“HMI’s Certified Educator Training Program has had a huge impact on many aspects of my life including helping me survive some major family and business crises. It has helped me learn Holistic Management at a far deeper level than I had known before, but it also brought me contact with and support from a whole community of like-minded people who continue to shape and support my learning path—an outcome that is priceless. Being a Certified Educator has also enabled me to help the many good farmers and ranchers I worked with to realize that they have the power and the means to heal degraded land and to work together more effectively as families and make their businesses thrive.”
Wayne Knight, Interim Executive Director HMI, Consultant, and Rancher
Texas, USA
“The Certified Educator Training Program was a great educational step for me. At the time I was considering some major changes in my career, but didn’t know what it would look like. The program not only gave me the tools I needed to make that decision, but also gave me the training I needed to go in a number of different directions, teaching, consulting, ranching, facilitating, etc. Another key benefit of the program was the mentorship from existing Certified Educators and networking with new/potential Certified Educators as well as the experience to travel and teach in a variety of environments. The program also helped me build confidence, and provided a platform to help people, gain a much deeper understanding of the land and its function, and gain additional friends and mentors that have helped immensely with our own ranch management and consulting/teaching/facilitation business. It gave me opportunities to be thrown into the fire, but with a safety net. I felt more prepared to do the things a Certified Educator needs to be able to do (communicate, facilitate, teach, speak, etc.) because the program actually had me do those things firsthand.“
Joshua Dukart, Seek First Ranch and Consultant
North Dakota, USA
“I have discovered hidden talents and abilities I never knew before. The Savory Center’s [HMI’s] Certified Educator Training Program covered its costs for me in the first year I was certified. It’s the best investment I have ever made in my life!”
Dick Richardson, Consultant at Grazing Naturally and Nature’s Equity
Mount Pleasant, Australia
“Everyone I talk to who practices Holistic Management sees it as a life-changing experience. I feel that this is true on their farms, but also in their lives and families. It has been a life-changing experience for me. HMI’s Whole Farm/Ranch Trainer training has been wonderful, and I’ve met so many great people, being a part of this.”
Ashley Pierce, Cornell Cooperative Extension Albany County
New York, USA
“HMI’s Certified Educator Training Program totally changed the way I interacted with farmers. The first question I ask now is ‘What are your goals?’ And then I listen. In the past, I would have given information. Now I ask good questions. Holistic Management has given me so much and I’m so grateful. That’s why I train others. Others have given me encouragement and it feels good to be an instructor and leader in the Holistic Management community, particularly as a woman.”
Elizabeth Marks, USDA-NRCS Biologist
New York, USA
“I liked the way the program is structured. The learning plan puts the Certified Educator trainee in the driver’s seat. I had to work through all the modules while facilitating and teaching each one of them. This structure guaranteed the high quality of the program. The monthly webinar and mentor meetings gave the minimum support needed to get through challenges and stay motivated while providing me with a great social network to stay in touch with. Especially I liked how on point the Education Director answered any question that was ask from her. Was it in the webinars, via mail or ZOOM call, she was always ready to offer a helping hand. Thanks to HMI for the opportunity to be part of such a great organization!”
Philipp Mayer, Farmer and Consultant
Pirkanmaa, Finland
“Twenty years ago I enrolled in HMI’s Certified Educator Training Program two-year program. I was fully aware of the cost and commitment from the outset and made the decision to enroll only when I knew I had the time and financial resources to complete the program. With almost every activity in life– you take as much benefit or gain commensurate with the amount of effort put in. I consider that the first holistic financial plan I prepared was responsible for recouping the financial ‘cost’ of the Certified Educator Training Program. In terms of added value, the lessons from the program have had far more than simply financial ‘value’ on all aspects of my personal and professional career.”
Judi Earl, Consultant
Coolatai, Australia
“The Holistic Management training ended up having a profound effect on my job and how I approached it. I better understood what motivates people to do conservation. Since then I’ve always tried to be a service provider leading with Holistic Management. The training improved my ability to communicate with landowners in determining how best to help them. It also helped me become more valuable to my own and other organizations in planning and implementing programs. I learned how to take off my so- called “expert” hat and instead was better able to facilitate discussions with farmers on how they wanted their lives to be and how they could more effectively move toward that. One impact I didn’t anticipate was how the training changed my personal life, and how it improved our family’s decision making, including finances. The network of other trainees and Certified Educators had a huge benefit. They helped me process a lot of information, much of it new and some of it forcing paradigm shifts to be able to see a more effective way of assisting farms and organizations.”
Phil Metzger, Retired USDA – NRCS Conservationist
New York, USA
“My husband and I searched for land that would allow for a return to our roots in agriculture and for us to retire to the country. We wanted to restore the land and bring back the native grasses using holistic practices. In searching for answers on how to begin we stumbled on Holistic Management. The holistic approach resonated deeply with me as I had spent the past 20 years as a Montessori teacher. I applied to the HMI Texas Beginning Women Farmers and Ranchers Program and began implementing Holistic Management. We saw success not only on our land where we saw the building of soil and increase in ground cover and diversity, but we also learned to balance the working of the land with relaxation in our personal lives. I decided to apply to the Certified Educator Training Program in 2013 because it would increase my knowledge of Holistic Management, allow me to share my experiences with others who were seeking ways to restore their land, and help facilitate their journey into sustainable land management. Upon completion of the Certified Educator Training Program I have had the opportunity to deepen my understanding of Holistic Management through practicing, working with other ranchers on different landscapes, mentoring others as they work towards certification and it’s given opportunities for sharing and brainstorming with other educators regarding challenges seen in environments and training. The continuing education that the Certified Educator Training Program offers allowed for me to gain skills that increased my effectiveness as an educator, learning techniques in effective listening and consensus building, not only in my personal life but also assisting others in conflict resolution. I am both honored and grateful to be a part of this program. “
Tracy Litle, Owner Faith Hollow Farm
Texas, USA
Sorry, I couldn’t get out of the first paragraph. I grew up on a farm and I raise my own food and to make the statement that there’s already too much carbon in the atmosphere to support human life even if we stopped all emissions is total BS. I actually think the planets getting warmer and I personally hate pollution, but statements like this don’t help our cause. I have greenhouses and I purposely pump in CO2 at certain times of the year so my plants do better. Plants love 400 parts per million which is exactly how much carbon there is in the atmosphere now. Just stick to the facts and tell the truth, if you can’t make a case doing that then you don’t have a case to begin with. The planet has been a lot warmer than it is right now. You can go to Siberia and find huge areas of hundreds and thousands of woolly mammoth bones. This is way way way north of the permafrost and these animals are grazers. The planet was much Greener and much warmer. Again, focus on things that people can see and that we can change like all of the other dangers of emissions. I don’t know what are those white streaks everywhere in the sky? Maybe start with something like that. Just my 2 cents.
Hi Paul,
Glad to hear you are concerned about pollution. The point of the article I was quoting was that we have put excess carbon into the atmosphere from the pollution of mining soil carbon and putting it into the atmosphere with unsustainable farming practices. They are unsustainable because they require more purchased inputs and reduce resilience of working landscapes to deal with extreme weather events like droughts and floods. You might also be interested in the research about how soil cover and management practices affect the water cycle. See my other blog: https://holisticmanagement.org/featured-blog-posts/holistic-management-can-make-rain/
Paul is right and you dodged the issue; the statement that “Even if we stop all emissions, there is still too much carbon in the atmosphere for the ecosystem to function in a way to support human life”, may be you opinion, but is very much an open question. By overreaching you have destroyed your credibility even if your conclusion is true. Shoddy logic.
Hi Paul,
My comment about the excess carbon in the atmosphere is a reflection of most of the scientific literature out there as to the levels of pre-industrial carbon versus post-industrial carbon and the affect this has on the environment. The major climate issues we are facing today may not be entirely caused by greenhouse gases alone, but the question still remains what do we want to do about the fact we have been mining carbon out of the soil and putting it into the atmosphere. I believe the regenerative agriculture being done that sequesters carbon in the soil is a win-win solution to improve productivity and resilience, moving carbon out of the atmosphere and back into the soil.
I live in Oklahoma and we are trying to start a sustainable farm and keep our grazing pasture healthy and Sandburg free. We have 35 acres and use goats and sheep for weed control . Sandburrs have taken over every pasture we have. I don’t want to use chemicals but I don’t know what else to do. As with everybody,money is a huge issue. I want to put in a well and get off rural water and also cover crops are a big part of future plans during fall and into early winter,however, I’m very concerned about our Bermuda grass being diminished which is what our horses live and thrive on. Thank you for suggestions
Hi Cody, Be sure to check out our free downloads for help with stepping through the process and learning more about how to continue to improve your grazing to address those biological issues like sandburrs. You can get them at: https://holisticmanagement.org/free-downloads/. Also, we have an intro course coming up at the end of August as part of our online series. You can learn more about the course and how to apply for a scholarship at: https://holisticmanagement.org/training-programs/onlineintro/. Good luck!
I grow cover crops and no till in Ontario Canada. I agree with Paul. C02 levels have been as high as 3000ppm in the distant past. More recently they have been 1000ppm (-50 million years). Also we are cool, not hot when you look at geologic time. The frenzy over global warming is BS. The climate has always changed and always will. I lived in the High Arctic and the land is frozen gravel. About the only life is in the oceans. Melt it and bring on the vegetation. About half of the present increase from the recent low of 180ppm came from deforestation for ag which depleted soil OM. The rest is from fossil fuels. You can get too low. C3 plants (the majority) do very poorly at 150ppm. We dodged a major ecodisaster at the end of the last ice age. C4 plants (corn) may have arisen from this selection pressure. The major ecodisaster is an ice age, which we are overdue for. If Canada was being buried in snow, we would be spraying the ice with coal dust and heating the world anyway we could.
Now to covers. I use a mix but where do you get chenopods? Am I going to seed my troublesome weed, lambsquarters? Also I could not find the article from the USDA.
Hi Don,
Certainly the planet has had higher CO2 levels than we currently have. Likewise, it is clear that humans are only one factor in a host of other factors that influence climate change. We also know that current land management on millions of acres worldwide is releasing more carbon into the atmosphere which is resulting in a number of detrimental effects (like acidification of oceans and extreme weather conditions) and certainly is causing less than profitable agriculture due to soils that require more inputs. We believe the focus on getting more carbon in the ground is a critical paradigm shift for the future of agriculture. I assume you do as well given your interest in cover crops. In regards to chenopods, some folks are trying these in their mixes: beets, spinach, quinoa, and amaranth. However, many people are making some good money selling lambsquarters to health food stores as well. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the reply. Organic matter is king no matter how you raise it in the soil. Can you send me a link for the USDA article?
Hi Don,
I couldn’t find the original source, but did find this link to cover crop seeds on the NRCS site regarding the different families for the cover crops: https://plants.usda.gov/java/coverCrops
If you can find the original USDA source, please post a link here. Thanks!
Hi Ann. Thanks for the link. I cannot locate the article in the Western Star. Do you have a link?
Hi Don,
The link is https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-western-star8986/20160422/282578787221987
Best wishes,
Ann
Hello. Question: The 54 seeds recommended for cover crops… Do you recommend sewing all 5 at the same time and same field, allowing to mature, till under? Or one followed by the other after tilling each one in? I will be using a wind seeder/broadcaster then lightly drag over. Also, which would I till young vs. maturation?
OOps! I meant 5, not 54 🙂
Hi Todd,
How you seed and till under will depend on a number of factors. Usually to get the most benefit from a cover crop mix, you will seed them all at once as they create symbiotic relationships that increase the beneficial outcomes. Usually, producers will either use livestock to incorporate the mature cover crop or terminate the crop in some other way at the time they are ready to plant a cash crop. Good luck with your cover crop experiments!
Why not no-till.
farmers want to do things that provide a return, and no-till and cover crops do just that for many. If there’s an ecological or environmental benefit, so much the better. The Soil+ Cover Cropping section of Practical Farm Ideas https://www.farmideas.co.uk/cover-cropping.html has more than 30 pages of independently written advice.