Can We Scale Holistic Management® Grazing Practices?

A recent article on the GreenBiz website titled "Can McDonald's Solve Climate Change?" references the $4.5 million that McDonald's has provided for the research and education project developed by Peter Byck of "Carbon Cowboys" fame. In 2014 Byck created a short video focusing on the innovative practices of Holistic Management practitioners, Gabe Brown, Neil Dennis, and Allen Williams. A year later, Byck assembled a team of scientists to study the impacts of Adaptive Multi-Paddock--AMP Grazing (holistic planned grazing) on farms and ranches across the United States. One of those scientists, Dr. Richard Teague, has engaged in research that shows good grazing practices result in more than 130% increase in soil carbon. Through their "Scale for Good" Beef Sustainability Initiatives,  McDonald's is also partnering with the Noble Research Institute, the Integrity Beef Alliance, the Beef Marketing Group, Tyson Foods and Golden State Foods  in the Integrity Beef Sustainability Pilot which will test the draft U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) metrics for beef sustainability throughout the full beef value chain and provide farmer-tested input and feedback to the USRSB on the metrics. Numerous HMI collaborators are working on the USRSB and noting the importance of planned grazing to improve soil and land health, including The Nature Conservancy. Ultimately, the success of this venture will depend upon the integrity of these larger beef distribution companies to commit to supporting producers in their transition to good grazing practices and offering premiums for beef that not only is good for the consumer but good for the land and those dependent upon it. If the larger beef market gets behind these kinds of practices and supports the transition of mainstream producers, then we can see grazing practices begin to scale. To learn more about Peter Byck's project and other innovations in regenerative agriculture, come to the REGENERATE Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 31-November 2nd. This conference is being hosted by HMI, The Quivira Coalition, and the American Grassfed Association.

Individualized Distance Learning Course in Holistic Management® Grazing Planning

Do you want to increase forage production?

Would you like a grazing process that helps you better manage your animals?

Are you ready to heal the landscape and improve wildlife habitat with livestock?

In this course, you will learn the key grazing planning principles and practices for improving land health and productivity. You will learn the steps to this simple approach to grazing planning so that you can better analyze and address critical grazing considerations, as well as determine forage inventory, animal needs, and grazing and recovery periods. This course begins when you sign up and is 100% one-on-one learning with an HMI Certified Educator.