In February the Society for Range Management held their annual conference in Sacramento, California. Holistic Management Certified Educators Richard King and Rob Rutherford moderated a special symposium during the conference titled: Holistic Management: Extraordinary Success Stories, Extraordinary Possibilities.
The audience greatly enjoyed the stories by Holistic Management practitioners Joe Morris, California; Jerry Doan, North Dakota; Ken Miller, North Dakota; Peggy & Joe Maddox, Texas; Maurice Robinette, Washington; and Cooper Hibbard, Montana. All are ranchers and farmers scattered throughout the west, and they manage all sorts of environments. They had fascinating stories about how and why Holistic Management helped them and others become more successful in managing their relationships with land, people, and money. Cooper Hibbard focused on reporting his observations of two ranches he visited in the desert grasslands of northern Mexico, especially the transformation of land health. The speaker’s backgrounds, environments, and experiences were diverse, but despite the great variation in the speakers and their stories, a clear take home message seemed to materialize from them all: managing holistically has an uncanny ability to advance the health of the land, financial security, and quality of life for all of those who practice it. After the speakers provided brief presentations, the audience engaged in questions and discussion, totaling over an hour in length. The interaction revealed that some of the people who attended were quite moved by the power of this decision-making framework. HMI’s Executive Director Bryan Weech was present and encouraged people to contact HMI for more information about Holistic Management. This symposium was made possible with additional support from the 11 Hour Project, Paicines Ranch, and TomKat Ranch Foundation.