What Is Holistic Management?

Wondering what holistic management looks like? What does this mean for Date Creek, our animals and you?

Here are 5 examples to better understand our diverse and regenerative practices:

1. YOU. Yeah, I'm talking about you. You play a much bigger piece than I think you realize! Your support gives us a chance to show you how this can be done! Your 'vote' with your dollar shows large corporations that cheap isn't better - Quality, is. Balance, is. Sustainability, is. You are the driving force behind Date Creek, for we couldn't do it without you. Keep it up, our world needs you.

2. Pasture raised chickens - Little clawed critters going through the cow pies, eating fly larvae & keeping the pest population to a minimum (because you never really want to eradicate everything!) The fertilize the grasses as they go! (Check out a satellite image of the ranch, here!)

3. Grass-fed & grass-finished beef cattle - Grazing, pooping & stomping down soil. Their unique gut helps us take excess carbon out of the air and place it deep in the soil. Picture this; a cow eats the grass. (Leaving 4 inches behind) The grass uses the solar energy (photosynthesis) of the sun to convert carbon from the air to new leaf growth (sugar, cellulose & carbohydrates). Repeat. Plus, they have some pretty magnificent organic matter to place on the ground!

4. Pastured Pigs - Being the little rooters they are naturally, they root through weeds, brush and grasses to clear out invasive plants & give the grasses a fighting chance. We work with our pigs to help break the life cycle of the coddling moth; which burrows in apples and is known to wipe out entire Orchards! They help keep our Orchard cleaned up, while fertilizing the soils!

5. Ryan & I. Yes, we are actually part of the ecosystem. We always have been. Since there are not many natural predators in the picture we are the replication. We keep the cattle moving from pasture (or paddock) to the next. We guide the pigs to the next strip of Orchard to manage. We move the chicken tractors. Our role is to be grateful & gracious stewards of this land, to watch for distinct indications of health or disease.

Cattle on Pasture - Note electric fences up to mark grazing area