MAY 2022

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Commitment

by Megan Shahan and Kevin Alexander Watt

Relationships are the heart of regenerative agriculture. How we relate to the planet, the communities we serve, and ourselves is a determining factor in whether we are able to grow a food system that is truly regenerative. In healthy relationships, parties grow through mutual challenge and support; this can give birth to surprising and often profound synergies that would have been impossible alone. One essential part of a healthy relationship is commitment founded upon shared values and goals. 

Recently we published the Guide to Regenerative Grazing Leases in partnership with California FarmLink. We owe a huge thanks to their incredible team for being the kind of partner who embodies what it means to be in a good relationship! 

This guide was inspired by nearly a decade of witnessing well-meaning landholders and lessees struggle to form trustworthy, lasting, and mutually beneficial commitments that support regenerative land management. The Guide to Regenerative Grazing Leases is meant to be useful for a range of audiences—including landholders, lessees, land trusts—who are ready to create meaningful commitments based on rigorous and achievable regenerative goals, dynamic communication, and adaptive management. 

Here is some of the wonderful feedback we have received since the guidebook was published:

As next steps, we are working with California FarmLink to develop workshops and outreach to share the content across California. In the meantime please check out the Guide to Regenerative Grazing Leases and let us know what you think—or if you have developed a regenerative grazing lease!

The Remarkable Benefits of Riparian Areas

by Wendy Millet and Mark Biaggi

It’s springtime at the ranch and everywhere you go the birds are singing!  The bird songs are especially noticeable while walking along Honsinger Creek. The lush riparian areas that grow along the creek are preferred habitat for the many bird species that call the ranch home. On a recent tour with scientists from Point Blue Conservation Science, we listened to the calls of migrating birds from Central America (bird banding from previous years shows us which birds return each year!) and had a chance to reflect on the positive changes we have seen through our management.

The benefits of riparian areas go well beyond birds. For thousands of years, elk, bison, deer, antelope, elephant, and a million wildebeest have eaten, drunk and benefited from riparian habitat in our region. As droughts and climate patterns continue to change, riparian areas are increasingly valuable for the well-being of animals, fish, plants, and people alike. 
 

BENEFITS OF RIPARIAN AREAS

Riparian areas serve as a catalyst for the surrounding landscape; their influence spreads across the landscape in a host of ways. 

Riparian areas are one of the habitats in our Mediterranean climate that grow year round. As the plants and trees grow they absorb energy from the sun and exude sugars/carbon into the soils thus helping to maintain a healthy microbiome. 

These areas are high in plant diversity which in turn support a higher function of insect, fish, bird and mammal populations.

When healthy, riparian areas act as a sponge—absorbing and releasing water.  The bigger the riparian area, the more protection against flooding; riparian areas also rehydrate the aquifers below.  

Wide riparian areas can slow or stop wildfires due to high moisture levels in the system. 

The TomKat Ranch Grazing Plan Goes Multispecies - Welcome Goats!

by Catherine AhSam, TomKat Ranch Apprentice

Foreword by Mark Biaggi, Ranch Manager (click Continue Reading)

You may have seen these caprine creatures creating fire breaks around homes or maintaining steep hillsides along the highway. Perhaps you read an article in Vogue or Vice highlighting their versatility and the adoration they inspire in the public. More than ever, goats are being featured and praised for the beneficial impacts they create such as fire mitigation, brush clearing, weed abatement, and invasive plant eradication.

TomKat Ranch’s first resident goat herd arrived from the ranch of a long-standing friend of the ranch—Marissa Taylor—in Lonetree, Wyoming on February 7th, 2022. These goats are familiar with grazing without fence lines in the cold, arid Wyoming country and are truly “range goats,” moving as a herd and grazing palatable forage.

We are currently applying goat grazing to address some of the issues facing land managers and ranchers today including reducing fuel loads that create fire hazards and mitigate brush encroachment all while improving soil health thanks to the benefits that well-managed grazing animals can provide the land.  As an educational foundation, TomKat Ranch intends to share its findings publicly, both through observation and monitoring. 

EcoFarm 2022: Two Field Days Focusing on Regenerative Ranching and Indigenous Foodways!

by Kathy Webster

Each year since 1980, EcoFarm has hosted an annual conference—usually at the beautiful Asilomar Conference Grounds. It is a great place to attend workshops, network, hear from successful farmers, and find inspiration for those passionate about food and farming. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 conference is going virtual. Field days in the Spring and Summer will get participants out on the land learning directly from leading farmers and ranchers making an impact in their communities and for the environment. 

We are particularly excited about two field days this year that are focused on regenerative agriculture and food systems.

Regenerative Grazing and Direct Marketing at Stemple Creek Ranch in Marin County was a sold out event held Sunday, May 1st. Stemple Creek Ranch was also one of the keynote presenters for this year’s EcoFarm Successful Farmers.

Loren Poncia, owner of Stemple Creek Ranch, is a fourth-generation regenerative rancher. Loren with his wife, Lisa, raise grass-finished beef and lamb as well as pastured pork. They are dedicated practitioners of regenerative principles focused on supporting soil health, increasing diversity above and below ground, and increasing the water infiltration and holding capacity of their land by using holistic livestock grazing management.