Focusing on Stewardship for Long-term Sustainability

1. Focusing on Stewardship for Long-term Sustainability Developed by: Cinda Williams, UID Ext. Kevin Laughlin, UID Ext. Susan Donaldson, UNV Coop. Ext. Univ. of Idaho Extension

2. Topics to be covered: • The whole-property concept • Integrating the lessons you’ve learned • Viewing your property through a sustainability lens • How others are making it work • Monitoring and assessing progress • How you’re making it work

3. What is “sustainability”? What about sustainable agriculture? • “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (U.S. EPA) “involves farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for people and communities.” (SARE) • These systems must be: • Economically sustainable • Environmentally sustainable • Socially sustainable USDA NRCS

4. So you want to be a steward of your land? Steward:a person who manages another's property or financial affairs Environmental stewardship: the responsibility to take care of our natural resources to ensure they are sustainably managed for current and future generations

5. What does it mean to be a steward of a small-acreage property? “The practice of carefully managing land usage to ensure natural systems are maintained or enhanced for future generations.” -The Land Stewardship Center USDA NRCS

6. Guiding principles of land stewardship • Caring for the system as a whole • Holistic approach • Conserving resources • Renewable and non-renewable • Maintaining, building and enhancing stability in nature • Encourage biodiversity • Honoring cultural values and ethics • Think long term

7. Putting it all together with a whole-property perspective Use what you’ve learned about: • Inventory and goals • Soils • Water • Wildfire threat reduction • Plants • Animals • Management

8. The whole-property view Redrawn by A. Miller from www.sare.org

9. Applying a “systems” approach • System: a group of interacting, interdependent elements that function together as a complex unified whole www.unesco.org

10. National Center for Atmospheric Research

11. Whole-farm nutrient balance www.extension.org/pages/Whole_Farm_Nutrient_Balance

12. Inputs Feed Animals Irrigation water Fertilizer Legume N Managed outputs Meat and milk Crops Manure Feed Manure Farm boundary, but remember to think outside the box too! Losses or soil storage Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship An alternate view of the whole-farm nutrient balance

13. Applying systems thinking to your property • What are the components of your system? • How are they interrelated? • How does an action on one component affect other parts of your system?

14. Systems diagram activity www.icra-edu.org

15. A systems thinker: • Seeks to understand the big picture • Observes how elements within systems change over time, generating patterns and trends

16. Being a systems thinker • Identifies the circular nature of complex cause- and-effect relationships, i.e. interdependencies • Changes perspectives

17. Developing your goals with sustainability in mind • Environmental concerns • Economic factors • Social issues www.sare.org

18. Putting sustainable goals into action

19. Putting sustainable goals into action

20. Putting sustainable goals into action

21. Make your own goals!

22. The living soil • How do the practices we employ on our land influence the soil? USDA NRCS

23. Improving soil quality • Work on the basics of high-quality soils • Reduce tillage • Add organic matter (plant cover crops) • Reduce applications of synthetic-based chemicals • Monitor for: • Earthworms, • Organic matter, • roots and residues, • Subsurface compaction, • Soil tilth, • Erosion, • Water-holding capacity, • Drainage and infiltration, • Crop condition, • Nutrient-holding capacity, • pH

24. Protecting our water • Water quantity • Reduce unnecessary water loss by covering soil (cover crops, mulch, etc.) • Increase water-use efficiency by proper irrigation • Water quality • Prevent runoff of soil into water bodies • Prevent contamination by livestock by installing buffers or providing off-stream watering USDA NRCS

25. What are you doing to conserve water? • For your crops or pasture? • For your animals? • In your landscape? • In your home? NDEP

26. Sustainable water use • Build well-structured soils that retain water • Design for infiltration of water, rather than runoff • Plant species that are drought-tolerant and disease-resistant • Capture, conserve and recycle water

27. Drought index http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/prelim/drought/palmer.html

28. How does drought affect you? • In the short term? • In the midterm (3 years)? • In the long term (5 years)? • What is your contingency plan? • What will you do differently?

29. Protecting and preserving your space Was wildfire part of your long-term plan? Make a plan for protecting and preserving your space

30. Managing plants for sustainability • Promote ecological balance with plant diversity • Maintain vegetative cover • Enhance or provide organic matter • Enhance nutrient recycling • Promote pest population balance through biological strategies

31. Pasture rotation ATTRA Raising healthy animals – a systems approach You can manage parts of the system to decrease internal parasites and their effects

32. Managing energy use • Make use of renewable energy • Solar • Pumps for watering and irrigation • Greenhouses • Wind • Electricity for buildings • Biofuels • Oils or fuel from plants • Energy from animal waste (which is not a waste after all!) • Methane digesters

33. Creating successful enterprises • Choose your production system • Develop your niche • Your uniqueness is the key • Tell your story! • Value-added products • Connect to customers and the community • Understand the bottom line

34. Quality lives • For you and your family • Physical health: exposure and safety • Mental health: stress and depression • For employees • Fair treatment • Decent wages and living conditions • For animals • Humane treatment of animals • Low-stress handling USDA NRCS

35. Vibrant communities • Links between the landowner or farmer and the community • Networking • Partnerships and collaboration • Lifelong learning • What can you do? • Host public and school tours • Share what you’ve learned • Donate food to local food banks • Buy fresh and buy local • Join a co-op or support group

36. Stewardship Actions • Focus on systems sustainability by looking at all aspects of your property: land, soil, water, plants, animals, etc. • Protect ground and surface water resources • Conserve water, practice efficient application • Stabilize, amend, and cover soil • increase organic matter • Increase moisture content • decrease erosion • Improve vegetative cover and better manage vegetated areas to increase occurrence

37. Foster awareness in young people • Host field trips for schools • Encourage students to participate in the farm • Create school gardens • Support youth programs • Volunteer

38. Monitor and assess your progress • Before you took this class, how were you interacting with your resources? • What are you doing differently now? • What do you plan to do differently in the future? • What results do you want? • How will you achieve your goals? • How will you know if you succeeded? • How are you making progress toward making your property more sustainable?

39. Where can you get help? • SARE – www.sare.org • ATTRA – www.attra.org • Local organizations • CSU Ext. • http://www.ext.colostate.edu/sam/ • USDA-NRCS • Conservation District • http://www.mountsopriscd.org/ • CSFS • http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/grandjunctiondist.html

40. Summary • What do sustainability and stewardship mean to you? • How will you be a better steward? • How can you help your neighbors become better stewards? • How does systems thinking help you achieve your goals?

41. How are YOU making it work? • How are you integrating what you’ve learned about your resources? • How have you affected your own property? • How have you affected your community? • Have your long-term goals changed? Why? • What do you hope to accomplish? • How will your property be more sustainable? • Are you a better steward?

42. You’re on your way to a sustainable approach to managing all the resources on your small-acreage property! UNCE, Reno, NV