Principles B4 Practices
Nov
14

Principles B4 Practices

Principles B4 Practices: A Post Oak Savannah GLC Event

A FREE workshop for land-owners and managers interested in improving their land!

Learn the principles behind the practices to restore landscapes:

  • 6 soil health principles

  • 4 grazing management principles

You’ll leave the workshop fully able to understand soil function, plant growth and life cycles, and proper integration of livestock BEFORE asking for help with practices that may enhance the operation.

Lunch is included.

Registration REQUIRED

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Seasonal Grazing Strategies: Fall & Winter Planning
Oct
25
to Oct 26

Seasonal Grazing Strategies: Fall & Winter Planning

Collaborating with Small Producer’s Initiative and Holistic Management International, join us as we continue our exploration of holistic and regenerative management practices to build soil health and agro-ecosystem resilience.

 

Gain practical skills to:

• Develop a fall/winter grazing plan

• Assess your lands forage potential

• Match animal needs with available resources

• Maximize winter grazing & minimize feed costs

 

$40 /  Lunch will be provided

Instructors will be:

Wayne Knight, Executive Director at HMI

With 27 years of ranching experience using Holistic Management, Wayne has had an identity crisis. When he joined the 11 000-acre family ranching business he called himself a cattle rancher. He changed to calling himself a grass farmer. Later still, he called himself a soil-microbe farmer, though he has always marketed beef. Privileged to work with his father, Tom Knight, who was an early adopter of Holistic Management under Allan Savory – Stan Parsons consulting, Wayne enthusiastically increased and intensified the practices HMI teaches. He became a Certified Educator in 2006 and was actively involved with the Southern African CE community organization, Community Dynamics. He has spoken at numerous conferences in Southern Africa, trained and mentored farmers, hosted open days on his property, and has written about his positive results using Holistic Management. Before joining the team at HMI Wayne served as a board member of the organization for 8 years. Through his enthusiasm for Holistic Management Wayne has traveled widely visiting farmers who practice high-density, long recovery grazing practices in Southern Africa, Australia, and the US. As a young graduate with a Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Natal, South Africa, he traveled across the US west working on ranches in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, California, and New Mexico.

 

Dr Ken Mix

 

Dr. Mix is a former vegetable producer from central Indiana. He operated a 20 acre commercial produce farm outside of Indianapolis in the 1980’s and 1990’s. He currently teaches and has active research in entomology, soil health, regenerative agriculture, crop production and agriculturally related climate and water resources. He oversees several projects with graduate students; including multispecies intercropping, variety trials, soil health, climate change and Central Texas fruit crops, novel crops, and more. He is the Program director of The Small Producers Initiative which hosts the largest non-land grant farm conference in Texas: The Southern Family Farmers and Food Systems Conference with over 500 Farmers attending annually and nationally recognized speakers on regenerative agriculture.

Christine Martin, Owner at The Regen Ranch & The Regen Ranch Consulting

Christine Martin owns and operates The Regen Ranch in Leon County, TX where she raises clean (no chemicals, hormones or antibiotics) and nutrient dense beef, lamb, chicken, turkey and eggs which she sells as meat direct to consumer.

Using Holistic Management principles and practices, the livestock are managed to allow the four fundamental ecosystem functions to be restored thus improving the health of her land and increasing in carrying capacity.

As a Holistic Management International Professional Certified Educator, Christine has coached clients in improving their land, their finances and their quality of life, moving them towards their dream life! Christine was born in Argentina from a ranching family, raised in Brazil and moved to Michigan to earn a B.S. in Business at Eastern Michigan University and M.S. in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University.


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Aug
3
to Aug 4

Grazing School at Texas State University’s Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference!

Exact details of the workshop, including Title are still being determined- check back for more details.

This event will be held at Texas State University in San Marcos, the weekend before Southern Family Farmers & Food System Conference.

The instructors will be:

Wayne Knight, Executive Director at HMI

With 27 years of ranching experience using Holistic Management, Wayne has had an identity crisis. When he joined the 11 000-acre family ranching business he called himself a cattle rancher. He changed to calling himself a grass farmer. Later still, he called himself a soil-microbe farmer, though he has always marketed beef. Privileged to work with his father, Tom Knight, who was an early adopter of Holistic Management under Allan Savory – Stan Parsons consulting, Wayne enthusiastically increased and intensified the practices HMI teaches. He became a Certified Educator in 2006 and was actively involved with the Southern African CE community organization, Community Dynamics. He has spoken at numerous conferences in Southern Africa, trained and mentored farmers, hosted open days on his property, and has written about his positive results using Holistic Management. Before joining the team at HMI Wayne served as a board member of the organization for 8 years. Through his enthusiasm for Holistic Management Wayne has traveled widely visiting farmers who practice high-density, long recovery grazing practices in Southern Africa, Australia, and the US. As a young graduate with a Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Natal, South Africa, he traveled across the US west working on ranches in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, California, and New Mexico.

 

Dr Ken Mix

 

Dr. Mix is a former vegetable producer from central Indiana. He operated a 20 acre commercial produce farm outside of Indianapolis in the 1980’s and 1990’s. He currently teaches and has active research in entomology, soil health, regenerative agriculture, crop production and agriculturally related climate and water resources. He oversees several projects with graduate students; including multispecies intercropping, variety trials, soil health, climate change and Central Texas fruit crops, novel crops, and more. He is the Program director of The Small Producers Initiative which hosts the largest non-land grant farm conference in Texas: The Southern Family Farmers and Food Systems Conference with over 500 Farmers attending annually and nationally recognized speakers on regenerative agriculture.

Christine Martin, Owner at The Regen Ranch & The Regen Ranch Consulting

Christine Martin owns and operates The Regen Ranch in Leon County, TX where she raises clean (no chemicals, hormones or antibiotics) and nutrient dense beef, lamb, chicken, turkey and eggs which she sells as meat direct to consumer.

Using Holistic Management principles and practices, the livestock are managed to allow the four fundamental ecosystem functions to be restored thus improving the health of her land and increasing in carrying capacity.

As a Holistic Management International Professional Certified Educator, Christine has coached clients in improving their land, their finances and their quality of life, moving them towards their dream life! Christine was born in Argentina from a ranching family, raised in Brazil and moved to Michigan to earn a B.S. in Business at Eastern Michigan University and M.S. in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University.

Lunch and snacks will be provided both days of the workshop and are included in the workshop cost.

Price is $350 per person


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Regenerative Grazing for Soil Health: Managing the Livestock Above & Below Ground
Mar
14
to Mar 15

Regenerative Grazing for Soil Health: Managing the Livestock Above & Below Ground

In nature, there are no parts. Just wholes within wholes who influence and are influenced. Thus, the number of relationships land stewards need to manage are limitless!

How we manage our livestock above ground, will influence the livestock living under ground (the community of organisms living all or part of their lives in soil, including bacteria, fungi, nematodes, protozoa and arthropods to name a few).

As we improve these relationships, the ecosystem functions are improved, which allows for more water in the soil and less runoff improving the water cycle, more minerals cycling from the atmosphere into the soil and livestock and back again, the diversity of plants and organisms, and more photosynthesis capturing energy from the sun into the living organisms. All this leads to healthier soil, healthier livestock, healthier humans and a healthier planet.

The relationships are endless!

During this two-day workshop, we will concentrate on how we can manage the livestock above ground to help manage the livestock below ground, and create healthier pastures, livestock, and soil. This typically leads to reduced inputs and increased profits, together with increased carrying capacity leading to more production!

Participants will leave the workshop with knowledge about how to read their land and livestock, adjust their management accordingly and learn tools that they can implement when they return to their operations.

We will spend time indoors and out in the pasture. Topics and tools to be presented are:

  • how animal impact improves soil health

  • microscopic view of soil & how to prepare a soil sample

  • how to assess forage using STAC- a simple method using your boot

  • how to determine how many animals your land can support

  • how to determine and plan for grass recovery

  • how to read your land and your animals for better grazing management

The instructors will be:

Wayne Knight, Executive Director at HMI

With 27 years of ranching experience using Holistic Management, Wayne has had an identity crisis. When he joined the 11 000-acre family ranching business he called himself a cattle rancher. He changed to calling himself a grass farmer. Later still, he called himself a soil-microbe farmer, though he has always marketed beef. Privileged to work with his father, Tom Knight, who was an early adopter of Holistic Management under Allan Savory – Stan Parsons consulting, Wayne enthusiastically increased and intensified the practices HMI teaches. He became a Certified Educator in 2006 and was actively involved with the Southern African CE community organization, Community Dynamics. He has spoken at numerous conferences in Southern Africa, trained and mentored farmers, hosted open days on his property, and has written about his positive results using Holistic Management. Before joining the team at HMI Wayne served as a board member of the organization for 8 years. Through his enthusiasm for Holistic Management Wayne has traveled widely visiting farmers who practice high-density, long recovery grazing practices in Southern Africa, Australia, and the US. As a young graduate with a Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Natal, South Africa, he traveled across the US west working on ranches in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, California, and New Mexico.

 

Andie Marsh, Owner at Rhizos LLC

 

Andie is a Soil Health Practitioner and Science Communicator on a mission to help others restore life and functionality to their soil systems. Equipped with her microscope and the power of observation, she assesses soils and compost to inform restoration efforts through her business, Rhizos LLC – a Soil Food Web Certified Lab.

Andie attended Texas A&M University (’13) where she studied agricultural microbiology and bioremediation in the Bioenvironmental Sciences program. She is a certified lab-technician through Dr. Elaine Ingham’s, Soil Food Web. Unafraid to take a less conventional route, Andie has followed her interests with professional experience in vermicomposting, aquaponic cultivation, plant science research, microscopy, and science communication.

Christine Martin, Owner at The Regen Ranch & The Regen Ranch Consulting

Christine Martin owns and operates The Regen Ranch in Leon County, TX where she raises clean (no chemicals, hormones or antibiotics) and nutrient dense beef, lamb, chicken, turkey and eggs which she sells as meat direct to consumer.

Using Holistic Management principles and practices, the livestock are managed to allow the four fundamental ecosystem functions to be restored thus improving the health of her land and increasing in carrying capacity.

As a Holistic Management International Professional Certified Educator, Christine has coached clients in improving their land, their finances and their quality of life, moving them towards their dream life! Christine was born in Argentina from a ranching family, raised in Brazil and moved to Michigan to earn a B.S. in Business at Eastern Michigan University and M.S. in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University.

Lunch and snacks will be provided both days of the workshop and are included in the workshop cost.

Price is $350 per person


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Holistic Business & Marketing Planning
Sep
5

Holistic Business & Marketing Planning

Marketing and business planning are critical pieces of effective Holistic Management for farms and ranches. While there are many tools for marketing and business planning, few have a holistic approach: the integration what you value deeply, a plan for profit, as well as the land that will make the operation sustainable far into the future.

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Crafting Your Dream Farm/Ranch
Jun
6

Crafting Your Dream Farm/Ranch

A land planning process that not only gives you a blueprint for future infrastructure, but also practical information you can use immeditately for prioritizing expenses and determining return on investment.

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Pasture Walk- Multispecies Grazing & Direct to Consumer Marketing
Mar
31

Pasture Walk- Multispecies Grazing & Direct to Consumer Marketing

Join NCAT’s Soil for Water team to spend an information packed interactive field day at The Regen Ranch.

Learn from Chistine Martin, HMI Certified Educator and owner of The Regen

Ranch. Christine will share how she captures and holds more water through her small acreage multispecies grazing plan.

Learn from Kimberly Ratcliff, manager of Caney Creek Ranch and president of 100 Ranchers. Kimberly will talk about direct-to-consumer marketing strategies, resources on getting started, and how to continue the conversation beyond the pasture walk.

Lunch will be provided.

Cost: FREE

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Foundations of Holistic Management
Mar
23
to Mar 24

Foundations of Holistic Management

Learn the foundations of Holistic Management, a management framework that helps land managers address the complexity of nature, while moving towards a healthy landscape environment, being profitable and having a good quality of life.

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Pasture Walk- Grazing & Drought Management
Oct
14

Pasture Walk- Grazing & Drought Management

Join NCAT’s Soil for Water team to spend an information packed interactive field day at The Regen Ranch.

Learn about how their grazing management allowed them to maintain their livestock through the summer drought and be prepared for winter grazing.

We will spend the morning out in the pasture discussing grazing and how you can be better prepared for a drought event, and after lunch, we will be inside to discuss planned grazing and winter grazing.

Leave with practices and tools that will help you manage your forage supply with your forage demand.

Lunch will be provided.


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Upcoming events.