This document discusses adapting agriculture to address climate change and other challenges through holistic management. Holistic management is a decision-making process that considers people, land, and profit by mimicking natural ecosystems. It uses a holistic goal and seven testing questions to plan production in a way that improves land and resource health over time. The document provides examples of holistic management from Meeting Place Organic Farm, including developing a holistic goal, understanding ecosystem processes, applying the testing questions, financial planning, and adapting plans through monitoring.

1. Adapting Agriculture to
Climate Change
Bring Food Home
November 17, 2013
Tony McQuail

2. Big Challenges
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Climate Change
Peak Oil - Peak Everything?
Environmental Degradation
Economic Inequity
Social Deterioration
– Can we develop approaches that address all
these challenges at once?
– Agriculture is the largest land use on the
planet – How it is structured has profound
implications for all these challenges.

5. Meeting Place Organic Farm

11. Solar energy at Meeting Place Organic Farm
And Carbon Sequestration

12. HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT
Creating The Life You Want

13. HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT
• How to:
Care for your PEOPLE
Improve the LAND
Make a PROFIT
By making better decisions

14. Bare Capped Soil - Zimbabwe
Allan Savory and
African Range Land
6 months later – After - 200 cattle &
100 goats in a new area each day
Improving land health by learning to mimic
Nature – Particularly with grazing animals for
animal impact and herd effect.
Two Years Later

15. Holistic Decision Making
Uses
A HOLISTIC GOAL
and
SEVEN TESTING QUESTIONS

16. Steps in HM Process
• Create a Holistic Goal with inclusive group
– Quality of Life
– Forms of Production
– Future Resource Base
• Learn & Use Seven Testing Questions
– Keep moving forward towards Holistic Goal
• Learn About 4 ecosystem Processes
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Water Cycle,
Mineral Cycle,
Community dynamics
Energy Flow
• Use Planning Processes
– Weak link determination
– Financial analysis and forecasting
– Plan-Monitor-Control- Replan.

17. Adaptation – not just Farm
• Sally talk about Transition Town
movement.
• Follow with discussion Break
• Then resume with some stories from
Meeting Place Organic Farm

18. Discussion – 20 Minutes Total
• 5 minutes -individually to consider
• -How can you apply these ideas to your
own life NOW?
• - How would the application of these ideas
improve or damage your community?
• 15 minutes group discussion
– Appoint a recorder

19. Holistic Management
Examples from MPOF
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Holistic Goal
4 ecosystem processes
Testing Questions
Financial Management
Monitor/replan

20. A Family Holiday??
In The Summer????

21. August 1996 in BC

22. Replace Snow Blower?

23. Testing = Snow Scoop

24. Energy & Community

25. Financial Planning
Developed New
Enterprises
CSA Garden Pick Up
Freezer Meat Retailing

26. Adapting Agriculture?
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Need to have a vision of where to go
Need to have a process that guides us
Need to accept we may be wrong
Need to be able to correct our direction
Need to work with others

27. Lots of Systems
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Organic Ag
Ecological Ag
Permaculture
Restoration Agriculture
Regenerative Agriculture
Regrarian
Community Supported Agriculture
– Holistic Management is a process that can
work with any system.

28. Give out Handout
• Any last comments or questions?