Flood in the winter, drought in the summer This is a common enough thing to hear in seasonally dry environments, even farmers and ranchers will complain about too much rain in the winter and then lament about the long dry summers. Around here it’s California’s water scarcity problem that is often the topic of discussion. Few
Ross and Kelly McGarva hosting a Holistic Management workshop on September 3 at their ranch in Likely, California. The McGarva family has been practicing Holistic Management for 14 years. They are partnering with Abbey and Spencer Smith to offer this workshop. The Smiths are leaders of the Jefferson Center for Holistic Management, an accredited Savory
– Guest post by Holistic Ag Grazier Ariel Greenwood On March 12th, Spencer Smith hosted a Jefferson Center workshop at Pepperwood Preserve on Holistic Management. I am resident grazier here at the Preserve, managing the day to day operations of year-round grazing more than150 head of cattle on this 3,200 acre land base. Holistic Ag, the company
The following is a guest post by Gabrielle Hathaway, College of Ag senior, California State University, Chico Exploring Regenerative Ag at Chico State Like most graduating college seniors, my future is a big “what if”, full of opportunity and confusion. As a student in the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico who is passionate
Why holistic planned grazing is needed Spring is just around the corner. With our holistic management planned grazing completed for the next growing season, we are all ready for it. Why plan the grazing on a ranch that you have worked on for more than twenty years? The answer is simple: to get the livestock to
Soil Quality? Manage for health instead. The term “soil quality” thrown around a lot and I have a real problem with that. Soil quality leaves us with the impression that it is as good as it can be and at its potential. This is categorically wrong, no matter what soil type you have or its
Become a better manager Proper management of livestock can be the most effective tool to help achieve long term goals for production, profit and the environment. The Jefferson Center for Holistic Management will be visiting the Pepperwood Preserve in March for a two part, in-depth look at managing for habit and conservation. Holistic Ag, a Sonoma County-based
This post is written by Holistic Management Educator Spencer Smith. Regenerative Agriculture in the spotlight Regenerative Agriculture is sure getting a lot of attention these days, with the COP21 discussions in Paris and around the world, focused on climate change, food security and extreme weather. There are a lot of eyes on agriculture today, and we need to
Grazing livestock can save the planet. The solution to climate change is right beneath our feet. We can grow food and fiber while actually improving the environment instead of degrading it. Think this sounds crazy? Awesome? Want to learn more? Join Soul Food Farm and the Jefferson Center for Holistic Management at Soul Food Farm
This is an exciting year to get involved in Holistic Management and regenerative agriculture. Across California there are opportunities to take courses, attend a workshop, event, ranch field day or dinner. Join us, and the regional network of regenerative agriculturalists we are proud to be a part of, for events listed below. At