Why Holistic Management®?
Since 1984, farmers, ranchers, tribal members, and pastoralists have used Holistic Management to improve the land, grow nutritious food, and play a vital role in their local communities. What makes Holistic Management such a successful resource management tool?
Holistic Management is a value-based, adaptive management, decision-making framework that integrates all aspects of planning for social, economic, and environmental considerations. From farmers in New York, ranchers in Texas, pastoralists in Kenya, and tribal communities in the U.S.—we have trained over 88,000 people in over 150 countries. This key regenerative agriculture tool is also known as Whole Farm/Ranch Planning—a critical tool recognized by the USDA to help farmers and ranchers develop successful businesses as well as improve land health so they can continue to support their communities with quality food and steward their natural resources for future generations.
How Does It Work and Are There Risks?
Every farm and ranch is unique. With Holistic Management the farmer or rancher can manage that uniqueness effectively to improve the land and learn how to minimize risk while looking at the resources they can utilize to their advantage. People who have begun to use Holistic Management say the biggest challenge is that you may have to change production practices you’ve used for years and the learning curve is challenging for some people. They also say that the results were more than they could have imagined and they were glad they changed their practices.
Holistic Management increases water infiltration & retention of moisture in the soil by as much as 800%.
Holistic Management producers create more food and fiber from the sun’s energy by increasing land productivity.
Holistic Management producers have been able to increase organic matter by as much as 300%, bringing more carbon out of the atmosphere and into the soil to feed life.
Holistic Management producers have improved wildlife habitat and increased ground cover by as much as 100%, healing the environment and reducing erosion.
The 15-minute slide show below uses dramatic photographic evidence to demonstrate the results farmers and ranchers from around the world have achieved by using this adaptive management tool. Go to our Regenerative Solution page to learn more about how Holistic Management is a Regenerative Agriculture Solution.
Holistic Management® Basics
In Holistic Management there are 2 key principles and 6 key practices. Our training programs help people learn how to effectively understand and change behavior to incorporate these practices consistently to reap the rewards that come from managing holistically.
If you find you are not getting the results you want from self-study, we highly recommend taking one of our training programs or contacting one of our Certified Educators.
