sullivan 2001. holistic mgt farm design

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IS A PROJECT OF THEIS A PROJECT OF THEIS A PROJECT OF THEIS A PROJECT OF THE NNNNATIONALATIONALATIONALATIONAL CCCCENTER FORENTER FORENTER FORENTER FOR AAAAPPROPRIATEPPROPRIATEPPROPRIATEPPROPRIATE TTTTECHNOLOGYECHNOLOGYECHNOLOGYECHNOLOGY

www.attra.ncat.org

By Preston Sullivan NCAT Agriculture Specialist — July 2001

Sustainable agriculture seeks in principle to“sustain” economic viability, environmentalstewardship, and social responsibility. These threetenets are to be embraced as one functional unit.Decisions concerning a sustainable agricultureshould then enhance the environment and thefarmer’s economic situation and benefit theregional society. Holistic Management gives usa way to move forward on these three tenets. Itgives us a way to design agriculture to truly mimicnature’s principles of sustainability. It gives us away to make decisions that automatically take intoaccount the society, the economics, and theenvironment before they are made.

What is Holistic Management?

Holistic Management is a simple decision-making framework that can be learned like any

other skill. People who manage holistically canrealize an improved quality of life and generatereal wealth, while at the same time improving theland and community around them. Theydevelop the ability to ask the right questions andto confidently proceed toward the future theydesign for themselves. Holistic Management isfor anyone who wants consistent profit fromagriculture, a high quality of life, and more time

to enjoy it. In short, it’s a way to have fun, makemoney and conserve our natural resource base,all at the same time.

Holistic Management is a process for sorting outand making sense of all the tools and choices thatface us each day. Once a person begins tomanage holistically, he or she learns what to sayno to, and what to say yes to. Being a proactive

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Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT

A WHOLE-FARM DECISION MAKING

FRAMEWORK

Abstract: This publication serves as an introduction to holistic management and provides resources for further

information. Holistic Management is a decision making framework that assists farmers and others inestablishing a long-term goal, a detailed financial plan, a biological plan for the landscape and a monitoring program to assess progress toward the goal. Holistic Management helps managers to ask the right questions and guides them in setting priorities. In holistic financial planning, profit is planned at the beginning of the year.This is in stark contrast to conventional financial planning where the net profit is often non-existent or a smallamount left over once expenses are accounted for.

ATTRA is the national sustainable agriculture information center funded by the USDA’s Rural Business -- Cooperative Service.

Contents Contents Contents Contents What is Holistic Management? ............................1

The Holistic Management Process........................2Financial Planning................................................2

The Landscape That Sustains Us..........................3

Deciding Which Tools to Use ................................5

Testing Decisions .................................................5

Monitoring Our Decisions.....................................6

Holistic Management-In Practice..........................6

Training is Available.............................................8

References ..........................................................9

F UNDAMENTALS OF S USTAINABLE AGRICULTURE



// HOLISTIC M ANAGEMENT

process, holistic managers learn how to movebeyond crisis management and toward plannedprosperity. They are able to manage theirfinances wisely, have more time for enjoyment,live life according to their values, and gain theconfidence of knowing that their decisions areimproving the environment and the communitythey live in—leading to a better world for theirgrandchildren.

The Holistic Management Process

As the name “holistic” implies, resources aremanaged in whole units rather than as parts inisolation from their surroundings. In order tohave a clear description of what is beingmanaged, people begin by defining their whole.This definition involves a listing of all thedecision-makers involved in management, the

resources they have to work with, and the moneyavailable. From there, a detailed holistic goal isdeveloped. The holistic goal includes a values-based quality of life statement, a listing of formsof production that will make the quality of lifepossible, and a description of how the land baseneeds to be far into the future, in order to sustainthe production.

Defining the whole and writing a goal is apowerful exercise. People who have written

goals are much more likely to succeed thanthose who do not. Since the holistic goal isbased on the deeper underlying values of thedecision-makers, it empowers them to ask betterquestions, to ask the deeper questions, to askappropriate questions from which they canmake better decisions. Some examples include:“Why am I farming in the first place?” “What isit that I’m trying to accomplish?” “What kind ofworld do I want for my grandchildren?”Building a farm plan on these questions makesfor a powerful plan.

The holistic goal remains the centerpiece ofholistic management and is referred to constantlywhen management decisions are being made.The goal is what drives the decision-making. Butthere’s more. In order to sustain a farmoperation, profit must come from somewhere.Most likely, at least some of the profit will comefrom on-farm enterprises.

Financial Planning

Holistic managers use a potent financial planningprocess that empowers them to make decisionsthat are simultaneously good for the environ-ment, the local community and the bottom line.The holistic financial plan provides a road map tohelp people navigate through their financial year,assured that the profit will be there at year’s end.The financial plan allows managers to selectenterprises that do not conflict with their values,and then to plan a profit up front. Once the profitis planned from the expected income, expensedollars are allocated sequentially where they willdo the most good.

Holistic financial planning differs from conven-tional financial planning in several ways.Conventional cash flow budgeting involves

estimating income from an enterprise, thenallocating expenses for capital investment,variable costs, and fixed costs. Attempts aremade to keep costs below anticipated grossincome by using past records and otherinformation and adjusting for cost trends. Aslong as the expenses appear cost effective and theplan predicts no cash shortages the bank won’tcover, all should go well. Still, the results of cashflow planning often include considerable anxietytowards year’s end over the profit margin. In

many cases, the expenses nearly equal theplanned gross income, producing very littleprofit (1). Usually there are plenty of excuses tomake up for the small margin—weather, markets,and pests. All too often we may take the attitudeof, oh well, things will be better next year.

With holistic financial planning the projectedincome is planned, then the desired profit isallocated at the outset, heavily affecting how theremainder of the budget will be allocated.Planning a hefty profit before any expenses areallocated is a key distinction. After profit isplanned, expenses are allocated into threecategories: Wealth generating, Inescapable, andMaintenance (W I M for short). Wealth generatingexpenses produce profit for the operation thisyear. Inescapable expenses must be paidregardless (taxes, land payments, etc.), whilemaintenance expenses, though essential to thebusiness, do not produce profit this year.




Overhead and variable categories are not used atall because they don’t describe what the expenseswithin each category do for the enterprise. Oncethe holistic financial plan is written, it is monitoredmonthly to stay on track toward the plannedprofit. Monthly monitoring allows deviationsfrom plan to be caught early and corrected beforethere is serious financial trouble. The financialplanning process helps control three humantendencies that work against financial success: 1)the tendency to allow cost of production to rise tothe level of optimistically anticipated income, 2)the tendency to borrow heavily against theoptimistically anticipated income, 3) the tendencyto do little planning ahead of time on paper. Evenwhen planning is done

using conventional cash flow budgeting,production is the goal, not profit. With holisticfinancial planning, profit is the goal andproduction is the means of achieving it. That’swhy profit is allocated right off the top ofanticipated income. Planning a hefty profit upfront forces the manager to overcome the threetendencies that lead to low profit margins. Fromthere, meeting necessary expenses after planningour profit requires creativity. How the profit isused at the end of the year is unimportant, but theobjective of holistic planning is to make sure therewill be a substantial profit at the end of the year.Some of the key distinctions between holisticfinancial planning and the conventional cash flowmodel that most farmers use are shown in Table 1.

Figure 1 below shows a comparison between acash-flow budget and a holistic budget for a dairyfarm in Ohio (2). Each budget used the sameprojected income; however, the cash-flow budgetuses expense categories which in effect mask anyknowledge of where to cut expenses without

affecting profit. Notice that no debt service isbroken out and a shortfall of $26,000 is shown.

With the holistic budget, the expenses are putinto categories of wealth generating expenses,inescapable expenses, and maintenance expenses.Using these categories, one can easily see whereto cut expenses, while preserving our plannedprofit and still meeting our debt obligations. Theexcess maintenance expenses of $26,000 will haveto be cut by creative means to preserve our profit

and still meet the debt obligation.

There is much more to holistic financial planningthan has been introduced here. Some additionalaspects include managing debt, testing financialdecisions toward a well-defined goal, creatingand using a livestock production worksheet toplan cattle buying and selling, and brainstormingnew enterprises.

The Landscape That Sustains Us

Since we all depend directly on the landscape forour very existence (food, clothes, water, etc.), webenefit greatly from gaining a completeunderstanding of how the landscape functions.

The very essence of the term “holistic” is thatnature functions only in wholes, not in parts, andthat we will understand nature better when wemanage it as a whole rather than as separateparts. Holistic Management gives people a wayto make decisions that more accurately mirror theway nature functions (in wholes) and therebyensure that our farming is truly sustainable overtime.

To better understand how nature functions, her

basic processes need to be considered. Lookingclosely, four basic processes can be found in allnatural systems. First, water falls to earth as rain,filters through the soil and is either taken up byplants or continues downward to become groundwater. When water is cycling effectively, floodsare infrequent and of lower impact, water isreleased slowly through underground flow intosprings and streams, and erosion is virtually non-

Table 1. Distinctions between holistic financial planning and cash flow planning.

Holistic Cash-flow

profit is the goal production is the goalprofit is planned first profit is what’s left overexpenses put into W I M categories expenses put in overhead and variable costsmonthly monitoring to stay on track annual monitoring?




existent. If on the other hand, bare soil is exposedand plant density is low, most water runs off thelandscape rapidly resulting in soil erosion, muchless water entry into the soil, and severe andmore frequent flooding. So, an effective watercycle is apparent in nature and essential to asustainable agriculture.

A second natural process we can observe innature is the mineral cycle through the biological

system. Minerals needed for biological growthare constantly recycled from soil to plant toanimal and back to soil again. There is very littlewaste in the natural mineral cycle. There is noneed for fertilizer in nature, as all the fertility isrecycled again and again with very little loss.Ultimately, to be sustainable, we need to findways to utilize the natural mineral cycle whileminimizing our off-farm purchase of minerals.Farming practices that inhibit the natural mineralcycle, only reduce the sustainability of our farm.

A third natural process shows us that plant andanimal communities strive toward highbiodiversity. Not only is diversity high in thenumbers of species, but also the genetic diversitywithin species, and a wide age structure of eachpopulation present. Greater diversity producesgreater stability within the system. It also assuresminimal pest problems. Large expanses of

monoculture represent a simple level of diversity.Monocultures are almost never present in nature.Monocultures require great energy expenditure,either with fossil fuels or animal and humanpower to maintain. Weed invasion is nature’sway of injecting diversity into monoculturalcropland. When biodiversity is increased, thecost of pest control and fertilizer is decreased.Crop rotation is the first step toward increasingbiodiversity on the farm. It helps break weed

and pest life cycles and provides complementaryfertilization to crops in sequence with each other.Advancing from rotation to strip intercropsrepresents an even higher level of biodiversity.Strip intercrops of corn and soybeans or cottonand alfalfa are two examples. Increasing habitatfor more beneficial organisms with more borders,windbreaks, and special plantings for naturalenemies of pests represent even higher levels ofbiodiversity and stability. For more informationon biodiversity, request the ATTRA publications

entitled Intercropping Principles and ProductionPractices and Farmscaping to Enhance BiologicalControl.

The fourth natural process involves the flow ofenergy from the sun through the biologicalsystem. The sun is the fuel driving the biology ofour farm. Energy flows from the sun through theecosystem from one level to the next. Sunlight is

Cash-flow Budget

Income...................................................................................................................150,000Operating Expenses.............................................................................................110,000Administrative Expenses....................................................................................62,000Capital Expenditures................................................................................................ 4,000Cash flow.................................................................................................................... <26,000>

Holistic Budget

Income...................................................................................................................150,000Debt Service............................................................................................................... 36,000$ Available for Operations ...................................................................................... 114,000

Less 25% profit.............................................................................. 28,500$ Available for Expenses ........................................................... 85,500Wealth generating expenses ..................................................9,100Inescapable expenses ................................................................. 3,400$ Available for Maintenance..................................................... 73,000Maintenance expenses............................................................... 99,000

Excess maintenance expenses to be cut .............................................................. 26,000Figure 1. Comparison of budgeting process in holistic & conventional management




absorbed by the green plant, enabling it to grow.Plants are eaten by animals that are in turn eatenby predators which are eaten by even higherpredators. During each step, energy is beingtransferred from one level to the next. Energy istransferred below ground through plant rootsthat eventually die. The dead roots become foodfor decomposer organisms. The waste and by-products from the primary decomposers areconsumed by another set of secondarydecomposers. Finally the residue is broken downinto plant available nutrients and soil humus. Ateach step of the decomposition process, energy iseither transferred from one organism to anotheror is lost as heat.

High energy flow is typified by a thick stand ofgreen plants covering the soil for as long a timeas possible. Growing mixtures of two or more

plant types increases the leaf area available tocapture sunlight. The volume of plants (tightspacing) also enhances energy flow. By growingtwo or more crops per year, we can lengthen thetime that plants are in the field collecting solarenergy. If soils are left bare, no sunlight is beingconverted into energy. When energy flow isreduced by periods when the soil is bare orwithout a crop, the decomposer organisms livingin the soil are on a starvation diet.

When we modify any one of these naturalprocesses (water cycle, mineral cycle, biodiver-sity, and energy flow) we affect the others aswell—after all, they function as a whole. Whenwe build our farm enterprises around thesenatural processes, we have a plan that willsustain our family today and future generationstomorrow. After all, these are nature’s rules. Thesooner we live by them rather than fighting them,the sooner we will produce a sustainable farm.When we fight nature’s rules, we only hurtourselves in the end.

Deciding Which Tools to Use

The word “tools” is used broadly in holisticmanagement. Though we tend to think first oftechnology in all its many forms when we thinkof tools (include everything from hand tools tohigh tech computers), there are several othertools available to us. The additional tools

include: fire, rest (non-disturbance or letting theland lay idle), grazing, animal impact (tramplingthe land with very high stock density for a shorttime) and living organisms (naturally occurringplants and animals which can be harnessed toour benefit). Three additional tools we may notconsider as tools are money, labor, and creativity.These last three tools cannot be used alone butonly in conjunction with other tools.

Each of the above mentioned tools affects thelandscape depending on when and how they areused and in what climatic region. For example,in moist regions with frequent rainfall, restrestores biodiversity to natural landscapes. Indryer areas with seasonal rainfall, rest reducesbiodiversity. In those drier regions, animalimpact is most beneficial in restoring rangelandhealth (1).

Many of the technology tools we often use can bereplaced by living organisms in creative ways.One example comes from a Canadian rancherwho solved his gopher problem by erecting hawkperches over his pastures. When the hawkspatrolled the area regularly by using the perches,the gophers left in search of safer feeding areas.

Testing Decisions

Decision making (choosing tools and how to usethem) is handled in an organized fashion inHolistic Management. Each decision is subjectedto several simple testing questions that enable thedecision-maker to see the likely effects of thatdecision on the whole. By quickly running adecision through the testing questions you getsome assurance that the decision will be soundenvironmentally, economically, and socially.

There are seven tests but not all will apply toevery decision. If information is lacking tomake the decision, the testing will catch it.Testing forces the manager to consider muchmore than just cost or gut feel. If the decisionfails one or more tests, the decision may bemodified and run back through the testingguidelines again. After a second testing failurethe decision might be abandoned all together.After a person gains experience, the testingquestions become internalized. From that point




on, appropriate testing guidelines automaticallycome to mind when faced with decisions.

One way to look at testing decisions in thismanner is to consider testing as the needle on acompass and the holistic goal as the magneticnorth the compass is attracted to. All testing isdone toward the holistic goal. In fact, the firstquestion a person should ask is: does thisdecision take me closer to my holistic goal? If theanswer is clearly no, then drop the decision. Ifthe answer is yes or maybe, then test the decisionfurther.

Monitoring Our Decisions

Because nature is so complex that we can onlybegin to understand it, decisions affecting thelandscape are assumed wrong and closely

monitored for early warning indicators of needfor change. For example, if range burning is usedto increase the plant density, one would look atthe plant density later to determine if the effortwas successful. By assuming the decision iswrong, we humble ourselves to the greatcomplexity in nature, thus forcing us to monitorto keep on track toward our holistic goal. If weassume our decision is right, we might notmonitor at all, or if we did, it would be only torecord the results. Once this new holistic

perspective is internalized and decisions aremade accordingly, things begin to change for thebetter. Profits increase, the environmentimproves, and rural families prosper.

Holistic Management—In Practice

Example # 1Oklahoma rancher Walt Davis realized a numberof benefits after he started managing holistically.

The following is adapted from an article hepublished in the HRM Quarterly, Spring 1996: p.3–4. Table 2 shows major changes and observa-tions before and after holistic management.

Ranching is a biological process, not an industrialprocess (3). The objective is to promote life andturn it into dollars. Prior to managing holisti-cally, Davis was using many chemicals that killlife. Spraying for horn flies also killed thebeneficial insects. When he stopped spraying,the number of horn flies went down. When thecattle were moved regularly, the horn fly larvaethat hatched from the cow manure were leftbehind where parasites could feed on the flylarvae. Their horsefly problem also went awaybecause the solitary wasps that feed on horseflieswere able to increase their population withoutthe sprays. Working with nature causes many

problems to be designed out of the system whileat the same time reducing operating costs.

When Walt changed his calf-weaning program,the need for medications for stress induced by theweaning became unnecessary. Up until this timeDavis had looked to technology to fix problems.Taking a closer look at the root cause of thisproblem led to a new way to wean the calves. Hesimply separated them from the mother cowswith an electric fence.

At first the calves bawled for about 45 minutes,then the mothers and calves laid out next to eachother along opposite sides of the fence and werehappy. The stress was psychological, not fromhunger that formerly made the calves sick. Sincestarting to manage holistically, Walt preventsmost problems rather than solving them withpurchased inputs after they happen.

Table 2. The Walt Davis ranch before and after holistic management.

Before Holistic Management After Holistic ManagementCost $378/cow Cost $83/cowFall calving Spring calvingSpraying for flies Flies no longer a problemRotating cattle Planned grazingTerrible cattle performance Stopped fertilizing pasture

More pasture plant diversityStopped spraying




The financial planning aspects of holisticmanagement have allowed the Davises to remainprofitable for over 15 years in a row. Eventhrough the tough years of 1988 with ¼ of normalrainfall, and 1989 with a short grass season and1990 when 80% of the ranch went under water,the ranch was still profitable. The most progressin the beginning came from a better understand-ing of the ecosystem processes. This under-standing led to long-term success. When theDavises set their holistic goal, they had a clearpicture of where they were going and what theywanted. All their decisions were based onpursuit of that holistic goal.

Example # 2The following discussion is adapted from“Building the Soil First—a successful organicfarm” published in Holistic Management Quarterly,

April 1998. p. 4–5.

Dave Washburn and Meg Anderson,organicvegetable farmers of Stillwater, Minnesota, werean urban couple with a dream of becomingorganic farmers. Both had careers in Minnea-polis when they quit their corporate jobs andbought a 35-acre farm in Stillwater. Theyquickly ran into financial challenges and couldsee no way to recoup their initial investment.Two years into their farming operations they

took a course in Holistic Management. HolisticManagement made sense to them immediately.Through using the decision-making processthey could see clearly which tools were reallyneeded, and that most of the tools on their“wish list” were not needed at all. They quicklylearned that marketing and pricing were key totheir success. Washburn and Anderson findthey can meet their labor needs with localcollege graduates who want to go into farming.They also hire Hmong workers (Asian hill tribeimmigrants) and provide them with land to

grow gardens for their own use. When theyhave decisions to make, they sit down and testthem towards their holistic goal. It takes about5 minutes to come to agreement without anyarguments (4).

As of 1998 they serve 250 local families thatreceive weekly seasonal vegetables through theircommunity supported agriculture operation. The

families pay a set amount at the start of theseason for this weekly delivery. All the produceis delivered within 24 hours of harvesting, whichgives customers the ultimate in freshness.

Another 55 people signed up for a weeklybouquet of flowers from the farm also. Thefinancial planning helped Dave and Meg see theoptimum level of production that allows them tocontrol their own prices. They used the financialplanning software to play “what-if” games withdifferent levels of production. Seven years intooperation they have more business than they canhandle.

Example # 3The following is adapted from “LearningSuccess” by Ann Adams, published in Holistic Management In Practice, July 1998. p. 6–7.

Robert and Cheryl Cosner and their threechildren operate an 800-acre ranch in the southcentral part of Washington. They first learnedabout holistic management in 1984. It wasn’tuntil 1989 that they took their first introductorycourse and wrote their first holistic plan. Theyraise registered Angus cattle but have recentlystarted running 40 ewes with their 75 head ofcattle with plans to venture into art-quality wool.Since managing holistically they are more able to

see the options open to them and are morepatient in letting those options unfold.

The impetus to investigate Holistic Managementcoincided with the breakup of a ranchingpartnership. The dissolution left them operatingin crisis mode and without adequate machinery.

This situation required them to use theircreativity. Misfortune actually forced them out ofconventional thinking mode and slowed downtheir decision making. By looking at a problem

from a number of angles, they eventually gotmore information or understanding about thelarger issues surrounding the problem. “Youhave to keep being open,” says Robert. “Changecomes in small steps unless you have an instantparadigm shift” (5). Two questions they continueto ask themselves are “How can we solve thisproblem for free?” and, “What is the leastexpensive way of getting it done?”




Asking the right kind of questions led them tocreate a holistic financial plan. They neededsome after-tax profit and to pay off theiroperating loan free and clear so they could buildtheir own line of credit. Paying off their loanbecame the focus of the financial plan. This focushelped them to make more decisions holistically.Though they wanted to get out of the hay-cuttingbusiness, they decided to continue to cut hayuntil the debt was paid off. Within 5 years, it waspaid off. They were pleased at how well thefinancial planning gave them a target to shoot forand a way to judge their progress. When theirbanker learned of their financial plan he was soimpressed that he discussed the possibility of theCosners teaching holistic financial planning tosome of the banker’s other customers. After that,the Cosners realized that their concerns aboutfinances drew them more deeply into practicing

holistic management. “The financial planningwas a tool that helped us get past the crisis andon to the next stage.”

Training is Available

With rare exceptions, most holistic managers taketraining from a certified educator in a classroomsetting. The Savory Center for Holistic Manage-ment in Albuquerque, New Mexico (6), certifies alimited number of educators who have under-

gone specific training in helping others learn topractice holistic management.

Certified educators are located throughout theworld and can also provide technical assistancewhen necessary. These educators are committedto practicing holistic management in their ownlives, seek out opportunities for staying currentwith the latest developments in holistic manage-ment, and maintain high standards of ethicalconduct in their work. The coursework eacheducator offers varies somewhat but generallyfalls into the following headings:

Holistic Decision Making

In the introductory course one learns how to:• make sense out of all the choices faced daily,• move from crisis management to planned

prosperity,• create more time to enjoy life,

• live life according to one’s values,• test decisions to see if they conflict with the

desired lifestyle,• monitor decisions to stay on track toward a

desired lifestyle,• understand the effect of decisions on the

landscape.

Students leave the decision making class withtheir own values-based holistic goal. There isample opportunity to practice the decision-making skills in class with the instructor’s aid.The holistic goal provides a descriptive roadmap to the future and a guidepost to decisionmaking for the people who are managing thewhole.

Holistic Financial Planning In financial planning you will learn: the business

of agriculture, why some farmers fail to make aprofit, how to select enterprises which areprofitable, how to plan a profit and produce itrather than striving for production only, how toallocate expense dollars where they do the mostgood, how to produce a list of potential enter-prises in 20 minutes and pick out the mostprofitable ones which do not conflict with yourvalues. The financial planning class utilizesmany of the decision-making skills learnedearlier to make financial decisions.

Holistic Biological, Grazing, and Land Planning In this class, people learn how to managelandscapes holistically. You develop skills tocreate a detailed land plan that includes not onlythe crop and livestock arrangements but alsowildlife and recreational needs and the quality oflife defined in the holistic goal. You learn how tomanage your landscape in tune with nature’sprinciples, which assures sustainability. You getpractice in monitoring rangeland, grassland, andcropland for indicators of how well nature’sprinciples are working on your land. The grazingand land plan complement the financial plan toassure economic, social, and environmentalsustainability.

For More InformationContact the Savory Center for Holistic Manage-ment for more information and a referral to acertified educator in your area or a local network




(see reference #6). Or visit their web page at:www.holisticmanagement.org Holisticmanagement was first developed by AllanSavory who wrote the book Holistic Resource Management, published in 1988. Since that timethe book has been updated and the title now issimply: Holistic Management. The Savory Centerfor Holistic Management, which Savory foundedin 1985, offers training in holistic managementthrough its network of certified educators acrossthe US and several foreign countries. The SavoryCenter, staffed by 9 dedicated individuals,operates under the non-profit status. Addition-ally, they supply many useful materials to holisticmanagers and educators.

Summary

In summary, the holistic decision–making

process incorporates values-based goal setting,the appropriate use of tools, financial planning,land planning, biological planning, and carefulmonitoring of effects. All these aspects aremanaged as a whole unit. The benefits arehigher quality of life, financial stability,consistent profitability, and the confidence ofknowing that your decisions are improving theenvironment and the community you live in. Itprovides people with a means to make decisionsthat more accurately mirror the way nature

functions (in wholes), and thereby ensure thatour civilization is truly sustainable over time.

References:

1) Savory, Allan with Jody Butterfield. 1999.Holistic Management—A New Framework forDecision Making. Island Press. Covelo, CA.550 p. Available from the Center (ref. # 6).

2) Butterfield, Jody. 1994. Struggling to generate

wealth. HRM Quarterly. Fall. p. 4–5.

3) Davis, Walt. 1996. When values run yourranch. HRM Quarterly. Spring. p. 3-4.

4) Halpin, Sandra. 1998. Building the soil first—a successful small organic farm. Holistic Man-agement Quarterly. April. p. 4–5.

5) Adams, Ann. 1998. Learning success. Holistic Management in Practice. July 1998.p. 6–7.

6) Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management1010 Tijeras, N.W.Albuquerque, NM 87102505-842-5252800-654-3619

By Preston Sullivan

NCAT Agriculture Specilaist

July 2001

IP154

The ATTRA Project is operated by the National Center for Appropriate Technology under a grant from the RuralBusiness-Cooperative Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. These organizations do not recommend or endorseproducts, companies, or individuals. ATTRA is located in the Ozark Mountains at the University of Arkansas inFayetteville at P.O. Box 3657, Fayetteville, AR 72702. ATTRA staff members prefer to receive requests forinformation about sustainable agriculture via the toll-free number 800-346-9140.




Notes: Notes:




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