November 2021

View this newsletter in your browser
 

Picture of the Month

A Century of Regeneration

by Megan Shahan and William Milliot

As we reflect this holiday season on all that we are grateful for, it is critical that we place ourselves in the global context of what it means to live on earth in 2021. At this moment in time, humans have access to more knowledge and more transformative tools than any other time in human history. We are also the primary drivers of change on this planet, and nearly two years into the critical decade—now until 2030—a brief period of time where our choices will influence the future of all life on earth.

Climate change is increasingly threatening our ability to breathe clean air, drink clean water, grow nutritious food, and nurture thriving communities. In a bold, optimistic, and community-led response, regeneration is beginning to permeate the public consciousness. Scientists, policymakers, land stewards, and diverse coalitions of people across the globe are recognizing and championing the incredible benefits of working towards connection with nature and each other. Each new day is an opportunity to intentionally choose and co-create a regenerative future that nourishes us all.

This intention is at the heart of the work we do at TomKat Ranch. Together, with our passionate network of partners, we recognize that many current global crises require a total shift in our thinking. The regenerative agriculture movement is an approach to food production that values and nurtures our connection to the greater ecological, economic, and social whole.  At its core, it is not a set of specific practices, but a new way of thinking that moves beyond short-term gains at any cost and emphasizes and honors relationship, resilience, and skillful adaptation to usher in the transition to long-term, regional, sustainable, and inclusive food systems.

As regeneration becomes the call of the 21st century, individuals and organizations are called to reexamine and reimagine the systems around them. And embrace a regeneration of the human spirit, in which all people are invited and respected, traditional practices are acknowledged and venerated, and homage is paid to indigenous people who have centuries of wisdom to share. May we all find reasons to be thankful.

School Food Supply Chain Challenges and Opportunities

I think it is fair to say we have all experienced the effects of supply chain disruptions over the past year or two, whether it was a scarcity of toilet paper, building materials, diapers, coffee, or essential food items such as salt, spices, flour, frozen vegetables, or pasta. The modern reality is that we have become dependent on brittle and over-extended globalized supply chains to meet our needs, including our nutrition.

The food supply challenges, stagnant wages and consequent labor shortages, and delayed shipments have hit our nation’s school food programs particularly hard. These programs are some of the largest public purchasers of food in the nation and help feed our nation's children during school hours, many of whom rely on these meals as a key source of their nutrition.

Unfortunately, the blame for declining school meal standards is often unfairly and inaccurately put on the school food nutritional professionals (FNP) who prepare students’ breakfast and lunch throughout the school year and in some areas, even during the summer months.

Apprentice Alex Michel’s Reflections on a Prescribed Burn Training Exchange (TREX)

by Alex Michel and William Milliot

Skies were overcast and a slight chill in the air mixed with the smell of smoke, sliding down steep mountain walls and settling in the valleys and rivers of the Klamath National Forest. It was 0730 as engines, buggies, trucks, and even some Priuses pulled into an art center parking lot across from a massive Sasquatch sculpture that keeps watch over the town of Happy Camp, California. Since 2014, this remote place has hosted a prescribed fire training exchange, known as the Klamath TREX, with a driving focus on “learning and burning” to aid fuel mitigation efforts that reduce destructive wildfire risk while addressing community and landscape-specific values and needs. 

This October, I had the great opportunity to be a part of a limited burn crew with members of the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association (CCPBA) and participate in the Klamath TREX. The crew included CCPBA Director (J. Childress), Santa Cruz forester (C. Childress), founder of Cen Cal GIS (E. Aiken), Santa Lucia Conservancy Restoration Manager (J. Brooke), a local jack of all trades (C. Norton), and myself.

Other TREX attendees included new Firelighters (like me) to seasoned Burn Bosses, local Karuk tribal members, the Karuk Initial Attack crew (K-1 Crew), other engine and hand crews, as well as division supervisors, operations section chiefs, a medic with a great mustache, FEMOs, a GISS, an IMET, and others well-versed in and willing to explain the many acronyms. This confluence was possible thanks to the formation of a multi-organization task force including the Karuk Tribe, Mid Klamath Watershed Council (MKWC), local Fire Safe Councils and Volunteer Fire Departments, Salmon River Restoration Council, Nature Conservancy, US Forest Service, and other groups. This year’s attendees came from all around the US and as far as Ecuador, prepared and ready to help with a range of skills, experience, and knowledge. Needless to say, the objective to “develop and maintain interagency relationships” was attained.

Hidden Villa Apprentice Visit

by Hayey Strohm and Dillon Gruber

 Our mission statement at TomKat Ranch is to “provide healthy food on working lands in a way that regenerates the planet and inspires others to action.”

The last part of our mission statement is, arguably, the most important. TomKat Ranch and other similar farms and ranches can be regenerative land stewards and produce healthy foods in each of our isolated bubbles, but without people and community—without each other—our collective goal of regenerating the planet is an illusory one. In this spirit of solidarity, we’re always grateful for the opportunity to host other mission-driven organizations and people on the ranch. And when we are lucky enough to have a beautiful autumn day—even better!

The rain clouds over TomKat Ranch cleared just in time to welcome a group of interns visiting from Hidden Villa Organic Farm, a diversified organic vegetable and livestock farm whose mission is to foster educational experiences that build connections and inspire a deeper appreciation and respect for nature, food, and one another. TomKat Ranch staff gathered to present on different aspects of the ranch, with topics ranging from biodiversity and planned grazing, to BAR-C and prescribed burns. After the presentations, the group walked out to the Apple Orchard pasture to visit with the cow herd and see first-hand the impacts grazing animals have on the landscape. In addition to the concepts we discuss, it’s important to demonstrate to visiting groups how these concepts translate to the land and in practice. 

After months of mostly virtual meetings, it was refreshing to be able to share experiences and ideas in person. Nothing beats discussions on livestock, soil health, and fire as a regenerative tool while walking the road along Honsinger Creek, smelling the soil after the much-needed rain, and hearing a cow call in the background. 

Inspiring others to action is critical to our mission. We’re confident that, together, we can provide healthy food while regenerating the planet.

What We're Reading - A Synthesis of Ranch-Level Sustainability Indicators for Land Managers and to Communicate Across the US Beef Supply Chain

by Megan Shahan

Regenerative agriculture is increasingly being recognized as an effective tool for both mitigating and adapting to climate change. Sensitive to social, economic, and environmental contexts, regenerative practices can increase the soils’ capacity to sequester dangerous excesses of atmospheric carbon, retain water, and reduce the need for costly synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Multiple efforts on international, federal, state and local levels acknowledge the need for increasing the practice of regenerative agriculture to build a more resilient and climate-smart food system. People around the globe are gaining awareness about the ways food production can either exacerbate or alleviate ecological, social, and economic pressures, including human health, the viability of small farms and ranches, and climate change. Numerous corporations have announced significant investments and initiatives designed to support and scale regenerative practices across their global supply chains, including some of the world’s largest food and agriculture companies.

In short, people are converging around the need for sustainable—and critically, regenerative— systems. But how are these complex concepts defined? And how are they measured?