The South Dakota Grassland Coalition will kick off 2020 with two Holistic Resource Management schools for local producers. The first school will be held in Mitchell, SD on January 27-30th with another to follow in Wall, SD on February 10-13th. The schools will be organized in partnership with Crossroads Ranch Consulting and will cover topics ranging from financial management to understanding the connection between ecological processes and ranch profitability.
The upcoming schools are designed to help ranchers expand their knowledge base to cultivate resilient businesses and landscapes. The Crossroads Ranch Consulting schools are interactive so attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other ranchers as well as share their own experiences. This workshop-style classroom setting creates an engaging learning environment and allows attendees to have input on the topics covered. The speakers Roland Kroos and Patrick Toomey will cover principles of Holistic Management that help ranchers improve their businesses from an economic and ecological standpoint.
Roland Kroos trained extensively with Allan Savory, the founder of Holistic Management, beginning in 1985 and started Crossroads Ranch Consulting in 1992. Roland is a certified educator with the Savory Institute and has a degree in Range and Wildlife Management from the University of Nebraska. Roland made sharing the principles of Holistic Resource Management into his life’s work after seeing the impact a holistic approach to ranching can have on families and the landscapes they steward.
Patrick Toomey, a recent addition to Crossroads Ranch Consulting, has a BS in rangeland ecology from the University of Wyoming and has extensive experience as a rangeland manager. After working in the oil and gas industry as a reclamation ecologist, Patrick became a range technician for the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) where he helped manage over 50 buffalo herds across the country. Patrick trained ITBC herd managers in holistic management principles like managing natural resources to prepare for drought and making soil health a part of every decision made on the landscape. “I am excited and appreciative for the opportunity to help ranchers across the Northern Plains and to educate people on another way to do things and provide and different perspective to their operation,” Patrick Toomey wrote in his bio on the Crossroads Ranch Consulting website.
These educational events are open for all experience levels and will cover a wide range of ideas. Sign up for one of the two schools to learn more about holistic decision making to improve your business, rangeland, and livestock management. “Holistic Resource Management training is a common-sense approach to managing farm and ranch businesses. HRM is the silver bullet our Ag community is looking for,“ said Dan Rasmussen, SDGC Education Coordinator, and Range Consultant.
The Mitchell school will be held at Blarney’s Sports Bar and Grill. The Wall school will take place in the Wall community center. Visit crossroadsranchconsulting.com for more information on Holistic Resource Management and the work Roland Kroos and Patrick Toomey have done for farm and ranch producers.
Registration is $200 for members and $230 for non-members. Registration for non-members includes a year membership with the South Dakota Grassland Coalition. Lunch will be provided each day.
To register for the January 27th-30th school in Mitchell, SD, contact Judge Jessop at jljessop@kennebectelephone.com
To register for the February 10th-13th school in Wall, SD, contact Dan Rasmussen at the33ranch@gmail.com.