Learning & Sharing Holistic Management® and Organic Practices in Ukiah, California
A small and engaged group of people met at the Parducci Wine Cellar's Farm and Winery on Wednesday, July 18th to better understand holistic management, healthy food production, organic certification, and progressive ecosystem management processes. Together they directly influence 1563 acres with a larger indirect influence of 2.5 million acres in the Mendocino area.
The day began with a short welcome and Holistic Management overview by HMI Certified Educator, Rob Rutherford. Next, Rob, along with Parducci Farm Manager Jess Arnsteen, presented the Parducci Farm's Holistic Goal.
Because of the extreme heat (108 degrees), the group then headed out to tour the orchards, vegetable beds and pasturelands of Parducci Farm. They continued on to tour the vineyard and water reclamation systems. During the tour participants learned about the water cycle, managing wetlands, milkweed options, and duckweed filtration to name a few. The group then took a wagon ride over to the tasting room and Tim Thornhill, chief operating officer of Parducci Wine Cellars, gave a presentation on their sustainable wine practices.
Drake Bialecki of CCOF gave a short presentation on the benefits of organic certification while the group enjoyed a delicious catered lunch featuring produce grown on Parducci Farm. Several of the participants were engaged in high school agriculture teaching and benefited from being able to learn more about organic certification via the CCOF.
All attendees had previous experience with Holistic Management which provided a unique opportunity to further strengthen the basic concepts. Jess gave the group a question to test using the holistic decision testing matrix. After lunch Rob guided the participants through the decision testing process. Ruthie King of the School of Adaptive Agriculture finished the day with a presentation on equipping the next generation of farmers/ranchers.
The day concluded with a short Q & A session where all the presenters from the day were invited to answer questions.
Parducci Wine Cellars Day Evaluation Results:
Here are the best things participants learned/experienced:
"This was a wonderful day! Everyone was very informative. Thank you HMI & Parducci"
"Learning how to build and maintain a cohesive system"
"Learning how to make an organic goal action plan"
"Getting to see Parducci's sustainable practices (livestock, vineyards integration, water conservation & water restoration"
"Creating the possibility of a holistic goal, being open to all possibilities, connecting with new folks and resources"
"Facilitators were super gracious and engaged in the seminar. Learned very practical things to take home"
Thank you to the generous support of our funders for helping to make this day possible:
