Keyline® Practice: Soil Health and Drought-Resilience for 21st Century Farms and Landscapes

September 28-30, 2017 The Ploughshare Institute in Waco, Texas $375 (includes 3 meals)

Join The Ploughshare Institute for Sustainable Culture (www.sustainlife.org) for an enjoyable three-day experience and exploration of various uses for the Yeomans’ plow along with learning a

state-of-the-art

 template for whole-farm planning and layout using proven ecological principles.  We will learn together optimal, highly-effective ways to plan for and

achieve the

full power of a Dynamic Design approach

for your land, your animals, your profits, your water and soils.  The workshop will include classroom as well as outdoor exercises and practicums--

including a demonstration of the Yeomans’ Keyline sub-soiler

--for

a full learning immersion!

Altogether this experience will add a great diversity of

new practical skills and options

to your design and management ‘toolbox.’

PLAN TO LEARN and DISCOVER in this workshop:

• Discover the secrets for rapid creation of healthy, and biologically active topsoil

• Plan for whole landscape water harvesting for your property

• Learn how to determine and apply Keyline Pattern Cultivation

• Increase the yields and resilience of rangelands, pastures, and your whole operation

• Understand the wide variety of treatments possible using the Yeomans’ sub-soiling plow

• Generate an inspired vision for your landscape

• Use the Keyline Scale of Permanence to bring your vision to life

• Learn to create and implement a whole farm plan using the insights of Keyline Design

• Understand Keyline Geometry in the Field

• Connect and integrate farm infrastructure, layout, and functions for improved efficiencies and synergy

• Hands On--Learn to make inexpensive GIS contour surveys

• Explore synergies possible with perennial polyculture agro-forestry

• Reduce costs and dependency on outside inputs, increase profits, and enhance livelihoods while improving your quality of life

• Why managing wholes is the future of agriculture

• How to integrate grazing and animal impact to a whole farm plan

• Position your farm, ranch and operations for success in changing times

Course Instructor

Owen Hablutzel

is a Keyline Design® instructor, Holistic Management® Certified Educator, and full-time consultant who works internationally.   Owen has been successfully working to transform soils and fertility, and to increase whole landscape hydration through regenerative techniques since 2007.  By working together with farms, ranches, and land managing organizations his integrated and Dynamic Design approach is helping to create more fertile landscapes, robust farm economies, and resilient watersheds across the western US and in many more of the world’s dry places. More info at:  Owen Hablutzel Bio

“Owen does great keyline work…. Owen has the demonstrated ability, skill and no-nonsense ‘can do’ attitude to do most anything with regards rural property development.”

  --Darren Doherty, 2009

What is Keyline® Design concept and practice?

Keyline Design emerged from Australia in the 1940’s and is one of the first, farm planning frameworks to take a whole-system approach towards achieving a ‘permanent agriculture.’  Originator, P.A. Yeomans, developed planning tools and innovations—using his knowledge of geology, hydrology, and soils—which lead to drought-resilient and highly diversified farm, with increasing yields.  Yeomans overturned conventional wisdom by demonstrating that topsoil can be built at astounding rates and in a cost-effective fashion using his ingenious and proven Yeomans plow and Keyline pattern cultivation.

What is the Yeomans Plow?

As part of his water harvesting and soil building innovations, Yeomans developed a unique, non-inversion, sub-soiling chisel plow known as the Yeomans Plow.  This implement is designed to break compaction and aerate soil profiles with minimal undesirable disturbance to soil life by not inverting the existing soil layers.  Used in the proper geomorphic pattern of ripping--known as

Keyline Pattern Cultivation

--maximum soil moisture, explosive pulses of soil life, and rapid building of topsoil can result.  Good results have been found for brush control situations as well as for erosion control.

AGENDA:

DAY 1 –

• Introduction to Keyline Origins

• Story of Yeomans / Keyline

• The Keyline Scale of Permanence as Whole-farm planning Template

• Climate and CONTEXT

• Geography and Landshape – Keyline Geometry-Geography

• Sandpit Exercise

• Water

DAY 2 –

• Water – design for Optimal Use

• Drought-Resilience and Water Harvesting

• Access – design for multi-functionality

• Surveying Field Exercise

• Creating GIS contour maps for Design and Planning

• Integrating Agro-Forestries and Perennial Polycultures

DAY 3 -

• Structures / Buildings – Placement & Flexibility

• Fencing, Grazing and Livestock Water Systems

• Soils - Soil Generation in Practice

• Yeomans’ plow sub-soiler

• Keyline Pattern Cultivation

• Additional treatments using the Keyline Sub-soiler

• Keyline Pattern Cultivation – Yeomans’ Plow Demonstration

• Soils, Carbon and You - Strategies and Synergies