It is no wonder the Open Gate: Ross Farm sold out so quickly. Dynamic siblings Betsy, Kathryn and Joe David Ross have earned a reputation for deep knowledge gained through 7 decades of passionate curiosity and for sharing that knowledge freely while they rub off a little of that passion.
Peggy Cole welcomed the group on behalf of HMI and asked how many were familiar with Holistic Management. About 50 hands went up—The large majority of the 70 attendees. Many were here to see old friends in addition to learning more from the Rosses.
Holistic Management Certified Educator Peggy Sechrist was on hand to talk about the many ways the day’s teachings can help with mitigating drought – before, during and after the droughts that are a past and future fact in our climate.
Betsy took half the group of 70 into the field with their shovels. Along they way she stopped to pick various weeds and explain they are there for a purpose – to help the soil make its elements more available to plants. Johnson grass adds calcium; silver-leaf nightshade adds phosphorus, etc. The group visited a pasture the cattle had just left to have a look at the grass, the litter and the soil with a lesson from JR Builta on the rotation and recovery of their pastures and from Betsy on what to look for under the surface and on the roots.
Meanwhile Joe David had the other half of the group judging cattle for grass finishing. He pulled two at a time into the pen with the group. He suggested we look for two positive and two negative traits in each animal, weighting the pros and cons.
Joe David talked about the importance of BRAC—a word that has not yet been taken from us. The letters stand for:
Balance – taking care of the land, the animals, the people and the finances
Responsibility/Respect to and from each other and the land/animals,
Action! You have to lose your own money and make mistakes to learn – not just read and study a method
Character/Communication – ethics and honest interaction
When the bell rang – or sometime after the bell rang – The Rosses swapped groups and continued teaching. All enjoyed sitting in the shade with an excellent box lunch. Julie Morrison took those interested in the beef cuts into the room with the freezers so she could explain why the various Betsy Ross Grass-Fed Beef cuts are used.
The afternoon session divided the group in half again. Betsy gave a slide supported talk on HMI concepts and how they fit into soil health considerations. Joe David had the other group under the big shade trees explaining with photos the finer points of selecting cattle. Once again they swapped groups and repeated their talks. Both groups came together for a final Q&A session with discussion on a number of topics.
Collectively the attendees managed over 96,000 acres and raised primarily cattle, sheep, and crops. Here’s what a few of the folks had to say about the day..
Excellent. So much pertinent information well presented with 100% commitment & enthusiasm.
Great! Great values for the cost.
Great inspiration, priceless knowledge passed on!
Presenters have wealth of information.
Well done! Lots of knowledge in a comfortable atmosphere. These are real people with real experiences.
| Question | % Participants |
|---|---|
| Would you recommend this event to others? | 100% |
| Did you expand your learning network of people and resources | 100% |
| Do you intend to change any management practices/apply ideas you learned in this event? | 91% |
| Do you intend to pursue biological monitoring on your land as a result of today's event? | 85% |
| Are you more confident in your ability to improve land health? | 100% |
| Increased knowledge of Ecosystem Processes observations and assessments | 85% |
| Increased knowledge of critical monitoring criteria to build biological wealth and mitigate drought | 82% |
Thanks
This event is made possible by a generous contribution from The Dixon Water Foundation.
Adelene is a resident of Arkansas and loves exploring the state’s natural trails. Her passion for education and technology led her to earn a master’s in learning systems technology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. With her professional experience managing student/client databases and instructional design, Adelene will bring skill and understanding to her role as Office Manager & Instructional Designer at HMI. Her focus on making education more accessible to diverse communities is evident through her volunteer work as an board member for a scholarship program. Adelene is devoted to creating educational opportunities that align with HMI’s mission to promote healthy, resilient lands and thriving communities.
Seth Wilner has been a Holistic Management International Certified Educator since 2005. For 22 years he has worked as an agent educator with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension where he specializes in farm business management with an emphasis on whole farm planning.
Dana was first introduced to Holistic Management in the 1990s while working in the Texas Hill Country. She strongly believes that Holistic Management can positively impact families that are on the land, the communities they are a part of, and larger landscape resource regeneration efforts.
Sarah Robertson grew up in Taos, New Mexico and has always been passionate about land stewardship, growing things, and nurturing others. After completing a BA in Communication from the University of New Mexico and working with local non-profits, she started her journey as a first-generation farmer. Since 2015, she has been learning and growing alongside her husband on various leased properties in Albuquerque, NM and running a small market farm with goats, chickens, and a CSA. In her role as Programs Assistant at HMI, Sarah brings her enthusiasm for regenerative agriculture, devotion to supporting others, and drive for lifelong learning and growing.
Jozua Lambrecht is from South Africa and divides his time between their home in Somerset West and their family farm in Sutherland, one of the coldest places in South Africa, where they farm with sheep. He is married to his wife Therese and they have two daughters.
Alejandro Carrillo is a fourth-generation rancher, and he is quite familiar with the challenges of running a profitable cattle ranch in the Chihuahuan desert. Because annual precipitation seldom exceeds nine inches, every drop counts when it comes to growing more grasses. Grazing year-round with only sea salt as an input, he is not willing to waste any water in such a brittle environment.
Jared L Talley was born and raised in Southwestern Idaho and now seeks to help rural communities adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. He is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Service at Boise State University, earning his PhD in Philosophy from Michigan State University and his MPA in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management from Boise State University. An environmental philosopher by training and an interdisciplinary scholar in practice, he seeks to better understand how communities relate to the land and how this relationship poses obstacles and opportunities for collaboration and governance. In doing so, he studies the role of science in collaborative policy, the role of place in environmental identity, and the role of the imagination in mediating both. Specifically, he studies grazing management and public land permitting, community-led conservation programs, rural education and entrepreneurship, place-based environmental governance, and the imaginative experience of our natural and built environments — all in the contexts of the intermountain American West.
Just trying to educate the normal farmer rancher its taken me years to sell my husband on organic fertilizer still cant get pass the weed control. I wish I could had been at the event. When there will be in tx will try to have open dare he sees what a difference fertilizer makes but grasshopper control thats something else. We need to treat our land like our body our future does depend on it. Bless those that understand it and stay firm on it and try to teach others. I would like to try kale this winter instead of rye grass where can u get bulk kale seed anyone know.
Rita
Thank you for you’re well wishes. Sorry you couldn’t make the event. We do lots of events in Texas so I hope you can attend one in the future. Just check the HMI event calendar. Keep up the good work on your end!