We need more farmers
We’re losing our farmers! Over the past 100 years, the total number of American farmers has declined significantly – from over 6 million in 1910 to approximately 2.1 million today. Age is a factor as well. For each farmer under 35 there are now six farmers over the age of 65. In fact, the USDA expects that nearly 500,000 farmers will retire in the next twenty years. To make matters worse, according to the most recent U.S. census, an average of 1836 U.S. farmers are forced to leave their land weekly; unable to compete with giant farms or navigate their way through drought, regulatory issues and management challenges. The good news is that new farmers entering the field are helping to offset the number leaving. Unfortunately, it typically takes new farmers between five and seven years to become profitable, leaving a lot of beginning farmers and ranchers frustrated and without the resources they need to become profitable and successful.
We need more trained farmers
Although it has been acknowledged that creating new farmers is a necessity in order to feed a growing world population, it’s not enough to simply create new farmers; they must be taught the skills necessary to succeed. But like any small business, the failure rate for new farmers is high; currently between 9 and 10 percent per year (USDA Economic Research Report Number 21 – June 2006). The USDA has also stated that the top two reasons why farms fail are poor management and lack of planning. As a result, it’s imperative that new farmers be properly trained and provided with the tools they need to run a successful business. HMI helps farmers and ranchers create a comprehensive business plan, which includes a viable financial plan. Farmers and ranchers are also taught how to make good decisions while planning not only for profit (how and where to sell your product), but how to plan and manage for risk – anything from unexpected drought, floods, wildfires, to crop failure.
We need more farmers trained in Holistic Management®
The need for Holistic Management training is two-fold. It’s estimated that living expenses for the average farm currently exceed $47,000 per year, yet fewer than 25% of family farms in the U.S. produce gross revenues in excess of $50,000. The Holistic Management Whole Farm Planning System provides a variety of programs and services that have been designed to educate and support farmers and ranchers in their desire to become and remain a profitable business. While profitability is paramount to farmers and ranchers, sustainability is just as important. HMI (Holistic Management International) has been teaching Holistic Management® whole farm planning to beginning and experienced farmers and ranchers for 28 years on six continents, 26 countries, and all 50 states. Our proven programs have made a real impact on the lives of farmers and ranchers, and have provided significant results. Here are just a few examples:
Real Impact
We would like to introduce some of our Holistic Management® practitioners. Learn how they have applied Holistic Management to their operations and the successes they have achieved. You’ll find them on our Case Studies Page
Donor Reports
On our Give page, you’ll find links to our donor reports. At HMI, we believe it’s important to keep our supporters informed of the impact their contributions are having on the lives of farmers and ranchers.
Program Results
At HMI, results matter and that’s why we measure the impact of our programs. See for yourself…
BEGINNING FARMERS & RANCHERS
Connecticut Beginning Farmer Results for 2013-2014 Season2013-2014 Program Results from NY
2013-2014 Season Results from Massachusetts
NH 2013-2014 Season Results are Here
2013-2014 Texas Beginning Women Farmer Program Results
Beginning Farmers & Ranchers: Women in the Northeast 2013-2014 Full Report
2013-2014 Maine Beginning Farmer Results Beginning Women Farmers & Ranchers: Women in the Northeast & Texas 2013 Full Report Beginning Women Farmers in Connecticut Results Beginning Women Farmers in New Hampshire Results Beginning Women Farmers in New York Results Beginning Women Farmers in Maine Results Beginning Women Farmers in Massachusetts Results Beginning Women Farmers in Vermont Results Beginning Women Farmers in Texas A Day in the Life of our Beginning Farmers & Ranchers Program
GETTING STARTED ONLINE COURSES
Getting Started Holistic Land Planning Course Results Getting Started Introduction to Holistic Management® Whole Farm/Ranch Planning Course Results Getting Started Holistic Grazing Planning ResultsGetting Started Introduction to Holistic Management® Course Results Getting Started Introduction to Holistic Management® Whole Farm/Ranch Planning Course Results Getting Started Holistic Financial Planning Course Results 2015 Getting Started Introduction to Holistic Management® Whole/Farm Ranch Planning Course Results 2015 Getting Started Holistic Grazing Planning Course Results 2015 Getting Started Holistic Land Planning Course Results 2015 Getting Started Introduction to Holistic Management® Whole Farm/Ranch Planning Course Results, August 2015 Getting Started Holistic Financial Planning Course Results, October 2015
OPEN GATE
Open Gate 2013 Series Report Open Gate 2014 Series Report Open Gate: Seco Valley Ranch Day @ TOFGA Recap Open Gate: Dunblane Farm Results 2015 Open Gate: Mangarara Station Day Results 2015 Open Gate: Green Fields Farm Day Results 2015 Open Gate: Rancho El Represo Del Verde Day Results 2015 Open Gate: Avila Valley Barn Day 2015 Open Gate: POST-Markegard Family Grass-Fed Day 2015 Open Gate: James Ranch Day 2015 Open Gate: Ranney Ranch Day 2015 Open Gate: Glen Orton Farm Day 2015 Open Gate: Glenrock Farm Day 2015 Open Gate: Stigge & Sons Ag Day 2015 Open Gate: Piojo Ranch Day 2015 Open Gate: Triple Cross Ranch Day 2015 Open Gate: Barking Cat Farm Day 2015 Open Gate: All We Need Farm Day 2015 Open Gate: Faith Hollow Ranch Day 2015 Open Gate: Canadian Series 2015PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
WSARE Grazing Planning Course a Success WSARE Bio Monitoring Session ResultsSPECIALTY PROGRAMS
Holistic Management® in New Mexico Virginia Area Program Continues to Produce Results Dollars & Sense Workshop Results Oklahoma Holistic Planned Grazing Workshop Results HMI Community Survey ResultsWHOLE FARM/RANCH BUSINESS PLANNING
2014 California Whole Farm/Ranch Business Planning Series 2014 Whole Farm Marketing and Business Planning in Mora, New Mexico 2015 Whole Farm/Ranch Business Planning – Colorado Results 2015 California Whole/Farm Ranch Business Planning Series Provides Learning & Networking 2015 Oregon Whole Farm/Ranch Business Planning Series Finishes StrongWHOLE FARM/RANCH LAND MANAGEMENT
Whole Farm/Ranch Land Planning Course Results Mitigating Drought with Holistic Management® Report Cows & Quail Workshop Cows & Quail 2013 Report Holistic Land Management Workshop Series in Texas, 2015
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.
