When I caught up with Bre Owens, HMI’s Board Chair and Director of Western Programs for the National Grazing Lands Coalition, I was glad to have the chance to hear her positive outlook on how individual citizens (especially producers) can direct and make changes to agricultural policies, including such behemoths as the American Farm Bill.
“There is so much funding coming down from various sources” says Bre. “But, there are a lot of people beginning to question are we really spending this money wisely and helping to support the stewardship and communities to create the outcomes we want?
“I’m excited about some of the producer-led conversations I’ve been involved in as well as the bigger professionally-facilitated conversations. People are asking big questions about what is the actual needs of the producers, and are we meeting those needs? More specifically, are we really addressing the enabling conditions for the producers to really be successful?
“I’m using a framework that I’ve learned from my fellow HMI Board member, Jared Talley, which has a lot of overlap with Holistic Management. Most programs are focused on solving a problem with the assumption that everyone is defining the problem the same way. But that’s not true. If we want to create common ground, we must start with common language, and we have to take time to first describe the situation (or the context). These are the underlying facts.
“From there we can explore the problem from the perspective (and values) of the different stakeholders. Some people might see something as a problem, but other people might not. Each group might define the problem differently. We’ve got to take time to have these types of conversations if we are going to address the problem collaboratively. By working on these steps, we can create that common ground based on a common language and shared understanding of the situation and each partners values.
“Once we have that common language and shared understanding then we are much better prepared to develop ideas that are the solution to the commonly defined problem. We also have laid the groundwork for these different groups to be clear what they can offer for support or advancement of that solution and be heard as a collective voice. We, the group, can respond more quickly and take action more effectively as bills change or there is opportunity for comments on programs.
“Because we use Holistic Management as a decision-making process for HMI’s Board, I’ve really learned from our work and from fellow board members, like Brian Wehlburg (HMI board member and Certified Educator from Australia), how values drive our decisions on a daily basis.
“Unfortunately, people just want to come into a room and talk solutions before we have identified the situation and collectively defined the problems. They typically just want to throw money/funding at it, as that’s something easy to agree on without a shared understanding. I love that there are groups where we are trying to get the right people in the room to have these kinds of conversations and so we are also getting the right people in the room to understand what producers are dealing with.
“Bill Milton (a long-time Holistic Management practitioner) has been hosting some conversations around the Farm Bill. He’s bringing together Montana partners as well as critical players outside of Montana on Zoom calls. These are producers, producer advocates, conservation advocates, and policy folks. In this way producers explain what they need and want and policy folks talk about how policy delivers funding so they both learn about need and opportunity. The hope for this group is by having those folks on the same call then we can get to some shared and truly viable recommendations with real stewardship implications to offer to the Agriculture Committee members who influence the Farm Bill.
“I’ve talked with my colleagues at the National Grazing Lands Coalition about how this type of work is a lot like good land management. We don’t always see the outcome of our grazing management or stewardship on a seasonal or annual basis. But then we get these years where there is the right temperature or the weather is just right and then we see how the land is in better shape and able to respond more fully to those influences. So, we have to be patient, even if we don’t see the outcomes all the time.
“I feel so lucky to work all over the West in these communities. Through this work I have a better understanding of what producers need and want. I have been influenced by their stories and that understanding is the only way I can be effective at my job at a national level. I also believe that having my own operation and having family that raises cattle has also allowed me to better understand producer values and understand what these folks are dealing with on a day-to-day basis.
“When we work in this NGO (non-profit) space we can get our heads down and we can lose sight of the people we are really in service to. Conversations take time and really understanding takes time, but it’s absolutely critical.
“I’ve found this to be true on the HMI Board as well. We really work to get to root cause and recognize motivation and values. Brian Wehlburg leads us through our decision testing and that is so powerful for the conversations. We all come in with different backgrounds, knowledge and values. The Holistic Management framework and process creates this safe process to talk through what is really important for the organization and lets us get beyond our personal histories.
“As I look at these issues of need and funding, I keep looking at the financial mechanisms and what is truly sustainable for producers and the communities we are a part of. I think we all need to be questioning our assumptions that all income is good income. We, as producers need to look not only at diversification of various products and markets, but also the numerous programs out there (Federal, state, NGO, etc.) that are available to us. We need to consider both the short and long-term implications of revenue sources and implications for individual operations, along with the effect on ranching communities and landscapes. For example, some of the funding programs currently available, influence ROI in different ways for family operations and absentee ownership operations (large agribusiness). We need to consider how these different programs are impacting land and resource speculation, and community engagement. Are those outcomes we feel good about?
“Ultimately, we need to come back to the question: “What are the enabling conditions we need to address if we really want to support stewardship and rural communities? Is it more money or more skillfully developed and delivered programs to create the desired outcomes. I definitely believe these programs could be developed differently and create better outcomes, but we have to fix the delivery and that starts with taking time to develop shared understanding with the right people at the table recognizing the full picture and speaking a common language about producers’ needs.”