Meristem: Beef Science

Producers across Western Canada wondering what holistic management (HM) means as it applies to farm business are encouraged to attend a two-day seminar in Lloydminster, Sask. in late June.

The founder of the HM movement (or Holistic Resource Management as it was previously called) will be among the speakers June 27 and 28 at a seminar designed to explain the basic principles of holistic management. The seminar at the Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds applies to farmers, ranchers and anyone in business.

"We are pleased that Allan Savory will be able to address the seminar, which marks 20 years since the introduction of the holistic management program in Canada," says Dennis Wobeser, a Lloydminster-area beef producer, and long-time practitioner of the business and lifestyle philosophy. Organizers hope to attract up to 400 producers to the seminar.

Along with Savory, who is founder of the Allan Savory Centre of Holistic Management, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, several other resource and personal management specialists will address the seminar.

Lee Pengilly, a southern Saskatchewan farmer and rural leader, will talk about greenhouse gas sinks and sources on the farm.

Pengilly, who farms near Melville, developed "The Greenhouse Gas Sinks and Sources Tour for Canadian Beef Producers," Her talk will describe the many links between Holistic Management objectives and practices associated with beef production systems and greenhouse gas mitigation. The on-farm tour guide she developed will be part of the take home materials producers can use on their own farms.

Also on the agenda is Roland Kroos of Montana, a registered HM educator who helped launch the program in Canada, and well-known Cochrane, Alberta-based psychologist and author David Irvine. Irvine will talk about personal and family needs and relationships as they relate to the farm business. Irvine is author of the best-selling "Simple Living in a Complex World."

"All topics relate the general theme of holistic management," says Wobeser, who runs a grass-fed cow/calf operation. "Holistic management is a goal-orientated approach to managing land, livestock, people and finances in a manner that is environmentally, economically and socially sound."

Fundamental principles of the system involve managing the farm or ranch operation in harmony with nature, he says. "It's an approach that encourages people to work with nature - use the natural resources available - rather than trying to manage nature," says Wobeser. "We are talking about reduced or low-input crop and livestock production systems that make sense in environmental, economic and social terms."

The conference is being organized by the Devon Management Club, a group of nine families who banded together in 1989, and the H.A.T. Club, created five years ago with six families. Members of both clubs actively practice and promote Holistic Management.

Partial funding for the seminar is provided by the beef sector of the federal Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture (GHGMP). This program, administered by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, is designed to demonstrate and raise awareness of a wide range of production practices that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Cost of the two-day seminar is $80 per person, which includes meals. A block of hotel rooms has been set aside for seminar participants and camping facilities are also available. For more information or to register, contact either: Mark and Blusette Campbell, of Meadow Lake, Sask. at 306-236-6105 or email bccowgirl@sasktel.net, or Dennis Wobeser at Lloydminster, Alta. at 780-875-4418.

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Producers invited to holistic management seminar in Lloydminster