It is with great sadness that HMI learned about the passing of Sid Goodloe on August 1, 2023. Sid and his wife, Cheryl, have been owner-operators of the 3,500-acre Carrizo Valley Ranch near Capitan, New Mexico and were some of the first Holistic Management practitioners in the state. They also founded the Southern Rockies Agricultural Land Trust. Sid was a Board member of the Quivira Coalition and of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association and served as an international livestock consultant in numerous areas (Australia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Madagascar, Iran, and Dominican Republic as well as the Ute Tribe). He was also a founding member of the New Mexico Riparian Council; a past member of the Users Advisory Board to the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture; and a member of the National Commission on Wildfire. Sid earned an M.S. in Range Science and a B. S. in Animal Science from Texas A & M University. Sid was awarded the 2022 NM Leopold Conservation Award for his stewardship work as well as the 1999 New Mexico Watershed Steward of the Year.
Sid wrote in an article for HMI’s publication, IN PRACTICE:
“My relationship with Holistic Management started after I had spent 10 years on a small abused ranch that I hadn’t begun to pay off. Perhaps if I had understood Holistic Management things might have been different, but in the 50’s and 60’s cattle prices and weather were anything but favorable… I returned to Carrizo Valley Ranch in 1969 and immediately began to divide paddocks, not using the cell approach, but by topography and water availability. I used suspension fences patterned after the ones I had seen in Rhodesia, and in a few months’ time, had at least a start on this revolutionary grazing method… My primary production goal was to grow as much grass as the rain would allow and control erosion. This led to the realization that there were too many invading trees that were not only suppressing grass growth, but causing sheet and gully erosion. It has taken 50 years to achieve that objective or goal and now we are able to keep much of the rain that falls on the ranch—on the ranch!... Our future resource base description describes us as being good land stewards, and over the years I have found that it requires at least five principles:
Know the history and climax condition of your ecosystems
Manage {those ecosystems} in a holistic manner – taking into consideration all parts as you plan for a profitable enterprise ( in our case, livestock, wildlife, aesthetics and recreation)
Move animals—Short Duration Grazing, Savory Grazing Method, Planned Grazing—whatever you do—avoid continuous grazing
Monitor your land use and be flexible enough to change direction and re-plan
Share your experience with others (workshops & tours)”
Sid followed those five principles and continued to share his knowledge and experience generously throughout his life.
HMI offers are our condolences to Cheryl and the rest of the Goodloe family and are grateful for Sid and his passion for land stewardship and conservation ranching.
Memorial information:August 19, 2023; 2pm at the Angus Church of the Nazarene Hall, Alto, NM