A recent CNBC article, highlighting Holistic Management practitioners, notes that land where holistic planned grazing has been practiced can sequester 2.5-7.5 metric tons of carbon/acre. While many people think that trees are the better way to sequester carbon, a recent study shows that southern pine forests only sequester between 1.4-2 tons of carbon/acre/year. Also referenced in the article is the Lifecycle Analysis performed on White Oak Pastures that shows that such a system is six times more carbon efficient.
As noted, in the article, many Holistic Management producers come to regenerative practices because of the economic benefit they receive from these practices due to increased soil health and productivity and the reduced need for expensive inputs (including synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides). Dan Probert of Country Natural Beef notes that he now runs 20% more animals on his land than he did five years ago because of these practices.
There are also social benefits to switching to regenerative practices as younger producers are no longer attracted to an agriculture that causes environmental damage. Will Harris of White Oak Pastures and HMI Advisory Council member notes that his daughters would not have come back to the farm to join the farm team if he had still been doing conventional, industrial agriculture. He also is quite clear that "you can not regenerate degraded, desertified land without animal impact."
To learn how to implement Holistic Planned Grazing and switch to regenerative grazing practices, go to our Free Downloads to download our free Holistic Grazing Planning e-manual or see what training opportunities (and scholarships) we currently have available.