Big Idea: Keep Them Doggies Rolling

I ain't no doggie

The Savory Institute makes a compelling argument about management of livestock as part of the answer to slowing Climate Change. Allan Savory suggests we return to herd management the way our ancestors did. He's had success with his Holistic Management method returning soils and grasslands and surface water to lands formerly overgrazed by simply changing the time a herd spends in one location. The hooves break up the soil and their dung adds to the richness of the soil encouraging grass growth.

Our current overgrazing of land is a principal cause of desertification. Given the increasing need for dairy and meat, not changing our methods would prove disastrous. Healthy grasslands and soil health could be the key to turning this around. Healthy grasslands act as carbon sinks. Photosynthesis fixes the carbon in the grass - more grass, more carbon absorption from the atmosphere. If this method was again practiced worldwide, it would have a significant impact on reducing the excessive carbon in our atmosphere.

Using this method on his 'mobile composters' is something a Massachusett's rancher has done to rejuvenate his land. He employs the method of moving the herd every three days as discussed in the video below.

(From my friend and fellow Climate Leader, Glenn Gall: "The resource frame [at the end of the video] doesn't resolve well. It is probably similar to this list: http://planet-tech.com/blog/holistic-management-reading-video-resources. It was prepared by Seth Itzkan, who I believe is the mentor of the filmmakers.")

Great resources can be found at The Savory Institute's website. If you have a herd and would like to learn how this would work for you, they have resources for you. If you would like to read the research, they have that too. Currently, through a LLC here in the United States, Holistic Management techniques are being employed in South Dakota, Montana and Hawaii. 

And it doesn't matter the size of the herd (sorry my vegetarian friends!), the key is moving them from one location to the other allowing the soil and grasses to revive for their next visit. Quite exceptionally simple and doable if enough ranches adopt these techniques.