All posts by admin

Holistic Ag 6 Month Grazing Immersion

Need a break from civilization? Want to:
√  Get in the best shape of your life
√  Fuel yourself with the best food money can’t buy
√  Deepen your connection to plants, animals and yourself
√  Live on the most beautiful land base in Sonoma County

1511397_10152003038030653_5400455799570767164_n

If you answered yes to most of these questions then a 6 month Immersion/Training Intensive with Holistic Ag is just what you need.

Learn how to manage land beneficially with the tool of livestock and increase your understanding of and connection to ecology. Acquire skills in temporary electric fencing, modular water systems, low stress stockmanship, ecological monitoring, beef marketing and more.

To learn more go to:  http://holisticag.com/wordpress/contact and set up an interview.

STEAK (R)EVOLUTION

newsteakbanner

“You should do what you can with the land that you have.”

If I had my way viewing this film would be a prerequisite for eating any meat. Very happy that Franck Ribiere created this beautiful piece of art that educates in spite of itself. Never preachy or heavy handed and always reverent and true to the culinary passion he obviously has with his subject. I’m plenty proud of the ecological aspects of this business but with all the meat bashing in the media it’s easy to lose site of the elegant outcome these animals provide us with. Properly managed livestock is a sacrament of the highest order on Nature’s alter. Enjoy heartily and consciously. Watch the trailer here.  Watch the movie here.

This is a standing rib roast I made for xmas dinner this year from a steer we harvested in July.

FullSizeRender

 The animals we harvested this year were our first and I will tell you that after waiting 3 years it is very exciting to finally taste the fruits of the animal’s and our labor. While we are moving towards improved forages and a resulting higher fat content I’d put this meat on any plate. Our tenderness and flavor profile is exceptional. You can purchase our beef by clicking here.

Where did our water go?

11942332_10152981367670653_8981551079851955993_o

I was thinking about the fact that one of our wells stopped producing enough water to keep up with our relatively low consumption of 1,000 gallons per day (typical US family of 4 uses 400) and gazed off into the distance. Hmmm, they seem to have plenty of water down there. Damn gravity. Found this article that explains how the CA wine industry transitioned from deep rootstock (which can be dry farmed) to shallow, irrigation dependent rootstock in the 80’s. Good plan…not. #shortsitedpriorities #externalities
http://m.sfgate.com/wine/article/Turning-water-into-wine-To-water-grapevines-or-2590118.php

Website Update 2015

We’ve been quietly chugging along for the last 2 1/2 years I think it’s about time we started sharing a bit about what we do.
1962623_10151856467235653_1779272911_n

This area was grazed once at about 40,000 pounds density I’m guessing 4+ months before this photo was taken.  The resident biologist was surprised to see the response since they had previously mapped this area as medusa head.  As you can see the area is now dominated by Stipa Pulchra a native perennial bunch grass.  Can’t wait to do the study to determine whether this is a good thing or not.