Case Histories
Increased biodiversity goes hand in hand with an
increased stocking rate – biodiversity, agriculture, and
Holistic Management in West Virginia.
The Fichtner family moved to the 79-acre (32-hectare) Windy Slope Farm in Leon, West Virginia in 1981. At that time the farm was overrun with multiflora rose, and the soils were severely eroded. At one time this land had been fire-maintained savanna, and more recently it had been plowed for maize and then put into sod that supported a few horses and cattle.
In 1990 the Fichtners began Holistic Management planned grazing using a diversity of livestock (dairy goats, sheep, cattle, donkeys, hogs, chickens, geese, ducks, and turkeys) to improve farm management.
The hogs were used to break up and compost manure in the barn. The ducks controlled flies. The Scottish Highlander cattle were rugged browsers and cleared brush efficiently. The donkeys kept coyotes at bay. The cattle broke the parasite cycle by grazing after the sheep.
In 1990 they had eight pasture plant species and needed five acres (two hectares) to carry one animal unit. By 1995, they had 32 pasture plant species (including more perennials, a higher successional plant) and needed only one acre (0.4 hectare) to carry one animal unit.
Plant biodiversity, stocking rate, and net profit data from Windy Slope Farm –
dramatic increases in biodiversity in only five years.
|
Number of pasture plant species | Stocking rate / year | Net Profit |
| 1990 | 8 | 1 : 2 | –$40 |
| 1995 | 32 | 1 : 0.4 | $200 |
In southern Oklahoma, exposed soils with various degrees of erosion
were covered with diverse, healthy plants using herd impact instead of machinery and chemicals – and white tailed deer increased 100 percent.
The D. Joyce Coffey Resource Management and Demonstration Ranch was a privately owned 2,600-acre (1,053-hectare) ranch in Marietta, Oklahoma until 1981–a typical southern Oklahoma ranch with cropping in open land and continuous grazing in rough and wooded areas.
The degraded rangeland had a mixture of 60 percent low successional species (usually weedy annuals with low forage quality), 12 percent mid successional species, and 5 percent high successional species (highly desirable forage quality for wildlife and livestock).
In 1987 the management team of crop, forage, soil, livestock, and wildlife specialists, headed by Charles Griffiths, began practicing Holistic Management® on the ranch. At that time the stocking rate had decreased from 300 to 67 animal units per year.
From 1987 to 1991 the stocking rate increased by 30 percent from 110 animal units to 140 at the same time that biodiversity increased. Exposed soils with various degrees of erosion were covered with healthy plants, and white tailed deer increased 100 percent.
By 1994, high-successional species had risen to 25 percent and low-successional species were down to 25 percent. The stocking rate had now increased 100 percent from 1987 rising from the original 110 to 200 animal units.
Because of improved ground cover, there was less soil erosion. Ponds, which once had high turbidity (cloudiness due to silt), now had low turbidity, and two springs, which had dried up, now began running again. Moreover, the nutrient cycle had also improved so that manure now decomposed in 5 days, where it had taken 2 to 3 years before Holistic Management.
| Change in biodiversity and profit indicators on the Coffey Ranch (% change in forage type) | |||
| Year | 1987 | 1991 | 1994 |
| Low successional | 60% | 32% | 25% |
| Mid successional | 12% | 43% | 27% |
| High successional | 5% | 5% | 25% |
| Stocking rate/yr | 110 | 140 | 200 |
New Mexico: increased biodiversity and profitability, even on arid land,
insure that land managers will stick with sustainable Holistic practices.
The 11,808-acre (4800-ha) Rafter F Ranch located in San Jon, New Mexico usually receives 16 inches (40.6 cm) of rain a year, 70 percent of it in the summer. Heavily eroded, sandy loam soils and mesquite tree encroachment were characteristic of this land.
Roger Bowe first learned about Holistic Management in 1983 and began using some of the principles to halt the ranch’s falling productivity. By 1991 biological monitoring showed marked improvement on the land. From 1984 to 1991 the diversity of perennial grass species tripled and ground cover increased. Moreover, the stocking rate tripled and Bowe cut the cost of production in half.
| Changes
in biodiversity and profit indicators on the Rafter Ranch |
||
| Year | 1984 | 1991 |
| Number of perennial grass species |
6 | 18 |
| Percentage of bare soil | 46% | 30% |
| Distance between plants (in/cm) | 13 / 325 | 0.7 / 1.75 |
| Year | 1983 | 1991 |
| Stocking rate | 1:35 acres (1:7 ha) | 1:16 acres (1:6.7 ha) |
| Pounds of beef produced per acre | 12 (66kg/ha) | 31 (171kg/ha) |
| Cost/lb of beef | $0.62 ($1.36/kg) | $0.30 ($0.66/kg) |
Bowe also noted that two new plant species, indiangrass and Canadian wild rye, appeared on his land, although they usually only occur at higher elevations. He also saw increased evidence of earthworms and wildlife.
People who at one point were conventional agricultural producers can learn not only to appreciate the need for improved biodiversity and ecological processes, but can actually create those results while increasing their profits and quality of life through the practice of Holistic Management.
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