbrush and controlling the grazing on their land sothey will have grass through the dry season.

We then went on to Enkoireroi. They told ushow much sense it made when we had explainedabout managing grass, and how healthy grassequals healthy cows and the two cannotbe separated (we had been here twice inMarch). Since then, they went out andstarted fencing their land to control thegrazing.

At another meeting in Ensonorua Itried out my new illustration of thesigmoid curve of grass growth using5”x 7” cards, plastic animals, and thesquare–they quickly got the concept.The inspiration for it came whileplaying (many) hands of solitaire. If

you can imagine how the cards are dealt out thenrelate each row to a grazing period and eachcolumn to a paddock, you will get the idea.

Grass growth increases over time,exponentially, then it tapers off–thus the sigmoidcurve. Deal out one card into each paddock torepresent a week (or two) of rain season growth.Put a bull into Paddock 1 on top of the card torepresent grazing during a week, but deal outcards to the other paddocks. Move the bull toPaddock 2 and deal out cards to the remainingtwo paddocks. By the time the bull is in Paddock4, that paddock has four cards in it, Paddock 3has three cards, Paddock 2 has two cards, andPaddock 1 has one card. It is easy to see that ifyou let the grass grow, it grows a lot. We then gothrough putting a yellow (opposed to green) cardin the paddocks to demonstrate regrowth after thebull has left. At the end you can see how muchmore forage you have to get you through the dryseason. It is not technically accurate, but it ispractical explanation that gets the point across.

As always, I thank Samuel Langat for takingmost all of the pictures you see here. He has beenmuch more than a driver for us.

16 IN PRACTICE � September / October 2006

Africa Centre

As part of HMI’s overall strategic planning andimplementation effort, we continue to make

great strides to enhance the role of the AfricaCentre for Holistic Management (ACHM) as oneof our two key learning sites.

We are currently focusing on the following keyobjectives:• Design and implement a structure that would

place the Africa Centre into closer alignmentwith HMI, perhaps as an internationalsubsidiary.

• Increase support and oversight of Africaoperations by senior management at HMI.

• Refocus ACHM’s effort on those programs thatdirectly relate to spreading the practice ofHolistic Management.In February of this year, Executive Director

Shannon Horst and Board Chair Ron Chapmanled a first phase of strategic planning with ACHM staffto consider these needs. In October, Shannon and Vice-Chair Ben Bartlett will continue this planning withthe Africa staff. The outcomes will carry us through the

next three years of growth and expansion for theoperation.

Our primary goal in this effort is to raise thelevel of performance and the effectiveness ofACHM to unprecedented levels, thus advancingour global mission significantly. This focus willresult in growth of our goat banks in the Hwangecommunity, increased training at DimbangombeRanch for a variety of clients, and powerful datashowing the reversal of desertificationaccomplished in a challenging environment.

Anyone interested in visiting this learning siteto see how Holistic Management is helping theHwange villagers of Zimbabwe during extremelychallenging times, should contact HMI at505/842-5252.

Nebraska GatheringCertified Educator Terry Gompert from

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in KnoxCounty hosted a Holistic Management Rendezvousat Niobrara State Park in Northeast Nebraska.

To maximize the outreach for this event, HMI

collaborated with Terry so the event also includedpresentations from graduates of the AfricanCertified Educator Training Group. Because of thenumber of educators, there was also a two-dayCertified Educator training following theRendezvous.

Approximately seventy people from ninecountries and thirteen states attended this high-energy event, and the exchange was wonderful!

Some highlights of these events included:• Pasture walks and

workshops with HolisticManagement educators andpractitioners TonyMalmberg, JasonVirtue, Paul Swanson,Greg Carlson, and Chad Peterson.

• Amanda Atwood, aZimbabwean HolisticManagement educator, sharedhow Holistic Management is helping thewomen she works with address the incrediblechallenges they face in Zimbabwe.

• Performances by Jason Virtue, an AustralianCertified Educator and storyteller, and R.P.Smith, famed Nebraska cowboy poet.

• Wiebke Volkmann, Namibian CertifiedEducator, dissected Holistic Management andexplained how one helps others to practice. Thanks, Terry for all your hard work in

organizing this event!

T h e

news from holistic management international � people, programs & projects

Change or No ChangeIf adverse changes have occurred or no change, where change

was planned: What is the underlying cause–what tools have weapplied, and how have we applied them? Positive changes thatshow you are moving toward your holistic goal are important, butmore important, because they require immediate action, areadverse changes, or no change at all where you had planned forchange to occur. Carefully consider the tools you have used andnote how they could have affected the four ecosystem processes. Ifthe soil surface was bare and capped and you had in the last yearincreased your stocking rate and reduced the size of your paddocksand still no change occurred, then perhaps the tools you haveused–grazing and animal impact–have been trumped by rest (inthe form of partial rest).

Proposed ActionsWhat are we going to change in this next year to keep our land moving

toward the future landscape described in our holistic goal? What youpropose to do or change over the next year as a result of no change or adversechange is critical to making progress toward your holistic goal. In most cases,taking action will require the use of a tool other than the one that led to theadverse change/no change, or a modification in how you applied the tool.

To continue with the example given above, you would need to determine

how to overcome the tool of rest, you have inadvertently applied, if that’swhat you think was the problem. Animal impact is what you would look to,but not as you applied it last time. Now you would plan to increase itsignificantly. The testing guidelines will help you decide which option topursue. But in the end you’ll assume you’re wrong, and check to see the nexttime you monitor.

Once you’ve completed each of your summary forms, make sure you filethem together with their data forms and photos in a way that prevents thembeing separated.

Monitoring a farm or ranch involves both a constant attitude of opennessand curiosity and a self-disciplined labor of measuring, recording, andphotographing actual data. You’ve got to monitor to understand thedifference between myth and substance. And you’ve got to try to understandeverything in order to do anything. You won’t get anywhere standing on thetop of your hill or sitting behind your desk telling your animals and cropswhat to do, forgetting for the moment about the thousands of otherrebellious and independent creeping, burrowing, flying, thrusting, andtwining things that surround you. You have to hark to all of them as well asforces like wind, water, and sun that you never expect to pay attention to you.

And you have to record what you learn so you can think about what itmeans, remember it next year, and pass it on in a comprehensible form toheirs, hands, and others–and most of all so you can use it to keep yourplanning vital and flexible and get better at what you do.

Holistic Management® Biological Monitoring continued from page 14

Number 109 � IN PRACTICE 17

AmandaAtwood

18 IN PRACTICE � September / October 2006

ARIZONATim Morrison 230 1st Ave N, Phoenix, AZ 85003602/280-8803 • tim.morrison@az.nacdnet.netCALIFORNIAJulie Bohannon652 Milo Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90042323/257-1915 • JoeBoCom@pacbell.netBill Burrows12250 Colyear Springs Rd., Red Bluff, CA 96080530/529-1535 • sunflowercrmp@msn.comMarquita Chamblee960 Tulare Ave, Albany, CA 94707-2540chamblee@msu.eduRichard King1675 Adobe Rd., Petaluma, CA 94954707/769-1490 • 707/794-8692 (w)richard.king@ca.usda.govTim McGaffic13592 Bora Bora Way #327, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292310/741-0167 • tim@timmcgaffic.comKelly Mulville3195 Sunnydale Dr. Healdsburg, CA 95448707/431-8060 (h) • 707/756-7007 (w)jackofallterrains@hotmail.comChristopher Peck6364 Starr Rd., Windsor, CA 95492707/758-0171 • ctopherp@holistic-solutions.netRob RutherfordCA Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis Obispo, CA 93407805/75-1475 • rrutherf@calpoly.eduTom Walther 5550 Griffin St., Oakland, CA 94605510/530-6410 • 510/482-1846 • tagjag@aol.comCOLORADOJoel BensonP.O. Box 4924, Buena Vista, CO 81211719/395-6119 • joel@outburstllc.comCindy Dvergsten17702 County Rd. 23, Dolores, CO 81323970/882-4222 • info@wholenewconcepts.comDaniela and Jim HowellP.O. Box 67, Cimarron, CO 81220-0067970/249-0353 • howelljd@montrose.netCraig Leggett2078 County Rd. 234, Durango, CO 81301970/259-8998 • crleggett@sisna.comChadwick McKellar16775 Southwood Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80908719/495-4641 • wonderlandranch@yahoo.comByron Shelton33900 Surrey Lane, Buena Vista, CO 81211719/395-8157 • landmark@my.amigo.netGEORGIAConstance Neely1160 Twelve Oaks Circle, Watkinsville, GA 30677706/310-0678 • cneely@holisticmanagement.org39-348-210-6214 (Italy)

* Cliff MontagneMontana State University Department of Land Resources & Environmental ScienceBozeman, MT 59717406/994-5079 • montagne@montana.eduNEBRASKATerry GompertP.O. Box 45, Center, NE 68724-0045402/288-5611 (w) • tgompert1@unl.eduNEW HAMPSHIRESeth Wilner104 Cornish Turnpike, Newport, NH 03773603/863-4497 (h) 603/863-9200 (w)seth.wilner@unh.eduNEW MEXICO* Ann AdamsHolistic Management International1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102505/842-5252 • anna@holisticmanagement.orgMark Duran58 Arroyo Salado #B, Santa Fe, NM 87508505/422-2280 • markjodu@aol.comKirk GadziaP.O. Box 1100, Bernalillo, NM 87004505/867-4685 • fax: 505/867-9952kgadzia@earthlink.netKen Jacobson12101 Menaul Blvd. NE, Ste AAlbuquerque, NM 87112; 505/293-7570kbjacobson@orbusinternational.com* Kelly WhiteHolistic Management International1010 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102505/842-5252 • kellyp@holisticmanagement.orgSue ProbartP.O. Box 81827, Albuquerque, NM 87198505/265-4554 • tnm@treenm.comDavid Trew369 Montezuma Ave. #243, Santa Fe, NM 87501505/751-0471 • trewearth@aol.comVicki Turpen03 El Nido Amado SW, Albuquerque, NM 87121505/873-0473 • kaytelnido@aol.comNEW YORKErica Frenay454 Old 76 Road, Brooktondale, NY 14817607/539-3246 (h) 607/279-7978 (c) • efrenay22@yahoo.comPhil Metzger99 N. Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815607/334-3231 x4 (w); 607/334-2407 (h)phil.metzger@ny.usda.govKarl North3501 Hoxie Gorge Rd., Marathon, NY 13803607/849-3328 • northsheep@juno.comJohn Thurgood44 West St. Ste 1, Walton, NY 13856607/832-4617 • 607/865-7090 • jmt20@cornell.eduNORTH CAROLINASam Bingham 394 Vanderbilt Rd., Asheville, NC 28803828/274-1309 • sbingham@igc.orgNORTH DAKOTA* Wayne Berry University of North Dakota—WillistonP.O. Box 1326, Williston, ND 58802 701/774-4269 or 701/774-4200wayne.berry@wsc.nodak.eduSteven Dahlberg386 8th Ave. SFargo, ND 58103-2826701/271-8513 (h)218/936-5615 (w)sdahlberg@wetcc.orgOKLAHOMAKim Barker RT 2, Box 67, Waynoka, OK 73860580/824-9011 • barker_k@hotmail.com

IDAHOAmy Driggs1132 East E St., Moscow, ID 83843208/310-6664 (w) • adriggs@orbusinternational.comIOWABill Casey 1800 Grand Ave., Keokuk, IA 52632-2944319/524-5098 • wpccasey@interl.netLOUISIANATina PilioneP.O. 923, Eunice, LA 70535phone: 337/580-0068 • tinamp@charter.netMAINEVivianne Holmes239 E. Buckfield Rd., Buckfield, ME 04220-4209207/336-2484 • vholmes@umext.maine.eduTobey Williamson52 Center StreetPortland, ME 04101207/774-2458 x115 • tobey@bartongingold.comMASSACHUSETTS* Christine Jost Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536508/887-4763 • christine.jost@tufts.eduMICHIGANBen BartlettN 4632 ET Rd., Travnik, MI 49891906/439-5210 (h) 906/439-5880 (w)bartle18@msu.eduLarry Dyer13434 E. Baseline Rd.Hickory Corners, MI 49060-9513269/671-4653dyerlawr@msu.eduMINNESOTAGretchen Blank4625 Cottonwood Lane N, Plymouth, MN 55442-2902763/553-9922 • ouilassie@comcast.netTerri Goodfellow-Heyer4660 Cottonwood Lane North, Plymouth, MN 55442763/559-0099 • tgheyer@comcast.netMISSISSIPPIPreston Sullivan 610 Ed Sullivan Lane, NE, Meadville, MS 39653601/384-5310 • prestons@telepak.netMONTANAElizabeth Bird3009 Langohr Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715406/586-8799 • ebird@montana.eduWayne BurlesonRT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001406/328-6808 • rutbuster@montana.netRoland Kroos 4926 Itana Circle, Bozeman, MT 59715406/522-3862 • KROOSING@msn.com

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

Number 109 � IN PRACTICE 19

OKLAHOMAKim Barker RT 2, Box 67, Waynoka, OK 73860580/824-9011 • barker_k@hotmail.comPENNSYLVANIAJim Weaver428 Copp Hollow Rd.Wellsboro, PA 16901-8976570/724-7788 • jaweaver@epix.netTEXASChristina Allday-Bondy2703 Grennock Dr., Austin, TX 78745512/441-2019 • tododia@sbcglobal.netGuy Glosson6717 Hwy 380, Snyder, TX 79549806/237-2554 • glosson@caprock-spur.comJennifer Hamre602 W. St. Johns Ave., Austin, TX 78752512/374-0104; yosefahanah@yahoo.comPeggy MaddoxP.O. Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943-0694325/392-2292 • westgift@earthlink.net* R.H. (Dick) RichardsonUniversity of Texas at Austin Department of Integrative BiologyAustin, TX 78712512/471-4128 • d.richardson@mail.utexas.eduPeggy Sechrist25 Thunderbird Rd.Fredericksburg, TX 78624830/990-2529 • sechrist@ktc.comElizabeth Williams4106 Avenue BAustin, TX 78751-4220512/323-2858 • e-liz@austin.rr.comWASHINGTONCraig Madsen P.O. Box 107, Edwall, WA 99008509/236-2451madsen2fir@gotsky.comSandra Matheson228 E. Smith Rd.Bellingham, WA 98226360/398-7866 • mathesonsm@verizon.net* Don NelsonWashington State University P.O. Box 646310, Pullman, WA 99164509/335-2922 • nelsond@wsu.eduMaurice RobinetteS. 16102 Wolfe Rd., Cheney, WA 99004509/299-4942 • mlr@icehouse.netDoug Warnock151 Cedar Cove Rd., Ellensburg, WA 98926509/925-9127 • warnockd@elltel.netWEST VIRGINIAFred Hays P.O. Box 241, Elkview, WV 25071304/548-7117 • sustainableresources@hotmail.comSteve Ritz HC 63, Box 2240, Romney, WV 26757304/822-5818; 304/822-3020steve.ritz@wv.usda.govWISCONSINHeather Flashinski 1633 Valmont Ave., Eau Claire, WI 54701-4448715/552-7861 • heather.flashinski@rcdnet.netAndy Hager W. 3597 Pine Ave., Stetsonville, WI 54480-9559715/678-2465 • ahager@tds.netLarry JohnsonW886 State Road 92, Brooklyn, WI 53521608/455-1685 • lpjohn@rconnect.com* Laura PaineWisconsin DATCPP.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911608/224-5120 (w) • 608/742-9682 (h)laura.paine@datcp.state.wi.us

AUSTRALIAMark GardnerP.O. Box 1395, Dubbo, NSW 283061-2-6882-0605mark.g@ozemail.com.auGeorge Gundry Willeroo, Tarago, NSW 258061-2-4844-6223 • ggundry@bigpond.net.auSteve Hailstone5 Lampert Rd., Crafers, SA 515261-4-1882-2212sh@internode.on.netGraeme Hand “Inverary”Caroona Lane, Branxholme, VIC 330261-3-5578-6272 • 61-4-1853-2130gshand@hotkey.net.au Helen LewisP.O. Box 1263, Warwick, QLD 437061-7-46617393 • 61-7-46670835 helen@insideoutmgt.com.auPaul GriffithsP.O. Box 3045, North Turramura, NSW 2074, Sydney, NSW61-29-1445-3975 • pgpres@geko.net.au Brian MarshallP.O. Box 300, Guyra NSW 236561-2-6779-1927 • fax: 61-2-6779-1947bkmrshl@northnet.com.auJason VirtueMary River Park1588 Bruce Highway South, Gympie, QLD 457061-7-5483-5155jason@spiderweb.com.auBruce WardP.O. Box 103, Milsons Pt., NSW 156561-2-9929-5568 • fax: 61-2-9929-5569blward@holisticresults.com.auBrian Wehlburgc/o “Sunnyholt”, Injune, QLD 445461-7-4626-7187brian@insideoutmgt.com.au

CANADADon CampbellBox 817 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y6306/236-6088 • doncampbell@sasktel.netDon and Randee HalladayBox 2, Site 2, RR 1Rocky Mountain House, AB, T0M 1T0403/729-2472 • donran@telusplanet.netNoel McNaughton5704-144 St., Edmondton, AB, T6H 4H4s780/432-5492 • noel@mcnaughton.caLen PigottBox 222, Dysart, SK, SOH 1HO 306/432-4583 • JLPigott@sasktel.netKelly SidorykBox 374, Lloydminster, AB, S9V 0Y4403/875-4418 • hi-gain@telusplanet.net

MEXICOIvan AguirreLa InmaculadaApdo. Postal 304, Hermosillo, Sonora 83000tel/fax: 915-613-4282rancho_inmaculada@yahoo.comElco Blanco-MadridHacienda de la Luz 1803Fracc. Haciendas del Valle II Chihuahua Chih., 3123852-614-423-4413 (h) • 52-614-107-8960 (c)elco_blanco@hotmail.comManuel Casas-PerezCalle Amarguva No. 61, Lomas Herradura Huixquilucan, Mexico City CP 5278552-55-5291-3934 (hm) 52-55-54020090 (c)naturalezayvida@prodigy.net.mx

Jose Ramon “Moncho” VillarAv. Las Americas #1178Fracc. Cumbres, Saltillo, Coahuila 2527052-844-415-1557jvillarm@prodigy.net.mx

NAMIBIAGero Diekmann P.O. Box 363, Okahandja 9000264-62-518091 • nam00132@mweb.com.naColin Nott P.O. Box 11977, Windhoek264-61-228506canott@iafrica.com.naWiebke VolkmannP.O. Box 182, Otavi264-67-234-557 or 264-81-127-0081 wiebke@mweb.com.na

NEW ZEALANDJohn KingP.O. Box 12011Beckenham, Christchurch 803064-3-338-5506succession@clear.net.nz

SOUTH AFRICASheldon Barnes P.O. Box 300, Kimberly 8300barnesfarm@mweb.co.zaJohan Blom P.O. Box 568, Graaf-Reinet 628027-49-891-0163johanblom@cybertrade.co.zaIan Mitchell-InnesP.O. Box 52, Elandslaagte 290027-36-421-1747blanerne@mweb.co.zaNorman NeaveP.O. Box 69, Mtubatuba 393527-084-2452/62norberyl@telkomsa.netDick RichardsonP.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600tel/fax: 27-53-927-4367 judyrich@cybertrade.co.zaColleen ToddP.O. Box 21, Hoedspruit 138027-82-335-3901 (cell)colleen_todd@yahoo.com

SPAINAspen EdgeApartado de Correos 1918420 LanjaronGranada(0034)-958-347-053aspen@holisticdecisions.com

ZAMBIAMutizwa MukutePelum Zambia OfficeP.O. Box 36524, Lusaka260-1-261119/261124/261118/263514pelum@kepa.org.zm

ZIMBABWELiberty MabhenaSpring CabinetP.O. Box 853, Harare263-4-210021/2 • 263-4-210577/8fax: 263-4-210273Huggins MatangaPrivate Bag 5950, Victoria Falls263-11-404-979hmatanga@mweb.co.zwElias NcubeP. Bag 5950, Victoria Falls263-3-454519 achmcom@africaonline.co.zw

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

20 IN PRACTICE � September / October 2006

THE MARKETPLACE

ARIZONAHRM of ArizonaNorm Lowe2660 E. Hemberg, Flagstaff, AZ 86004928/214-0040 • loweflag@aol.com

CALIFORNIAHolistic Management of CaliforniaTom Walther, newsletter editor5550 Griffin St., Oakland, CA 94605510-530-6410; tagjag@aol.com

COLORADOColorado Branch For HolisticManagementMegan Phillips, newletter editorPO Box 310, Mesa, CO 81643970-487-3515edit@coloradoholisticmanagement.org

MONTANABeartooth Management ClubWayne BurlesonRT 1, Box 2780, Absarokee, MT 59001406/328-6808rutbuster@montana.net

NEW YORKBillie BestRegional Farm & Food Project295 Eighth St., Troy, NY 12180518/271-0744www.farmandfood.org

billie@farmandfood.org

Central NY RC&DPhil Metzger99 North Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815607/334-3231, ext. 4phil.metzger@ny.usda.gov

NORTHWESTManaging WholesPeter Donovan501 South St., Enterprise, OR 97828541/426-2145 • www.managingwholes.com

OKLAHOMAOklahoma Land Stewardship AllianceCharles Griffith, contact personRoute 5, Box E44, Ardmore, OK 73401580/223-7471 • cagriffith@brightok.net

PENNSYLVANIA Northern Penn NetworkJim Weaver, contact person428 Copp Hollow Rd., Wellsboro, PA 16901717/724-7788; jaweaver@epix.net

TEXASHRM of TexasPeggy Cole, Executive Director5 Limestone Trail, Wimberley, TX 78676512-847-3822pcole@hrm-texas.org • www.hrm-texas.orgWest Station for Holistic ManagementPeggy MaddoxPO Box 694, Ozona, TX 76943325-392-2292 • westgift@earthlink.net

Network Affiliates There are several branch organizations or groups affiliated with Holistic Management in the U.S. andabroad (some publish their own newsletters.) We encourage you to contact the group closest to you:

U N I T E D S TAT E S

AUSTRALIAJudi Earl73 Harding E., Guyra, NSW 236561-267-792286judiearl@auzzie.net

CANADADon CampbellBox 817 Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1Y6306/236-6088doncampbell@sasktel.net

MEXICOFundacion para Fomentarel Manejo Holistico, A.C.,Jose Ramon Villar, PresidentAve. Las Cumbres SaltilloCoahuila 25270Phone: 52-844-415-1557jrvillarm@prodigy.net.mxElco Blanco-Madrid, Director of EducationHacienda de la Luz 1803Fracc. Haciendas del Valle II Chihuahua, Chih. C.P. 3123852-614-423-4413 (h)52-614-107-8960 (c)

NAMIBIANamibia Centre for HolisticManagementBurkart Rust, contact personP.O. Box 23600, Windhoek 9000tel: 264-62-503816burkart@iway.na

NEW ZEALANDJohn KingP.O. Box 12011Beckenham, Christchurch 803064-3-338-5506succession@clear.net.mx

SOUTH AFRICACommunity Dynamics(Newsletter in English)Dick & Judy RichardsonP.O. Box 1806, Vryburg 8600tel/fax: 27-53-9274367communitydynamics@cybertrade.co.za

SPAINAspen EdgeApartado de Correos 1918420 LanjaronGranada(0034)-958-347-053aspen@holisticdecisions.com

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

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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.

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

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

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