Holistic Management - The Power of Paradigms

Holistic Management, A New Framework for Decision Making, by Alan Savory

A Book Summary

In this summary of Holistic Management I quote freely from Alan Savory's book but summarize the main points. Kind of a Cliff Notes version. Don't be put off by the focus on grazing and agriculture. This is great stuff for managing your family or business.

The Power of Paradigms

A 100 years ago we would not have had the knowledge or tools to make good decisions on land management in brittle environments, we now have four key insights that can influence our decisions, they are:

1. A holistic perspective is essential in management. If we base management decisions on any other perspective, we are likely to experience results different from those we desire because only the whole is reality.
2. Environments can be classified as nonbrittle to very brittle according to how well humidity is distributed through out the year and how quickly vegetation breaks down. Resting land restores nonbrittle environments, but damages the land in very brittle environments.
3. In brittle environments, relatively high numbers of large, herding animals, concentrated and moving as they naturally do in the presence of pack-hunting predators, are vital to maintaining the health of lands we thought they destroyed.
4. In any environment, overgrazing and damage from trampling bear little relationship to the numbers of animals, but rather to the amount of time plants and soils are exposed to the animals.

Holistic Management

Holistic comes from a Greek word meaning whole, entire and total. Holistic management in agriculture is a system thinking approach to managing resources that was originally developed by Allan Savory for reversing desertification. Savory concluded that the spread of deserts, the loss of wildlife, and the human impoverishment that always resulted were related to the reduction of the natural herds of large grazers and even more, the change in the behavior of the remaining herds. Livestock could be substituted to provide ecosystem modification like nutrient cycling when mimicking the wild grasses and grazers.

Managers found that while rotational grazing systems can work for diverse management purposes, scientific experiments had demonstrated that they do not necessarily work for specific ecological purposes. An adaptive management plan was needed for the integration of the experiental with the experimental,  as well as the social with biophysical, to provide a more comprehensive framework for the management of rangeland systems. None of these sources of knowledge could be understood except in the context of the whole. Holistic management was developed to meet this need.

While developed as a tool for range land use and restoring desertified land, the holistic management system can be applied to other areas with multiple complex socioeconomic and environmental factors.

Farming Lessons From Noah the Patriarch

A story to contemplate on this Thanksgiving weekend. We are spending some time with family and I will resume posts next week.

I believe that men are happiest when they are pursuing a big awesome vision and behind that vision is a life changing purpose.

In Genesis 6:14-16 God told the patriarch Noah that he was to build an ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 40 feet deep. That was one big boat! God gave him 120 years to finish the task.

Just for fun let us see what can we learn from how Noah might have proceeded. I'm reading between the lines here a little because scripture doesn't give us all the details, but it might have been something like this:

1. Noah had three sons. He worked with and trained them. He gave them age appropriate tasks to do and then followed up to guide their progress.
2. Noah rewarded his boys for their work and worked with them to save, spend and give.
3. Noah guided his sons in their relationships and choice of wives.
4. Noah was going to need lumber so he might have planted a few thousand acres of cypress trees. He had 100 years for the trees to mature
5. Noah was going to need large amounts of hay and grain. So he learned to grow these as well.
6. Noah learned to preserve his harvest as he would need to have enough stored up for a year in the ark and most of a season until crops could be grown again. He likely canned a years supply of salsa.
7. Noah had learned to save for a "rainy day" and was able to hire some skilled craftsmen for certain areas of construction where he was not an expert.
8. Noah worked closely with these skilled craftsman and was soon able to go to the Mesopotamian version of  "Home Depot" and get the tools he needed.
9. Noah was widely read and studied up on things like timber construction techniques and veterinary science (the zoo and exotic animal version).
10. Noah also had one of the best grape vine collections on the planet, since it was ultimately the only grape vine collection on the planet.

Like Noah my vision has been to work with my family teach them life skills that will serve and protect them as they look to the future. My work and the farm have been my big awesome tasks. Not quite as big or awesome as Noah's. But awesome nonetheless.

Pumpkin Pie Pointer

One of the first posts I wrote when we started this blog was one on how to make a pumpkin pie and how to cook a pie pumpkin.

This post also has about 20 different pie variations.

Check out the December 29, 2012 post.

The Hockey Stick Effect in Learning

I didn't play hockey as a child so I don't know a lot about the sport. This post is not about hockey but learning, let me explain. The hockey stick effect was initially a term used by climatologist Jerry Mahlman to describe the "disputed" rapid rise in the temperature record of the past 1000 years after a period of relative stablility. The period of relative stability is the handle of the hockey stick and the rapid rise is the blade of the hockey stick. The hockey stick effect could also describe the rapid rise in the national debt under the last two presidential administrations and the rapid rise in the price of corn over the last 5 years.

I wanted to use this hockey stick concept to think about the learning needed to be successful in farming. I have found that the learning curve while substantial is typically uniform for the first few years as skills are learned, varieties are explored and markets are expanded. Then if seems that multiple factors align and the farm revenue often multiplies rapidly is a short period of years. In my experience, the knee of the curve seems to be around 8 to 10 years.

This hockey stick concept also seems to be the pattern followed in the learning development of our children. The children go through a grammar stage learning the rules of phonics, spelling, mathematics and science. They then learn logic in middle-school and understand the cause and effect in different fields of knowledge when their capacity for abstract thought begins to mature. This is followed by a rhetoric stage that builds on the knowledge of the first two. I have really appreciated the ability of our high school students to write and speak with originality in clear and forceful analysis. As a father I have enjoyed reading papers and hearing the speeches from our children. The conversation around the supper table also takes on greater coherence and intensity. So we progressed along a gradual path of learning and then experience an explosion of topics, in-depth discussion and synthesis of ideas as our children prepare to enter the adult world. This is a very cool process to watch unfold.

Whether farm or home the hockey stick prevails.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Emotional intelligence may sound like one of those oxymorons like "deafening silence", "random order", or "virtual reality". But it is actually a key concept in leadership theory. Many successful leaders have a high IQ (Intelligence Quotient), excellent experience and wisdom. IQ and personality are relatively fixed and won't change significantly. But EQ is flexible and can be developed throughout our lives.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and the ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships, according to Drs. Travis Bradberry and Jean Graves, in TalentSmart.

The research shows that in roles of moderate to high complexity, people with high IQ outperform those with average IQ just 20% of the time. People with average IQ outperform those with high IQ 70% of the time. So IQ and technical expertise are enablers, but not sufficient to make a star performer. So what is the missing ingredient?

The research shows that 1/3 of superior performance is accounted for by IQ while 2/3 is a function of EQ. A second study found that high EQ leaders exceeded performance targets by 15% on average, while low EQ leaders underperformed by about the same amount.

The conclusion is that IQ will get you hired. But it is EQ that sets us apart and will get you promoted.

For the same reason that the ambivert can excell at sales, the person with high EQ has the people skills to excell in leadership.

Learning to hone these skills can benefit the farmer in marketing, leading in his field, and persuading others to follow.

Our Customers Are the Best

Our customers are the best; we see them week in and week out during the growing season. They are the most dedicated and friendly group that a farm family could ever wish for. Some times I am working to restock the tables with my back turned and I hear a friendly voice and I know exactly who that smiling face will be.

Just this last week I had a mom bring her daughter and fiance around to introduce me, I felt very honored when they didn't see me working the tables and took the time to look in back where I was bagging up some carrots.

The dedication is never more evident than when it rains all Saturday morning long and we still have 400-500 customers stop by and do their shopping. You know they really want to be there when they are willing to shop with an umbrella in one hand.

I really like to watch the parents that are being intentional about teaching their children to buy
produce. Often these same parents are helping their children learn food preparation as well. Once in a while we run into a youngster who isn't quite sure they will like what mom or dad is buying and my teenagers often step in to promote a sweet leaf of spinach or a scrumptious carrot.

I also like to encourage the young men (boys) to help mom carry their produce. It gives me some rapor with them and encourages a little chivalry, which isn't dead (only sleeping) in our society. This may be one of the few male influences these children have, so I'd like it to be a good one. Reed our 15 year old son can also help with this.

Our customers are also very honest and patient with us. If we mess up on the change we ask their forgiveness and fix it. If we give them back to much, they retun the difference. Pretty cool. We also take checks and I have had only one time in 17 years that we didn't get paid.

Market Menu for November 23

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, November 23, 2013. We are at the fair ground for winter market this week.

Brussels Sprouts
Pumpkins - Decorating, Cinderella
Winter Squash - Acorn, Spaghetti, Delicata, Orange Hubbard, Butternut, Buttercup, Orange Kuri, Kubotcha
Pie Pumpkins - New England Pie, Winter Luxury
Red Onions
Garlic
Leeks
Sweet Spanish Onions
Chipolini Onions
Kale - Regular
Spinach
Fresh Cut Herbs - Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme
Shallots 
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Salsa - Roasted Roma, Heirloom, Cherry Tomato
Lisa's Soap

Brussels Sprout Slaw

One of the challenges in the late fall and early winter is to come up with creative salad options that use seasonal vegetables. The slaw recipe uses Brussels sprouts, carrots, red onions and apples. All are readily available in November and December in Minnesota.

Ingredients

1 Quart Brussels Sprouts finely chopped
1 Large carrot, grated
1 Small Red Onion, finely sliced
1 Apple, cored and sliced into slivers
1 cup pecans
A sprinkle of  cayenne or chiptole pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coarse brown or Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

Use one tablespoon of the maple syrup to mix with the pecans. When well mixed sprinkle with a little of your favorite pepper. Set the oven to 200F and toast for 10 minutes. The pecans will stick to the cookie sheet, so you will have to scrape lose.

Mix 3 tablespoons maple syrup, the mustard, salt, pepper. Wisk with the olive oil.

Toss with the Brussels sprouts, carrots, onion and apple. Let sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors.

The slaw can be used as a salad or as a garnish on a sandwich.

You may not have this available but I also added a large tablespoon of poblano relish to the dressing. This provided a little zip without being too spicy.

Farmers Blend Order and Chaos

To be chaordic is to harmoniously blend characteristics of both order and chaos in a pattern dominated by neither.

The definition of chaordic sounds like cryptic double speak to this farmer. So beside expanding our vocabulary of obscure words what does this mean?

The idea is to be flexible by embracing change while still maintaining enough order and continuity that your farm is successful.

Joel Salatin, that sage of farm wisdom, says that you can be a Buddhist or a nudist, but you can't be both a Buddhist and a nudist at the same time. Significant change is good, in fact farmers can be a change agent in their communities and in society at large. But too much change will cause you to loose those you are trying to lead and influence.

Here are some examples. Making the transition from conventional to organic production is good. But I have seen farmers who have not studied the requirements sufficiently and therefore were not well prepared. Or maybe they got the idea they they wanted to grow blueberries and their soil was not the right type. Or they wanted to grow 5 acres of raspberries without developing their markets and were not able to sell all the crop. Or they want to grow organic pigs or chickens without having a good source for the very expensive grain required. The list can go on.

Chaordic farmers have the following characteristics:

• They study and understand the traditional approach to their chosen crops. They mine this knowledge for the best principles and practices.
• They notice new trends or create them. 
• They are a catalyst for change in their chosen farming area. They are change agents.
• They create the conditions of innovation.
• They facilitate the availability of new knowledge to other farmers and stake holders
• They balance advocacy of new ideas with investigation of their own ideas.
• They turn emergent ideas into best practices and teach others to use them
• The focus on today while implementing innovations that shape the future
• They create positive disruption and perturb the system
• They are persistent and patient, if something doesn't work the first time they find a better way
• They refuse to lose.

There is much wisdom in this list and much opportunity to innovate at the fringes of most agricultural fields. We have found the local farmers market to be a great laboratory for marketing ideas and new product development. We watch for trends, we listen to our most innovative customers, which are often chefs or other innovative eaters.

Occasionally, we lead the trend, because our customers and our competition have caused us to think in this direction. For example, I have been looking for a cost effective source of baby kale seed so I could provide traditional kale to our customers way ahead of the time in the season when regular kale was available. I found some last spring and had a great crop in process. This kale sold way better than I had thought it would and I later found out that kale was a major focus of the Gourmet cooking magazines for the spring season. That definitely helped, but having delicious baby kale was the lynch pin. Was this just dumb luck or had we anticipated a trend. I'll let you be the judge.