June 8, 2017 02:45 PM

Hub-led events teach producers around the world to increase productivity and financial viability while improving soil health

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To help farmers and ranchers maximize their land use in the face of mounting economic and climatic challenges, The Savory Institute (SI) will host a global field day, ‘Grazing for Wealth’, on June 24 at Savory Network Hubs around the world. The coordinated event aims to educate livestock producers on how to increase productivity and financial viability while simultaneously improving soil health.

Locally led and managed SI Hubs will show livestock producers how large and small-scale operations can use Holistic Management (HM) to achieve financial security without degrading the land. In addition to US-based Hubs in California, Colorado, Washington and Kansas, SI-accredited Hubs in Argentina, Canada, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom will be participating in the June event.

Chris Kerston, Savory’s director of public outreach and events, said, “If producers don’t have financial viability, all other goals are philanthropic at best. However, if we continue to destroy our planet one parcel of land at a time, the future for our children, and ultimately our species, will be grim indeed. We must address these problems simultaneously with a holistic approach.”

HM was developed in the 1960’s by founder Allan Savory to provide a framework for land managers to make decisions about grazing livestock. Used properly, HM practices help to restore grassland, build healthy soil, reduce the acceleration of global climate change and enhance economic, environmental, and social well-being for communities. HM combines traditional knowledge, new research and proven strategies to address ecological, climatic and economic complexities, and includes Holistic Planned Grazing which is centered around soil health and plant recovery time.

The driving force and thought leader behind regenerative agriculture’s emergence onto the global stage, SI has influenced over 18.5 million acres of land globally through its Hubs and through strategic partnerships with The Nature Conservancy, Heifer International, and HRH The Prince of Wales. HM has been used successfully in the American West, Australia, Patagonia, Mexico, Africa, Europe and Asia. Savory’s innovative management process can be applied across the board from subsistence farmers struggling for survival to expansive estates with vast resources. Interested farmers, ranchers, homesteaders and land managers are invited to attend SI Hub events to learn from long-time practitioners how to build back wealth into their operations. To learn more about Savory Institute’s Global Field Day, and to find the nearest Hub site, visit http://www.savory.global/grazingforwealth/. Cost of participation varies.