Holistic Management An Alternative Decision-Making Process

1. Holistic ManagementAn Alternative Decision-Making Process A process that simultaneously considers the ecological, economical and social impacts of decisions prior to their implementation.

2. Stated Another Way…. “Holistic Management is a process of goal setting, decision-making and monitoring which integrates social, ecological and economic factors.” (Stinner et al., 1997)

3. Story Time…... Highlighting the Evolution of Holistic Management

5. Some Key Insights Leading to the Evolution of Holistic Management • A holistic perspective is essential in management. • Environments can be classified by a new scale based on the distribution of humidity throughout the year and how fast dead vegetation decays.

6. More Key Insights • The only form of wealth that can sustain nations is wealth derived from biodiversity. • Four fundamental ecosystem processes sustain biodiversity; the water cycle, mineral cycle, community dynamics and energy flow. • Some 20 past civilizations failed as a direct result of decision-making that destroyed their biodiversity.

7. More Key Insights • People have a tendency to let their expenses rise to the level of their income. Similarly, farms and businesses have a tendency to allow production costs to rise to their anticipated level of income. • Overgrazing is a result of the time plants are exposed to animals, not the number of animals.

8. More Key Insights • Grazing efficiency is maximized when animals are moved to the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons. • Causes traditionally attributed to desertification are not supported by research results nor do they exist in some areas that are turning to desert.

10. Whole Under Management Decision Makers Resource Base Money

11. My Whole Under Management - An Example • Decision Makers - Seth and Sharon

12. Resource Base • Parents, Siblings, Relatives • Friends, Neighbors, Community • Clientele, Co-Workers, Professional Acquaintances • 5.5 Acres of Woodlands, Blueberries, Vegetables, Flowers • House, Barn, Sauna, Shed • Car, Tractor, Bicycle

13. Money • Savings Account • Checking Account • Parents and In-Laws Credit Line

14. Holistic Goal Quality of life sought based upon things valued most deeply. Forms of production to provide such lives. Future resource base (human & land) essential to sustain desired lives.

15. Your Holistic Goal • Ties your deepest values to your life support system. • Like magnetic north guides direction without being seen or reached. • Ensures objectives, goals and actions move you to what you want. • Decision-making ‘attractor’ rather than any goal in a linear sense.

16. Example: • Quality of life: We desire a happy prosperous rural farm life, family and community harmony, freedom of religion, security, time for family and friends, good health, clean food and water.…… • Forms of production: profit, tolerant environment, full and meaningful employment in community, leisure time, unpolluted environment…..

17. Future resource base: • LandscapeEffective water and mineral cycling, high biodiversity and energy flow in open parkland and with complex small crop fields. Abundant wildlife and perennial grasslands (see map). • Clients/suppliers, etc.We must be friendly, professional, good attitude, prompt and reliable, honest, open-minded, responsive……. This would drive the process of decision-making on this farm.

18. Testing Questions • Cause & Effect • Weak Link • social • biological • financial • Marginal Reaction • Gross Profit Analysis • Energy/Money - Source and Use • Sustainability • Society and Culture

19. Ecosystem Processes Community Dynamics Water Cycle Mineral Cycle Energy Plan

20. Tools for Managing Ecosystem Processes ) Human Creativity ) Money &Labor Living Organisms Technology Rest Fire Grazing Animal Impact

21. Impacts of Holistic Management? The following examples were taken from: • The Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management’s web site (http://www.holisticmanagement.org/) • Farmers I am working with • My personal / family experiences • A study from Ohio State University (Stinner et al., 1997)

22. Impact of Holistic Management on Farms and Families - Personal Anecdotes -

23. Bill Burrows – “15 years ago we were a dysfunctional family of 28 decision-makers on our ranch, disagreeing on almost every issue, with seven years of “red ink” decreasing land viability and productivity. We were losing our dream of being able to hold our ranch in open space for future generations.”

24. “Today our family, ranch and environment are no longer dysfunctional. Our finances have been running in the black for 13 1/2 years. We have dramatically increased our land productivity. Our 28 family members work together as a team.”

25. Sandy Matheson – “We were in debt and getting deeper. There didn’t seem to be a way out. Our farm which traditionally lost a great deal of money, is now profitable. Pasture productivity has also increased. The plants are healthier and so are the cattle. We’re spending less money on supplemental feed. We’re proud of what we have accomplished.”

26. Philip and Lindsay Theron – “Prior to managing holistically, we were in crisis management. Our input costs just kept rising and rising. But now we see a reversal of this process. We are very positive about our future.”

27. Robert Pazstor – ”With Holistic Management, you find out what your kids think and feel and feel and where they want to go and how you can incorporate that into the family structure. It really helps to get people to a different level of conversation no matter what relationship they have.”

28. My Personal Anecdotes

29. Several Farmers I work with – have told me about the great benefit they gained by openly exchanging values and beliefs and forming a shared vision about the future direction of their farm. Some family members expressed feelings and opinions that others had never heard before.

30. My personal experiences – Shortly after taking my first class, I returned home with an attitude a kin to “the proof is in the pudding”. For my wife and me, the pudding came in short order and was rich. Practicing Holistic Management has strengthened our marriage and allowed us to define the life we want to live together and move towards it in a meaningful way. This not only impacts our family life, but impacts our careers, community work and extended family and friends.

31. The Proofs in the Pudding…A Study of Holistic Management Practitioners – Stinner et al., 1997

32. 25 farmers living throughout the U.S. and practicing Holistic Management were interviewed. • The scale of operations ranged from 18 to over 222,000 acres. • Time practicing Holistic Management ranged from 1.5 to 17 years. • 24 of the 25 farms were using planned intensive grazing on some of their land.

33. Results of the interviews: • 24 of the 25 farmers observed increased biodiversity since they began using HM. • 80% reported increased profits from their land since practicing HM. • 16% reported little-no profit increases, but were optimistic about the future. • 91% reported improvements in their quality of life because of changes in their time budgets. • 52% reported decreases of up to 40-60% in labor requirements in their operations. • Almost all interviewees reported observing improvements in the ecosystem processes on their farms.

34. Self-Test • How do you make decisions? • What do you consider when making a major decision? When making minor decisions? • Do you consider the impact of an action on your family, your workers, the environment and your check book before moving forward with a decision?

35. Do you even have the information to consider all these factors before making a decision? If not, what is the cost you pay in terms of the quality of your life, the productivity of your farm, and the condition of your financial situation?

36. Helping You Put Knowledge and Research to Work.

37. Why Wasn’t the World Overgrazed Before Humans? • Millions of herbivores & pack-hunting predators. • Two strategies handled predator packs. • All young dropped over short time. • Large herds bunched. • Bunched animals dung & urinate in concentration. • No animals like to feed on own feces. • Animals only return when feces weathered. • So no overgrazing.